How to Boost Retirement Income

How do you boost retirement income?

When people say “boost,” it sounds like we’re adding a turbocharger to an engine. That’s not how retirement works.

You don’t turbocharge retirement income.

You add to it.

You fill gaps.

That’s reality.

First: You Already Own Annuities

Most people don’t realize this, but you already own annuities.

The first one is Social Security.

It’s the best inflation annuity on the planet. It pays as long as you’re breathing.

The second annuity-type income is your Required Minimum Distributions. If you own an IRA, the IRS will require you to take money out at a specific age. That’s income whether you need it or not.

If you’re fortunate enough to have a pension, that’s annuity income.

That’s your income floor.

The Real Question: Is There a Gap?

Add it all up.

Let’s say your monthly lifestyle costs $5,000.

And when you total your income streams, you have $4,500 coming in.

There’s a $500 gap.

That’s where boosting actually happens.

You don’t boost everything.

You solve the gap.

Where Lifetime Annuities Fit

There are four main types used for lifetime income:

• Single Premium Immediate Annuities
• Deferred Income Annuities
• Qualified Longevity Annuity Contracts
• Income Riders

Each one is chosen based on two questions:

1. What do you want the money to contractually do?
2. When do you want the income to start?

There is no perfect annuity.
There is no best annuity.

The best annuity is the one that provides the highest contractual guarantee for your chosen income start date.

Income Is Priced on Life Expectancy

Lifetime income products are priced primarily on life expectancy.

Interest rates play a secondary role.

The older you are, the higher the payment — because there are fewer projected payments.

The younger you are, the lower the payment — because there are more projected payments.

Just like Social Security.

Money Does Not Go “Poof”

One of the biggest misconceptions is that if you buy an annuity and die early, the company keeps the money.

That is not automatically true.

Annuities can be structured so that 100% of unused money goes to beneficiaries.

It can go in a lump sum.

Or it can be structured as payment streams to beneficiaries.

You can even structure income to start years later and still have 100% go to heirs if death occurs before payments begin.

Money does not go poof.

What About Inflation?

There is not an annuity on the planet that truly adjusts for inflation.

Any product that promises increases does so by lowering the initial payment.

If it sounds too good to be true, it is.

Inflation is solved when you calculate and fill the income gap — not by chasing dream features.

Work the Income Floor First

Boosting retirement income means:

1. Calculate your income floor.
2. Identify any gap.
3. Fill that gap with contractual guarantees if needed.

If there is no gap, you don’t need an annuity.

And we will tell you that.

Boosting is not magic.

It’s math.