Strategic Retirement Planning Using Annuities Shootin’ It Straight With Stan

Welcome to Shootin' It Straight With Stan. I'm your host, Stan The Annuity Man, America's annuity agent, licensed in all 50 states. Today's topic is strategic retirement planning using annuities. For many of you out there, you might be asking, "Wait a minute, are you a certified...?" No, I'm Stan The Annuity Man. I specialize in annuities. We work side-by-side with some of the best fee-only planners in the business because they don't deal with annuities. I’ve been on that side of the ledger. I used to work with Dean Witter, Paine Webber, UBS, and Morgan Stanley. That should give you an idea of my experience and age.

In my earlier career, I handled a lot of traditional retirement planning, so I fully understand it. I know exactly where annuities fit and where they don't.

Self-Directed or Advisor-Led Planning

If you're a self-directed person or working with an advisor, we are happy to collaborate. However, we don’t give tax advice, and we aren’t CPAs or CFPs, nor do we want to be. We are specialists in our field. We know our products inside and out and are here to help.

Annuities and Retirement: The PILL Framework

Annuities solve for four primary needs. If you don’t need to address one or more of these, you don’t need an annuity, period. I use the acronym PILL:

• P: Principal Protection
• I: Income for Life
• L: Legacy
• L: Long-Term Care

Key Questions for Annuity Suitability

When engaging with us, we ask two key questions:

1. What do you want the money to contractually do?
2. When do you want those contractual guarantees to start?

From these questions, we can determine whether you need an annuity or not. For instance, if your goal is market growth, never buy an annuity. Ignore the pitches, brochures, and seminars. Own an annuity for what it will do, not what it might do.

Income as the Core Benefit of Annuities

Social Security is the best inflation-adjusted annuity on the planet. If you also have a pension, that’s essentially your second annuity, providing lifetime income. Adding annuities for income ensures you have a secure income floor.

You can set up lifetime income in several ways:

• Lifetime income for you alone
• Joint life income with a spouse
• Life with cash refund or installment refund to ensure unused money goes to beneficiaries

Lifetime income is primarily based on life expectancy at the time payments start, with interest rates playing a secondary role.

Addressing Inflation with Annuities

To solve for inflation, identify income gaps. For instance, if your income floor is $5,000/month and next year you need $5,400/month, you can use annuities to fill that $400/month gap. Use reverse-engineered quotes to find the best carrier for your situation.

Avoid products with floating income adjustments or Cost-of-Living increases; these come at a cost. Solve inflation gaps specifically for your needs and timeframe.

Annuities for Principal Protection

For those seeking principal protection, a Multi-Year Guarantee Annuity (MYGA) offers guaranteed interest rates for a set term, similar to a CD. MYGAs can grow tax-deferred in non-IRA accounts and are available for both IRA and non-IRA funds.

Legacy and Long-Term Care

If you can't qualify for life insurance, Fixed Annuities with death benefit riders offer an alternative. Although taxable, they provide a viable option for Legacy goals.

For Long-Term Care, there are guaranteed-issue products for those who can't qualify for traditional long-term care insurance.

Strategic Planning with Annuities

Annuities fill gaps through contractual guarantees and transfer-of-risk strategies. Whether it’s Income for Life, Principal Protection, Legacy, or Long-Term Care, annuities provide certainty and security in retirement planning.

Final Thoughts

Annuities often get a bad rap due to poor sales practices, but when purchased for their contractual guarantees, they can be highly effective tools. At The Annuity Man, you can compare carriers and shop for the highest contractual guarantees.

There’s no urgency to buy—make decisions on your terms and timeframe. Use our free resources, including thousands of videos and seven books, to educate yourself.

Thanks for watching Shootin' It Straight With Stan. My name is Stan The Annuity Man. 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.