Are Annuities A Scam?

Are annuities really a scam? In this video, I explain what annuities actually are, how contractual guarantees work, and why misleading sales pitches, unrealistic return expectations, and flashy bonuses often create confusion. I teach you how to evaluate annuities and spot red flags in sales pitches so you can make informed decisions with confidence.
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Stan The Annuity Man
Key Moments in this Episode
========================
00:00 Introduction to the video
00:48 Are annuities a scam?
01:18 Types of annuities and key questions to answer
01:55 How we recommend annuities
02:37 How annuities become scams
03:51 How indexed annuities should be presented
04:25 What people usually say
05:28 My thoughts on competition in the annuity industry
06:38 How annuities really work
06:55 When annuities are scams
07:47 Understanding your responsibility to avoid getting scammed
08:59 How the annuity industry can improve
10:01 Next steps and helpful resources
What To Watch Next:
========================
https://youtu.be/wY47VYA2GVs
Resources
========================
📞 Book a Free 30-minute Call with The Annuity Man Team:
https://www.stantheannuityman.com/book-a-call
📘 Get Your FREE Annuity Owner’s Manual:
https://www.stantheannuityman.com/get-smarter/annuity-books
🔢 Use Our FREE Annuity Calculators + Live Rate Feeds:
https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculators
🎧 Listen to the Fun With Annuities Podcast:
https://youtube.com/@funwithannuities
Learn More About Stan The Annuity Man
========================
Stan The Annuity Man® is known as “America’s Annuity Agent®” and the top independent annuity agent in the United States, licensed in all 50 states. He is a firm believer that annuities should NOT be purchased for market growth and is focused on educating the consumer so that they can make an informed decision on their terms and on their time frame. Stan has published 7 books on the annuity topic and prides himself on being a consumer advocate for all things annuity.
========================
Video by Nate Woodbury
BeTheHeroStudios.com
http://YouTube.com/c/NateWoodbury
#StanTheAnnuityMan
#Annuity
#TheAnnuityMan
#Retirement
- 00:00 Introduction to the video
- 00:48 Are annuities a scam?
- 01:18 Types of annuities and key questions to answer
- 01:55 How we recommend annuities
- 02:37 How annuities become scams
- 03:51 How indexed annuities should be presented
- 04:25 What people usually say
- 05:28 My thoughts on competition in the annuity industry
- 06:38 How annuities really work
- 06:55 When annuities are scams
- 07:47 Understanding your responsibility to avoid getting scammed
- 08:59 How the annuity industry can improve
- 10:01 Next steps and helpful resources
0:00
Hi there, Stan the Annuity Man,
0:02
America's annuity agent, licensed in all
0:04
50 states in Puerto Rico, founder of
0:06
CGO, Contractual Guarantees Only. We
0:09
only look at annuities for what they
0:10
will do, not what they might do, which
0:14
dovetales nicely into this very simple
0:17
but yet
0:19
tough question. Not really tough for me
0:21
because I'm gonna hammer this one. Are
0:23
annuities a scam? The fact that someone
0:27
wants to know that and watching this
0:28
video is pretty cool because there's a
0:31
part of you that says maybe it is, maybe
0:33
it isn't. I'm going to answer it in a
0:36
very unique way as only I can as Stan
0:39
the annuity man after this.
0:45
[music]
0:47
So, are annuities a scam? The answer is
0:50
no. But the way they're pres presented
0:53
in a lot of cases, the answer is yes.
0:56
Okay. Annuitities are contracts that are
0:59
issued by life insurance companies. So
1:01
in essence, you're buying a contractual
1:02
guarantee, which is the reason that we
1:04
only look at um annuities for what they
1:08
will do, not what they might do, not
1:09
some hypothetical and theoretical. So
1:11
when you say are annuities a scam,
1:14
um the answer is no because they're
1:16
contracts. So you just have to
1:18
understand what the contractual
1:20
guarantees are. If you're buying
1:21
annuities for lifetime income, there's
1:23
four products that do that. SPSDS, QAX,
1:26
and income writers. You can go to my
1:27
site at theanuityman.com and run quotes
1:29
all day long for that. And we only ask
1:32
two questions for every single client or
1:34
potential client. What do you want the
1:36
money to contractually do? When do you
1:37
want those contractual guarantees to
1:39
start? And then an acronym called PIL,
1:42
which pretty much simplifies how you
1:45
know what annuities solve for. P stands
1:47
for principal protection. I stands for
1:49
income for life. L L stands for legacy.
1:51
The other L stands for long-term care.
1:54
So, when we're recommending annuities
1:56
and you get me on the phone or you email
1:58
me stantheanuityman.com
2:00
and I'm talking to you, um, I'm going to
2:02
ask you those two questions. I'm going
2:04
to find out what you're contractually
2:06
going to solve for. Then I'm going to go
2:08
quote all carriers and then we're going
2:10
to look for the highest number, period,
2:12
for your situation contractually. Then
2:14
we're going to look at their rating.
