Retirement Archives | Annuity Guys®

Avoiding Annuity Income Rider Abuse!

Annuity Guys® — Mon, 17 Feb 2025 07:00:06 +0000

Are we all guilty, at times, desiring too much of a good thing?

After all, as Annuity Guys, we often extol the virtues of income riders and the good they do; however, they are not always good for you! Annuity income riders typically offer benefits such as lifetime income and roll-up or ratchet growth **guarantees toward future income. Unfortunately, most of these **guarantees come at an expense and for some people this expense or rider fee makes perfect sense while foolhardy for many. Riders used correctly can give the annuity owner a lifetime income **guarantee that makes the expense well worth it. But, wait just a minute… [continued below video]

Video: Annuity Guys, Dick and Eric discuss Pros & Cons of income riders & their abusers!

Guarantees, including optional benefits, are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuer, & may contain limitations, including surrender charges, which may affect policy values. During this segment, Dick & Eric are referring to Fixed Annuities unless otherwise specified.

Review 3-Best Retirement Annuities for Your
GROWTH, INCOME & SAFETY!

[continued]… some annuity owners actually purchase annuities for reasons other than the lifetime income. In fact, many people decide to purchase an annuity for safer **guaranteed growth or growth potential. Now, we will let you in on an Annuity Guys secret – annuities purchased for growth typically don’t need an income rider. Adding an income rider with a fee to any annuity will place a drag on the annuity’s growth potential.

Where we typically see annuity income rider abuse is on fixed index annuities with riders using a formula for **guaranteed growth toward future income. Read that sentence carefully, notice that the **guaranteed growth is toward a “future income” using a formula and not **guaranteed growth in your cash or accumulation bucket. The abuse we typically see is from annuity salespeople who must not understand or believe that a fixed index annuity can offer important retirement benefits without misusing the rider’s dubious growth pitch.

So…

Some annuity agents find it easier to sell you an annuity by offering you a “6% to 8%” growth **guarantee. We refer to this as the lie of omission. If they tell you that your annuity has a “6%” **guarantee, most annuity purchasers believe that the 6% **guarantee is in their real money account value growth – but it’s not, and if questioned further they will even admit as much, but they hope you don’t ask. Remember using annuity income riders is not necessarily wrong, most help retirees accomplish future income goals that fulfill their income need for retirement.

In summary, know what you want your dollars to do for you in the future and ask enough questions to insure that the financial product you decide on will accomplish your goals and not an advisor’s commission goals! Hopefully, you can now avoid being a victim of “annuity -income rider- abuse.”

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Using OutCome Based Planning for Your Retirement

We practice and recommend a "Holistic - OutCome Based Planning process when considering annuities." This approach has the effect of balancing your overall portfolio so you can meet your retirement objectives by "first identifying the least amount of your investments or savings (if any) that should be considered for annuities." OutCome Based Planning analyzes and models multiple outcomes so you can clearly identify your best income and growth opportunities.

"The Annuity Guys will only call if you request help". Hence, when you are ready for specialized help we will be available.

"Working with an Experienced Fiduciary Financial Planner can help you Avoid a Trial & Error or Risk Based Retirement"

This type of approach does take considerably more time, effort and analysis which will show you mathematically the successful possibilities by comparing various outcomes rather than trying to sell or convince you of that "so-called one best solution." Clients frequently tell us that this process removes some of the confusion and emotion to help them objectively identify a better retirement plan; rather than just ending up with the most convincing salesperson or advisor.

When requesting help you can be assured of working with an experienced Annuity Guys' Retirement Planner who is independently insurance licensed and securities licensed as a fiduciary financial planner having access to the vast majority of annuity companies in helping you choose the best annuities using a holistic-outcome based planning approach. We consider the high quality advisor recommendations we make to our website visitors as a direct reflection back on our commitment to serve all client's with a high standard of excellence in financial planning for retirement.

Based on survey feedback on advisors from our website visitors, we eliminated about two-hundred local advisors and now only recommend a few that we consider experienced vetted Annuity Guys' Fiduciary Advisors. Many local advisors continue requesting us to recommend them as a vetted advisor. However, our reputation and future business is driven only by satisfied website visitors. So, unfortunately we've had to tell the vast majority of local advisors no, since we changed our business model four years ago. At that time we stopped trying to satisfy everyone with local advisors, we now primarily work with individuals who are comfortable using today's internet technology to their fullest advantage by working with a select group of vetted, experienced and knowledgeable Annuity Guys' Fiduciary Planners.

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*FIDUCIARY RETIREMENT REVIEWS
No Cost or Obligation - Annuity Guys

"For Your Retirement's Success"

Choose a *Fiduciary Advisor who gives you Full Disclosure of Cost & Selection.

Fiduciary Advisors 10% - Sales Advisors 90%

2025 Financial Advisor Summary Report

*Fiduciary Financial Planners we estimate at less than 10% of total US financial advisors.
The other 90% of advisors are salespeople such as brokers, bank reps, registered reps. & insurance agents.

Advisors licensed only as a sales oriented securities broker, registered rep, or insurance agent, ARE NOT Fiduciaries! They work on a much lower legal standard of Suitability which does not require full disclosure and only requires a suitable product sale, NOT what's actually best for their client!

Fiduciary Financial Planners by law are subject to the highest standard of financial planning and investment advice accountability.
Hence, clients of a fiduciary can know that their advisor is required legally to work strictly for their highest benefit.

This is also referred to as the prudent man rule, which in simple terms means that by licensing as a Series 65 Investment Advisor / Financial Planner they must give clients the best advice they are capable of based on all the knowledge they possess and information they have access to, in the same way they would advise and help close friends or family members.

Fiduciaries also must disclose all known conflicts of interest that could potentially bias their advice, such as - selling financial products that pay them higher commissions with higher fees or costs, and their lack of investment product availability for their clients' needs, just to name a few.

Choosing your advisor can have

"The Largest Single Impact on

Your Retirement's Success or Failure"

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After confirming your request for help and shipping address by phone, we will immediately send your FREE personally signed Library Edition of our popular Annuity Reference Book "The New Retirement" plus Fact-Filled, Full Video Access!

Learn the 3 Best Annuities to Help
ASSURE YOUR RETIREMENT'S SUCCESS!

Selecting the Best Annuity & Retirement Income Advisor

Are you willing to work with one of our retirement and annuity advisors based on their experience and expertise as a first priority rather than being limited by a local or regional area? The good news is that technology has forever eliminated our geographical limitations and leveled the playing field for everyone! As a result of today's technological advances, all of us can now work confidently with experts in any field including personal finance. We are no longer confined by regional or local boundaries limiting our choices and ultimate success. A high quality advisor is now as close as a click or phone call away.

Video:"Choose a National or Local Advisor"?

"There is no room for trial and error when it comes to choosing MarketFree® Annuities or a Successful Retirement Planner."

When you think about it, your money is almost always in some other state with a custodian; whether invested in the market or with an annuity insurance company, the advisors competence is primarily needed when positioning your money initially. So working with a specialized expert in a financial discipline like investments or retirement planning is imperative. There are no undo buttons in retirement! Once the annuities get set up correctly, it is customary and more efficient for owners to benefit by having direct access to the issuer instead of having to go through the agent. And, of course any reputable advisor, local or national, is more than willing to assist their clients if needed after they are implemented.

Video:"Why These 3 Types of Annuity Advisors are Not Created Equal"

"There are no undo buttons in retirement so it is vitally important that you do it right the first time!"

We are fortunate to have a select few who we believe are truly the highest qualified advisors out of about two hundred licensed insurance agents that we eliminated. Your survey feedback is what helps us make these tough decisions. Our advisors have an independent financial practice, specializing in annuities and retirement planning, which helps ensure that you are given the best options available for your retirement planning.

Video: "How Much of Your Money Should You Consider Placing into Annuities"?

"It takes an experienced expert to know how to structure annuities for income, inflation, growth, return of principal, and tax advantage."

"Anyone can sell you an annuity; however, it takes a truly qualified and experienced advisor to know how to structure them for income, inflation, growth, return of principal, and tax advantage. Typically, there is not just one that can accomplish all of these objectives. It is how an advisor structures multiple annuities in balancing your total portfolio that makes it possible to achieve your most important retirement objectives."

Video: "How to Choose a Great retirement Advisor"?

Why Searching for the Best Annuities on Your Own Can be so Frustrating...

Almost everyone nowadays turns to the internet for answers on everything - from buying new widgets to researching just about everything under the sun; and finding the best annuity is no exception! At first, it may seem that researching will be straightforward but the more time you spend researching them, the more frustrating it can be. Why is this? First of all, it does not take long to realize that gimmicks abound - such as warnings and alerts from salesmen who just want your attention so they can sell you one or the "too good to be true" claims of 8% to 14% **guaranteed interest and of course the claim that you can get the full market upside with no downside risk! If you have done any research you have heard all of these claims in advertising which are mostly half truths and not fully explained. So how can you find the best annuities on the internet? The truth is... you can't! And what is even more frustrating is all the conflicting points of view from so called experts. There are well over 6,000 different annuities - all designed for different reasons, so is it any wonder that the deck is stacked against the average researcher or do-it-yourselfer. Add to that the fact that they pay high enough commissions to attract a plethora of both good and bad agents. This does not make annuities good or bad; they are simply a financial tool that truly benefit those who use them correctly. How can you find the best annuities for your unique situation?

Use the internet cautiously;
Work with a vetted and experienced specialist;
Do not settle for that one dubious best plan. Compare multiple Outcome Based Plans to decide on the one that is truly best for you;
Be keenly aware of scare tactics and hyperbole - avoid those advisors and websites;
Avoid websites that are focused on rushing free reports, rates and quotes to get your contact information they are rushing you to speak with them, instead, take your time and choose someone you are more comfortable with that works on your time-table;
Know the Five Vital Factors (listed above) that an experienced specialist must answer before helping you select the best options for your situation;
Watch this telling video "Avoid Annuity Gimmicks, Amateurs and Charlatans"...

Video: "Avoiding Gimmicks, Scams & Charlatans"

^** Guarantees, including optional benefits, are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuer, and may contain limitations, including surrender charges, which may affect policy values. Annuities are not FDIC insured and it is possible to lose money.
They are insurance products that require a premium to be paid for purchase.
Annuities do not accept or receive deposits and are not to be confused with bank issued financial instruments.
During all video segments, Dick and Eric are referring to Fixed Annuities unless otherwise specified.

^*Retirement Planning and annuity purchase assistance may be provided by Eric Judy or by referral to a recommended, experienced, Fiduciary Investment Advisor in helping our website visitors. Dick Van Dyke semi-retired from his Investment Advisory Practice in 2012 and now focuses on this website. He still maintains his insurance license in good standing and assists his current clients.
Our vetted and recommended Fiduciary Financial Planners are required to be properly licensed in assisting clients with their annuity and retirement planning needs. (Due diligence as a client is still always necessary when working with any advisor to check their current standing.)

Site Terms & Disclosure

All tools, videos or information visible on this website's pages, television, or other media are for educational and conceptual purposes only.
Tools, videos or information are not to be considered investment advice, insurance recommendations, tax or legal advice.
It is recommended that site visitors should work with licensed professionals for individualized advice before making any important or final financial decisions on what is best for his or her situation.
Website comments are not considered investor testimonials those shown only relate to an insurance agent referral service, customer service, or satisfaction with the purchase of insurance products and are never based on any investment or securities advice or investment or securities performance.
Please be aware that your feedback and compliments may be shared with our visitors or those that may be interested in our services we will never give out your full name or full address or phone number without your permission. By sending us your feedback & comments you agree to allow us full use in sharing your comments with others in public forums. Thank you for sharing.
Media logos are not any type of endorsement, they only imply that one or more of the Annuity Guys have written for, been quoted by, or appeared on the listed news outlet, broadcast or cable channels, or branded programs for non-advertising and/or advertising purposes, to offer educational and conceptual information about retirement issues.
Income is guaranteed by annuitization or income riders that may have additional costs or fees.
http://www.annuityguys.net & http://www.annuityguys.com forward to https://annuityguys.org. - Further all disclosures and information are to be considered as one and the same for any and all URL forwards, and these same disclosures and information also apply to all YouTube videos featuring Dick & Eric where ever they are viewed.
MarketFree Annuity Definition: Any fixed annuity or portfolio of fixed annuities that protects principal / premium and growth by remaining market risk free.
Market Free (annuities, retirements and portfolios) refer to the use of fixed insurance products with minimum guarantees that have no market risk to principal and are not investments in securities.
Market Gains are a calculation used to determine interest earned as a result of an increasing market related index limited by various factors in the contract. These can vary with each annuity and issuing insurance company.
Premium is the correct term for money placed into annuities principal is used as a universal term that describes the cash value of any asset.
Interest Earned is the correct term to describe Market Free Annuity Growth; Market Gains, Returns, Growth and other generally used terms only refer to actual Interest Earned
Market Free Annuities are fixed insurance products and only require an insurance license in order to sell these products; they are not securities investments and do not require a securities license.
No Loss only pertains to market downturns and not if losses are incurred due to early withdrawal penalties or other fees for additional insurance benefits.
Annuities typically have surrender periods where early or excessive withdrawals may result in a surrender cost.
Market Free Annuities may or may not have a bonus. Some bonus products have fees or lower interest crediting and when surrendered early the bonus or part of the bonus may be forfeited as part of the surrender process which is determined by each contract.
MarketFree Annuities are not FDIC Insured and are not guaranteed by any Government Agency.
Annuities are not Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured and their guarantees are based on the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance company.
State Insurance Guarantee Associations (SIGA) vary in coverage with each state and are not to be confused with FDIC which has the backing of the federal government.
This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration.
*"Best” refers only to the opinion of Dick, this site's author; or the opinion of Dick & Eric in videos and is not considered best for all individuals.
*"APO” refers only to the Annual Pay-Out of annuities in the guaranteed lifetime income phase. *APO is NOT an annual yield or an annual rate of interest.
AnnuityRateWatch.com, is only a linked to subscription service, which is not affiliated with this site, it supplies and updates all Annuity Rates, Features Ratings, Fees and Riders. AnnuityRateWatch.com's information is available in the public domain and accuracy is not verified or guaranteed since this type of information is always subject to change.
Dick helps site visitors when help is requested. Dick may receive a referral fee as compensation from an advisor for a prospective client referral. This helps compensate Dick for time spent assisting site visitors and maintaining this educational website.
Eric Judy is both insurance licensed and securities licensed. Eric offers securities as an investment adviser representative through Client One Securities, LLC.
Eric purchases prospective client referrals from Annuity Guys Ltd. and may be compensated by commission for helping prospective clients purchase. Eric may also recommend these prospective clients to an advisor and earn a referral fee or a referral commission split.
Vetted advisors refers to advisors that are insurance licensed and recommended based on referral experience from satisfied clients.
Any recommendation of an advisor is only one aspect of any due diligence process. Each site visitor must accept full individual responsibility for choosing a licensed insurance agent/advisor.
In the event that a recommended licensed advisor/agent is not considered satisfactory, Eric will make reasonable efforts to recommend other advisors one at a time in an attempt to satisfy a site visitors planning or purchasing needs.
Dick is the website author and editor, Annuity Guys Ltd. is the website owner; Eric is a guest video commentator. Videos gathered from other public domain sources may also be used for educational and conceptual purposes.
There is NO COST to site visitors when they are given an advisor referral or recommendation.
By giving the us your contact information such as email, phone number, address and etc. you are giving your permission to be contacted or sent additional relevant information about annuities, retirement and related financial information. We have a NO SPAM policy.
Accuracy of website information is strived for but is not guaranteed.
Freedom from virus or malware is strived for but is not guaranteed. Website visitors accept any and all risk associated with damage to any computer for any reason when using this website and hold this website harmless from any liability.
Use this website like the vast majority of websites at your own risk. No risk or liability of any type are accepted by any business entity or any of the information providers for this website.

