How to Buy an Annuity: Bring Your Spouse to the Call

Today we're talking about how to buy an annuity. You need to bring your spouse to the call. You need to get them on the call with you when you talk to Stan The Annuity Man, because I'm betting they'll live longer than you. This could be true, and you want them to understand what you're thinking about regarding annuities. So, bring your spouse to the call y'all!

Bringing a Spouse Example

Now, this is a great story. Somebody scheduled a call with me, and you can schedule a call with me as well. A lot of times, this happens, but this was specifically hilarious. We get on the call, and the gentleman says, "Stan, I'm going to put you on speaker, and my wife's going to join us." And I'm like, "Hey, great. That's fantastic." And so, she gets on the call, and we talk about their life, what they've done, the money they have, and what they're trying to do. I'll ask them the two questions. What do you want the money to contractually do, and when do you want those contractual guarantees to start? We had a very good conversation about their goal, and I said, "Great. Let me work on a customized plan." Which I always do. I emailed him the customized plan, and about two or three days later, the gentleman shot me an email back and said, "We're ready to move forward with that recommendation that you sent to us." And that's typically how it works by the way. We won't pester you or pound you into the table, or no one shows up at your doorstep, and no one calls you and beats you up on the phone. But he said, "Stan, I got to share this with you." It was a pretty long email. And he said, "When I told my wife that we were going to be on the call with you, she watched some of your videos, and she came back and goes, 'Man, that guy is wild. That guy is crazy. I'm not sure about him.'" I don't know if you know, I'm a little energetic, and I'm a little out there. I'm passionate about annuities of all things. I wear all this gear and this baseball hat, and I don't have the suit and tie and all that stuff I used to wear when I was with Morgan Stanley, Dean Witter, and UBS. Man, I was sharp. I had the tie, and I had the suit. I was crisp, as they say. But when I left that to become the mythical Stan The Annuity Man, I was like, "Nah, nah, nah. I'm wearing sweats. I'm wearing tracksuits. I'm wearing Stan The Annuity Man tennis shoes. I'm wearing T-shirts with the Stan The Annuity Man logo and a baseball cap even though I'm not bald." That's a big question that's out there. Is he bald? I might be in the future, but right now, no. I got lots of hair. But he said his wife changed after talking to me because I was so factual and I was listening and asking the questions. She goes, "He wasn't what I thought he was because I watched the videos, and it was a lot." And that might be you. I encourage you to bring your spouse on the call with you because if you die, they will have to deal with me and my team, and they have to understand that I'm brutally factual. I'm not some warm, fuzzy spot. I'm not going to show you pictures of my kids and grandkids. I'm not going to talk about good old State U and how they did in the football game last week. I don't give a crap about any of that. I give a crap about you and your money and your goals and how you scrimped and saved and planned and checked the boxes to get to this point where we're on a call together with me, you and your spouse, and we're talking about putting together a contractually guaranteed portfolio for either lifetime income or principal protection or legacy or long-term care. That's what I'm talking about. There's no warm and fuzzy stuff. I could do that. I'm from the south. I can do small talking until the cows come home. But when we're talking about money, I'm not your friend. I'm the best advisor you've ever had because I'm going to be brutally factual. And for your spouse, they don't need another friend. They need a person that's going to shoot it straight with them. They need to know that that organization is on their side and that they're going to be there if needed. Your spouse needs to know if you pass away, she can, or he can pick up that phone and call The Annuity Man and know that we're going to take care of them and know that we're going to be compassionate and we're going to listen to them, and we're going to do exactly what they say.

Understanding Thoroughly

So that's the reason you have to bring your spouse to the call. I promise to be nice. I always joke when your wife or husbands on the line, regardless of who's leading that to financial thought. And I'll say, "Okay, I promise not to cuss." Because there are times I know when I get heated, I throw a little southernism here and there, but I'll be on my best behavior. I promise you that, and I promise to talk to both of you and ask both of you questions. I want to hear from both of you because there might be something your spouse has in the back of their head from a question standpoint that you haven't thought of, that you're not wanting to ask. I need you to be part of it together. Why? Because you've been part of the process together. You've saved together, and you've raised the kids together. You're in chapter two of your life together, so they need to be on the call. That's part of the annuity buying process at The Annuity Man. We want to know that about your spouse, and we want that spouse to be on that call. So, if you're scheduling a call, I encourage you to put them on that call as well. It'll be worth your time, and it'll be worth their time, and I'll thank you for it.

Here's another thing you need to consider, and I want you to consider it. You've been managing the family's money for a long time and have been the impetus for the decisions. You've worked with the brokers and the masters of the universe, and now you're working with me, and you're looking into annuities, and you've got these plans and spreadsheets, and you've really done an excellent job. But guess what? You need to ensure that your spouse fully understands the plan and what you have. They don't need to know the inner workings of an Immediate Annuity based on lifetime income and mortality credits, etc. Still, they need to know that it's in place so that it's going to pay joint lifetime income so that when you pass away, the income is continued uninterrupted and unchanged so your spouse can see the kids and the grandkids. They need to know that. They need to know those plans. If you haven't included them in these things, this is the time to start. Especially if it's a joint life setup, if you're setting up a joint payout or a joint ownership of a MYGA or a joint ownership of an Index Annuity with an Income Rider or something like that, you need to have them at the table. You need to have them on the call, and they will have to be on the application call if we go forward in a joint life, joint annuitant standpoint. So why not get them on the call as we're talking about it? I encourage you to do that if you have non-annuity assets with the master of the universe down the road in the marble building, do that as well. But your spouse needs to be a part of the annuity discussion. They need to watch my MYGA, SPIA, DIA, QLAC, and Income Rider videos. They need to listen to my podcasts to get a flavor of the direction and the cadence of how we handle things. It's very important.

Conclusion

I apologize if you feel like I'm preaching to you, but in the back of your mind, you know I'm right. You're at chapter two of your life, and chapter two of your life is getting everything in order so that if something happens to you, your spouse fully understands how things are going to work, how the income is going to continue, how things are set up from a principal protection standpoint, etc. I encourage you to do that, especially as part of our how to buy an annuity process.

Last week, I got a call from a lady who called me, and she was crying and said that her husband had passed away. Ironically, his name was Dan, and my name is Stan, and I knew him very well, and I had met him at a couple of places where I spoke. I used to go on the circuit, on the financial circuit, and do these huge speeches, and I met him there, and he was a good man, and he had passed away unexpectedly. But she had been on all those calls, and she knew me. She had met me, and she called me, and we took care of everything, and she was very appreciative of the seamlessness of what we did for her. This was a great real-life example of her being part of the process. She knew who to call, and she knew that we would be there for her. I want you to think about that. I don't want to be the Grim Reaper here, but as part of the buying process, you need to set things up for your spouse so that they understand everything as well.

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.