In this episode, The Annuity Man and Larry Kotlikoff discuss:

• Your ability to affect your social security

• Mistakes that people make with social securities

• Two ways economics deals with uncertainty

Key Takeaways:

• You have the ability to make your retirement benefit bigger or smaller by making decisions. Delaying your claim will increase the amount provided by your benefits.

• Delaying your claim makes more sense. If you die tomorrow, you won't need any money. The real risk isn't in dying early, it's in living a long time and not having enough to sustain yourself.

• A Certainty Equivalent Analysis is a way to deal with economic uncertainty by making very conservative assumptions to adjust for risk. The other way is to go along and adjust in light of what happens.

"The fact of the matter is, if you die tomorrow, you're gonna be in heaven, you're not going to need money, you're not gonna be kicking yourself. The real danger is if you live to 100 and you're starving, eating cat food. " — Larry Kotlikoff.

Connect with Larry Kotlikoff:

Website: https://kotlikoff.net/ | https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/laurence.kotlikoff

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurencekotlikoff

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kotlikoff?lang=en

Connect with The Annuity Man:

Website: http://theannuityman.com/

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g

Get a Quote Today: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculator!

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:

• Lengthening your healthspan

• Taking care of both your healthspan and lifespan

• Committing to focus on what matters

Key Takeaways:

• Go after your bucket list items before you can't function anymore; life is all about healthspan. Your healthspan is the period of your life where you still feel good and healthy enough to be capable of doing what you want. At the same time, focus on lengthening your healthspan through exercise and healthy eating.

• In combination with lifetime income streams, you can focus on healthspan while guaranteeing income for your lifespan. Lifespan has to be in place contractually so we can focus on health span.

• You've got to pivot, put your foot on the ground and decide to get healthy again. Focus on your health, your wellness, and your family. Do what you need to do healthspan-wise to get your life in order.

"Do what you need to do healthspan-wise to get your life in order. Put the lifetime income or principal protection guarantees in place to cover that." — Stan The Annuity Man.

Connect with The Annuity Man:

Website: http://theannuityman.com/

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g

Get a Quote Today: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculator!

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:

• Avoiding too-good-to-be-true products

• What are backtested numbers?

• Choosing contractual guarantees

• How the annuity industry can fix the problem

Key Takeaways:

• Be wary of agents that sell misleading, too-good-to-be-true products. Don't buy a product with "market upside with no downside, upfront bonus, and principal protection."

• Backtested numbers are misleading and theoretical, and they shouldn't be allowed in selling annuities. They are pitched as a product that would make you rich today if you'd bought it ten years ago. For example, some products are only ten months old but are pitched with a 10-year calculation.

• A lot of people who have bought into these misleading products pitched by bad agents heavily regret it now. Lawyers are already suing annuity companies for backtested numbers, so this misleading practice will hopefully be gone in the future. For now, make sure what you are buying provides contractual guarantees.

• The annuity industries don't have any deceptive intentions when they release a product. The problem is that they don't have any control over how the agents are presenting it. It is the agents who mislead, exaggerate, or outright lie, in order to make a sale and not the companies.

"Do not put any faith or credence or credibility in any backtested number. All those backtested numbers don't come true ever." — Stan The Annuity Man.

Connect with The Annuity Man:

Website: http://theannuityman.com/

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g

Get a Quote Today: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculator!

In this episode, Stan The Annuity Man discussed:

• Lifetime income with SPIAs

• DIAs are SPIAs that you defer

• What counts as qualified money in QLACs?

• What an Income Rider is and what it isn't

• Index Annuities are the annuity industry's version of a CD

• Variable Annuities, charitable gift annuities, and buffer annuities

Key Takeaways:

• A Single Premium Immediate Annuity (SPIA) can be structured however you want that pension payment to function while you're alive and whatever you want the money to do when you're dead. If it's an Immediate Annuity, there are no moving parts, annual fees, or market attachments. It's a straight transfer of risk.

• A Deferred Income Annuity (DIA) is an Immediate Annuity that you defer. A Single Premium Immediate Annuity past 13 months turns into a Deferred Income Annuity.

