5 Biggest Annuity MISTAKES

Hi again, Stan The Annuity Man America's annuity agent licensed in all 50 states, including the beautiful one you're sitting in. I hope you are doing well. Thanks for joining me. Today, we will talk about the five biggest annuity mistakes, not the five smallest, not the five medium size mistakes, the five biggest annuity mistakes on the annuity planet. Let's get right into it.

So, how many annuity mistakes can you make out there in annuity land? Tons. I could do like the top 50, the top 20, the top 10. We don't have time for that. I'm going to do the top five.

Too Much Money

The first annuity mistake is putting too much money into an annuity. I know the sales guys are like, shut up. Let them put all the money in. No, that's the biggest mistake I see people make. And I'm going to tell you what I really like to do. Use as little money as possible to achieve the contractual goal that you're trying to achieve. It's really that simple. So, never put too much money into an annuity. That's a big mistake.

Understand What You're Buying

The second biggest annuity mistake is not understanding what you're buying. It's like buying a house without seeing it. Do not believe the sales pitch, the hype, or everything others say in the annuity world. You're buying a contract, and you should be able to explain it to a 9-year-old, no offense to nine-year-olds, but you should also be able to explain it to your spouse, children, or beneficiaries. Understand it. And there's a requirement to work with Stan The Annuity man, America's agent. When you decide to buy an annuity, I need to make sure that you can explain it to me as well.

One of the biggest mistakes I've seen people make when buying annuities is they don't understand what they're buying, which is crazy. You're putting all your money into an annuity, annuity type. You should understand it. You should be able to explain it to a 9-year-old, no offense to nine-year-olds. You literally should be able to explain it to your spouse and your beneficiaries. And if you cannot explain it, if it's so convoluted and so detailed that you can't explain it, don't buy it. How simple is that?

Seriously, don't accept the agent sales pitch. The agent sales pitch will be something like, you get an upfront bonus, and you get some percent, and you get this, and you get free long-term care. No, don't accept the 30,000-foot view sales pitch.

Don't buy the dreams. You're going to own the contractual realities. So, when you buy an annuity, I don't care what type: an Immediate Annuity, Deferred Income Annuity, Longevity Annuity Contract, Variable Annuity, Indexed Annuity, or Income Rider, I don't care. You better be able to explain it to your spouse, partner, beneficiaries, kids, and lawyer, and guess what? You better be able to explain it to me.

Contractual Guarantees

The third biggest annuity mistake is not basing your decision on the contractual guarantees. Now, this specifically happens in the Indexed Annuity world where the person is explaining to you that if you look at these backtested, hypothetical, theoretical, hopeful unicorns chasing the butterflies return scenario, that's not guaranteed, and you base your decision on that, never do that. Own an annuity for what it will do, not what it might do. It's a contractual guarantee, it's a contract. Base your decision and your buying decision on that contractual guarantee.

Being Too Young

The fourth biggest annuity mistake is buying too young. When you're at a young age, don't do that. If you're in your twenties, your thirties, or even your forties, you probably don't need an annuity, and most annuity types won't even be sold to you. You need market growth. Now, when you need an annuity is when you're transitioning into retirement, and you need to transfer risk. But most of you out there who are really young and who are reading this do not need an annuity. You really don't call me when you're in your fifties.

Long-Term or Short-Term?

The fifth biggest annuity mistake is when you lock in long-term when short-term choices are available. Now, a lot of agents push long-term products. Just remember this. The longer the term, the higher the commission; the shorter the term, the lower the commission. Does that make sense? So, when looking for annuities and contractual guarantees, always look for short-term ones.

It's that simple. Wasn't that a fun blog learning about the five biggest annuity mistakes that anyone on the planet can make? Go to The Annuity Man, get my books, run quotes on our proprietary calculators, and book a call with my team. I hope you learned something today. Thank you for joining me today, and I will see you on the following Stan The Annuity Man blog.

Never forget to live in reality, not the dream, with annuities and contractual guarantees! You can use our calculators, get all six of my books for free, and most importantly book a call with me so we can discuss what works best for your specific situation.