The post Avoiding Annuity Income Rider Abuse! appeared first on Annuity Guys®.

Annuities: What Percentage Should Be in Your Retirement Portfolio?

Annuity Guys® — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 07:00:09 +0000

The answer is… 50 percent (NOT!!!) — want to know why many insurance sales agents might say that?

It’s nice when empirical research validates something that we have observed and practiced for years with our financial planning clients.

Wade Pfau, a professor at American College who specializes in retirement income determined that based upon current market conditions a hypothetical couple ages 65 would have their best success for generating a four percent annual income by using a combination of…[continue reading below video]

Video: Dick and Eric discuss, how to determine the correct percentage of annuities to have in your retirement portfolio.

**Guarantees, including optional benefits, are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuer, and may contain limitations, including surrender charges, which may affect policy values. During this segment, Dick and Eric are referring to Fixed Annuities unless otherwise specified.

Review 3-Best Retirement Annuities for Your
GROWTH, INCOME & SAFETY!

[continued]…50% equities and 50% fixed annuities.

We typically do not espouse an exact percentage, but rather design our income plans to cover the foundational expenses with sources like social security, pensions and annuities. If you take care of the foundation the flexibility with your additional assets can be significantly enhanced.

Check out more on the Death of the 4% financial planning withdrawal Rule.

Say Goodbye To the 4% Rule

The Wall Street Journal

Can your nest egg last your whole lifetime? It’s getting tougher to tell.

Conventional wisdom says you can take 4% from your savings the first year of retirement, and then that amount plus more to account for inflation each year, without running out of money for at least three decades.

This so-called 4% rule was devised in the 1990s by California financial planner William Bengen and later refined by other retirement-planning academics. Mr. Bengen analyzed historical returns of stocks and bonds and found that portfolios with 60% of their holdings in large-company stocks and 40% in intermediate-term U.S. bonds could sustain withdrawal rates starting at 4.15%, and adjusted each year for inflation, for every 30-year span going back to 1926-55.

Well, it was beautiful while it lasted. In recent years, the 4% rule has been thrown into doubt, thanks to an unexpected hazard: the risk of a prolonged market rout the first two, or even three, years of your retirement. In other words, timing is everything. If your nest egg loses 25% of its value just as you start using it, the 4% may no longer hold, and the danger of running out of money increases.

If you had retired Jan. 1, 2000, with an initial 4% withdrawal rate and a portfolio of 55% stocks and 45% bonds rebalanced each month, with the first year’s withdrawal amount increased by 3% a year for inflation, your portfolio would have fallen by a third through 2010, according to investment firm T. Rowe Price Group. And you would be left with only a 29% chance of making it through three decades, the firm estimates.

That sort of scenario has left many baby boomers who are in the midst of retiring riddled with angst. “The mind-blowing aspect of retiring is all these years you’re accumulating and accumulating, and then you need to start drawing down, and you have no idea how to do that,” says Al Starzyk, a 66-year-old retired printing executive in Williamsburg, Va.

So, if you can’t safely withdraw at least 4% a year from a balanced portfolio of equity and bond funds, what do you do? Here are three alternative approaches that retirement specialists say may work better to ensure your money lasts as long as you do:

Use annuities instead of bonds

Pairing the most plain-vanilla type of annuity—called a single-premium immediate annuity—with stocks, retirees can generate income more safely and reliably than if they use bonds for that piece of their portfolio, says Wade Pfau, a professor who researches retirement income at the American College of Financial Services in Bryn Mawr, Pa.

To arrive at that conclusion, he plotted how 1,001 different product allocations might work for a 65-year-old married couple hoping to generate 4% annual income from their portfolio. [Read More…]

Five Retirement & Annuity Calculators

Best Advanced Retirement Income Calculator - Free

Using OutCome Based Planning for Your Retirement

"The Annuity Guys will only call if you request help". Hence, when you are ready for specialized help we will be available.

"Working with an Experienced Fiduciary Financial Planner can help you Avoid a Trial & Error or Risk Based Retirement"

Get Full Video Access & Our Library Edition - Annuity Reference Book

Is Your Annuity Advisor a Salesman or a Fiduciary?
2025 Advisor Report

*FIDUCIARY RETIREMENT REVIEWS
No Cost or Obligation - Annuity Guys

"For Your Retirement's Success"

Choose a *Fiduciary Advisor who gives you Full Disclosure of Cost & Selection.

Fiduciary Advisors 10% - Sales Advisors 90%

2025 Financial Advisor Summary Report

*Fiduciary Financial Planners we estimate at less than 10% of total US financial advisors.
The other 90% of advisors are salespeople such as brokers, bank reps, registered reps. & insurance agents.

Advisors licensed only as a sales oriented securities broker, registered rep, or insurance agent, ARE NOT Fiduciaries! They work on a much lower legal standard of Suitability which does not require full disclosure and only requires a suitable product sale, NOT what's actually best for their client!

Fiduciary Financial Planners by law are subject to the highest standard of financial planning and investment advice accountability.
Hence, clients of a fiduciary can know that their advisor is required legally to work strictly for their highest benefit.

This is also referred to as the prudent man rule, which in simple terms means that by licensing as a Series 65 Investment Advisor / Financial Planner they must give clients the best advice they are capable of based on all the knowledge they possess and information they have access to, in the same way they would advise and help close friends or family members.

Fiduciaries also must disclose all known conflicts of interest that could potentially bias their advice, such as - selling financial products that pay them higher commissions with higher fees or costs, and their lack of investment product availability for their clients' needs, just to name a few.

Choosing your advisor can have

"The Largest Single Impact on

Your Retirement's Success or Failure"

Priority Mail - Free Shipping!

Learn the 3 Best Annuities to Help
ASSURE YOUR RETIREMENT'S SUCCESS!

Selecting the Best Annuity & Retirement Income Advisor

Video:"Choose a National or Local Advisor"?

"There is no room for trial and error when it comes to choosing MarketFree® Annuities or a Successful Retirement Planner."

Video:"Why These 3 Types of Annuity Advisors are Not Created Equal"

"There are no undo buttons in retirement so it is vitally important that you do it right the first time!"

Video: "How Much of Your Money Should You Consider Placing into Annuities"?

"It takes an experienced expert to know how to structure annuities for income, inflation, growth, return of principal, and tax advantage."

Video: "How to Choose a Great retirement Advisor"?

Why Searching for the Best Annuities on Your Own Can be so Frustrating...

Use the internet cautiously;
Work with a vetted and experienced specialist;
Do not settle for that one dubious best plan. Compare multiple Outcome Based Plans to decide on the one that is truly best for you;
Be keenly aware of scare tactics and hyperbole - avoid those advisors and websites;
Avoid websites that are focused on rushing free reports, rates and quotes to get your contact information they are rushing you to speak with them, instead, take your time and choose someone you are more comfortable with that works on your time-table;
Know the Five Vital Factors (listed above) that an experienced specialist must answer before helping you select the best options for your situation;
Watch this telling video "Avoid Annuity Gimmicks, Amateurs and Charlatans"...

Video: "Avoiding Gimmicks, Scams & Charlatans"

Site Terms & Disclosure

All tools, videos or information visible on this website's pages, television, or other media are for educational and conceptual purposes only.
Tools, videos or information are not to be considered investment advice, insurance recommendations, tax or legal advice.
It is recommended that site visitors should work with licensed professionals for individualized advice before making any important or final financial decisions on what is best for his or her situation.
Website comments are not considered investor testimonials those shown only relate to an insurance agent referral service, customer service, or satisfaction with the purchase of insurance products and are never based on any investment or securities advice or investment or securities performance.
Please be aware that your feedback and compliments may be shared with our visitors or those that may be interested in our services we will never give out your full name or full address or phone number without your permission. By sending us your feedback & comments you agree to allow us full use in sharing your comments with others in public forums. Thank you for sharing.
Media logos are not any type of endorsement, they only imply that one or more of the Annuity Guys have written for, been quoted by, or appeared on the listed news outlet, broadcast or cable channels, or branded programs for non-advertising and/or advertising purposes, to offer educational and conceptual information about retirement issues.
Income is guaranteed by annuitization or income riders that may have additional costs or fees.
http://www.annuityguys.net & http://www.annuityguys.com forward to https://annuityguys.org. - Further all disclosures and information are to be considered as one and the same for any and all URL forwards, and these same disclosures and information also apply to all YouTube videos featuring Dick & Eric where ever they are viewed.
MarketFree Annuity Definition: Any fixed annuity or portfolio of fixed annuities that protects principal / premium and growth by remaining market risk free.
Market Free (annuities, retirements and portfolios) refer to the use of fixed insurance products with minimum guarantees that have no market risk to principal and are not investments in securities.
Market Gains are a calculation used to determine interest earned as a result of an increasing market related index limited by various factors in the contract. These can vary with each annuity and issuing insurance company.
Premium is the correct term for money placed into annuities principal is used as a universal term that describes the cash value of any asset.
Interest Earned is the correct term to describe Market Free Annuity Growth; Market Gains, Returns, Growth and other generally used terms only refer to actual Interest Earned
Market Free Annuities are fixed insurance products and only require an insurance license in order to sell these products; they are not securities investments and do not require a securities license.
No Loss only pertains to market downturns and not if losses are incurred due to early withdrawal penalties or other fees for additional insurance benefits.
Annuities typically have surrender periods where early or excessive withdrawals may result in a surrender cost.
Market Free Annuities may or may not have a bonus. Some bonus products have fees or lower interest crediting and when surrendered early the bonus or part of the bonus may be forfeited as part of the surrender process which is determined by each contract.
MarketFree Annuities are not FDIC Insured and are not guaranteed by any Government Agency.
Annuities are not Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured and their guarantees are based on the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance company.
State Insurance Guarantee Associations (SIGA) vary in coverage with each state and are not to be confused with FDIC which has the backing of the federal government.
This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration.
*"Best” refers only to the opinion of Dick, this site's author; or the opinion of Dick & Eric in videos and is not considered best for all individuals.
*"APO” refers only to the Annual Pay-Out of annuities in the guaranteed lifetime income phase. *APO is NOT an annual yield or an annual rate of interest.
AnnuityRateWatch.com, is only a linked to subscription service, which is not affiliated with this site, it supplies and updates all Annuity Rates, Features Ratings, Fees and Riders. AnnuityRateWatch.com's information is available in the public domain and accuracy is not verified or guaranteed since this type of information is always subject to change.
Dick helps site visitors when help is requested. Dick may receive a referral fee as compensation from an advisor for a prospective client referral. This helps compensate Dick for time spent assisting site visitors and maintaining this educational website.
Eric Judy is both insurance licensed and securities licensed. Eric offers securities as an investment adviser representative through Client One Securities, LLC.
Eric purchases prospective client referrals from Annuity Guys Ltd. and may be compensated by commission for helping prospective clients purchase. Eric may also recommend these prospective clients to an advisor and earn a referral fee or a referral commission split.
Vetted advisors refers to advisors that are insurance licensed and recommended based on referral experience from satisfied clients.
Any recommendation of an advisor is only one aspect of any due diligence process. Each site visitor must accept full individual responsibility for choosing a licensed insurance agent/advisor.
In the event that a recommended licensed advisor/agent is not considered satisfactory, Eric will make reasonable efforts to recommend other advisors one at a time in an attempt to satisfy a site visitors planning or purchasing needs.
Dick is the website author and editor, Annuity Guys Ltd. is the website owner; Eric is a guest video commentator. Videos gathered from other public domain sources may also be used for educational and conceptual purposes.
There is NO COST to site visitors when they are given an advisor referral or recommendation.
By giving the us your contact information such as email, phone number, address and etc. you are giving your permission to be contacted or sent additional relevant information about annuities, retirement and related financial information. We have a NO SPAM policy.
Accuracy of website information is strived for but is not guaranteed.
Freedom from virus or malware is strived for but is not guaranteed. Website visitors accept any and all risk associated with damage to any computer for any reason when using this website and hold this website harmless from any liability.
Use this website like the vast majority of websites at your own risk. No risk or liability of any type are accepted by any business entity or any of the information providers for this website.

The post Annuities: What Percentage Should Be in Your Retirement Portfolio? appeared first on Annuity Guys®.

OutCome Based Planning™ for Retirement

Annuity Guys® — Thu, 23 Jan 2025 07:00:05 +0000

We practice and recommend a “Holistic – OutCome Based Planning process when considering annuities.” This approach has the effect of balancing your overall portfolio so you can meet your retirement objectives by “first identifying the least amount of your investments or savings that should be considered for annuities.” OutCome Based Planning analyzes and models multiple outcomes so you can clearly identify your best…[continued below video]

Video: The Annuity Guys, Eric and Dick explain the merits of using Outcome Based Retirement Planning.

[continued] …income and growth opportunities.

Review 3-Best Retirement Annuities for Your
GROWTH, INCOME & SAFETY!

“The Annuity Guys will never call you unless you request our assistance”. When you are ready for specialized help we will be available to assist you..

“Working with an Experienced Fiduciary Financial Planner
can help you Avoid a Trial & Error or Risk Based Retirement”

This type of approach does take considerably more time, effort and analysis which will show you mathematically the successful possibilities by comparing various outcomes rather than trying to sell or convince you of that “so-called one best solution.” Clients frequently tell us that this process removes some of the confusion and emotion to help them objectively identify a better retirement plan; rather than just ending up with the most convincing salesperson or advisor.

When requesting help you can be assured of working with an experienced Annuity Guys’ Retirement Planner who is an independent, licensed insurance agent and (also a securities licensed fiduciary financial planner) who has access to many different companies and annuities in helping you choose using a holistic-outcome based planning approach. We consider the high quality advisor recommendations we make to our website visitors as a direct reflection back on us.

Based on survey feedback on advisors from our website visitors, we eliminated about two-hundred local advisors and now only recommend a few that we consider experienced vetted Annuity Guys’ Fiduciary Advisors. Many local advisors continue requesting us to recommend them as an Annuity Guy’s vetted advisor. However, our reputation and future business is driven only by satisfied website visitors. So, unfortunately we’ve had to tell the vast majority of local advisors no, since we changed our business model over 10 years ago. At that time we stopped trying to satisfy everyone with local advisors, we now primarily work with individuals who are comfortable using today’s internet technology to their fullest advantage by working with a select group of vetted, experienced and knowledgeable Annuity Guys’ Fiduciary Planners.

Get Two Helpful DVDs & Our Library Edition – Annuity Reference Book

Is Your Annuity Advisor a Salesman or a Fiduciary?
2017 Advisor Report

*FIDUCIARY RETIREMENT REVIEWS
No Cost or Obligation - Annuity Guys

"For Your Retirement's Success"

Choose a *Fiduciary Advisor who gives you Full Disclosure of Cost & Selection.

Fiduciary Advisors 10% - Sales Advisors 90%

2025 Financial Advisor Summary Report

*Fiduciary Financial Planners we estimate at less than 10% of total US financial advisors.
The other 90% of advisors are salespeople such as brokers, bank reps, registered reps. & insurance agents.

Advisors licensed only as a sales oriented securities broker, registered rep, or insurance agent, ARE NOT Fiduciaries! They work on a much lower legal standard of Suitability which does not require full disclosure and only requires a suitable product sale, NOT what's actually best for their client!

Fiduciary Financial Planners by law are subject to the highest standard of financial planning and investment advice accountability.
Hence, clients of a fiduciary can know that their advisor is required legally to work strictly for their highest benefit.

This is also referred to as the prudent man rule, which in simple terms means that by licensing as a Series 65 Investment Advisor / Financial Planner they must give clients the best advice they are capable of based on all the knowledge they possess and information they have access to, in the same way they would advise and help close friends or family members.

Fiduciaries also must disclose all known conflicts of interest that could potentially bias their advice, such as - selling financial products that pay them higher commissions with higher fees or costs, and their lack of investment product availability for their clients' needs, just to name a few.

Choosing your advisor can have

"The Largest Single Impact on

Your Retirement's Success or Failure"

Priority Mail – Free Shipping!

Learn the 3 Best Annuities to Help
ASSURE YOUR RETIREMENT'S SUCCESS!

Selecting the Best Annuity & Retirement Income Advisor

Video:"Choose a National or Local Advisor"?

"There is no room for trial and error when it comes to choosing MarketFree® Annuities or a Successful Retirement Planner."

Video:"Why These 3 Types of Annuity Advisors are Not Created Equal"

"There are no undo buttons in retirement so it is vitally important that you do it right the first time!"

Video: "How Much of Your Money Should You Consider Placing into Annuities"?

"It takes an experienced expert to know how to structure annuities for income, inflation, growth, return of principal, and tax advantage."

Video: "How to Choose a Great retirement Advisor"?

Why Searching for the Best Annuities on Your Own Can be so Frustrating...

Use the internet cautiously;
Work with a vetted and experienced specialist;
Do not settle for that one dubious best plan. Compare multiple Outcome Based Plans to decide on the one that is truly best for you;
Be keenly aware of scare tactics and hyperbole - avoid those advisors and websites;
Avoid websites that are focused on rushing free reports, rates and quotes to get your contact information they are rushing you to speak with them, instead, take your time and choose someone you are more comfortable with that works on your time-table;
Know the Five Vital Factors (listed above) that an experienced specialist must answer before helping you select the best options for your situation;
Watch this telling video "Avoid Annuity Gimmicks, Amateurs and Charlatans"...

Video: "Avoiding Gimmicks, Scams & Charlatans"

Five Retirement & Annuity Calculators

Best Advanced Retirement Income Calculator - Free

Site Terms & Disclosure

All tools, videos or information visible on this website's pages, television, or other media are for educational and conceptual purposes only.
Tools, videos or information are not to be considered investment advice, insurance recommendations, tax or legal advice.
It is recommended that site visitors should work with licensed professionals for individualized advice before making any important or final financial decisions on what is best for his or her situation.
Website comments are not considered investor testimonials those shown only relate to an insurance agent referral service, customer service, or satisfaction with the purchase of insurance products and are never based on any investment or securities advice or investment or securities performance.
Please be aware that your feedback and compliments may be shared with our visitors or those that may be interested in our services we will never give out your full name or full address or phone number without your permission. By sending us your feedback & comments you agree to allow us full use in sharing your comments with others in public forums. Thank you for sharing.
Media logos are not any type of endorsement, they only imply that one or more of the Annuity Guys have written for, been quoted by, or appeared on the listed news outlet, broadcast or cable channels, or branded programs for non-advertising and/or advertising purposes, to offer educational and conceptual information about retirement issues.
Income is guaranteed by annuitization or income riders that may have additional costs or fees.
http://www.annuityguys.net & http://www.annuityguys.com forward to https://annuityguys.org. - Further all disclosures and information are to be considered as one and the same for any and all URL forwards, and these same disclosures and information also apply to all YouTube videos featuring Dick & Eric where ever they are viewed.
MarketFree Annuity Definition: Any fixed annuity or portfolio of fixed annuities that protects principal / premium and growth by remaining market risk free.
Market Free (annuities, retirements and portfolios) refer to the use of fixed insurance products with minimum guarantees that have no market risk to principal and are not investments in securities.
Market Gains are a calculation used to determine interest earned as a result of an increasing market related index limited by various factors in the contract. These can vary with each annuity and issuing insurance company.
Premium is the correct term for money placed into annuities principal is used as a universal term that describes the cash value of any asset.
Interest Earned is the correct term to describe Market Free Annuity Growth; Market Gains, Returns, Growth and other generally used terms only refer to actual Interest Earned
Market Free Annuities are fixed insurance products and only require an insurance license in order to sell these products; they are not securities investments and do not require a securities license.
No Loss only pertains to market downturns and not if losses are incurred due to early withdrawal penalties or other fees for additional insurance benefits.
Annuities typically have surrender periods where early or excessive withdrawals may result in a surrender cost.
Market Free Annuities may or may not have a bonus. Some bonus products have fees or lower interest crediting and when surrendered early the bonus or part of the bonus may be forfeited as part of the surrender process which is determined by each contract.
MarketFree Annuities are not FDIC Insured and are not guaranteed by any Government Agency.
Annuities are not Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured and their guarantees are based on the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance company.
State Insurance Guarantee Associations (SIGA) vary in coverage with each state and are not to be confused with FDIC which has the backing of the federal government.
This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration.
*"Best” refers only to the opinion of Dick, this site's author; or the opinion of Dick & Eric in videos and is not considered best for all individuals.
*"APO” refers only to the Annual Pay-Out of annuities in the guaranteed lifetime income phase. *APO is NOT an annual yield or an annual rate of interest.
AnnuityRateWatch.com, is only a linked to subscription service, which is not affiliated with this site, it supplies and updates all Annuity Rates, Features Ratings, Fees and Riders. AnnuityRateWatch.com's information is available in the public domain and accuracy is not verified or guaranteed since this type of information is always subject to change.
Dick helps site visitors when help is requested. Dick may receive a referral fee as compensation from an advisor for a prospective client referral. This helps compensate Dick for time spent assisting site visitors and maintaining this educational website.
Eric Judy is both insurance licensed and securities licensed. Eric offers securities as an investment adviser representative through Client One Securities, LLC.
Eric purchases prospective client referrals from Annuity Guys Ltd. and may be compensated by commission for helping prospective clients purchase. Eric may also recommend these prospective clients to an advisor and earn a referral fee or a referral commission split.
Vetted advisors refers to advisors that are insurance licensed and recommended based on referral experience from satisfied clients.
Any recommendation of an advisor is only one aspect of any due diligence process. Each site visitor must accept full individual responsibility for choosing a licensed insurance agent/advisor.
In the event that a recommended licensed advisor/agent is not considered satisfactory, Eric will make reasonable efforts to recommend other advisors one at a time in an attempt to satisfy a site visitors planning or purchasing needs.
Dick is the website author and editor, Annuity Guys Ltd. is the website owner; Eric is a guest video commentator. Videos gathered from other public domain sources may also be used for educational and conceptual purposes.
There is NO COST to site visitors when they are given an advisor referral or recommendation.
By giving the us your contact information such as email, phone number, address and etc. you are giving your permission to be contacted or sent additional relevant information about annuities, retirement and related financial information. We have a NO SPAM policy.
Accuracy of website information is strived for but is not guaranteed.
Freedom from virus or malware is strived for but is not guaranteed. Website visitors accept any and all risk associated with damage to any computer for any reason when using this website and hold this website harmless from any liability.
Use this website like the vast majority of websites at your own risk. No risk or liability of any type are accepted by any business entity or any of the information providers for this website.

The post OutCome Based Planning™ for Retirement appeared first on Annuity Guys®.

Why Should Anyone Rely on an Annuity?

Annuity Guys® — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 07:00:02 +0000

By protecting your income foundation with an annuity or annuities — and including Social Security and/or a pension as non-commercial lifetime income annuities – you establish an income floor you’re not likely fall below for the remainder of your life. This floor has the probability of remaining protected regardless of economic circumstances. By creating this type of income floor, you allow for greater flexibility in retirement portfolio construction and greatly reduce the risk of loss presented by… [continued below video]

Video: The Annuity Guys, Dick and Eric, discuss retirees who rely on annuities.

Guarantees, including optional benefits, are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuer, and may contain limitations, including surrender charges, which may affect policy values. During this segment, Dick and Eric are referring to Fixed Annuities unless otherwise specified.

Review 3-Best Retirement Annuities for Your
GROWTH, INCOME & SAFETY!

[continued] …unfavorable market returns. The flexibility of taking additional withdrawals for non-essential needs when returns are good; and otherwise, forgoing or limiting withdrawals from assets creates a greater chance for your preferred lifestyle to be successful in retirement.

As for annuities, the financial comfort created by the knowledge that your check is coming each and every month for as long as you live, shall we say, is priceless!

Life insurance companies are the only viable options to take longevity risk off the table because they operate on both sides of the longevity equation. The longer that someone lives, the more the insurance company pays in annuity benefits. However, conversely, it also delays the amount of death claims paid out and has longer time periods when life insurance premiums are being paid in keeping the actuarial needs of the insurance company in balance.
“Only a lifetime income annuity can optimize income over the indefinite period of a human life.” – Menahem Yaari

Annuity advocate Tom Hegna, the author of Pay Checks and Play Checks, cited the research of Menahem Yaari and insisted that it is a mathematical and economic fact that the only way a retiree can address the risks of retirement income needs effectively is through the ownership of a lifetime income annuity. Hegna stated that longevity risk is the number one risk in retirement. He argued that failure to address longevity risk multiplies the impact of other retirement risk elements including market risk, order of return risk, withdrawal rate risk, interest rate risk, inflation risk, and deflation risk.

Need more research on annuities and longevity? Check out this paper on Life Annuities and Uncertain Lifetimes.

As the baby boom generation begins the transition into retirement, concerns about retirement income security are rising in importance on the agenda of policymakers and academic researchers across the globe. Recent decades have witnessed many changes to the retirement income landscape, including the shift from defined benefit to defined contribution pension plans in the United States and the introduction of personal accounts as part of public pensions systems in dozens of other countries. A common theme in these changes has been a shift toward increased individual self-reliance in retirement planning.

While researchers and policymakers have placed enormous attention on the accumulation phase of retirement accounts, such as how individuals save and invest, they are becoming increasingly aware that asset accumulation is only part of the retirement security equation. The other part is how individuals convert their accumulated savings into a retirement consumption stream, particularly when most of us do not know how long we will live. Indeed, uncertainty about length-of-life is one of the most significant sources of financial risk facing today’s retirees.

Dramatic advances in life expectancy over the last century mean that today’s typical 65-year old man and woman can expect to live to age 81 and 85 respectively. Perhaps even more striking is the fact that almost a fifth of 65-year-old men and nearly one-third of 65-year-old women will live to age 90 or beyond. Without appropriate financial planning during retirement, increased longevity means that individuals face a greater risk of being forced to substantially reduce their living standards at advanced ages.

Life annuities are financial instruments that allow an individual to exchange a stock of wealth for a stream of income that continues for life. An annuity provider, such as an insurance company or the government, pools the resources of annuitants and uses the resources of those who die young to fund increased consumption for those who live a long time. Because of their ability to insure against the consumption uncertainty that arises from longevity risk, life annuities have played an important role in economic models of consumption for at least four decades, and recently have begun to attract considerable policy attention as well. This article provides a brief summary of the rapidly growing body of research dedicated to better understanding annuity markets in the United States and abroad. [Read More…]

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Using OutCome Based Planning for Your Retirement

We practice and recommend a "Holistic - OutCome Based Planning process when considering annuities." This approach has the effect of balancing your overall portfolio so you can meet your retirement objectives by "first identifying the least amount of your investments or savings (if any) that should be considered for annuities." OutCome Based Planning analyzes and models multiple outcomes so you can clearly identify your best income and growth opportunities.

"The Annuity Guys will only call if you request help". Hence, when you are ready for specialized help we will be available.

"Working with an Experienced Fiduciary Financial Planner can help you Avoid a Trial & Error or Risk Based Retirement"

*FIDUCIARY RETIREMENT REVIEWS
Second Opinions Improve Retirements

"For Your Retirement's Success"

Choose a *Fiduciary Advisor who gives you Full Disclosure of Cost & Selection.

Material Fact 1:

About 90% of advisors ARE NOT REQUIRED by law to do what is best for their clients!

Material Fact 2:

Fiduciary Advisors ARE REQUIRED by law to do what's best for their clients!

Hence, clients of a fiduciary can know that their advisor chose the highest legal standard required by law to work strictly for their highest good.

We estimate Fiduciaries are less than 10% of total U.S. financial service providers. Fiduciaries are held to the highest client legal standard of financial planning and investment advice.

The other 90% are sales oriented advisors, brokers, bank reps, registered reps. & insurance agents, selling products on a much lower suitability legal standard, not necessarily what's best for their client!

Fiduciaries also must disclose conflicts of interest that could potentially bias their advice, such as; selling products that pay them higher commissions having higher fees or costs, and their lack of investment product access limiting their client's opportunities, to name a few.

Choosing your advisor can have

"The Largest Single Impact on

Your Retirement's Success or Failure"

Δ

This type of approach does take considerably more time, effort and analysis which will show you mathematically the successful possibilities by comparing various outcomes rather than trying to sell or convince you of that "so-called one best solution." Clients frequently tell us that this process removes some of the confusion and emotion to help them objectively identify a better retirement plan; rather than just ending up with the most convincing salesperson or advisor.

When requesting help you can be assured of working with an experienced Annuity Guys' Retirement Planner who is independently insurance licensed and securities licensed as a fiduciary financial planner having access to the vast majority of annuity companies in helping you choose the best annuities using a holistic-outcome based planning approach. We consider the high quality advisor recommendations we make to our website visitors as a direct reflection back on our commitment to serve all client's with a high standard of excellence in financial planning for retirement.

Based on survey feedback on advisors from our website visitors, we eliminated about two-hundred local advisors and now only recommend a few that we consider experienced vetted Annuity Guys' Fiduciary Advisors. Many local advisors continue requesting us to recommend them as a vetted advisor. However, our reputation and future business is driven only by satisfied website visitors. So, unfortunately we've had to tell the vast majority of local advisors no, since we changed our business model four years ago. At that time we stopped trying to satisfy everyone with local advisors, we now primarily work with individuals who are comfortable using today's internet technology to their fullest advantage by working with a select group of vetted, experienced and knowledgeable Annuity Guys' Fiduciary Planners.

