How to Secure Retirement Income

How do you secure retirement income?

Fourteen thousand people a day are turning 65 in this country. That means fourteen thousand people a day are asking that exact question.

How do I lock this in?
How do I make sure it lasts?
How do I make sure it doesn’t depend on markets, guesses, or unicorns chasing butterflies?

Let’s start with something simple.

You already own an annuity.

It’s called Social Security.

It pays for as long as you’re breathing. You can structure it so your spouse continues receiving it. And it increases with inflation. It’s the only real inflation annuity on the planet.

Most people who say they hate annuities don’t realize they already own one.

Other Annuities You Already Own

If you have Required Minimum Distributions, that’s annuity-type income.

The IRS taps you on the shoulder at RMD age and requires you to take money out of your IRA whether you need it or not.

That’s income.

If you have a pension from a government job, union job, or 501(c)(3), that’s an annuity.

So the real question becomes:

How do you secure income beyond that?

Look at Your Income Floor First

Before you buy anything, look at all the money coming in consistently each month.

That’s your income floor.

If there’s a gap between your income floor and what you need to live comfortably, that’s what needs to be solved.

Not growth.

Not hypotheticals.

The gap.

Not All Annuities Are the Same

When someone says, “I hate annuities,” that’s like saying you hate all trucks or all restaurants.

Some are bad.

Some we wouldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole.

But there are contractually guaranteed annuities that we love.

Those include:

Single Premium Immediate Annuities.
Deferred Income Annuities.
Qualified Longevity Annuity Contracts.
Income Riders.
MYGAs, which are the annuity industry’s version of a CD.

All of those are transfer-of-risk contracts.

They are non-correlated. That means not attached to the markets.

Annuities Do Four Things. That’s It.

The acronym PILL:

P – Principal protection
I – Income for life
L – Legacy
L – Long-term care

There is no G for growth.

If you want growth, go do growth.

Annuities are contractual guarantees between you and the issuing life insurance company.

So base the decision on the contractual guarantees.

Not hypotheticals.

Securing Lifetime Income

If there is a gap in your income floor, the only question becomes:

When do you want the lifetime income to start?

If it’s now, it’s a Single Premium Immediate Annuity.

If it’s two, three, or four years down the road, it may be a Deferred Income Annuity or a Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract if using IRA money.

It’s that simple.

Money Does Not “Go Poof”

One of the biggest misconceptions is that the annuity company keeps the money when you die.

That is not true.

We structure it so that 100 percent of unused money goes to your beneficiaries.

The annuity company never keeps a penny.

They’re on the hook to pay.

Shop All Carriers

Annuities are commodity products.

We shop all carriers for the highest contractual guarantee for your specific situation.

Quotes expire like milk — seven to ten days unless locked.

There’s no one company with better products than everyone else.

It depends on your situation at that time.

The Bottom Line

Securing retirement income means:

Start with Social Security.
Add pensions and RMDs.
Calculate your income floor.
Identify the gap.
Fill it with contractual guarantees if necessary.

Annuities are the only financial product that will pay as long as you are breathing.

That’s how you secure retirement income.