Retirement Expert Rant: What I Love About Lifetime Income

Today, I'm wearing a shirt that reads, I heart lifetime income. That's what we're going to talk about today. Hi, I'm Stan The Annuity Man, America's annuity agent, licensed in all 50 states. Did you know that annuities are the only product on the planet that can contractually guarantee lifetime income? You do now. Let's get right into it.

‌I love it when people say, "I hate all annuities." Do you hate your pension? Do you hate Social Security? Both of those are annuities. Both of those provide a lifetime income stream. Do you hate lifetime income? Do you hate income that you can never outlive? Of course, you don't. So, when people say, "I hate all annuities." Or "I'd rather not never buy an annuity, Stan." Really? Well, if that's the case, then don't be a hypocrite. Cancel your Social Security. Cancel your pension if you have one because if you keep taking those payments, you're a hypocrite.

‌Brief History

‌Annuities are the only products on the planet that can provide lifetime income. It's really that simple. It started in Roman times as a pension payment to the dutiful Roman soldiers and their families for laying it on the line for the empire. It was a lifetime income stream, and to this day, that same type of Single Premium Immediate Annuity pension product is sold to people who want a lifetime income stream. And in a world where companies no longer offer pensions, I think there's less than 9% of private companies offer pensions. Yes, if you work for the government, you'll get a pension, but nobody has a pension anymore. Nobody has a lifetime income stream anymore. So, what happens with annuities? You should be looking at them if you want a guaranteed income floor that you or your spouse can never outlive.

‌Transfer of Risk

‌Some say, "What's the ROI on this, and what's the return?" I don't know that until you die. Up until that point, it's a pure transfer of risk. Understand that lifetime income is the monopoly that only the annuity industry has. That's why I wear this T-shirt and run around the airport going, "Ha ha, ha, read my T-shirt." Lifetime income is something that everybody needs, but for some reason, the annuity industry is not promoting that. And now people go, "I hate all annuities." You can't hate all annuities and then hate lifetime income, and there's not a person on the planet who hates lifetime income. Not a person. There aren't many people; I don't know anybody who says, "You know what? That Social Security lifetime income stream..." Which, by the way, is the best inflation annuity on the planet; I don't see many people going, "You know what? I hate annuities, and out of principle, I don't want that payment."\

‌Guaranteed Lifetime Income

‌Are you turning down your Social Security payment? Are you turning down the pension payment you're fortunate to get? Of course you're not. Of course you're not. People never ask, "What's my return on investment in Social Security?" They never ask that. Why? Because they just want the payment. So, why do you ask it on lifetime income stream annuity types? That's the primary benefit proposition that annuities as a category offer. Some annuities, like Variable Annuities, Index Annuities, and Multi-Year Guarantee Annuities, don't provide lifetime income. But most people look at annuities for lifetime income as part of the guaranteed lifetime income floor. So, what's the guaranteed lifetime income floor Stan The Annuity Man, America's annuity agent? That's the pension if you're so fortunate, that's the Social Security annuity that you already have, that's dividends that are coming in, that's rental income. That's the stuff that's hitting your bank account, the money that's hitting your bank account every single day or every single month, however you have it structured. So, where do annuities fit in? It's part of that income floor.

‌Customizable

‌I had to call the other day. The guy said, "Well, I just need $2,000 extra a month." Great. We'll reverse engineer an Immediate Annuity quote to contractually solve for that so you can never outlive that amount. A lot of people say, "Well, lifetime income's great, Stan, but what about inflation?" What about inflation? Nobody knows what's going to happen with that. You can't carte blanchly say, "Well, inflation, I'm not going to buy an annuity because it doesn't address inflation." Listen, you already own the best inflation annuity on the planet. That's Social Security. Yes, you can attach a Cost-of-Living Adjustment increase to an annuity or a pension-type annuity for lifetime income. Annuity companies will do that; they'll just lower the payment, but you can attach that increase. You can customize your lifetime income stream. You can customize your annuity. You can customize it to do exactly what you want it to do. You can have it pay for your life. You can have it pay for your spouse's life. You can have whatever money's left over go to the policy's beneficiaries, and the evil annuity company does not keep a penny. Understand that lifetime income with annuities is primarily based on your life expectancy at the time you take the payment, period.

