"Fun With Annuities" The Annuity Man Podcast

In this episode, The Annuity Man and Elliot Raphaelson discuss:   Making sure you get your full benefits  Eligibility in Medicare  Getting educated through books, experts, and classes The good and the bad of I Bonds    Key Takeaways:   Turning 65 doesn't automatically mean that you'll get your full benefits. You have to verify what your full retirement age is and plan accordingly.  Age 65 is the p...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:   What chapter two is all about  It's okay to miss out  Life span and health span  The scars of the middle class    Key Takeaways:   When you go to chapter two of your life, it's all about lifestyle; it's all about contractual guarantees. Whether you want to protect the principal and never lose a penny or if you want a lifetime income stream that you cou...

In this episode, The Annuity Man and Owen Schrum discuss:   How cryptocurrency flopped with the market crash Risk is personal, so is inflation  Are we going through a recession right now?  Avoiding the emotional aspect of investing    Key Takeaways:   Cryptocurrency is supposed to be the new currency but when the market collapsed, Crypto collapsed along with it. This just proves that crypto is rea...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:   What "zero is your hero" means  Dirty tactics that agents use to sell annuities  A more rational alternative CD product  Zero is not your hero    Key Takeaways:   The phrase "zero is your hero" means that when the market goes down, you will not lose any money. In this world that we live in, you should always be getting some interest on your money.  Be...

In this episode, The Annuity Man and Tom Hegna discuss:   There are no second chances in retirement  Why the bond market is down right now  Annuities should be bought and not sold  Investing wisely into cryptocurrency    Key Takeaways:   When it comes to retirement, there's no dress rehearsal; there are no second chances. We need to get it right the first time. That's why you must have at least yo...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:   Buying the dream, owning the reality  The fear and greed pitch  Simple is always better  Focus on the lifestyle    Key Takeaways:   If you're looking for the perfect product, eventually, you'll find a person who'll say they have it and sell it to you. You'll buy the dream, but you'll own the contractual reality.  It's easy to sell fear and greed. Every...

In this episode, The Annuity Man, Steve Vernon and Naomi Karp discuss:   Safeguarding from financial exploitation  The Money Path: six steps to protect yourself  Things to consider when getting multiple advocates Easing someone else into planning for cognitive decline   Key Takeaways:   Financial exploitation is something you need to safeguard your future self against because as you age, it's only...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:  Should you purchase I Bonds?  Treasuries are as safe as it gets  Five places to put your money  Inflation is personal    Key Takeaways:   Purchasing I Bonds is a no-brainer. Go to treasurydirect.gov to buy direct from the treasury I Bonds.  Treasuries are as safe as it gets because they can tax us and confiscate our money to pay them off, and that would...

In this episode, The Annuity Man and John Lenz discuss:   How inflation affected annuities  Return On Premium MYGA's The cost of not having a pivot feature Advantages of a guaranteed base    Key Takeaways:   The rise in interest rates has been a positive for the annuity space in general. SPIAs have responded nicely where the Single Premium Immediate Annuity is now buying more robust monthly income...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed: Limit on annuities  Putting everything on an annuity  How much should you invest in annuities?  Why an application could get denied    Key Takeaways:   For most financial products, you can get as much as you want, but there is a limit on what you can get with annuities, and that's a good thing.  You'll get denied if you want to put everything you have on...

In this episode, The Annuity Man and Bob Carlson discuss:   Hedging for rising inflation rates  Accessing institutional shares through 401k  What are your digital assets?  Watching out for blockchain technology   Key Takeaways:   The inflation rate that you experience is probably lower than what data that is shared suggests. However, don't forget that inflation rates are still rising, showing sign...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:   Addiction to the market  Reflecting on what you really want  How would you like your retirement to look like  When you don't need an annuity    Key Takeaways:   It is possible to get addicted to the market, and when you're at that point, you'll need to give yourself an intervention. At some point, you're going to have to stop.  Be honest, do you want t...