• A Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract (QLAC) is a DIA that you can use with qualified money. Qualified money means IRA, not Roth IRA, but traditional IRA. Some 401k's are also now offering QLACs.

• An Income Rider is not an annuity, it's an attachment to a Variable or Index Annuity that provides guaranteed income. An Index Annuity is the most cost-effective and efficient delivery system for an Income Rider. An Income Rider is non-transferable, cannot be cashed in, and can't be peeled off of, it also comes with a fee.

• MYGAs are the annuity industry's version of a CD. If your time horizon is three years or more, historically, Multi-Year Guarantee Annuities give you a higher contractual annual yield than a CD.

• Fixed Index Annuities were created In 1995, to compete with CD returns, giving you the potential to earn a little bit more than CD returns. If you do get a gain, it's locked in permanently and there is principal protection. But the bad news with a lot of Index Annuities at the time of this taping is that annuity companies can change the rules at their discretion every single year when the index option matures.

• Variable Annuities are a security that is essentially a bunch of mutual funds wrapped with a life insurance wrapper, which means it would grow tax-deferred, and you could have tax-deferred mutual fund type growth.

• A charitable gift annuity is a lifetime income stream typically either starting immediately or down the road. When you die, the charity keeps the money that's left in the account, and they get to hold it while they're paying you back the money based on your life expectancy.

"There's a lot of annuity products out there. Not all of them are great. Not all of them are perfect, but all of them are contractual. So you have to look at the contractual guarantees of the policy. I always tell people don't buy the dream, because you're gonna own the contractual reality." — Stan The Annuity Man.

Connect with The Annuity Man:

Website: http://theannuityman.com/

Email: [email protected]

Book: Owner's Manuals: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/how-do-annuities-work

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g

Get a Quote Today: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculator!

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:

• How do life insurance companies price annuities?

• Nobody knows where interest rates are going

• Annuities are commodity products

Key Takeaways:

• MYGAs, the annuity industry's version of a CD, has become very popular because the guarantees contractually are very attractive if your time horizon is more than three years. You'd be better off buying CDs and treasuries for less than three years.

• Nobody knows where the interest rates are going, but right now, the interest rates are very fair and the highest that we've seen for a long time. The annuity industry does watch the interest rates but does not price their annuities primarily on it.

• Annuities are commodity products, meaning that you have to shop all carriers for the highest contractual guarantee. Also, the guarantees change based on the capacity and the money coming into the carrier.

"Knowing that the bell doesn't ring at the top or the bottom, knowing that you can't time it. Are those guarantees… fair? Do they help you reach your goals? That's a yes or no answer." — Stan The Annuity Man.

Connect with The Annuity Man:

Website: http://theannuityman.com/

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g

Get a Quote Today: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculator!

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:

• The right product for the right situation

• What is lifetime income?

• Income from interest

Key Takeaways:

• An agent selling an annuity product as a one-size-fits-all product is like a doctor prescribing one medication for everyone. There is a right product for the right circumstance, and if a person doesn't need an annuity, they shouldn't be sold one.

• Lifetime income is a transfer of risk pension product that an annuity company is contractually obligated to pay as long as you or your spouse are still breathing. It is priced primarily on your life expectancy, and interest rates play a secondary role.

• A multi-year guaranteed annuity is the annuity industry's version of a CD. You can purchase a MYGA, never touch the principal, never pay a fee, just peel off interest, and then live off that.

"with annuities at this point in time at the time of this taping, and I hope it continues. You have two choices: lifetime income or interest income - it's all about money coming in establishing that income floor. " — Stan The Annuity Man.

Connect with The Annuity Man:

Website: http://theannuityman.com/

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g

Get a Quote Today: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculator!

In this episode, The Annuity Man and Branislav Nikolic discuss:

• Why you should be cautious of backtested numbers

• Being a smart and cautious consumer

• The importance of transparency and consumer-advantage

Key Takeaways:

• Backtested numbers are based on hindsight. The numbers may go flat or go down, but they will not skyrocket, as shown in the projection. Be cautious of people showing you backtested numbers. These numbers are not real; they are hypothetical.