2:15
It's got to be A+ or better for lifetime
2:17
income. and then you're going to look to
2:18
me for the recommendation.
2:20
That's the trifecta.
2:23
So, in in my world, top agent out here,
2:25
licensed in all 50 states in Puerto
2:27
Rico, biggest staff out there,
2:30
etc. We know what we're doing, been
2:32
doing it a long time. We only look at
2:34
the contractual guarantees. It's not a
2:36
scam. The scam starts when you go to you
2:40
get the invitation in in the mail and it
2:43
says come to this really expensive state
2:46
house and hear about this great product.
2:50
And typically and unfortunately it's
2:52
always the highest commission indexed
2:55
annuity product. And that doesn't mean
2:56
we don't we don't doesn't matter to us.
2:59
We only look at contractual guarantees
3:00
for us in index annuities are a simple
3:02
delivery system for the income writers
3:05
for lifetime income.
3:07
But that's not where the sales pitch
3:10
happens. And when you say, "Our
3:11
annuities a scam," the sales pitch is
3:14
the scam because too many local type
3:17
agents and some national ones on on
3:20
YouTube um will talk to you about
3:22
upfront bonuses. Um there's no
3:24
philanthropists at at annuity companies,
3:26
okay? Upfront bonus is candy for the
3:28
stupid. It's also part of the overall
3:30
contractual guarantee. So when we're
3:32
quoting, we're quoting everything. We
3:34
just don't care about that. They're also
3:36
that you also hear market upside with no
3:38
downside, market participation with
3:40
principal protection and they'll show
3:42
backtested numbers that look too good to
3:44
be true because they are. Okay. So, the
3:47
scam comes from the presentation.
3:50
The presentation should be the index
3:53
annuity was put on the planet in 1995 to
3:57
compete with CD returns. And since 1995,
3:59
in the biggest raging bull market of all
4:01
time, they produced CD returns. Okay,
4:04
that's great. And they also can provide
4:07
the highest um the highest income
4:09
writer. They can provide the income
4:11
writer quote. But then again, when
4:13
you're looking at income writers, you've
4:14
answered the questions. I want lifetime
4:16
income and I want it in the future.
4:18
Which wipes away the index annuity and
4:20
we're only quoting the income writer.
4:22
Whatever that's attached to, we don't
4:24
care. But I always have people say, "I
4:26
just want a reasonable rate of return
4:27
like 79% 10% maybe 11%." Like, what are
4:31
you talking about? What are you on
4:32
crack? I mean, money managers would have
4:35
statues built for them all along Wall
4:38
Street beside the bull if they got that
4:40
year after year after year. Well, I've
4:42
seen it. I've seen We're in a raging
4:43
bull market. Call me in a couple years
4:45
when things adjust. Okay. But for you to
4:49
believe that you're going to get market
4:51
upside with no downside. Well, he showed
4:53
me these numbers. He showed them on the
4:55
screen. Great. He showed them on the
4:56
screen. Who cares?
4:59
Are annuities a scam? They can be if
5:01
they're presented improperly. They can
5:03
be if they're presented and overhyped
5:06
fraudulently. They can be if the focus
5:09
is on shiny things from bonuses, free
5:12
longterm care
5:15
back. If whoever you're talking to other
5:18
than us, and it should be us, and it
5:20
will be us eventually
5:23
once you get through all of the sales
5:24
pitch with your son-in-law.
5:28
Listen, this guy called me the other
5:30
day. We did all the work for him. We
5:32
showed him the best um solution. It was
5:36
not complicated, but we quoted all
5:38
carriers and explained it and da da da.
5:40
Did all the work. He he emailed me back.
5:43
I'm going to buy it from my golfing
5:44
buddy's son that just got in the
5:46
business. Okay, that's fine. That's
5:48
fine. You know why that's fine? A I
5:50
don't need the money. I'm doing this to
5:52
squash hopes and dreams of agents.
5:54
That's all I'm doing. and and advisors
5:56
and to get them in line with what I'm
5:57
talking about. I'm okay with
5:59
competition. I just need everybody
6:00
talking the same just like me. Okay. But
6:04
I'm okay with him buying it from golf
6:06
and buddy's friend because golf golfing
6:08
buddy probably has pictures of this guy
6:10
in compromising positions as they say.
6:12
But I'm happy because he bought the
6:15
right thing.