In this episode, The Annuity Man and Mr. FIA-X discuss:   Annuity companies do not give free money  Ways to know if you're dealing with a qualified advisor  Sales pitches that you should watch out for  Buying a product that you understand    Key Takeaways:   Upfront bonuses are candy for the stupid. There are no philanthropists in annuity offices giving out free money to clients. They'll chip away...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:   The annuity industry's bad reputation Don't trust the sales pitch  Are all annuities bad?  Ask for the contractual guarantees    Key Takeaways:   The annuity industry has unfortunately earned its bad reputation despite its monopoly on lifetime income. That's because some agents target people who are not financially informed.  When something sounds too...

In this episode, The Annuity Man and Marcia Mantell discuss:   Retirement planning is personal  The uncomfortable "unexpected."  Who are the best financial advisors?  Lasagna style income planning   Key Takeaways:   Friends and neighbors are not your friends when it comes to retirement decision-making. It's all completely personal.  If there's anything that's not unexpected, it's that we know we a...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:   Which annuity provides historically higher guarantees?  Being wary of ignorant advisors  Getting the highest payout for yourself  The choices for non-narcissists    Key Takeaways:   An income rider attached to Fixed Index Annuities historically provides higher contractual guarantees and has less fees than variable annuities. Suppose a financial advisor...

In this episode, The Annuity Man and GUEST discuss:   Why annuities get a bad rep  What's a tontine?  Beating inflation  Planning for health decline    Key Takeaways:   Annuities are often complicated, and they are typically sold to a group of vulnerable people. That could be a recipe for disaster. A tontine was one of the many ways that people used to finance themselves in retirement; it was a sc...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:   Why do agents tell stories?  Protecting yourself from bad pitches  Don't listen to these stories  The only two important questions    Key Takeaways:   In sales, managers will often tell their people that stories sell and that they do, so you have to watch out for hypotheticals, testimonials, and anecdotal "evidence."  Here's how you can protect yoursel...

In this episode, The Annuity Man and Martin Parlato discuss:   The biggest problem the government created How to send a country into stagflation Cryptocurrency is worthless  Planning in six-month projects    Key Takeaways:   The problem is government spending and the supply chain - which the government can't fix. People being paid to stay home contributes to production and supply chain problems, l...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:   Not everyone needs to be exposed Bonds and market volatility  Looking into lifetime income  Questions to ask your advisor    Key Takeaways:   Financial advisors tend to advise their clients to do 60% equity and 40% bond split or that they always have some exposure, but it doesn't apply to everybody. People who've won the game don't have to keep playing...

In this episode, The Annuity Man and Sheryl Garrett discuss:   The role of a financial planner  How the industry should be  Hiring the right planner  Being aggressive with cash flow   Key Takeaways:   Many personal, financial, economic, and psychological things are coming together all at once. The planner's role is to help clients see through all of that and reach out to the appropriate specialist...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:   Never, ever "sign now, decide later" How agents give annuities a bad name The trouble is not worth it  There's never a time for urgency   Key Takeaways:   Never, ever "sign now, decide later." If anybody pitches something that sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  "Sign now, decide later" types of pitches are a shady sales practice that gives an...

In this episode, The Annuity Man and Adam Van Wie discuss:   Being both analytical and tactical  Does the market care about politics?  Putin-proofing and pandemic-proofing your investments  Two questions to ask your advisor    Key Takeaways:   You need to be analytical and strategic, investing in the long-term while at the same time looking at short-term trends and figuring out how you could avoid...

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:   How do annuity agents get paid?  Your two choices for lifetime income  The downside to deferred income annuities and indexed annuities  Explaining MYGA 2 SPIA to a nine-year-old    Key Takeaways:   In every annuity type, commissions are built into the policy, hidden from the client, and paid from the reserves of the annuity company so that you don't se...

In this episode, The Annuity Man and Mark Skousen discuss:   Current problems in the world and the government  Staying invested in the market despite the inflation Cryptocurrency and blockchain    Key Takeaways:   Throwing money at problems isn't the only way to solve them. In many cases, throwing money into problems could create more problems.  It's been a difficult year, but you shouldn't give i...