• If your agent offers market-rate returns with principal protection, ask them to detail how exactly they can do that, and when they start showing backtested numbers, dismiss them outright.

• The future of annuities should be that the industry would shift to a more pro-consumer model and that clients will be able to buy direct and that they'll be able to completely understand what they are getting into.

"I go back to the word of the day, 'caution.' I would caution against using the last ten years as an indication of a performance of any kind. Inside of annuity or outside of annuity." — Branislav Nikolic

Connect with Branislav Nikolic:

Website: https://www.cannex.com/

Connect with The Annuity Man:

Website: http://theannuityman.com/

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g

Get a Quote Today: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculator!

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:

• Buying an annuity that you understand

• Annuities aren't one-size-fits-all

• How to know if you understand a product

Key Takeaways:

• When buying an annuity, remember that if a product sounds too good to be true, it is every single time. There are also annuities that are more complex and most agents cannot explain it well, let alone even comprehend it themselves.

• Currently, the annuity industry has an unbalanced way of compensation for different types of products. Agents get a higher commission for selling a certain type of product. The problem is that annuities aren't one-size-fits-all. It takes some consideration to determine a person's needs and what product would solve that.

• Buy products that you understand. A good indicator that you do understand something fully is if you can explain it to your spouse, family, or friends and have it make sense to them.

"You have to be able to understand what you're buying, and you have to be able to go into a second-grade class and explain it to them." — Stan The Annuity Man.

Connect with The Annuity Man:

Website: http://theannuityman.com/

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g

Get a Quote Today: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculator!

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:

• What is a life-only lifetime income stream?

• How you can choose where your money goes when you die

• The many ways that you can structure an annuity

Key Takeaways:

• People who complain that annuities are bad because the money goes poof when the policyholder dies are talking about one type of annuity that's structured in one specific way: a life-only lifetime income stream. There are 40-plus different ways to structure an annuity.

• Annuities can be structured so your money doesn't go to the annuity company when you die. They'll be on the hook to pay as long as you're breathing, and the money will go to whichever beneficiary you want it to go to.

• It is up to you if you want the money in your annuity to disappear when you die. Someone who doesn't have any meaningful ties to their family, can just get a life-only lifetime income stream and enjoy high payment for themselves.

"The bottom line is when you set up lifetime income with annuities - and there are many different types - they all can be structured so that not one penny is going to be kept by the annuity company, even though they're on the hook to pay." — Stan The Annuity Man.

Connect with The Annuity Man:

Website: http://theannuityman.com/

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g

Get a Quote Today: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculator!

In this episode, The Annuity Man and Owen Schrum discuss:

• The interconnectivity of financial structures

• How a hard recession could be avoided

• Annuity companies are more regulated than banks

• Positive trends in the economy

Key Takeaways:

• Inflation, the debt limit, the Federal Reserve, and the markets are not standalone. They are all directly connected and related. Being careless with one part can cause the whole thing to collapse.

• If the chairman of the Federal Reserve says that they're considering lowering the rates based on the numbers that they have, then it might prevent a hard recession. The market will take care of the rest.

• Annuity companies and banks buy the same bonds, but the difference is that annuity companies are not forced to sell them. There can be no run-on annuities because they have regulations that prevent that.

• Inflation is getting back under control. Also, despite inflation being 10%, both small and large businesses' earnings held up better than people thought they could.

"Not one of those things are standalone items, particularly inflation and interest rates. They are all directly related. It's like some big puzzle, you pull out one log, and the whole thing may collapse." — Owen Schrum.

John Mack talks to Wharton class about Morgan Stanley default: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9sQtmPAYO0&ab_channel=KnowledgeatWharton

Connect with Owen Schrum:

Website: https://www.schrumpw.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/owen-schrum-24319417/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SchrumOwen

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbT6r4ywyZ98UsbrHm_m_zg

Connect with The Annuity Man:

Website: http://theannuityman.com/

Email: [email protected]

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g

Get a Quote Today: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculator!