Lock and Load Annuity Income Guarantees

Hi there. Stan The Annuity Man, America's annuity agent, licensed in all 50 states. I'm from the South. I grew up in North Carolina, North Cackalacky, so that's where I'm from. My parents are from there, and there's a saying that my uncles used when they would go hunting every Thanksgiving morning before we ate. "Going to go lock and load. We're going to lock and load out there, son. We're going to lock and load, try to get us a turkey or a quail." They do a lot of quail hunting, which I love. My grandmother used to make quail with mashed potatoes and stuff, but we're going to lock and load.

‌Today's topic is lock and load for income guarantees because when you buy an annuity, you're buying a contract and locking in that guarantee. You're loading it for the future, so you're locking and loading that contractual guarantee. I want you to think about that. You don't have to be a hunter. I don't even have a gun, and a lot of you're saying, "Thank God. Thank God he doesn't have a gun." My wife's saying that, too. I don't need a gun. Personally, I don't need a gun. Probably, but I don't know. I'm not that person. If you're going to shoot me, shoot me. I digress. Hey, here's what we're going to talk about: locking and loading for lifetime income.

‌One of the things that happens a lot with the clients that we talk to is that we've got clients in all 50 states and got a huge office in Las Vegas, which is cool because Las Vegas is all about risk and gambling. We know none of that. We sell contractual guarantees. We take no risks, which is cool that we're in Las Vegas, the main office. We have other offices, but that's the main office. But what bothers me is a lot of people who are investors bring that investor mindset into annuities. They try to find the sweet spot or an arbitrage moment, or they try to beat the annuity companies. They try to figure it out. "Stan, I can figure it out. I'm smart. I've been beating the markets. I can beat the annuity companies." No, you cannot.

And all I tell people is for lifetime income, they're looking primarily at your life expectancy or, if it's joint, life expectancies. Interest rates play a secondary role. And companies are competing and bidding on your business. That's why our model is the best: We represent almost every carrier and quote all carriers using our calculators to find the highest contractual guarantee for you.

‌The Bell Doesn't Ring at the Top or the Bottom

‌Now, with that said, the bell doesn't ring at the top or bottom player. I mean, people will say, "Well, Stan, what do you think? Where are interest rates going?" Listen, Chester, if I knew that, I'd be on my Learjet trading interest rate futures and not talking to you. Period. I'd be done. I'd be a one-man show, one-man LLC, and I'd just be Stan, the interest rate trading man. That's what I'd be. Nobody knows.

‌If the guarantees are fair, if the guarantees that we show you solve for the contractual goals you're trying to achieve, then lock and load, player. Lock and load for lifetime income. Now you're saying, "Wait a minute, Stan. Wait a minute. What about inflation? What about future inflation? Inflation, inflation." There's not an annuity on the planet. Listen closely. I represent pretty much every carrier out there. If there were such a product, I would already be talking about it. That's all the videos and blogs I would do. There is not a product that adjusts for inflation. No product's perfect for inflation in the annuity world.

‌You might hear somebody at a bad chicken dinner, expensive steak dinner seminar say, "I've got it. This is it. Look at this hypothetical return on this grid." Garbage, nonsense. Have them sign off on it. Say, "If it doesn't do that, then you owe me." Have them sign a piece of paper. It's all pie in the sky nonsense, so there's no way to solve for inflation. So, when you're locking and loading for lifetime income, you're locking and loading a static number, period. And you say, "Wait a minute, Stan. I don't want to lock in a static number. I want it to increase like the other great annuity called Social Security that increases with inflation or when Congress wants your vote." Either way, it's the same.

‌Example

‌It doesn't work like that. Let me give you a visual. If you said, "Stan, show me the same exact annuity quote with and without an increase." I will show it to you visually, which will ring the bell for you. This will ring the bell. Here's where it would start if you did not have an increase. Here's where it would start if you had an increase. Annuity companies don't give anything away. If you want an increase, you will probably start 30% lower than if you had the static payment. Buy the static payment, and if inflation hits and it's just driving you crazy and your OCD is shutting the door three times, and you don't know what to do, then reverse engineer a quote to solve that specific gap you need.

‌A+ or Better

‌But lock and load the highest contractual guarantee. Lock and load after shopping all carriers. Lock and load a carrier that we will present to you that we have determined can back up the claim and the lifetime income stream. Typically, we recommend A+ or better 99.99999% of the time for lifetime income. There might be a situation where we recommend an A- carrier if they're getting purchased, and we think that rating will go up, but typically, we're snobs. We're snobs. We're like Downton Abbey. Downton Abbey for lifetime income. If you don't know what that is, it's my wife's favorite show. Downton Abbey. We want an A+ or better. We want aristocratic companies because you're marrying that company for life. You'll lock and load with A+ rated companies for lifetime income.

‌Just remember this. You ask two questions. What do you want the money to contractually do? When do you want those contractual guarantees to happen? From those two answers, if it's lifetime income is your first answer, the second answer will determine what product type we choose that will provide the highest contractual guarantee. If you need income now up until a year, it's an Immediate Annuity. If it's past a year, we will quote Deferred Income Annuities, Qualified Longevity Annuity Contracts if it's IRA money and Income Riders. It's really that simple. But the bottom line is you shop all carriers. You can't time it. If the guarantee contractually looks fair, what are we going to do? Three words. Yeah, you got it. Lock and load that contractual guarantee.

‌My name is Stan The Annuity Man. Go to my site. Run the quotes, look at the videos, read the blogs, and download my books for free. Schedule a call with us. We will give you a call and use our ears and mouth and proportion two to one, listen to you. We'll tell you if you do not need an annuity, and we'll run those quotes for you and put together a customized solution for your specific situation. Then, you can make your decision on your terms and on your timeframe. Thanks again for joining me on this Stan The Annuity Man blog. We'll 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.