6:17
I'm unhappy and told him so that he used
6:20
us for that. That's not right. You know
6:22
that's not right. And you better not do
6:24
that either. If you're going to let us
6:26
compete and we come up with the highest
6:28
thing, unless it's your blood son or
6:31
daughter,
6:33
you're being you're you're you're being
6:35
a bad person. Okay. So, are annuities a
6:39
scam? The answer is no. Annuities are
6:41
contracts. Annuities are transfer of
6:43
risk products that primarily solve for
6:45
lifetime income, principal protection,
6:48
legacy, and long-term care. you're
6:50
transferring the risk to the life
6:51
insurance company to solve for those
6:54
things.
6:55
Are annuities a scam? They're a scam if
6:57
they're presented for for market growth
6:59
in in replacement of actual stocks,
7:03
mutual funds, ETFs. Yes, they are a
7:05
scam.
7:07
Are annuities a scam? If I'm buying it
7:09
for the upfront bonus, yes, they're
7:11
they're a scam because there's not a
7:14
philanthropist at an annuity company
7:16
that wakes up in the morning go,
7:18
you know what?
7:20
I really like humanity and in lie of me
7:23
running for office. I'm going to give an
7:25
upfront bonus to the people. Nobody says
7:27
that. Okay, there's a 100 pennies in the
7:29
dollar. They're taking something away.
7:32
Okay, just our annuities a scam if you
7:35
let them be. Are annuities a scam if you
7:38
want them to be? Are annuities a scam if
7:41
you believe what you're being pitched?
7:44
That's not guaranteed.
7:46
So, a lot of this falls on not only it
7:49
falls on you. It falls on the agents to
7:51
present it correctly. We do contractual
7:54
guarantees only. You own it for what
7:56
what you will what it will do, not what
7:57
it might do.
7:59
But is it a scam? It's a scam if you
8:01
allow that sales presentation to
8:04
infiltrate your brain and you believe
8:06
it's too good to be true because it is.
8:09
You bear that responsibility. You bear
8:12
that responsibility with us, working
8:14
with you, to look at the specimen
8:16
policy, to do the research, to take your
8:19
time, to ask questions, to go at your
8:23
speed and on and make your decisions on
8:25
your terms and your time frame. You are
8:27
in control of it being a scam. You are
8:30
in control of believing the too good to
8:32
be true pitch. You are in control of
8:35
only focusing on the contractual
8:37
guarantees. The industry could solve it
8:39
as well. If every single annuity type
8:43
had the same built-in commission that's
8:46
low,
8:48
regardless of the type of annuity, then
8:50
there would be no incentive
8:53
for the agent to sell something just
8:56
based on a commission. And unfortunately
8:58
that still happens. The other thing the
9:00
annuity industry could clean up.
9:02
Security industry did this decade ago
9:04
plus is they got rid of the incentive
9:06
trips. They got rid of them. In other
9:09
words, you sell enough mutual funds, you
9:10
go to bora bore, right? Not the annuity
9:13
industry. The annuity industry still is
9:15
under that incentive trip nonsense. You
9:18
sell enough of it, you go on the trip.
9:20
We get we get the I mean obviously we're
9:23
the top people out here so we qualify
9:25
for everything right? We haven't been on
9:27
a trip not going on a trip ever. I mean
9:30
last thing I want to do is spend a spend
9:32
time at a dinner table with annuity
9:35
agents.
9:37
Stab me in the eye first before that
9:40
happens. Horrific.
9:43
Okay. I don't want that. Nobody should
9:46
want that. And the fact that agents want
9:48
that is disgusting. So, are annuities a
9:51
scam? They can be, but both you and I in
9:54
combination
9:56
can can combat that with brutal factual
10:00
truths. Do me a favor, go to my site at
10:02
theanuityman.com.
10:04
Shoot me an email, which I will respond
10:07
even if it's hateful.
10:08
Stantheanuityman.com.
10:10
Just hope and pray to the God above that
10:12
you worship that I never see in an
10:14
airport after you tell me that all these
10:17
bad things about me. No, I'm kidding.
10:18
I'll give you a hug and give you a hat.
10:20
Um, also too, above my head, I did a
10:23
video that the carriers hate, but they
10:25
nod
10:26
in a in a closed room. Yeah, he's right.
10:29
That annuitities are commodities.
10:32
Annuities are commodities. Here's how we
10:33
do it for you. We shop all carriers for
10:36
the highest contractual guarantees based
10:38
on your specific situation. Then we look
10:41
at the ratings and the financials, A+ or
10:43
better for lifetime income. And then we
10:45
look at me for my recommendation. That's
10:47
the trifecta. That's how it works. Okay?
10:50
It's that simple. So, our annuity is a
10:52
scam.
10:54
And Stan the Annuity Man's world, nope.
10:56
In the world out there, yep, can be. But
11:00
I'm squashing those bugs one at a time.
11:03
My name is Stan the Annuity Man. See you
11:06
next time.
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