Get Full Video Access & Our Library Edition - Annuity Reference Book

Is Your Annuity Advisor a Salesman or a Fiduciary?
2025 Advisor Report

*FIDUCIARY RETIREMENT REVIEWS
No Cost or Obligation - Annuity Guys

"For Your Retirement's Success"

Choose a *Fiduciary Advisor who gives you Full Disclosure of Cost & Selection.

Fiduciary Advisors 10% - Sales Advisors 90%

2025 Financial Advisor Summary Report

*Fiduciary Financial Planners we estimate at less than 10% of total US financial advisors.
The other 90% of advisors are salespeople such as brokers, bank reps, registered reps. & insurance agents.

Advisors licensed only as a sales oriented securities broker, registered rep, or insurance agent, ARE NOT Fiduciaries! They work on a much lower legal standard of Suitability which does not require full disclosure and only requires a suitable product sale, NOT what's actually best for their client!

Fiduciary Financial Planners by law are subject to the highest standard of financial planning and investment advice accountability.
Hence, clients of a fiduciary can know that their advisor is required legally to work strictly for their highest benefit.

This is also referred to as the prudent man rule, which in simple terms means that by licensing as a Series 65 Investment Advisor / Financial Planner they must give clients the best advice they are capable of based on all the knowledge they possess and information they have access to, in the same way they would advise and help close friends or family members.

Fiduciaries also must disclose all known conflicts of interest that could potentially bias their advice, such as - selling financial products that pay them higher commissions with higher fees or costs, and their lack of investment product availability for their clients' needs, just to name a few.

Choosing your advisor can have

"The Largest Single Impact on

Your Retirement's Success or Failure"

Δ

Priority Mail - Free Shipping!

After confirming your request for help and shipping address by phone, we will immediately send your FREE personally signed Library Edition of our popular Annuity Reference Book "The New Retirement" plus Fact-Filled, Full Video Access!

Learn the 3 Best Annuities to Help
ASSURE YOUR RETIREMENT'S SUCCESS!

Selecting the Best Annuity & Retirement Income Advisor

Are you willing to work with one of our retirement and annuity advisors based on their experience and expertise as a first priority rather than being limited by a local or regional area? The good news is that technology has forever eliminated our geographical limitations and leveled the playing field for everyone! As a result of today's technological advances, all of us can now work confidently with experts in any field including personal finance. We are no longer confined by regional or local boundaries limiting our choices and ultimate success. A high quality advisor is now as close as a click or phone call away.

Video:"Choose a National or Local Advisor"?

"There is no room for trial and error when it comes to choosing MarketFree® Annuities or a Successful Retirement Planner."

When you think about it, your money is almost always in some other state with a custodian; whether invested in the market or with an annuity insurance company, the advisors competence is primarily needed when positioning your money initially. So working with a specialized expert in a financial discipline like investments or retirement planning is imperative. There are no undo buttons in retirement! Once the annuities get set up correctly, it is customary and more efficient for owners to benefit by having direct access to the issuer instead of having to go through the agent. And, of course any reputable advisor, local or national, is more than willing to assist their clients if needed after they are implemented.

Video:"Why These 3 Types of Annuity Advisors are Not Created Equal"

"There are no undo buttons in retirement so it is vitally important that you do it right the first time!"

We are fortunate to have a select few who we believe are truly the highest qualified advisors out of about two hundred licensed insurance agents that we eliminated. Your survey feedback is what helps us make these tough decisions. Our advisors have an independent financial practice, specializing in annuities and retirement planning, which helps ensure that you are given the best options available for your retirement planning.

Video: "How Much of Your Money Should You Consider Placing into Annuities"?

"It takes an experienced expert to know how to structure annuities for income, inflation, growth, return of principal, and tax advantage."

"Anyone can sell you an annuity; however, it takes a truly qualified and experienced advisor to know how to structure them for income, inflation, growth, return of principal, and tax advantage. Typically, there is not just one that can accomplish all of these objectives. It is how an advisor structures multiple annuities in balancing your total portfolio that makes it possible to achieve your most important retirement objectives."

Video: "How to Choose a Great retirement Advisor"?

Why Searching for the Best Annuities on Your Own Can be so Frustrating...
Almost everyone nowadays turns to the internet for answers on everything - from buying new widgets to researching just about everything under the sun; and finding the best annuity is no exception! At first, it may seem that researching will be straightforward but the more time you spend researching them, the more frustrating it can be. Why is this? First of all, it does not take long to realize that gimmicks abound - such as warnings and alerts from salesmen who just want your attention so they can sell you one or the "too good to be true" claims of 8% to 14% **guaranteed interest and of course the claim that you can get the full market upside with no downside risk! If you have done any research you have heard all of these claims in advertising which are mostly half truths and not fully explained. So how can you find the best annuities on the internet? The truth is... you can't! And what is even more frustrating is all the conflicting points of view from so called experts. There are well over 6,000 different annuities - all designed for different reasons, so is it any wonder that the deck is stacked against the average researcher or do-it-yourselfer. Add to that the fact that they pay high enough commissions to attract a plethora of both good and bad agents. This does not make annuities good or bad; they are simply a financial tool that truly benefit those who use them correctly. How can you find the best annuities for your unique situation?

Use the internet cautiously;

Work with a vetted and experienced specialist;

Do not settle for that one dubious best plan. Compare multiple Outcome Based Plans to decide on the one that is truly best for you;

Be keenly aware of scare tactics and hyperbole - avoid those advisors and websites;

Avoid websites that are focused on rushing free reports, rates and quotes to get your contact information they are rushing you to speak with them, instead, take your time and choose someone you are more comfortable with that works on your time-table;

Know the Five Vital Factors (listed above) that an experienced specialist must answer before helping you select the best options for your situation;

Watch this telling video "Avoid Annuity Gimmicks, Amateurs and Charlatans"...

Video: "Avoiding Gimmicks, Scams & Charlatans"

^** Guarantees, including optional benefits, are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuer, and may contain limitations, including surrender charges, which may affect policy values. Annuities are not FDIC insured and it is possible to lose money.
They are insurance products that require a premium to be paid for purchase.
Annuities do not accept or receive deposits and are not to be confused with bank issued financial instruments.
During all video segments, Dick and Eric are referring to Fixed Annuities unless otherwise specified.

^*Retirement Planning and annuity purchase assistance may be provided by Eric Judy or by referral to a recommended, experienced, Fiduciary Investment Advisor in helping our website visitors. Dick Van Dyke semi-retired from his Investment Advisory Practice in 2012 and now focuses on this website. He still maintains his insurance license in good standing and assists his current clients.
Our vetted and recommended Fiduciary Financial Planners are required to be properly licensed in assisting clients with their annuity and retirement planning needs. (Due diligence as a client is still always necessary when working with any advisor to check their current standing.)

Site Terms & Disclosure

All tools, videos or information visible on this website's pages, television, or other media are for educational and conceptual purposes only.

Tools, videos or information are not to be considered investment advice, insurance recommendations, tax or legal advice.

It is recommended that site visitors should work with licensed professionals for individualized advice before making any important or final financial decisions on what is best for his or her situation.

Website comments are not considered investor testimonials those shown only relate to an insurance agent referral service, customer service, or satisfaction with the purchase of insurance products and are never based on any investment or securities advice or investment or securities performance.

Please be aware that your feedback and compliments may be shared with our visitors or those that may be interested in our services we will never give out your full name or full address or phone number without your permission. By sending us your feedback & comments you agree to allow us full use in sharing your comments with others in public forums. Thank you for sharing.

Media logos are not any type of endorsement, they only imply that one or more of the Annuity Guys have written for, been quoted by, or appeared on the listed news outlet, broadcast or cable channels, or branded programs for non-advertising and/or advertising purposes, to offer educational and conceptual information about retirement issues.

Income is guaranteed by annuitization or income riders that may have additional costs or fees.

http://www.annuityguys.net & http://www.annuityguys.com forward to https://annuityguys.org. - Further all disclosures and information are to be considered as one and the same for any and all URL forwards, and these same disclosures and information also apply to all YouTube videos featuring Dick & Eric where ever they are viewed.

MarketFree Annuity Definition: Any fixed annuity or portfolio of fixed annuities that protects principal / premium and growth by remaining market risk free.

Market Free (annuities, retirements and portfolios) refer to the use of fixed insurance products with minimum guarantees that have no market risk to principal and are not investments in securities.

Market Gains are a calculation used to determine interest earned as a result of an increasing market related index limited by various factors in the contract. These can vary with each annuity and issuing insurance company.

Premium is the correct term for money placed into annuities principal is used as a universal term that describes the cash value of any asset.

Interest Earned is the correct term to describe Market Free Annuity Growth; Market Gains, Returns, Growth and other generally used terms only refer to actual Interest Earned

Market Free Annuities are fixed insurance products and only require an insurance license in order to sell these products; they are not securities investments and do not require a securities license.

No Loss only pertains to market downturns and not if losses are incurred due to early withdrawal penalties or other fees for additional insurance benefits.

Annuities typically have surrender periods where early or excessive withdrawals may result in a surrender cost.

Market Free Annuities may or may not have a bonus. Some bonus products have fees or lower interest crediting and when surrendered early the bonus or part of the bonus may be forfeited as part of the surrender process which is determined by each contract.

MarketFree Annuities are not FDIC Insured and are not guaranteed by any Government Agency.

Annuities are not Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured and their guarantees are based on the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance company.

State Insurance Guarantee Associations (SIGA) vary in coverage with each state and are not to be confused with FDIC which has the backing of the federal government.

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration.

*"Best” refers only to the opinion of Dick, this site's author; or the opinion of Dick & Eric in videos and is not considered best for all individuals.

*"APO” refers only to the Annual Pay-Out of annuities in the guaranteed lifetime income phase. *APO is NOT an annual yield or an annual rate of interest.

AnnuityRateWatch.com, is only a linked to subscription service, which is not affiliated with this site, it supplies and updates all Annuity Rates, Features Ratings, Fees and Riders. AnnuityRateWatch.com's information is available in the public domain and accuracy is not verified or guaranteed since this type of information is always subject to change.

Dick helps site visitors when help is requested. Dick may receive a referral fee as compensation from an advisor for a prospective client referral. This helps compensate Dick for time spent assisting site visitors and maintaining this educational website.

Eric Judy is both insurance licensed and securities licensed. Eric offers securities as an investment adviser representative through Client One Securities, LLC.

Eric purchases prospective client referrals from Annuity Guys Ltd. and may be compensated by commission for helping prospective clients purchase. Eric may also recommend these prospective clients to an advisor and earn a referral fee or a referral commission split.

Vetted advisors refers to advisors that are insurance licensed and recommended based on referral experience from satisfied clients.

Any recommendation of an advisor is only one aspect of any due diligence process. Each site visitor must accept full individual responsibility for choosing a licensed insurance agent/advisor.

In the event that a recommended licensed advisor/agent is not considered satisfactory, Eric will make reasonable efforts to recommend other advisors one at a time in an attempt to satisfy a site visitors planning or purchasing needs.

Dick is the website author and editor, Annuity Guys Ltd. is the website owner; Eric is a guest video commentator. Videos gathered from other public domain sources may also be used for educational and conceptual purposes.

There is NO COST to site visitors when they are given an advisor referral or recommendation.

By giving the us your contact information such as email, phone number, address and etc. you are giving your permission to be contacted or sent additional relevant information about annuities, retirement and related financial information. We have a NO SPAM policy.

Accuracy of website information is strived for but is not guaranteed.

Freedom from virus or malware is strived for but is not guaranteed. Website visitors accept any and all risk associated with damage to any computer for any reason when using this website and hold this website harmless from any liability.

Use this website like the vast majority of websites at your own risk. No risk or liability of any type are accepted by any business entity or any of the information providers for this website.

The post Why Should Anyone Rely on an Annuity? appeared first on Annuity Guys®.

Are Set It & Forget It Retirements Practical?

Annuity Guys® — Thu, 26 Dec 2024 07:00:05 +0000

Have you ever put a pizza in the oven only to discover you forgot the timer and your meal is burnt to a crisp? Wouldn’t it be nice to just throw it in the oven and know it will be just the way you like it without further attention to perfect timing? With pizza, maybe not. However, with retirement, proper planning with annuities allows you to set it and forget it! If you put the right…[continued below video]

Video: Annuity Guys, Dick & Eric, discuss using annuities for a set it & forget it retirement.

  Guarantees, including optional benefits, are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuer, and may contain limitations, including surrender charges, which may affect policy values. During this segment, Dick and Eric are referring to Fixed Annuities unless otherwise specified.

Review 3-Best Retirement Annuities for Your
GROWTH, INCOME & SAFETY!

[continued] …annuities in your retirement plan, you can have a safe and reliable strategy that will help you enjoy your retirement years on auto-pilot – instead of constantly monitoring your portfolio to hopefully avoid a financial meltdown of the stock market that could be considerably worse than burnt pizza!

Why MarketFree® annuities? Definitely, because most retirees based on our field observations want to reduce or eliminate stock market risk to their principal and have **guarantees that create a secure income stream which cannot be outlived. Hence, MarketFree® annuities do offer principal protection against stock market risk that most retirees are seeking and they can provide reasonable cash growth including income **guarantees prior to and throughout retirement.

A retirement plan that addresses your core income needs with **guaranteed sources of income for life, safe reasonable growth, low or no fees, and with access to principal has made MarketFree® annuities one of America’s fastest growing financial products especially when it comes to these specific types of annuities.

Here is a article from Forbes if you are interested in reading more on this topic…

A Retirement Annuity Strategy That Offers Peace Of Mind

A friend recently told me he’s planning to retire but is worried about his financial ability to do so. When he described his situation, I told him it seemed to me he didn’t have anything to worry about. But, still he’s worried. As luck would have it, I heard a finance professor lecture on retirement income planning the following day. He suggested a strategy that might just help put my friend’s mind at ease. I then also read an article in the Harvard Business Review by Nobel laureate economist Robert Merton touting the same idea. It’s not a cure-all, a panacea or magical solution. As a financial whiz-kid once reminded me, “No financial product has a ‘secret sauce’.” The concept: use annuities as a key element in your retirement income strategy.

My friend’s situation: A debt-free widower in his late 50s, Dave will be retiring from his firm at age 60. He’ll receive a five year buy-out of his stock at retirement, has a sizeable 401(k) and has built up a comfortable nest egg of savings. The problem — he’s so used to making a healthy income from working all these years that he’s uncomfortable with the idea of spending down his assets to pay for his retirement. Dave’s problem is not that he has a tangible lack of wealth, but that he has the intangible fear of outliving his assets.The reason the finance professor’s lecture hit home for me is he focused on the idea that people are far more comfortable with a retirement strategy of spending their income than spending their assets. To make his point, he referenced the problems with the “4 ½ Percent Rule” that some planners use as a retirement income approach. This rule of thumb suggests that a couple can annually withdraw 4.5% of their retirement capital, adjusting the withdrawal rate upward each year for inflation, with little fear of outliving their income. The professor pointed out that for some retirees this approach raises the fear, “What happens if I don’t make enough on my portfolio to justify this income; will I outlive my assets?” For others, it engenders the opposite emotion: “What if my assets do better than this; will I have been too conservative, and robbed myself of a happy retirement while leaving more than I intended to my kids?”

