Understanding the Benefits of Annuities for Your Future

Hi there. Stan The Annuity Man, America's Annuity Agent licensed in all 50 states. Today's topic is understanding the benefits of annuities for your future. I will probably throw in some negative stuff as well because there's no perfect product out there, but annuities do provide what you need in retirement. You need to put it in the back of your head that annuities might be a solution for you, whether you're in retirement already or going in that direction. We're going to cover all of that after today.

So, let's talk about annuities and retirement. Number one, I'm not a big fan of the word retirement. I call it chapter two of your life because hopefully, you will pivot from what you were doing to something else more in your passion lane. Hopefully, you're not going to be a professional channel flipper, but if you are, great. That's fine if that's what you want to do.

But when you look at annuities and how they benefit your future, in the future, we go into retirement chapter two, and there are three phases of that.

Go-Go, Slow-Go, and No-Go

The three phases are very easy to understand, Go-Go, Slow-Go, and No-Go. Go-Go means you're hitting on all cylinders, which is great, and you need to maximize and live your life, and there are no U-Hauls behind hearses and all that stuff. But then, we will get to Slow-Go, which means that you feel like you're slipping just a tad, but you're not telling anybody. Your brain's not hitting on all cylinders. Annuities help with that because you can set them up contractually to pay for lifetime income, etc. And then, if we all live long enough, there will be a No-Go. And No-Go means you're either in a facility, or you're just in your, I'm not going to say 80s because my mom's like 83, and she's in better shape than I am, so I'm not going to say that. My point is, those are the three phases, Go-Go, Slow-Go and No-Go.

Annuities for your future solve for those times, regardless of which section you're in, with contractual guarantees. Always think of annuities as contractual. They're contracts between you and the life insurance company that issued the annuity.

P.I.L.L

Annuities primarily solve for four things. The acronym is PILL: principal protection, income for life, legacy, and long-term care. You're transferring the risk to the annuity company, life insurance carrier that issued the annuity, to solve for those four things, whether it's principal protection, income for life, legacy, and long-term care. Most people are looking for additional lifetime income to supplement the annuity that they already own, which is Social Security, which is the best inflation annuity on the planet, and if they're so fortunate, the second annuity that they own, which is a pension payment from their previous employer. The question is, do you need more lifetime income to secure the lifestyle you've worked so hard to achieve, and now you need to enjoy it?

One of the things that bothers me and makes me sad is the calls that I get weekly, "Man, I wish I'd have listened to you, Stan. I wish I would've spent the money or traveled when I could. I kept waiting, and I kept timing it. I kept saying, I'm going to do it next year." I need you to live life for the day. That doesn't mean throwing money down the rabbit hole, but it does mean putting the contractual guarantees in place, so you don't have to watch CNBC, so you don't have to have an advisor charging you a fee to manage a stock or bond portfolio that seems to always be volatile.

I recently did a video called Retire from Your Work and Retire From the Markets, or at least consider retiring from the markets. Why wouldn't you? I always ask people, if you had more money, would it change your life? Most people say no.

Client Example

I was on a phone call with a guy the other day, and he had like 2 million dollars. I said, "Would 2.5 million change your life? 2.7?" "No, it wouldn't." "Well, then, why are you putting your money at risk? Why wouldn't you just buy CDs, treasuries, Multi-Year Guarantee Annuities, or Fixed-Rate Annuities? Never touch the principal, never pay a fee, and peel off interest when you need additional money and still have your money intact. Why wouldn't you do that?"

It's About You

See, the problem is the stock market people have indoctrinated us, and I have been there. I used to work for Dean Witter, Paine Webber, Morgan Stanley, and UBS. You have to be in the market. You have to have market exposure. You have to be in the volatility. You have to stay the course. You don't have to do jack. Okay? When you go to chapter two of your life, it's about you. Chapter two is about you. Repeat it. Then, you need to look at the contractual guaranteed nature and benefit propositions of specific annuities to solve those goals. Whether the goal is more lifetime income, whether the goal is legacy, whether the goal is setting something up for your spouse that could give a rip about the markets, they just want to see the kids and the grandkids.

I just described my wife of 35 years. She could care less. All she wants to know is when we go out for dinner annually, and I tell her the state of the union for The Annuity Man, and I say, "Here's where everything is. When my car hits the tree, here's who to call. Here's the life insurance. Here's the lifetime income streams. Here's all that." She's like, "Great, I can go see my two daughters. It'll be fantastic." That's all she cares about, and that's all I want you to care about. I know that's not what you want to hear. I know that's not what your advisor is telling you that's managing assets. And maybe you love the markets. Maybe you love looking at risk, watching Jim Kramer on CNBC, and watching Fox Business. Maybe that's you, and that's okay. But for the majority of you, it's okay to transition from that to contractual guarantees. It's okay to transition from markets to nothing in the market.

I know I went off track a bit, but the benefits of annuities for your future is they're going to provide the lifestyle you want, the lifestyle you worked hard for, the lifestyle you can provide for your spouse and your family. Annuities are lifestyle products. Annuities are contracts. Annuities are known, markets are unknown, and historically, markets have worked like a charm, right? But you're in chapter two of your life. Do you really want to do that?

When you think of annuities, think of contractual guarantees. Think lifestyle. Think transfer of risk. Think not worrying about Marcus. Think not caring about DC Republicans or Democrats. Think about that. Can you do that? I need you to do that. I need you to think like that. Are annuities for everyone? No, of course not. You can't put all your money in annuities, but you already own at least one Social Security. You might own two if you have a pension. So the question is, how much more risk do you want to transfer, and how much risk do you want to shoulder? That's the real question, and annuities can take a portion of that risk off your shoulders, depending on how you want to allocate it.

And that's what we need to do. You need to go to my site, and schedule a call. We will walk you through that and talk you through the facts about annuities, the good, the bad, the upside, and the downside. There's not a perfect product out there, even though you might hear one at a bad chicken dinner seminar, and it might sound too good to be true because it is. But go to my site, download my free PDF books on owner's manuals on all annuity types, get educated, and then connect with us so we can have a one-on-one conversation to see if annuities or a specific annuity type fits for you. I'm so glad you joined us today, and I hope to see you next time.

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.