How To Find The Terms Of An Annuity Contract

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Hi there, Stan The Annuity Man, America's annuity agent, licensed in all 50 states.

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Before I even got started on the video, Big C behind the camera was giving me directives,

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of which he was wrong. I'd already hit my mark, as I say in the biz. So, there you go, Big C.

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Love the guys behind the camera. Dr. V is sitting over there lounging,

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thinking. Big C behind the camera, making me look pretty. I know it's pretty easy, though.

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But, you know, as they say, Dr. C, and I'm going to start with this. It's a great saying that,

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I don't know who came up with it, but I'm going to claim it.

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You can't polish a turd, but you can roll it in glitter. Remember that.

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That's not about annuities.

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But what we're talking about today is: How do you find the terms of an annuity contract? Like,

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where is that, Stan The Annuity Man? Can I see that before I buy? And then, better yet,

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will you explain it to me in easy-to-understand Southernisms and English like you do all the time,

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in that accent that you can turn on and off like a light switch?

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Yes, I can.

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So, we're going to talk about how to find those little nuances in the

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contract before you make the purchase. You can do that.

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No. Damn. No.

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Yeah, you can.

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We're going to talk about it after this.

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So, let's talk about just the basics of an annuity contract.

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There are two types of annuity contracts. There are ones that are issued at the state

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level that are fixed. Those are fixed index annuities, multi-year guarantee annuities,

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qualified longevity annuity contracts, single premium immediate annuities, deferred income

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annuities, and income riders that ride on top of index annuities, all at the state level, okay?

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And then there are variable annuities and registered index-linked annuities that are NASD,

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FINRA, SEC. You've got to have a Series 7 or equivalent license to recommend those.

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Okay?

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But they're different.

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So these over here, which I don't sell and never will because there's nothing there

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for me to do because they're not contractual, okay? And I only do contractual guarantees.

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These are in the securities world, and they're going to have a prospectus attached to them.

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And you need to ask that person, that professional dart thrower

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you're working with, to send you that prospectus.

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I don't know why you're looking at those products. We'll talk about that in a minute.

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But if they're selling the dream over here and you want to understand the contractual realities,

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they can send you a prospectus on that. And if you read it and understand it, God bless you.

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Now, on this side over here, the fixed annuities issued at the state level do not require a

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securities license. Yeah, index annuities, CD products, it doesn't require a securities license.

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But all of these over here have what's called a specimen policy.

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You're thinking, "Specimen? I ain't paying no cup, son."

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That's not what I'm talking about, Fred. I'm talking about a specimen policy,

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which is going to be the verbiage, which means words, the words in the policy.

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It's not going to have your name, the numbers, the amount of money you're putting in, all that.

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Because we always get this. We always tell people, "Would you like to see a

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specimen policy?" We send it, and they go, "It doesn't have my name. It doesn't have..."

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And we go, "Fred, it's the verbiage."

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Now, it's the exact verbiage, but it's not going to have the numbers

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in there and your name, for obvious reasons, because that's a contract.

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When you sign and the money is at the annuity company, they issue the policy. Then it's

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going to have your name and the number and the percentages and the guarantees and all that stuff.

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So, specimen policies for fixed annuities, prospectuses, plural, for the variables and the RILAs over here.

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And that's where you're going to find the contractual terms that you're looking for.

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I always tell people, if you see in the specimen policy or the prospectus,

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if you see mathematical equations that have letters in it, don't buy it.

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It's too complicated.

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That's advanced math stuff.

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But with all annuities, you're looking for the contractual guarantees.

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That's how you should buy it.

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Unfortunately, these two over here, nothing against them, no problem, those are hypothetical,

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theoretical, projected, back-tested, unicorns chasing the butterflies.

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"Sir, if you'd have owned it then, you're going to get this. You might get this and this."

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There's no guarantee.

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They're never going to say, "I'll guarantee you this."

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You might, could, should, can.

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There's no "will."

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The "will do" is over here.

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So, you own annuities for what they will do, fixed. Not what they might do, prospectus.

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Will do, specimen policies. Might do, prospectus.

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If you need market growth, go get market growth.

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It's just that simple.

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You ask yourself two questions:

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What do you want the money to contractually do?

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When do you want those contractual guarantees to start?

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Voided.

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You can't ask that here. Can't answer it. Can here.

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Annuities solve for four things. The acronym is PILL.

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P, stands for principal protection.