An annuity strategy addresses both of these fears. The Strategy… [Read more a Forbes…

Five Retirement & Annuity Calculators

Best Advanced Retirement Income Calculator - Free

Advanced Financial Planning

Retirement Income Calculator

Save Reports & Planning Docs!
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This powerful calculator doesn't guarantee accuracy or any future results. You should use a licensed financial planner to confirm all of your calculations.

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This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

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Using OutCome Based Planning for Your Retirement

We practice and recommend a "Holistic - OutCome Based Planning process when considering annuities." This approach has the effect of balancing your overall portfolio so you can meet your retirement objectives by "first identifying the least amount of your investments or savings (if any) that should be considered for annuities." OutCome Based Planning analyzes and models multiple outcomes so you can clearly identify your best income and growth opportunities.

"The Annuity Guys will only call if you request help". Hence, when you are ready for specialized help we will be available.

"Working with an Experienced Fiduciary Financial Planner can help you Avoid a Trial & Error or Risk Based Retirement"

*FIDUCIARY RETIREMENT REVIEWS
Second Opinions Improve Retirements

"For Your Retirement's Success"

Choose a *Fiduciary Advisor who gives you Full Disclosure of Cost & Selection.

Material Fact 1:

About 90% of advisors ARE NOT REQUIRED by law to do what is best for their clients!

Material Fact 2:

Fiduciary Advisors ARE REQUIRED by law to do what's best for their clients!

Hence, clients of a fiduciary can know that their advisor chose the highest legal standard required by law to work strictly for their highest good.

We estimate Fiduciaries are less than 10% of total U.S. financial service providers. Fiduciaries are held to the highest client legal standard of financial planning and investment advice.

The other 90% are sales oriented advisors, brokers, bank reps, registered reps. & insurance agents, selling products on a much lower suitability legal standard, not necessarily what's best for their client!

   Fiduciaries also must disclose conflicts of interest that could potentially bias their advice, such as; selling products that pay them higher commissions having higher fees or costs, and their lack of investment product access limiting their client's opportunities, to name a few.

Choosing your advisor can have

"The Largest Single Impact on

Your Retirement's Success or Failure"

Δ

This type of approach does take considerably more time, effort and analysis which will show you mathematically the successful possibilities by comparing various outcomes rather than trying to sell or convince you of that "so-called one best solution." Clients frequently tell us that this process removes some of the confusion and emotion to help them objectively identify a better retirement plan; rather than just ending up with the most convincing salesperson or advisor.

When requesting help you can be assured of working with an experienced Annuity Guys' Retirement Planner who is independently insurance licensed and securities licensed as a fiduciary financial planner having access to the vast majority of annuity companies in helping you choose the best annuities using a holistic-outcome based planning approach. We consider the high quality advisor recommendations we make to our website visitors as a direct reflection back on our commitment to serve all client's with a high standard of excellence in financial planning for retirement.

Based on survey feedback on advisors from our website visitors, we eliminated about two-hundred local advisors and now only recommend a few that we consider experienced vetted Annuity Guys' Fiduciary Advisors. Many local advisors continue requesting us to recommend them as a vetted advisor. However, our reputation and future business is driven only by satisfied website visitors. So, unfortunately we've had to tell the vast majority of local advisors no, since we changed our business model four years ago. At that time we stopped trying to satisfy everyone with local advisors, we now primarily work with individuals who are comfortable using today's internet technology to their fullest advantage by working with a select group of vetted, experienced and knowledgeable Annuity Guys' Fiduciary Planners.

Get Full Video Access & Our Library Edition - Annuity Reference Book

Is Your Annuity Advisor a Salesman or a Fiduciary?
2025 Advisor Report

*FIDUCIARY RETIREMENT REVIEWS
No Cost or Obligation - Annuity Guys

"For Your Retirement's Success"

Choose a *Fiduciary Advisor who gives you Full Disclosure of Cost & Selection.

Fiduciary Advisors 10% - Sales Advisors 90%

2025 Financial Advisor Summary Report

*Fiduciary Financial Planners we estimate at less than 10% of total US financial advisors.
The other 90% of advisors are salespeople such as brokers, bank reps, registered reps. & insurance agents.

Advisors licensed only as a sales oriented securities broker, registered rep, or insurance agent, ARE NOT Fiduciaries! They work on a much lower legal standard of Suitability which does not require full disclosure and only requires a suitable product sale, NOT what's actually best for their client!

Fiduciary Financial Planners by law are subject to the highest standard of financial planning and investment advice accountability.
Hence, clients of a fiduciary can know that their advisor is required legally to work strictly for their highest benefit.

This is also referred to as the prudent man rule, which in simple terms means that by licensing as a Series 65 Investment Advisor / Financial Planner they must give clients the best advice they are capable of based on all the knowledge they possess and information they have access to, in the same way they would advise and help close friends or family members.

Fiduciaries also must disclose all known conflicts of interest that could potentially bias their advice, such as - selling financial products that pay them higher commissions with higher fees or costs, and their lack of investment product availability for their clients' needs, just to name a few.

Choosing your advisor can have

"The Largest Single Impact on

Your Retirement's Success or Failure"

Δ

Priority Mail - Free Shipping!

After confirming your request for help and shipping address by phone, we will immediately send your FREE personally signed Library Edition of our popular Annuity Reference Book "The New Retirement" plus Fact-Filled, Full Video Access!

Learn the 3 Best Annuities to Help
ASSURE YOUR RETIREMENT'S SUCCESS!

Selecting the Best Annuity & Retirement Income Advisor

Are you willing to work with one of our retirement and annuity advisors based on their experience and expertise as a first priority rather than being limited by a local or regional area? The good news is that technology has forever eliminated our geographical limitations and leveled the playing field for everyone! As a result of today's technological advances, all of us can now work confidently with experts in any field including personal finance. We are no longer confined by regional or local boundaries limiting our choices and ultimate success. A high quality advisor is now as close as a click or phone call away.

Video:"Choose a National or Local Advisor"?

"There is no room for trial and error when it comes to choosing MarketFree® Annuities or a Successful Retirement Planner."

When you think about it, your money is almost always in some other state with a custodian; whether invested in the market or with an annuity insurance company, the advisors competence is primarily needed when positioning your money initially. So working with a specialized expert in a financial discipline like investments or retirement planning is imperative. There are no undo buttons in retirement! Once the annuities get set up correctly, it is customary and more efficient for owners to benefit by having direct access to the issuer instead of having to go through the agent. And, of course any reputable advisor, local or national, is more than willing to assist their clients if needed after they are implemented.

Video:"Why These 3 Types of Annuity Advisors are Not Created Equal"

"There are no undo buttons in retirement so it is vitally important that you do it right the first time!"

We are fortunate to have a select few who we believe are truly the highest qualified advisors out of about two hundred licensed insurance agents that we eliminated. Your survey feedback is what helps us make these tough decisions. Our advisors have an independent financial practice, specializing in annuities and retirement planning, which helps ensure that you are given the best options available for your retirement planning.

Video: "How Much of Your Money Should You Consider Placing into Annuities"?

"It takes an experienced expert to know how to structure annuities for income, inflation, growth, return of principal, and tax advantage."

"Anyone can sell you an annuity; however, it takes a truly qualified and experienced advisor to know how to structure them for income, inflation, growth, return of principal, and tax advantage. Typically, there is not just one that can accomplish all of these objectives. It is how an advisor structures multiple annuities in balancing your total portfolio that makes it possible to achieve your most important retirement objectives."

Video: "How to Choose a Great retirement Advisor"?

Why Searching for the Best Annuities on Your Own Can be so Frustrating...
Almost everyone nowadays turns to the internet for answers on everything - from buying new widgets to researching just about everything under the sun; and finding the best annuity is no exception! At first, it may seem that researching will be straightforward but the more time you spend researching them, the more frustrating it can be. Why is this? First of all, it does not take long to realize that gimmicks abound - such as warnings and alerts from salesmen who just want your attention so they can sell you one or the "too good to be true" claims of 8% to 14% **guaranteed interest and of course the claim that you can get the full market upside with no downside risk! If you have done any research you have heard all of these claims in advertising which are mostly half truths and not fully explained. So how can you find the best annuities on the internet? The truth is... you can't! And what is even more frustrating is all the conflicting points of view from so called experts. There are well over 6,000 different annuities - all designed for different reasons, so is it any wonder that the deck is stacked against the average researcher or do-it-yourselfer. Add to that the fact that they pay high enough commissions to attract a plethora of both good and bad agents. This does not make annuities good or bad; they are simply a financial tool that truly benefit those who use them correctly. How can you find the best annuities for your unique situation?

Use the internet cautiously;

Work with a vetted and experienced specialist;

Do not settle for that one dubious best plan. Compare multiple Outcome Based Plans to decide on the one that is truly best for you;

Be keenly aware of scare tactics and hyperbole - avoid those advisors and websites;

Avoid websites that are focused on rushing free reports, rates and quotes to get your contact information they are rushing you to speak with them, instead, take your time and choose someone you are more comfortable with that works on your time-table;

Know the Five Vital Factors (listed above) that an experienced specialist must answer before helping you select the best options for your situation;

Watch this telling video "Avoid Annuity Gimmicks, Amateurs and Charlatans"...

Video: "Avoiding Gimmicks, Scams & Charlatans"

^** Guarantees, including optional benefits, are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuer, and may contain limitations, including surrender charges, which may affect policy values. Annuities are not FDIC insured and it is possible to lose money.
They are insurance products that require a premium to be paid for purchase.
Annuities do not accept or receive deposits and are not to be confused with bank issued financial instruments.
During all video segments, Dick and Eric are referring to Fixed Annuities unless otherwise specified.

^*Retirement Planning and annuity purchase assistance may be provided by Eric Judy or by referral to a recommended, experienced, Fiduciary Investment Advisor in helping our website visitors. Dick Van Dyke semi-retired from his Investment Advisory Practice in 2012 and now focuses on this website. He still maintains his insurance license in good standing and assists his current clients.
Our vetted and recommended Fiduciary Financial Planners are required to be properly licensed in assisting clients with their annuity and retirement planning needs. (Due diligence as a client is still always necessary when working with any advisor to check their current standing.)

Site Terms & Disclosure

All tools, videos or information visible on this website's pages, television, or other media are for educational and conceptual purposes only.

Tools, videos or information are not to be considered investment advice, insurance recommendations, tax or legal advice.

It is recommended that site visitors should work with licensed professionals for individualized advice before making any important or final financial decisions on what is best for his or her situation.

Website comments are not considered investor testimonials those shown only relate to an insurance agent referral service, customer service, or satisfaction with the purchase of insurance products and are never based on any investment or securities advice or investment or securities performance.

Please be aware that your feedback and compliments may be shared with our visitors or those that may be interested in our services we will never give out your full name or full address or phone number without your permission. By sending us your feedback & comments you agree to allow us full use in sharing your comments with others in public forums. Thank you for sharing.

Media logos are not any type of endorsement, they only imply that one or more of the Annuity Guys have written for, been quoted by, or appeared on the listed news outlet, broadcast or cable channels, or branded programs for non-advertising and/or advertising purposes, to offer educational and conceptual information about retirement issues.

Income is guaranteed by annuitization or income riders that may have additional costs or fees.

http://www.annuityguys.net & http://www.annuityguys.com forward to https://annuityguys.org. - Further all disclosures and information are to be considered as one and the same for any and all URL forwards, and these same disclosures and information also apply to all YouTube videos featuring Dick & Eric where ever they are viewed.

MarketFree Annuity Definition: Any fixed annuity or portfolio of fixed annuities that protects principal / premium and growth by remaining market risk free.

Market Free (annuities, retirements and portfolios) refer to the use of fixed insurance products with minimum guarantees that have no market risk to principal and are not investments in securities.

Market Gains are a calculation used to determine interest earned as a result of an increasing market related index limited by various factors in the contract. These can vary with each annuity and issuing insurance company.

Premium is the correct term for money placed into annuities principal is used as a universal term that describes the cash value of any asset.

Interest Earned is the correct term to describe Market Free Annuity Growth; Market Gains, Returns, Growth and other generally used terms only refer to actual Interest Earned

Market Free Annuities are fixed insurance products and only require an insurance license in order to sell these products; they are not securities investments and do not require a securities license.

No Loss only pertains to market downturns and not if losses are incurred due to early withdrawal penalties or other fees for additional insurance benefits.

Annuities typically have surrender periods where early or excessive withdrawals may result in a surrender cost.

Market Free Annuities may or may not have a bonus. Some bonus products have fees or lower interest crediting and when surrendered early the bonus or part of the bonus may be forfeited as part of the surrender process which is determined by each contract.

MarketFree Annuities are not FDIC Insured and are not guaranteed by any Government Agency.

Annuities are not Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured and their guarantees are based on the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance company.

State Insurance Guarantee Associations (SIGA) vary in coverage with each state and are not to be confused with FDIC which has the backing of the federal government.

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration.

*"Best” refers only to the opinion of Dick, this site's author; or the opinion of Dick & Eric in videos and is not considered best for all individuals.

*"APO” refers only to the Annual Pay-Out of annuities in the guaranteed lifetime income phase. *APO is NOT an annual yield or an annual rate of interest.

AnnuityRateWatch.com, is only a linked to subscription service, which is not affiliated with this site, it supplies and updates all Annuity Rates, Features Ratings, Fees and Riders. AnnuityRateWatch.com's information is available in the public domain and accuracy is not verified or guaranteed since this type of information is always subject to change.

Dick helps site visitors when help is requested. Dick may receive a referral fee as compensation from an advisor for a prospective client referral. This helps compensate Dick for time spent assisting site visitors and maintaining this educational website.

Eric Judy is both insurance licensed and securities licensed. Eric offers securities as an investment adviser representative through Client One Securities, LLC.

Eric purchases prospective client referrals from Annuity Guys Ltd. and may be compensated by commission for helping prospective clients purchase. Eric may also recommend these prospective clients to an advisor and earn a referral fee or a referral commission split.

Vetted advisors refers to advisors that are insurance licensed and recommended based on referral experience from satisfied clients.

Any recommendation of an advisor is only one aspect of any due diligence process. Each site visitor must accept full individual responsibility for choosing a licensed insurance agent/advisor.

In the event that a recommended licensed advisor/agent is not considered satisfactory, Eric will make reasonable efforts to recommend other advisors one at a time in an attempt to satisfy a site visitors planning or purchasing needs.

Dick is the website author and editor, Annuity Guys Ltd. is the website owner; Eric is a guest video commentator. Videos gathered from other public domain sources may also be used for educational and conceptual purposes.

There is NO COST to site visitors when they are given an advisor referral or recommendation.

By giving the us your contact information such as email, phone number, address and etc. you are giving your permission to be contacted or sent additional relevant information about annuities, retirement and related financial information. We have a NO SPAM policy.

Accuracy of website information is strived for but is not guaranteed.

Freedom from virus or malware is strived for but is not guaranteed. Website visitors accept any and all risk associated with damage to any computer for any reason when using this website and hold this website harmless from any liability.

