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Push Comes to Shove: Shootin' It Straight With Stan

Stan Haithcock
March 22, 2023
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Today's topic comes from a client of mine. I was on a phone call with her today, and she said something, and I said, "Stop. Stop talking. I got to write this down," because most of my really good video and blog ideas come from you. When I get on the phone with you, I use my mouth and ears proportionately, two ears, one mouth. I'm listening to you. And she was looking at MYGAs, Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuities, and she said, "Well, if push comes to shove, I'll take the 10% out if needed. That's the reason I'm choosing this one because it has that feature that you can take out 10% penalty-free." I said, "Wait a minute. That's a good way to look at it. A push comes to shove annuity." We all have heard this. "Well, if push comes to shove, I'm going to do that. Well, if push comes to shove, I'm going to kick that guy's butt. Well, if push comes to shove, I'll just leave that job and go to another job. Well, if push comes to shove with my MYGA, I want to have the ability to take money out penalty-free."

Let's talk about MYGAs, Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuities. Someone said, "Is a MYGA an annuity?" The A stands for annuity. Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuity. I lived in Charleston for a while. They talk like this in Charleston, like Foghorn Leghorn. They're like, "Well, I don't really know what a MYGA is, but I do know what a CD is, and I do know what a fixed-rate annuity is." That's the Foghorn Leghorn, Charleston, South Carolina approach. But Jan, I won't give away her last name, but she's a fantastic lady and just fun to talk to. And when you get me on the call and you book a call with me, it's not going to be like, "How are you doing? Tell me about your name." No. It will be fun if you want it to be, but I do like people who sometimes answer the phone and say, "Hey," in a monotone voice, and I'm like, "Really?" Come on. It's better than that, and life is good. But with MYGAs, the annuity industry version of a CD, don't make it any more difficult than that. Everyone's like, "Well, at the end, do they make you annuitize it?" No. You have full control over it. You can transfer it back to where it came from, or we can roll it to another one. "Well, is there a trigger function where it triggers into something else?" No, there's no trigger function. "Is there a trigger function on your CD?" No. With CDs, you give the banker at the brokerage firm money, and they give you a guaranteed interest rate for a specific period of time. With the Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuity, you give the life insurance company, who issues annuities, a lump sum of money, and they guarantee an interest rate for a specific period of time.

You can look at our free MYGA Rates, which are live 24/7, 365, and find the best rate for your state. But what Jan said was good, and I liked it. Push comes to shove annuity. She said, "Hey, let's lock in this three-year rate. I like this company, and they allow me to take out money. I don't have to, but I can take out 10% penalty free on an annual basis." And then she said, "And if push comes to shove, I'll just do that if I need that money. I hope that doesn't happen. But Stan, if push comes to shove, I'm going to do that." So from here on in, guess what? Annuities that provide liquidity, either taking out interest or 5% or 10%, are now called push comes to shove MYGAs or push comes to shove fixed-rate annuities, as they say in Charleston.

I love Charleston. Have you ever been to Charleston? If you go on the East Coast, Charleston, Savannah, St. Augustine, some of the greatest port towns of all time, and some of the most incredible food if you like to eat, which I do. But I digress. So some Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuities, CD annuities, and fixed- rate annuities do not allow you to take out interest. They're lock and load. You're locking and loading so that the interest compounds, and you don't plan to touch it, but if you need a push comes to shove annuity with the feature of liquidity, not saying that you need it, but it's there if push comes to shove to take it. Then, that would be what we would do.

I'll give you an example. I was on the phone again with not Jan, because Jan's fantastic. I was on the phone with another person, and they were fantastic, too. And before I talked to Jan and got the push comes to shove, which we're trademarking, Jan, your royalty check is in the mail. Promise you. We were looking at five-year guarantees for their state and all MYGAs, fixed-rate annuities, and CD annuities. Every state has a different list because they have to be approved at the state level. And we were looking at a five-year Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuity, and there were many of the same interest rates at the top with different carriers. Some did not allow you to take interest out, and some did. So I said to the gentleman, "Well, because they're kind of the same, let's choose the one that gives you the ability to take interest out or money out penalty-free, even though that's not the plan." Of course, he said, "Stan, that is a fantastic idea. I can't believe you just came up with that on the fly." And I said, "That's what I do." But seriously, it's a push comes to shove annuity.

Jan, thank you so much because what I try to do out here as Stan The Annuity Man, America's annuity agent, licensed in all 50 states, married to the lovely Christine with two lovely daughters, Brielle and Brenna, who are no longer in the house, but I love them. I try to make annuities simple, make them understandable, and strip out all the complexity. I love the simplistic annuities. I always say, "If you can't explain it to a nine-year-old, don't buy it." No offense to nine-year-olds. Now we have a new one. A push comes to shove MYGA. A push comes to shove fixed-rate annuity. A push comes to shove annuity CD. Push comes to shove. It allows you to take money out if needed, but you don't have to. But if push comes to shove, you can.

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.

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