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I, stands for income for life.

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One L, stands for legacy.

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The other L, stands for long-term care.

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PILL, principal protection, income for life, legacy, and long-term care.

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Now, variable annuities and RILAs, you can attach some income benefits to them,

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but they do not beat, historically, the income guarantees on the fixed side.

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It's just an add-on feel-good.

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It's a warm fuzzy sweater on a hot day.

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You don't need it.

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Okay?

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So, when you're looking for terms, when you're looking for explanations,

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when you're looking for things written in English, you're not going to find it.

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Lawyers write these. Lawyers write these.

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They don't hire me.

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In a perfect annuity world where I'm the annuity czar, not for a day,

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forever, in perpetuity, I write it in English that you understand it.

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I had a guy the other day. He was really stuck on one piece of one,

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two, or three sentences in a fixed specimen policy.

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And I said, "Let me give it to you in Stanisms. Okay? Stanglish."

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And I explained it to him like that.

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And he goes, "Oh, that makes sense."

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Like, "Yeah, it does."

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Unfortunately, they're not hiring me to do that.

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They should.

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Maybe that's Chapter 3 of my life.

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No. I'm having too much fun here in Chapter 2, which is squashing all hopes and dreams of all

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local agents selling crap and trying to maximize commission off of you.

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The two primary things that annuities solve for.

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Now, yes, legacy and long-term care, they do solve for that.

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But the P and the I, the principal protection and income for life, that's

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where the majority of contractual guaranteed transfer-of-risk solutions happen with us.

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And those two questions:

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What do you want the money to contractually do?

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When do you want those contractual guarantees to start?

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That's where it all happens.

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In Chapter 2 of your life, it's about you. It's about lifestyle.

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It's not about chasing things anymore.

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As I always tell people, you won the game. Why are you still playing?

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The band's left, the cheerleaders left, and you're still out there

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in the middle of the floor spinning, putting the ball between your legs.

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No one's watching.

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No one cares.

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You've already won the game.

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So, we're going to go as slow as you want to go and get you as many terms as you need, as many

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specimen policies as you need, as many illustrations as you need,

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and as many conversations with me as you need to get you comfortable.

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There is no urgency.

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The urgency is for you to understand what you're buying.

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If you can't explain it to a group of second graders,

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nine-year-olds, no offense to second graders and nine-year-olds, you shouldn't buy it.

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If it's very, very complex, you shouldn't buy it.

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If you can't turn to your neighbor, friend, grandson,

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whatever, and explain what you bought or what you're considering, don't buy it.

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Every day when I'm talking to people on the phone, I'm like, "Okay, tell me what you own."

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They can't tell me.

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"Well, I think it's this from this company that..."

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They'll do a couple things.

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"Well, it got an upfront bonus."

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Okay, great.

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It's an index annuity.

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I mean, I know that for a fact.

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But know what you're buying.

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Go to my site at theannuityman.com.

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Another place to find terms would be my owner's manuals.

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I've written six of them.

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Okay?

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You can get those for free. Download them for free on my site at theannuityman.com.

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I've also written a book called The Annuity Stanifesto.

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I think we have a few hundred copies.

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If you want that, we'll send those as long as they're in stock.

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[email protected].

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That's me explaining it all in my easy-to-understand verbiage.

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So, in combination with those books and the specimen policies, you're good to go.

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I can help with these other two over here because I used to work for

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Dean Witter, PaineWebber, Morgan Stanley, and UBS.

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I understand this stuff.

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No big deal.

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But it's not good enough for me to get my license back on this side of the ledger to recommend them.

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These are market-growth dreams.

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If you want market growth, don't buy an annuity.

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Real simple.

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Sorry to all you executives out there that are trying to push these, but you know I'm right.

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You know I'm right.

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Do me one last favor.

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Above my head is a spinning clock.

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I talk about, this is controversial, I talk about annuities being commodities.

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Meaning, don't fall for the name and the marketing name and the carrier name.

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Ignore everything but the contractual guaranteed number and the rating,

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and then speak with me and I'll tell you if I sign off on it or not.

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I'm batting a thousand. Okay?

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Do that.

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But take your time.

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There's no urgency.

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You're buying a contract.

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If you want to read the contract from start to finish, we can get you that stuff to read.

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Alright?

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My name is Stan The Annuity Man.

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Stepping back for a second, I heart lifetime income, and you should too.

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See you next time.