Use this website like the vast majority of websites at your own risk. No risk or liability of any type are accepted by any business entity or any of the information providers for this website.

The post Are Set It & Forget It Retirements Practical? appeared first on Annuity Guys®.

Can Annuities Enhance Stock Market Investing?

Annuity Guys® — Sun, 01 Dec 2024 07:00:36 +0000

The stock market is well known for its roller coaster effect of up and down account values. For many retirees, this can mean more than a few restless nights and frequent trips to the store for antacids. Just the thought of losing thirty, twenty or even ten percent of your retirement savings can be unsettling at best. Did you know that owning fixed or fixed index annuities can actually enhance your stock market investing? How so? The difference between stocks and annuities comes down to…[continued below video]

Video: Annuity Guys, Eric & Dick discuss annuities enhancing your stock market investments.

**Guarantees, including optional benefits, are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuer, and may contain limitations, including surrender charges, which may affect policy values. During this segment, Dick and Eric are referring to Fixed Annuities unless otherwise specified.

Review 3-Best Retirement Annuities for Your
GROWTH, INCOME & SAFETY!

[continued]… “stocks for wants and annuities for needs”. The **guarantees that annuities provide for income and safer growth without risk of loss can go a long way toward protecting retirees needs. We need **guarantees to assure our access to basic necessities like food, shelter, quality health care and those things we truly cannot live without. We want money to take nice vacations, buy new cars and clothes — but if we had a bad run in the market, we could survive without those additional items or purchases.

Allocations into annuities can enhance your market performance by not forcing you to sell your “stock losers” when they are down, just so you can eat or keep your home. The concept of dollar cost averaging is fairly well known to many people. It is the idea that if you buy into the market at regular intervals – you will buy more when the market is down rather than up. Unfortunately, the concept is true in reverse for retirees. When retirees draw dollars out on regular intervals, they will withdraw more often when the values are down versus when they are up – we call this reverse dollar cost averaging which can be devastating to retirement security when one faces running out of money unexpectedly, late in life!

Annuities are often used effectively as a bond alternative or an alternative non-correlated asset allocation.

What goes up, must come down – unless perhaps it’s a fixed or fixed index annuity.

Five Retirement & Annuity Calculators

Best Advanced Retirement Income Calculator - Free

Advanced Financial Planning

Retirement Income Calculator

Save Reports & Planning Docs!
E-mail*

This powerful calculator doesn't guarantee accuracy or any future results. You should use a licensed financial planner to confirm all of your calculations.

Instant Access - Confidential - Easy Opt-Out
Comments
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Δ

Using OutCome Based Planning for Your Retirement

We practice and recommend a "Holistic - OutCome Based Planning process when considering annuities." This approach has the effect of balancing your overall portfolio so you can meet your retirement objectives by "first identifying the least amount of your investments or savings (if any) that should be considered for annuities." OutCome Based Planning analyzes and models multiple outcomes so you can clearly identify your best income and growth opportunities.

"The Annuity Guys will only call if you request help". Hence, when you are ready for specialized help we will be available.

"Working with an Experienced Fiduciary Financial Planner can help you Avoid a Trial & Error or Risk Based Retirement"

*FIDUCIARY RETIREMENT REVIEWS
Second Opinions Improve Retirements

"For Your Retirement's Success"

Choose a *Fiduciary Advisor who gives you Full Disclosure of Cost & Selection.

Material Fact 1:

About 90% of advisors ARE NOT REQUIRED by law to do what is best for their clients!

Material Fact 2:

Fiduciary Advisors ARE REQUIRED by law to do what's best for their clients!

Hence, clients of a fiduciary can know that their advisor chose the highest legal standard required by law to work strictly for their highest good.

We estimate Fiduciaries are less than 10% of total U.S. financial service providers. Fiduciaries are held to the highest client legal standard of financial planning and investment advice.

The other 90% are sales oriented advisors, brokers, bank reps, registered reps. & insurance agents, selling products on a much lower suitability legal standard, not necessarily what's best for their client!

   Fiduciaries also must disclose conflicts of interest that could potentially bias their advice, such as; selling products that pay them higher commissions having higher fees or costs, and their lack of investment product access limiting their client's opportunities, to name a few.

Choosing your advisor can have

"The Largest Single Impact on

Your Retirement's Success or Failure"

Δ

This type of approach does take considerably more time, effort and analysis which will show you mathematically the successful possibilities by comparing various outcomes rather than trying to sell or convince you of that "so-called one best solution." Clients frequently tell us that this process removes some of the confusion and emotion to help them objectively identify a better retirement plan; rather than just ending up with the most convincing salesperson or advisor.

When requesting help you can be assured of working with an experienced Annuity Guys' Retirement Planner who is independently insurance licensed and securities licensed as a fiduciary financial planner having access to the vast majority of annuity companies in helping you choose the best annuities using a holistic-outcome based planning approach. We consider the high quality advisor recommendations we make to our website visitors as a direct reflection back on our commitment to serve all client's with a high standard of excellence in financial planning for retirement.

Based on survey feedback on advisors from our website visitors, we eliminated about two-hundred local advisors and now only recommend a few that we consider experienced vetted Annuity Guys' Fiduciary Advisors. Many local advisors continue requesting us to recommend them as a vetted advisor. However, our reputation and future business is driven only by satisfied website visitors. So, unfortunately we've had to tell the vast majority of local advisors no, since we changed our business model four years ago. At that time we stopped trying to satisfy everyone with local advisors, we now primarily work with individuals who are comfortable using today's internet technology to their fullest advantage by working with a select group of vetted, experienced and knowledgeable Annuity Guys' Fiduciary Planners.

Get Full Video Access & Our Library Edition - Annuity Reference Book

Is Your Annuity Advisor a Salesman or a Fiduciary?
2025 Advisor Report

*FIDUCIARY RETIREMENT REVIEWS
No Cost or Obligation - Annuity Guys

"For Your Retirement's Success"

Choose a *Fiduciary Advisor who gives you Full Disclosure of Cost & Selection.

Fiduciary Advisors 10% - Sales Advisors 90%

2025 Financial Advisor Summary Report

*Fiduciary Financial Planners we estimate at less than 10% of total US financial advisors.
The other 90% of advisors are salespeople such as brokers, bank reps, registered reps. & insurance agents.

Advisors licensed only as a sales oriented securities broker, registered rep, or insurance agent, ARE NOT Fiduciaries! They work on a much lower legal standard of Suitability which does not require full disclosure and only requires a suitable product sale, NOT what's actually best for their client!

Fiduciary Financial Planners by law are subject to the highest standard of financial planning and investment advice accountability.
Hence, clients of a fiduciary can know that their advisor is required legally to work strictly for their highest benefit.

This is also referred to as the prudent man rule, which in simple terms means that by licensing as a Series 65 Investment Advisor / Financial Planner they must give clients the best advice they are capable of based on all the knowledge they possess and information they have access to, in the same way they would advise and help close friends or family members.

Fiduciaries also must disclose all known conflicts of interest that could potentially bias their advice, such as - selling financial products that pay them higher commissions with higher fees or costs, and their lack of investment product availability for their clients' needs, just to name a few.

Choosing your advisor can have

"The Largest Single Impact on

Your Retirement's Success or Failure"

Δ

Priority Mail - Free Shipping!

After confirming your request for help and shipping address by phone, we will immediately send your FREE personally signed Library Edition of our popular Annuity Reference Book "The New Retirement" plus Fact-Filled, Full Video Access!

Learn the 3 Best Annuities to Help
ASSURE YOUR RETIREMENT'S SUCCESS!

Selecting the Best Annuity & Retirement Income Advisor

Are you willing to work with one of our retirement and annuity advisors based on their experience and expertise as a first priority rather than being limited by a local or regional area? The good news is that technology has forever eliminated our geographical limitations and leveled the playing field for everyone! As a result of today's technological advances, all of us can now work confidently with experts in any field including personal finance. We are no longer confined by regional or local boundaries limiting our choices and ultimate success. A high quality advisor is now as close as a click or phone call away.

Video:"Choose a National or Local Advisor"?

"There is no room for trial and error when it comes to choosing MarketFree® Annuities or a Successful Retirement Planner."

When you think about it, your money is almost always in some other state with a custodian; whether invested in the market or with an annuity insurance company, the advisors competence is primarily needed when positioning your money initially. So working with a specialized expert in a financial discipline like investments or retirement planning is imperative. There are no undo buttons in retirement! Once the annuities get set up correctly, it is customary and more efficient for owners to benefit by having direct access to the issuer instead of having to go through the agent. And, of course any reputable advisor, local or national, is more than willing to assist their clients if needed after they are implemented.

Video:"Why These 3 Types of Annuity Advisors are Not Created Equal"

"There are no undo buttons in retirement so it is vitally important that you do it right the first time!"

We are fortunate to have a select few who we believe are truly the highest qualified advisors out of about two hundred licensed insurance agents that we eliminated. Your survey feedback is what helps us make these tough decisions. Our advisors have an independent financial practice, specializing in annuities and retirement planning, which helps ensure that you are given the best options available for your retirement planning.

Video: "How Much of Your Money Should You Consider Placing into Annuities"?

"It takes an experienced expert to know how to structure annuities for income, inflation, growth, return of principal, and tax advantage."

"Anyone can sell you an annuity; however, it takes a truly qualified and experienced advisor to know how to structure them for income, inflation, growth, return of principal, and tax advantage. Typically, there is not just one that can accomplish all of these objectives. It is how an advisor structures multiple annuities in balancing your total portfolio that makes it possible to achieve your most important retirement objectives."

Video: "How to Choose a Great retirement Advisor"?

Why Searching for the Best Annuities on Your Own Can be so Frustrating...
Almost everyone nowadays turns to the internet for answers on everything - from buying new widgets to researching just about everything under the sun; and finding the best annuity is no exception! At first, it may seem that researching will be straightforward but the more time you spend researching them, the more frustrating it can be. Why is this? First of all, it does not take long to realize that gimmicks abound - such as warnings and alerts from salesmen who just want your attention so they can sell you one or the "too good to be true" claims of 8% to 14% **guaranteed interest and of course the claim that you can get the full market upside with no downside risk! If you have done any research you have heard all of these claims in advertising which are mostly half truths and not fully explained. So how can you find the best annuities on the internet? The truth is... you can't! And what is even more frustrating is all the conflicting points of view from so called experts. There are well over 6,000 different annuities - all designed for different reasons, so is it any wonder that the deck is stacked against the average researcher or do-it-yourselfer. Add to that the fact that they pay high enough commissions to attract a plethora of both good and bad agents. This does not make annuities good or bad; they are simply a financial tool that truly benefit those who use them correctly. How can you find the best annuities for your unique situation?

Use the internet cautiously;

Work with a vetted and experienced specialist;

Do not settle for that one dubious best plan. Compare multiple Outcome Based Plans to decide on the one that is truly best for you;

Be keenly aware of scare tactics and hyperbole - avoid those advisors and websites;

Avoid websites that are focused on rushing free reports, rates and quotes to get your contact information they are rushing you to speak with them, instead, take your time and choose someone you are more comfortable with that works on your time-table;

Know the Five Vital Factors (listed above) that an experienced specialist must answer before helping you select the best options for your situation;

Watch this telling video "Avoid Annuity Gimmicks, Amateurs and Charlatans"...

Video: "Avoiding Gimmicks, Scams & Charlatans"

^** Guarantees, including optional benefits, are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuer, and may contain limitations, including surrender charges, which may affect policy values. Annuities are not FDIC insured and it is possible to lose money.
They are insurance products that require a premium to be paid for purchase.
Annuities do not accept or receive deposits and are not to be confused with bank issued financial instruments.
During all video segments, Dick and Eric are referring to Fixed Annuities unless otherwise specified.

^*Retirement Planning and annuity purchase assistance may be provided by Eric Judy or by referral to a recommended, experienced, Fiduciary Investment Advisor in helping our website visitors. Dick Van Dyke semi-retired from his Investment Advisory Practice in 2012 and now focuses on this website. He still maintains his insurance license in good standing and assists his current clients.
Our vetted and recommended Fiduciary Financial Planners are required to be properly licensed in assisting clients with their annuity and retirement planning needs. (Due diligence as a client is still always necessary when working with any advisor to check their current standing.)

Site Terms & Disclosure

All tools, videos or information visible on this website's pages, television, or other media are for educational and conceptual purposes only.

Tools, videos or information are not to be considered investment advice, insurance recommendations, tax or legal advice.

It is recommended that site visitors should work with licensed professionals for individualized advice before making any important or final financial decisions on what is best for his or her situation.

Website comments are not considered investor testimonials those shown only relate to an insurance agent referral service, customer service, or satisfaction with the purchase of insurance products and are never based on any investment or securities advice or investment or securities performance.

Please be aware that your feedback and compliments may be shared with our visitors or those that may be interested in our services we will never give out your full name or full address or phone number without your permission. By sending us your feedback & comments you agree to allow us full use in sharing your comments with others in public forums. Thank you for sharing.

Media logos are not any type of endorsement, they only imply that one or more of the Annuity Guys have written for, been quoted by, or appeared on the listed news outlet, broadcast or cable channels, or branded programs for non-advertising and/or advertising purposes, to offer educational and conceptual information about retirement issues.

Income is guaranteed by annuitization or income riders that may have additional costs or fees.

http://www.annuityguys.net & http://www.annuityguys.com forward to https://annuityguys.org. - Further all disclosures and information are to be considered as one and the same for any and all URL forwards, and these same disclosures and information also apply to all YouTube videos featuring Dick & Eric where ever they are viewed.

MarketFree Annuity Definition: Any fixed annuity or portfolio of fixed annuities that protects principal / premium and growth by remaining market risk free.

Market Free (annuities, retirements and portfolios) refer to the use of fixed insurance products with minimum guarantees that have no market risk to principal and are not investments in securities.

Market Gains are a calculation used to determine interest earned as a result of an increasing market related index limited by various factors in the contract. These can vary with each annuity and issuing insurance company.

Premium is the correct term for money placed into annuities principal is used as a universal term that describes the cash value of any asset.

Interest Earned is the correct term to describe Market Free Annuity Growth; Market Gains, Returns, Growth and other generally used terms only refer to actual Interest Earned

Market Free Annuities are fixed insurance products and only require an insurance license in order to sell these products; they are not securities investments and do not require a securities license.

No Loss only pertains to market downturns and not if losses are incurred due to early withdrawal penalties or other fees for additional insurance benefits.

Annuities typically have surrender periods where early or excessive withdrawals may result in a surrender cost.

Market Free Annuities may or may not have a bonus. Some bonus products have fees or lower interest crediting and when surrendered early the bonus or part of the bonus may be forfeited as part of the surrender process which is determined by each contract.

MarketFree Annuities are not FDIC Insured and are not guaranteed by any Government Agency.

Annuities are not Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured and their guarantees are based on the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance company.

State Insurance Guarantee Associations (SIGA) vary in coverage with each state and are not to be confused with FDIC which has the backing of the federal government.

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration.

*"Best” refers only to the opinion of Dick, this site's author; or the opinion of Dick & Eric in videos and is not considered best for all individuals.

