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Steve Parrish is a true thought leader, and it was great to have him on the podcast. He is the co-director of the Retirement Income Center at The American College of Financial Services.

With our “friends” in Washington, DC spending money at historic levels it’s common sense that taxes are probably going to go up and politicians will be targeting existing tax-saving strategies.

It’s great to have Tom Hegna back on the FWA podcast to talk about how "Mortality Credits" are the key to lifetime income pricing with annuities. He told a great story that simply explained how mortality credits work.

Young. Smart. The Future. The Truth. Jamie Hopkins fits all of those descriptions and is a true thought leader in the world of Retirement Income Planning. Jamie is a managing partner of Wealth Solutions, a finance professor at Creighton University, and has both an MBA and Law Degree.

If there was an “Annuity Mt. Rushmore”, this week’s co-host Wade Pfau would be one of those infamous faces on the side of that retirement mountain. If there was ever a true retirement expert, it is Wade.

Welcome to the Fun With Annuities mic, a co-host who is crazy connected in the retirement income industry - Kerry Pechter. Kerry is the founder and editor of the Retirement Income Journal (RIJ), which recently celebrated its 500th issue.

So all of us want to take care of our loved ones financially. I mean, that's a goal. There's a myriad of ways to do that but of the best ways, and I don't sell this product, is life insurance which happens to be the best wealth transfer to your beneficiaries as possible.

So, is an annuity a good investment for an older person, a retiree, a senior citizen, a World War II generation? This is a big-time serious topic. And I'm going to go through it in detail so that you can make a good decision, whether it's you out there making the decision for yourself, or you're making a decision for your mom or dad or somebody like that.

So happy that Tom Hegna joined me for Fun With Annuities episode #68. Tom is an expert on all things concerning retirement and retirement income. Together, we turn on a firehose of factual information on retirement and how annuities can properly be a part of your plan.

Drumroll… This week's Fun With Annuities celebrity co-host is Dana Anspach, one of the country's most respected retirement and investment minds. In addition to her lengthy bio listed below, she has created unique client strategies to manage their money.

Robert Powell, CFP®, is a long-time award-winning financial journalist and frankly one of the most influential, whose work appears regularly in TheStreet.com, USA TODAY, The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, FinancialAnswers.io/RetirementInvestor.io, and AARP.

So the question is, what's the difference between a pension and an annuity? Is a pension the same as an annuity? We're going to go into that. Short answer is they're both lifetime income guarantees, but let's dig further and do a side-by-side comparison of pensions and annuities so you can understand what's out there.

Each week I bring you the best in their field, and this week is no different. This week's celebrity co-host is Christine Benz, Morningstar's Director of Personal Finance and someone I have been a massive fan of for years because she makes complex investment topics clear and accessible to the average reader.

Dennis Miller and I go way back, and he and I have been talking annuities and retirement income via each other's blogs and shows for years. He's the founder of the "Miller On The Money" newsletter….which is FREE to consumers!

Make sure you're getting the most out of your retirement and not falling into the common traps of the industry. Here are some key things to look for when comparing Pension Annuities vs. Lump Sums.