Annuities with Fexingo: Income Products, Retirement Planning, and Insurance Investments

Lucas and Luna revisit the QLAC (Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract) but from a fresh angle: using it to reduce Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) during your 70s and 80s. They walk through a concrete example with a 65-year-old with a $1.2 million IRA, showing how putting $200,000 into a QLAC can shrink RMDs by roughly $7,500 per year in early retirement, deferring taxes and potentially lower...

Most people think annuities are for retirees. But the most powerful income product might be the one you buy decades earlier. Lucas and Luna walk through the math of a deferred income annuity — an insurance contract you fund in your 40s that locks in guaranteed lifetime income starting at age 70 or 75. They use a real example: a 45-year-old who puts $100,000 into a deferred income annuity today cou...

Episode 27 of Annuities with Fexingo examines whether putting an annuity inside a Roth IRA ever makes sense. Lucas and Luna break down the tax math, comparing a $200,000 Roth contribution invested in a low-cost index fund versus a fixed indexed annuity with a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit. They walk through the breakeven horizon, the impact of Roth tax-free withdrawals on the annuity's ta...

Episode 26 of Annuities with Fexingo explores a powerful but overlooked strategy: using a deferred fixed annuity to bridge the gap between early retirement and a delayed Social Security claim. Lucas and Luna walk through a concrete example—a 62-year-old retiree with $100,000—showing how the annuity provides guaranteed income for eight years, allowing their Social Security benefit to grow by 8% ann...

Episode 25 of Annuities with Fexingo dives into the trade-off at the heart of every fixed index annuity: you cap your upside in exchange for downside protection. Lucas and Luna walk through a real-world example using the S&P 500 index over the last decade, showing how a typical 6% cap would have limited gains in 2021 but saved investors in 2022. They break down the participation rate, the spread,...

Lucas and Luna explore how deferred fixed annuities with long-term care riders can serve a dual purpose: generating retirement income while covering long-term care costs. They break down the mechanics of the 'LTC rider' on a fixed annuity, compare it to standalone long-term care insurance using a $300,000 premium example, and discuss the hybrid's appeal for people who worry about paying for care t...

Episode 23 of Annuities with Fexingo explores how Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs) can work alongside annuities to create a powerful tax-advantaged income stream. Lucas breaks down a real example: a 68-year-old retiree with $500,000 in highly appreciated stock. Instead of selling and paying capital gains tax, she funds a CRT, which sells the stock tax-free and buys an immediate annuity inside th...

In episode 22 of Annuities with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna examine how annuity riders specifically designed to hedge longevity risk can reshape retirement income planning. They break down a concrete example: a 65-year-old retiree who allocates $200,000 to a deferred income annuity with a 3% annual income rider. The hosts compare the lifetime income stream against a systematic withdrawal strategy from...

Episode 21 of Annuities with Fexingo explores a little-known strategy: using a deferred fixed annuity with a long-term care rider to cover care costs without a separate long-term care insurance policy. Lucas and Luna break down how these hybrid annuities work, the trade-offs versus traditional LTC insurance, and a real-world example from a 2025 case study. They cover premium multipliers, benefit t...

Lucas and Luna dive into a financial dilemma that hits retirees hard: whether to buy a deferred fixed annuity or long-term care insurance with the same pool of savings. They break down the numbers using a specific case: a 62-year-old with $150,000 to allocate. Lucas walks through the annuity's guaranteed income stream at age 80 versus the LTC policy's daily benefit of $200 for three years. They di...

Episode 19 of Annuities with Fexingo tackles the timing advantage of deferred fixed annuities versus CDs as the Fed signals rate cuts in mid-2026. Lucas and Luna break down how locking in a multi-year guaranteed annuity today—say a 5.2 percent five-year fixed deferred annuity—compounds ahead of rolling over maturing CDs at lower rates. They walk through a concrete $100,000 comparison: a five-year...

With the ten-year Treasury yielding around 4.3 percent in late May 2026, fixed annuities are offering 5.2 to 5.5 percent for comparable durations. Lucas and Luna drill into why this yield gap — roughly 100 to 120 basis points — has persisted for over 18 months and what it means for retirees and near-retirees. They walk through a concrete example: a 62-year-old with $300,000 in a 401k weighing a fi...

Episode 17 of Annuities with Fexingo: Lucas and Luna dig into a specific and costly misunderstanding — the difference between an annuity's guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit and the actual income you can rely on. Using a concrete example of a $200,000 fixed indexed annuity purchased in 2023, they show how a 5% income rider doesn't guarantee 5% on your full balance if the market underperforms....