*"APO” refers only to the Annual Pay-Out of annuities in the guaranteed lifetime income phase. *APO is NOT an annual yield or an annual rate of interest.

AnnuityRateWatch.com, is only a linked to subscription service, which is not affiliated with this site, it supplies and updates all Annuity Rates, Features Ratings, Fees and Riders. AnnuityRateWatch.com's information is available in the public domain and accuracy is not verified or guaranteed since this type of information is always subject to change.

Dick helps site visitors when help is requested. Dick may receive a referral fee as compensation from an advisor for a prospective client referral. This helps compensate Dick for time spent assisting site visitors and maintaining this educational website.

Eric Judy is both insurance licensed and securities licensed. Eric offers securities as an investment adviser representative through Client One Securities, LLC.

Eric purchases prospective client referrals from Annuity Guys Ltd. and may be compensated by commission for helping prospective clients purchase. Eric may also recommend these prospective clients to an advisor and earn a referral fee or a referral commission split.

Vetted advisors refers to advisors that are insurance licensed and recommended based on referral experience from satisfied clients.

Any recommendation of an advisor is only one aspect of any due diligence process. Each site visitor must accept full individual responsibility for choosing a licensed insurance agent/advisor.

In the event that a recommended licensed advisor/agent is not considered satisfactory, Eric will make reasonable efforts to recommend other advisors one at a time in an attempt to satisfy a site visitors planning or purchasing needs.

Dick is the website author and editor, Annuity Guys Ltd. is the website owner; Eric is a guest video commentator. Videos gathered from other public domain sources may also be used for educational and conceptual purposes.

There is NO COST to site visitors when they are given an advisor referral or recommendation.

By giving the us your contact information such as email, phone number, address and etc. you are giving your permission to be contacted or sent additional relevant information about annuities, retirement and related financial information. We have a NO SPAM policy.

Accuracy of website information is strived for but is not guaranteed.

Freedom from virus or malware is strived for but is not guaranteed. Website visitors accept any and all risk associated with damage to any computer for any reason when using this website and hold this website harmless from any liability.

Use this website like the vast majority of websites at your own risk. No risk or liability of any type are accepted by any business entity or any of the information providers for this website.

The post Can Annuities Enhance Stock Market Investing? appeared first on Annuity Guys®.

Why get out of the market now?

Annuity Guys® — Mon, 25 Nov 2024 07:00:02 +0000

What? Markets were on their way back to all-time highs – There must be a mistake! Did we hear the stock market report correctly? Did the reporter say the Dow just dropped a record 17% in one day? How can this be? When, you are supposed to retire in less than two months. Wake-up! Not to worry, this nightmare didn’t really happen today – however, tomorrow may possibly be a different story!

If you are having some restless nights or an occasional nightmare about losing too much of your money in the market, it may be time to examine your…[continued below video]

Video: Annuity Guys® Dick & Eric reflect on safer money alternatives for individuals who want to get out of market risk.

Guarantees, including optional benefits, are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuer, and may contain limitations, including surrender charges, which may affect policy values. During this segment, Dick and Eric are referring to Fixed Annuities unless otherwise specified.

Review 3-Best Retirement Annuities for Your
GROWTH, INCOME & SAFETY!

[continued]… asset allocations. It is very common for calls coming into the office to be from people looking for safer money alternatives. Safety, security, reasonable growth and lifetime income are what that annuities do so well.

When the markets keep approaching new highs, it is always tough to walk away. However, for investors and retirees who experienced the drops of October 2008 – 2009 and our unexpected COVID 19 pandemic, they know that new highs can quickly revert to new lows.

Taking a portion of your retirement portfolio and structuring it for your nest egg’s foundation or a secure retirement income can be a smart thing to do, especially the closer you are to your actual retirement.

Five Retirement & Annuity Calculators

Best Advanced Retirement Income Calculator - Free

Advanced Financial Planning

Retirement Income Calculator

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Instant Access - Confidential - Easy Opt-Out
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Using OutCome Based Planning for Your Retirement

We practice and recommend a "Holistic - OutCome Based Planning process when considering annuities." This approach has the effect of balancing your overall portfolio so you can meet your retirement objectives by "first identifying the least amount of your investments or savings (if any) that should be considered for annuities." OutCome Based Planning analyzes and models multiple outcomes so you can clearly identify your best income and growth opportunities.

"The Annuity Guys will only call if you request help". Hence, when you are ready for specialized help we will be available.

"Working with an Experienced Fiduciary Financial Planner can help you Avoid a Trial & Error or Risk Based Retirement"

*FIDUCIARY RETIREMENT REVIEWS
Second Opinions Improve Retirements

"For Your Retirement's Success"

Choose a *Fiduciary Advisor who gives you Full Disclosure of Cost & Selection.

Material Fact 1:

About 90% of advisors ARE NOT REQUIRED by law to do what is best for their clients!

Material Fact 2:

Fiduciary Advisors ARE REQUIRED by law to do what's best for their clients!

Hence, clients of a fiduciary can know that their advisor chose the highest legal standard required by law to work strictly for their highest good.

We estimate Fiduciaries are less than 10% of total U.S. financial service providers. Fiduciaries are held to the highest client legal standard of financial planning and investment advice.

The other 90% are sales oriented advisors, brokers, bank reps, registered reps. & insurance agents, selling products on a much lower suitability legal standard, not necessarily what's best for their client!

   Fiduciaries also must disclose conflicts of interest that could potentially bias their advice, such as; selling products that pay them higher commissions having higher fees or costs, and their lack of investment product access limiting their client's opportunities, to name a few.

Choosing your advisor can have

"The Largest Single Impact on

Your Retirement's Success or Failure"

Δ

This type of approach does take considerably more time, effort and analysis which will show you mathematically the successful possibilities by comparing various outcomes rather than trying to sell or convince you of that "so-called one best solution." Clients frequently tell us that this process removes some of the confusion and emotion to help them objectively identify a better retirement plan; rather than just ending up with the most convincing salesperson or advisor.

When requesting help you can be assured of working with an experienced Annuity Guys' Retirement Planner who is independently insurance licensed and securities licensed as a fiduciary financial planner having access to the vast majority of annuity companies in helping you choose the best annuities using a holistic-outcome based planning approach. We consider the high quality advisor recommendations we make to our website visitors as a direct reflection back on our commitment to serve all client's with a high standard of excellence in financial planning for retirement.

Based on survey feedback on advisors from our website visitors, we eliminated about two-hundred local advisors and now only recommend a few that we consider experienced vetted Annuity Guys' Fiduciary Advisors. Many local advisors continue requesting us to recommend them as a vetted advisor. However, our reputation and future business is driven only by satisfied website visitors. So, unfortunately we've had to tell the vast majority of local advisors no, since we changed our business model four years ago. At that time we stopped trying to satisfy everyone with local advisors, we now primarily work with individuals who are comfortable using today's internet technology to their fullest advantage by working with a select group of vetted, experienced and knowledgeable Annuity Guys' Fiduciary Planners.

Get Full Video Access & Our Library Edition - Annuity Reference Book

Is Your Annuity Advisor a Salesman or a Fiduciary?
2025 Advisor Report

*FIDUCIARY RETIREMENT REVIEWS
No Cost or Obligation - Annuity Guys

"For Your Retirement's Success"

Choose a *Fiduciary Advisor who gives you Full Disclosure of Cost & Selection.

Fiduciary Advisors 10% - Sales Advisors 90%

2025 Financial Advisor Summary Report

*Fiduciary Financial Planners we estimate at less than 10% of total US financial advisors.
The other 90% of advisors are salespeople such as brokers, bank reps, registered reps. & insurance agents.

Advisors licensed only as a sales oriented securities broker, registered rep, or insurance agent, ARE NOT Fiduciaries! They work on a much lower legal standard of Suitability which does not require full disclosure and only requires a suitable product sale, NOT what's actually best for their client!

Fiduciary Financial Planners by law are subject to the highest standard of financial planning and investment advice accountability.
Hence, clients of a fiduciary can know that their advisor is required legally to work strictly for their highest benefit.

This is also referred to as the prudent man rule, which in simple terms means that by licensing as a Series 65 Investment Advisor / Financial Planner they must give clients the best advice they are capable of based on all the knowledge they possess and information they have access to, in the same way they would advise and help close friends or family members.

Fiduciaries also must disclose all known conflicts of interest that could potentially bias their advice, such as - selling financial products that pay them higher commissions with higher fees or costs, and their lack of investment product availability for their clients' needs, just to name a few.

Choosing your advisor can have

"The Largest Single Impact on

Your Retirement's Success or Failure"

Δ

Priority Mail - Free Shipping!

After confirming your request for help and shipping address by phone, we will immediately send your FREE personally signed Library Edition of our popular Annuity Reference Book "The New Retirement" plus Fact-Filled, Full Video Access!

Learn the 3 Best Annuities to Help
ASSURE YOUR RETIREMENT'S SUCCESS!

Selecting the Best Annuity & Retirement Income Advisor

Are you willing to work with one of our retirement and annuity advisors based on their experience and expertise as a first priority rather than being limited by a local or regional area? The good news is that technology has forever eliminated our geographical limitations and leveled the playing field for everyone! As a result of today's technological advances, all of us can now work confidently with experts in any field including personal finance. We are no longer confined by regional or local boundaries limiting our choices and ultimate success. A high quality advisor is now as close as a click or phone call away.

Video:"Choose a National or Local Advisor"?

"There is no room for trial and error when it comes to choosing MarketFree® Annuities or a Successful Retirement Planner."

When you think about it, your money is almost always in some other state with a custodian; whether invested in the market or with an annuity insurance company, the advisors competence is primarily needed when positioning your money initially. So working with a specialized expert in a financial discipline like investments or retirement planning is imperative. There are no undo buttons in retirement! Once the annuities get set up correctly, it is customary and more efficient for owners to benefit by having direct access to the issuer instead of having to go through the agent. And, of course any reputable advisor, local or national, is more than willing to assist their clients if needed after they are implemented.

Video:"Why These 3 Types of Annuity Advisors are Not Created Equal"

"There are no undo buttons in retirement so it is vitally important that you do it right the first time!"

We are fortunate to have a select few who we believe are truly the highest qualified advisors out of about two hundred licensed insurance agents that we eliminated. Your survey feedback is what helps us make these tough decisions. Our advisors have an independent financial practice, specializing in annuities and retirement planning, which helps ensure that you are given the best options available for your retirement planning.

Video: "How Much of Your Money Should You Consider Placing into Annuities"?

"It takes an experienced expert to know how to structure annuities for income, inflation, growth, return of principal, and tax advantage."

"Anyone can sell you an annuity; however, it takes a truly qualified and experienced advisor to know how to structure them for income, inflation, growth, return of principal, and tax advantage. Typically, there is not just one that can accomplish all of these objectives. It is how an advisor structures multiple annuities in balancing your total portfolio that makes it possible to achieve your most important retirement objectives."

Video: "How to Choose a Great retirement Advisor"?

Why Searching for the Best Annuities on Your Own Can be so Frustrating...
Almost everyone nowadays turns to the internet for answers on everything - from buying new widgets to researching just about everything under the sun; and finding the best annuity is no exception! At first, it may seem that researching will be straightforward but the more time you spend researching them, the more frustrating it can be. Why is this? First of all, it does not take long to realize that gimmicks abound - such as warnings and alerts from salesmen who just want your attention so they can sell you one or the "too good to be true" claims of 8% to 14% **guaranteed interest and of course the claim that you can get the full market upside with no downside risk! If you have done any research you have heard all of these claims in advertising which are mostly half truths and not fully explained. So how can you find the best annuities on the internet? The truth is... you can't! And what is even more frustrating is all the conflicting points of view from so called experts. There are well over 6,000 different annuities - all designed for different reasons, so is it any wonder that the deck is stacked against the average researcher or do-it-yourselfer. Add to that the fact that they pay high enough commissions to attract a plethora of both good and bad agents. This does not make annuities good or bad; they are simply a financial tool that truly benefit those who use them correctly. How can you find the best annuities for your unique situation?

Use the internet cautiously;

Work with a vetted and experienced specialist;

Do not settle for that one dubious best plan. Compare multiple Outcome Based Plans to decide on the one that is truly best for you;

Be keenly aware of scare tactics and hyperbole - avoid those advisors and websites;

Avoid websites that are focused on rushing free reports, rates and quotes to get your contact information they are rushing you to speak with them, instead, take your time and choose someone you are more comfortable with that works on your time-table;

Know the Five Vital Factors (listed above) that an experienced specialist must answer before helping you select the best options for your situation;

Watch this telling video "Avoid Annuity Gimmicks, Amateurs and Charlatans"...

Video: "Avoiding Gimmicks, Scams & Charlatans"

^** Guarantees, including optional benefits, are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuer, and may contain limitations, including surrender charges, which may affect policy values. Annuities are not FDIC insured and it is possible to lose money.
They are insurance products that require a premium to be paid for purchase.
Annuities do not accept or receive deposits and are not to be confused with bank issued financial instruments.
During all video segments, Dick and Eric are referring to Fixed Annuities unless otherwise specified.

^*Retirement Planning and annuity purchase assistance may be provided by Eric Judy or by referral to a recommended, experienced, Fiduciary Investment Advisor in helping our website visitors. Dick Van Dyke semi-retired from his Investment Advisory Practice in 2012 and now focuses on this website. He still maintains his insurance license in good standing and assists his current clients.
Our vetted and recommended Fiduciary Financial Planners are required to be properly licensed in assisting clients with their annuity and retirement planning needs. (Due diligence as a client is still always necessary when working with any advisor to check their current standing.)

Site Terms & Disclosure

All tools, videos or information visible on this website's pages, television, or other media are for educational and conceptual purposes only.

Tools, videos or information are not to be considered investment advice, insurance recommendations, tax or legal advice.

It is recommended that site visitors should work with licensed professionals for individualized advice before making any important or final financial decisions on what is best for his or her situation.

Website comments are not considered investor testimonials those shown only relate to an insurance agent referral service, customer service, or satisfaction with the purchase of insurance products and are never based on any investment or securities advice or investment or securities performance.

Please be aware that your feedback and compliments may be shared with our visitors or those that may be interested in our services we will never give out your full name or full address or phone number without your permission. By sending us your feedback & comments you agree to allow us full use in sharing your comments with others in public forums. Thank you for sharing.

Media logos are not any type of endorsement, they only imply that one or more of the Annuity Guys have written for, been quoted by, or appeared on the listed news outlet, broadcast or cable channels, or branded programs for non-advertising and/or advertising purposes, to offer educational and conceptual information about retirement issues.

Income is guaranteed by annuitization or income riders that may have additional costs or fees.

http://www.annuityguys.net & http://www.annuityguys.com forward to https://annuityguys.org. - Further all disclosures and information are to be considered as one and the same for any and all URL forwards, and these same disclosures and information also apply to all YouTube videos featuring Dick & Eric where ever they are viewed.

MarketFree Annuity Definition: Any fixed annuity or portfolio of fixed annuities that protects principal / premium and growth by remaining market risk free.

