Annuity Income: How To Set Up Your Payments

Stan The Annuity Man, America’s annuity agent, licensed in all 50 states (including yours), is here to break down how to set up annuity income payments. Let’s talk about it.

Why Annuities Have a Monopoly on Lifetime Income

Annuities are the only product on the planet contractually designed to pay you for the rest of your life, no matter how long you live. Don’t believe it? Social Security is an annuity. Pension payments? Annuities. And annuities themselves? They date back to Roman times, originally created to provide lifetime income to Roman soldiers.

So, when you’re looking to guarantee income for life, there’s only one real option: hold your nose—it’s annuities.

Forget the Noise and Trust the Contract

You might hear:

• "Annuities stink."
• "Never buy annuities in an IRA."
• "They’re too expensive."

That’s just noise. Don’t believe everything on TV, the radio, or even what your advisor tells you. Believe the contract. Believe the number. Annuities are contracts. What matters is what the contract says it will do.

And that’s where I come in. At The Annuity Man, we use proprietary annuity calculators to provide you with the best contractual guaranteed quotes, then let you decide.

How to Customize Your Annuity Payment Plan

Annuities are customizable. You can:

• Set it up for your life only
• Joint life with your spouse
• Life with period certain
• Or even include your kids as beneficiaries

Forget what an agent tells you to do. Instead, answer these two questions:

1. What do you want the money to contractually do?
2. When do you want those contractual guarantees to start?

Add one more: How do you want the structure to work?

Living the dream means not outliving your money. And the best way to do that is with guaranteed income.

What Determines Your Annuity Payment Amount?

Annuity income is primarily based on your life expectancy (or joint life expectancies) at the time you take the payment. The older you are when you start, the higher the payments. Interest rates play a secondary role.

You’re transferring risk to the annuity company. Your income stream is a combination of return of principal and interest.

And yes, Immediate Annuities and lifetime income guarantees work in IRAs, Roth IRAs, and non-qualified accounts. The only difference is how it’s taxed.

Annuity Quotes Are Like Gallons of Milk

When we quote you lifetime income numbers, think of it like a gallon of milk: it expires. In 7 to 10 days, the numbers change. So no, you can’t sit on a quote from two weeks ago and expect to lock it in.

We shop all carriers. Whoever offers the highest contractual guarantee at the time—that’s the right annuity for you.

Understanding the Income Floor

Your income floor is the guaranteed income that hits your bank account monthly. It’s not tied to markets, volatility, or politicians. It includes:

• Social Security
• Pensions
• Dividends
• Rental income
• RMDs from IRAs

Add those up. Is there a gap between what’s coming in and what you need? That’s where annuities come in.

Say you need $2,250/month for both you and your spouse. We reverse engineer that number to find the best annuity that contractually fills that gap.

Don’t Put Too Much into Annuities

Too many people overfund annuities. We don’t let you do that. Annuities must be suitable and appropriate. Most carriers won’t even let you put more than 50–60% of your investable assets into annuities. You need liquidity and diversification.

Start by understanding your income gap, then fill it with guaranteed income efficiently.

Let’s Set It Up Right

Visit The Annuity Man, receive my books for free, utilize our calculators, and schedule a call. You’ll get the best quotes on the planet.

I’ll see you in the next Stan The Annuity Man blog.