‌Life Expectancy

‌It's life expectancy-based, not interest rate-based. Okay? So, if you call us and say, "I'm not going to buy this because the interest rates are low." Then you don't get it. You don't understand it. And I haven't done my job or done enough videos on this. Yes, I've written a book on Immediate Annuities that you can get for free, but you need to understand that it's life expectancy based. You're transferring the risk to the annuity company to pay you for the rest of your life, period. If you're older, the payments will be higher. If you're younger, the payments will be lower. Interest rates play a secondary pricing role with lifetime income. If interest rates ratcheted way up, would it affect the pricing? Yes, it would. But you have to figure out as you're trying to time interest rates, how long it would take to make up for when you're trying to buy the annuity.

‌I'll give an example. Social Security is a great example. People say, "Well, I'm going to wait 'til 70 to take the payments because the payment's higher." Why? Because you're older. If you're 65 and you take them, you're younger, the payments are going to be lower, but you have to factor in those payments during those five years, those 60, five times 12, 60 months of payments you're missing to wait to age 70 to get the higher payment. The same type of thought process applies to an Immediate Annuity lifetime income guarantee. The great part about annuities and lifetime income is that it doesn't have to start immediately. There are products like Deferred Income Annuities, Qualified Longevity Annuity Contracts, and Income Riders that can guarantee a lifetime income stream starting at a future date that you tell us. If you said to me, "Hey, Stan The Annuity Man, I want income to start in seven years. I want to know to the penny what that will be." I can do that.

‌I can shop all carriers with Deferred Income Annuities, Qualified Longevity Annuity Contracts, and Income Riders and find the highest contractual guaranteed income stream for you or you and a spousal partner starting seven years from now or 10 years from now, or five years from now or 13. It's customizable. You can tell us when you want the income to start for the lifetime income stream. You can tell us what account you want to use. You can tell us how much money you want to solve for on a monthly basis. We could do a reverse-engineered quote; you're the driver of the lifetime income annuity train. You control the lifetime income. Just tell us how much lifetime income you need. We'll tell you how much money it'll take based on your life expectancy at the time you take the payment.

‌Are we clear that annuities are the only product in the financial world that can provide a lifetime income stream? And don't hit me with some 30-year bond crap. We're talking about if there's a medical miracle and you could live to 125; the product's going to pay, the annuity company's on the hook, and if we choose the right company, the highly rated companies to back up those claims, you're sitting pretty, that income's going to hit regardless of what happens. As long as you're breathing, you'll get the income and that's a good deal. Oh, and I'm not done; there are a couple more things. Lifetime income products and annuities can be held in IRA and non-IRA accounts; the guarantees are the same. The taxation of that income is different based on that account type. But I'm going to give you a good idea. Let's talk about legacy using lifetime income.

‌Client Example

‌I got a call the other day. The gentleman was in his eighties and wanted to buy a Single Premium Immediate Annuity, but he wanted it to be joint with his grandson, who I think just turned five. I want you to stop for a second and think about what I just said. He wanted a joint lifetime income payment on his life and the five-year-old's life. We set it up. So, when he passes away, the eighty-year-old passes away, that five-year-old is going to continue to get a lifetime income stream regardless of how long he lives. I call that the legacy income monster because that's what it is. You talk about leaving a legacy; it doesn't have to be a grandchild like that. It could be that wandering, ambiguous fifty-year-old child that's never gotten it together. You could do that as well.

‌Single Premium Immediate Annuities, Deferred Income Annuities, or any type of lifetime income annuity product, you can structure it and customize it so that a spouse or non-spouse can be a joint annuitant on that policy. That's food for thought. Walk around with that one for a second, that you want to leave it a legacy income. Most people, when they call me, they say, "You know what, Stan, I've got all this money, or I've got this lump sum, and I really don't want my kids to get the lump sum." The legacy income monster strategy of which you put them on the policy as an income recipient with you is an easy way to, what I call, lovingly handcuff your beneficiaries. You can lovingly handcuff because if they call me up after you die and say, "I hated that old geezer, send me the money." I can't, contractually. They're going to get a lifetime income stream, which is a good thing.

‌Understand this. When people say, "I hate annuities." Laugh at them, scoff at them like the immature, uninformed, uneducated person they are, and let them know lifetime income equals annuities. Annuities equal lifetime income, and everybody on the planet already has the best inflation lifetime income annuity, period, and that's Social Security. What I'm saying is that you might want to consider adding another lifetime income stream. The question is, "How do you want to add it? How do you want to customize it? How do you want to set it up? Do you want to leave a legacy? Do you just want a pension on yourself? Just your life? Do you want a joint life with a spouse? Do you want joint life with a family member? How do you want to do it?" But at the end of the day, lifetime income is a good thing, and you need to quote all carriers and use Stan The Annuity Man, to do that for you.

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.