Episode 16 of Annuities with Fexingo explores how fixed indexed annuity living benefit riders have quietly reshaped retirement income planning. Lucas and Luna walk through a concrete case: a 62-year-old couple allocating $250,000 to a FIA with a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit rider, and what that means for their income floor versus market upside. They compare the rider's cost (roughly 0.60...

Variable annuities get a bad rap for high fees, but a 2025 Insured Retirement Institute study shows that contracts with inflation riders have actually outpaced CPI by 1.2 percentage points annually over the past decade. Lucas and Luna drill into a specific $500,000 case: a 62-year-old retiree choosing between a fixed indexed annuity with a 3.5% cap and a variable annuity with a 2.5% fee but uncapp...

Episode 14 of Annuities with Fexingo tackles the number one fear of near-retirees: running out of money because the market tanks right after you stop working. Lucas walks through a specific case—a 64-year-old with $500,000 in a 401(k) in May 2026—to show how an immediate fixed annuity can guarantee income and sidestep the sequence-of-returns trap. Luna challenges him on the opportunity cost of loc...

Lucas and Luna dive into the annuity surrender period — that multi-year window where cashing out triggers a fee. Most buyers dread it, but Lucas argues the surrender period is actually a feature, not a bug: it funds higher guaranteed rates and protects insurance companies from early withdrawals. They walk through a real scenario: a $250,000 fixed annuity with a seven-year surrender schedule and a...

Episode 12 of Annuities with Fexingo dives into Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefits (GLWBs) — the most popular annuity rider of 2025. Lucas and Luna break down how GLWBs work, why they're different from guaranteed lifetime income, and how a 4.5 percent withdrawal rate changed one retiree's decision. They explain the fee structure, the income base mechanics, and why GLWBs can both protect and c...

Episode 11 of Annuities with Fexingo digs into Qualified Longevity Annuity Contracts, or QLACs—a little-known Treasury rule that lets retirees delay Required Minimum Distributions on a portion of their retirement savings. Lucas and Luna walk through the mechanics: how a $200,000 QLAC purchase can shrink your RMD base, the 25% cap, the $200,000 limit, and the trade-offs around liquidity and inherit...

Episode 10 of Annuities with Fexingo drills into inflation riders—the optional add-on that adjusts annuity payouts for rising prices. Lucas and Luna walk through a concrete example: a 65-year-old buying a $200,000 deferred income annuity with and without a 3% annual inflation adjustment. They break down the trade-off: starting income drops roughly 25% with the rider, but by year 20 the inflation-a...

Lucas and Luna explore a strategic question many pre-retirees face: converting a portion of your 401k into an annuity at retirement. They break down the trade-offs using a concrete example of a 65-year-old with a $500,000 401k balance, comparing a systematic withdrawal strategy against a fixed immediate annuity that guarantees lifetime income. The hosts discuss how annuity payouts currently hover...

Episode 8 of Annuities with Fexingo explores the surrender penalty — the biggest hidden cost in many annuity contracts. Lucas explains how a typical seven-year surrender schedule works, using a $100,000 fixed annuity example to show how early withdrawals trigger penalties of 7% or more. He breaks down the three key numbers every buyer needs: surrender charge percentage, free withdrawal amount, and...

Lucas and Luna explore how annuities can serve as a tax deferral tool for high-income earners, especially in years with a windfall like a bonus or RSU vesting. They walk through a concrete example: a tech executive with $200,000 in vested stock who defers taxes by parking that money in a deferred income annuity. The episode breaks down the mechanics, the IRS rules on 1035 exchanges, and why annuit...

Episode 6 of Annuities with Fexingo explores the quiet rise of deferred income annuities, also known as longevity insurance. Lucas and Luna break down how these products work, why they've seen a 40% increase in sales this year, and how they differ from more popular immediate annuities. They discuss a real-world case: a 65-year-old retiree who deferred $100,000 to start payouts at age 85, securing...

Episode 5 of Annuities with Fexingo breaks down the strategy of annuity laddering—buying multiple annuities at different times to manage interest rate and longevity risk. Lucas uses a real-world example: a 62-year-old retiree with $500,000 who splits the purchase into four tranches over eight years. Luna questions whether this adds unnecessary complexity versus a single fixed indexed annuity. The...