Market Free (annuities, retirements and portfolios) refer to the use of fixed insurance products with minimum guarantees that have no market risk to principal and are not investments in securities.

Market Gains are a calculation used to determine interest earned as a result of an increasing market related index limited by various factors in the contract. These can vary with each annuity and issuing insurance company.

Premium is the correct term for money placed into annuities principal is used as a universal term that describes the cash value of any asset.

Interest Earned is the correct term to describe Market Free Annuity Growth; Market Gains, Returns, Growth and other generally used terms only refer to actual Interest Earned

Market Free Annuities are fixed insurance products and only require an insurance license in order to sell these products; they are not securities investments and do not require a securities license.

No Loss only pertains to market downturns and not if losses are incurred due to early withdrawal penalties or other fees for additional insurance benefits.

Annuities typically have surrender periods where early or excessive withdrawals may result in a surrender cost.

Market Free Annuities may or may not have a bonus. Some bonus products have fees or lower interest crediting and when surrendered early the bonus or part of the bonus may be forfeited as part of the surrender process which is determined by each contract.

MarketFree Annuities are not FDIC Insured and are not guaranteed by any Government Agency.

Annuities are not Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured and their guarantees are based on the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance company.

State Insurance Guarantee Associations (SIGA) vary in coverage with each state and are not to be confused with FDIC which has the backing of the federal government.

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration.

*"Best” refers only to the opinion of Dick, this site's author; or the opinion of Dick & Eric in videos and is not considered best for all individuals.

*"APO” refers only to the Annual Pay-Out of annuities in the guaranteed lifetime income phase. *APO is NOT an annual yield or an annual rate of interest.

AnnuityRateWatch.com, is only a linked to subscription service, which is not affiliated with this site, it supplies and updates all Annuity Rates, Features Ratings, Fees and Riders. AnnuityRateWatch.com's information is available in the public domain and accuracy is not verified or guaranteed since this type of information is always subject to change.

Dick helps site visitors when help is requested. Dick may receive a referral fee as compensation from an advisor for a prospective client referral. This helps compensate Dick for time spent assisting site visitors and maintaining this educational website.

Eric Judy is both insurance licensed and securities licensed. Eric offers securities as an investment adviser representative through Client One Securities, LLC.

Eric purchases prospective client referrals from Annuity Guys Ltd. and may be compensated by commission for helping prospective clients purchase. Eric may also recommend these prospective clients to an advisor and earn a referral fee or a referral commission split.

Vetted advisors refers to advisors that are insurance licensed and recommended based on referral experience from satisfied clients.

Any recommendation of an advisor is only one aspect of any due diligence process. Each site visitor must accept full individual responsibility for choosing a licensed insurance agent/advisor.

In the event that a recommended licensed advisor/agent is not considered satisfactory, Eric will make reasonable efforts to recommend other advisors one at a time in an attempt to satisfy a site visitors planning or purchasing needs.

Dick is the website author and editor, Annuity Guys Ltd. is the website owner; Eric is a guest video commentator. Videos gathered from other public domain sources may also be used for educational and conceptual purposes.

There is NO COST to site visitors when they are given an advisor referral or recommendation.

By giving the us your contact information such as email, phone number, address and etc. you are giving your permission to be contacted or sent additional relevant information about annuities, retirement and related financial information. We have a NO SPAM policy.

Accuracy of website information is strived for but is not guaranteed.

Freedom from virus or malware is strived for but is not guaranteed. Website visitors accept any and all risk associated with damage to any computer for any reason when using this website and hold this website harmless from any liability.

Use this website like the vast majority of websites at your own risk. No risk or liability of any type are accepted by any business entity or any of the information providers for this website.

The post Why get out of the market now? appeared first on Annuity Guys®.

Should You Buy Annuities in our Trump Influenced Bull Market?

Annuity Guys® — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 07:00:57 +0000

What would Trump do? Do you think he might be the type to buy low & sell high? This sounds incredibly easy but when it comes to knowing the right time to get in or out of the securities/stock market, unfortunately the vast majority of individual investors and even experienced advisors fail miserably and it’s doubtful that President Trump could time it right either!

So let’s surmise that you do consider selling some stock that’s riding high at the moment. Now what? Could this be the right time to also add some safer annuities issued by insurance companies for some portion of your portfolio? Surely this can’t be the right time to even consider… [continued below video]

Video: The Annuity Guys® elaborate on making secure retirement decisions while the stock market is performing like it can do no wrong!

**Guarantees, including optional benefits, are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuer, and may contain limitations, including surrender charges, which may affect policy values. During this segment, Dick and Eric are referring to Fixed Annuities unless otherwise specified.

Review 3-Best Retirement Annuities for Your
GROWTH, INCOME & SAFETY!

[continued] …purchasing an annuity! After all, everything is just great in the market – it keeps going up and up. Everyone wants to be on the winning side especially when it comes to investing and saving for retirement. Can you handle the pressure when your neighbors are all talking about the hottest investments, letting you know just how smart they are that they jumped on the latest investment opportunity? You may not necessarily want to admit that you just moved some portion of your money into a safer position using annuities for the security of your future retirement. Maybe not today…. but if the market drops 20, 30 or 40 percent, you may feel differently and want to rub it in a little that you had the good judgment to play it safe when the markets were reaching new highs.

Creating a balanced portfolio that safeguards current assets and future income can be a very smart move. Hence, nobody wants be the one at the table who made losing decisions when it came to their retirement assets.

Five Retirement & Annuity Calculators

Best Advanced Retirement Income Calculator - Free

Advanced Financial Planning

Retirement Income Calculator

Save Reports & Planning Docs!
E-mail*

This powerful calculator doesn't guarantee accuracy or any future results. You should use a licensed financial planner to confirm all of your calculations.

Instant Access - Confidential - Easy Opt-Out
Name
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Δ

Using OutCome Based Planning for Your Retirement

We practice and recommend a "Holistic - OutCome Based Planning process when considering annuities." This approach has the effect of balancing your overall portfolio so you can meet your retirement objectives by "first identifying the least amount of your investments or savings (if any) that should be considered for annuities." OutCome Based Planning analyzes and models multiple outcomes so you can clearly identify your best income and growth opportunities.

"The Annuity Guys will only call if you request help". Hence, when you are ready for specialized help we will be available.

"Working with an Experienced Fiduciary Financial Planner can help you Avoid a Trial & Error or Risk Based Retirement"

*FIDUCIARY RETIREMENT REVIEWS
Second Opinions Improve Retirements

"For Your Retirement's Success"

Choose a *Fiduciary Advisor who gives you Full Disclosure of Cost & Selection.

Material Fact 1:

About 90% of advisors ARE NOT REQUIRED by law to do what is best for their clients!

Material Fact 2:

Fiduciary Advisors ARE REQUIRED by law to do what's best for their clients!

Hence, clients of a fiduciary can know that their advisor chose the highest legal standard required by law to work strictly for their highest good.

We estimate Fiduciaries are less than 10% of total U.S. financial service providers. Fiduciaries are held to the highest client legal standard of financial planning and investment advice.

The other 90% are sales oriented advisors, brokers, bank reps, registered reps. & insurance agents, selling products on a much lower suitability legal standard, not necessarily what's best for their client!

   Fiduciaries also must disclose conflicts of interest that could potentially bias their advice, such as; selling products that pay them higher commissions having higher fees or costs, and their lack of investment product access limiting their client's opportunities, to name a few.

Choosing your advisor can have

"The Largest Single Impact on

Your Retirement's Success or Failure"

Δ

This type of approach does take considerably more time, effort and analysis which will show you mathematically the successful possibilities by comparing various outcomes rather than trying to sell or convince you of that "so-called one best solution." Clients frequently tell us that this process removes some of the confusion and emotion to help them objectively identify a better retirement plan; rather than just ending up with the most convincing salesperson or advisor.

When requesting help you can be assured of working with an experienced Annuity Guys' Retirement Planner who is independently insurance licensed and securities licensed as a fiduciary financial planner having access to the vast majority of annuity companies in helping you choose the best annuities using a holistic-outcome based planning approach. We consider the high quality advisor recommendations we make to our website visitors as a direct reflection back on our commitment to serve all client's with a high standard of excellence in financial planning for retirement.

Based on survey feedback on advisors from our website visitors, we eliminated about two-hundred local advisors and now only recommend a few that we consider experienced vetted Annuity Guys' Fiduciary Advisors. Many local advisors continue requesting us to recommend them as a vetted advisor. However, our reputation and future business is driven only by satisfied website visitors. So, unfortunately we've had to tell the vast majority of local advisors no, since we changed our business model four years ago. At that time we stopped trying to satisfy everyone with local advisors, we now primarily work with individuals who are comfortable using today's internet technology to their fullest advantage by working with a select group of vetted, experienced and knowledgeable Annuity Guys' Fiduciary Planners.

Get Full Video Access & Our Library Edition - Annuity Reference Book

Is Your Annuity Advisor a Salesman or a Fiduciary?
2025 Advisor Report

*FIDUCIARY RETIREMENT REVIEWS
No Cost or Obligation - Annuity Guys

"For Your Retirement's Success"

Choose a *Fiduciary Advisor who gives you Full Disclosure of Cost & Selection.

Fiduciary Advisors 10% - Sales Advisors 90%

2025 Financial Advisor Summary Report

*Fiduciary Financial Planners we estimate at less than 10% of total US financial advisors.
The other 90% of advisors are salespeople such as brokers, bank reps, registered reps. & insurance agents.

Advisors licensed only as a sales oriented securities broker, registered rep, or insurance agent, ARE NOT Fiduciaries! They work on a much lower legal standard of Suitability which does not require full disclosure and only requires a suitable product sale, NOT what's actually best for their client!

Fiduciary Financial Planners by law are subject to the highest standard of financial planning and investment advice accountability.
Hence, clients of a fiduciary can know that their advisor is required legally to work strictly for their highest benefit.

This is also referred to as the prudent man rule, which in simple terms means that by licensing as a Series 65 Investment Advisor / Financial Planner they must give clients the best advice they are capable of based on all the knowledge they possess and information they have access to, in the same way they would advise and help close friends or family members.

Fiduciaries also must disclose all known conflicts of interest that could potentially bias their advice, such as - selling financial products that pay them higher commissions with higher fees or costs, and their lack of investment product availability for their clients' needs, just to name a few.

Choosing your advisor can have

"The Largest Single Impact on

Your Retirement's Success or Failure"

Δ

Priority Mail - Free Shipping!

After confirming your request for help and shipping address by phone, we will immediately send your FREE personally signed Library Edition of our popular Annuity Reference Book "The New Retirement" plus Fact-Filled, Full Video Access!

Learn the 3 Best Annuities to Help
ASSURE YOUR RETIREMENT'S SUCCESS!

Selecting the Best Annuity & Retirement Income Advisor

Are you willing to work with one of our retirement and annuity advisors based on their experience and expertise as a first priority rather than being limited by a local or regional area? The good news is that technology has forever eliminated our geographical limitations and leveled the playing field for everyone! As a result of today's technological advances, all of us can now work confidently with experts in any field including personal finance. We are no longer confined by regional or local boundaries limiting our choices and ultimate success. A high quality advisor is now as close as a click or phone call away.

Video:"Choose a National or Local Advisor"?

"There is no room for trial and error when it comes to choosing MarketFree® Annuities or a Successful Retirement Planner."

When you think about it, your money is almost always in some other state with a custodian; whether invested in the market or with an annuity insurance company, the advisors competence is primarily needed when positioning your money initially. So working with a specialized expert in a financial discipline like investments or retirement planning is imperative. There are no undo buttons in retirement! Once the annuities get set up correctly, it is customary and more efficient for owners to benefit by having direct access to the issuer instead of having to go through the agent. And, of course any reputable advisor, local or national, is more than willing to assist their clients if needed after they are implemented.

Video:"Why These 3 Types of Annuity Advisors are Not Created Equal"

"There are no undo buttons in retirement so it is vitally important that you do it right the first time!"

We are fortunate to have a select few who we believe are truly the highest qualified advisors out of about two hundred licensed insurance agents that we eliminated. Your survey feedback is what helps us make these tough decisions. Our advisors have an independent financial practice, specializing in annuities and retirement planning, which helps ensure that you are given the best options available for your retirement planning.

Video: "How Much of Your Money Should You Consider Placing into Annuities"?

"It takes an experienced expert to know how to structure annuities for income, inflation, growth, return of principal, and tax advantage."

"Anyone can sell you an annuity; however, it takes a truly qualified and experienced advisor to know how to structure them for income, inflation, growth, return of principal, and tax advantage. Typically, there is not just one that can accomplish all of these objectives. It is how an advisor structures multiple annuities in balancing your total portfolio that makes it possible to achieve your most important retirement objectives."

Video: "How to Choose a Great retirement Advisor"?

Why Searching for the Best Annuities on Your Own Can be so Frustrating...
Almost everyone nowadays turns to the internet for answers on everything - from buying new widgets to researching just about everything under the sun; and finding the best annuity is no exception! At first, it may seem that researching will be straightforward but the more time you spend researching them, the more frustrating it can be. Why is this? First of all, it does not take long to realize that gimmicks abound - such as warnings and alerts from salesmen who just want your attention so they can sell you one or the "too good to be true" claims of 8% to 14% **guaranteed interest and of course the claim that you can get the full market upside with no downside risk! If you have done any research you have heard all of these claims in advertising which are mostly half truths and not fully explained. So how can you find the best annuities on the internet? The truth is... you can't! And what is even more frustrating is all the conflicting points of view from so called experts. There are well over 6,000 different annuities - all designed for different reasons, so is it any wonder that the deck is stacked against the average researcher or do-it-yourselfer. Add to that the fact that they pay high enough commissions to attract a plethora of both good and bad agents. This does not make annuities good or bad; they are simply a financial tool that truly benefit those who use them correctly. How can you find the best annuities for your unique situation?

Use the internet cautiously;

Work with a vetted and experienced specialist;

Do not settle for that one dubious best plan. Compare multiple Outcome Based Plans to decide on the one that is truly best for you;

Be keenly aware of scare tactics and hyperbole - avoid those advisors and websites;

Avoid websites that are focused on rushing free reports, rates and quotes to get your contact information they are rushing you to speak with them, instead, take your time and choose someone you are more comfortable with that works on your time-table;

Know the Five Vital Factors (listed above) that an experienced specialist must answer before helping you select the best options for your situation;

Watch this telling video "Avoid Annuity Gimmicks, Amateurs and Charlatans"...

Video: "Avoiding Gimmicks, Scams & Charlatans"

^** Guarantees, including optional benefits, are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuer, and may contain limitations, including surrender charges, which may affect policy values. Annuities are not FDIC insured and it is possible to lose money.
They are insurance products that require a premium to be paid for purchase.
Annuities do not accept or receive deposits and are not to be confused with bank issued financial instruments.
During all video segments, Dick and Eric are referring to Fixed Annuities unless otherwise specified.

^*Retirement Planning and annuity purchase assistance may be provided by Eric Judy or by referral to a recommended, experienced, Fiduciary Investment Advisor in helping our website visitors. Dick Van Dyke semi-retired from his Investment Advisory Practice in 2012 and now focuses on this website. He still maintains his insurance license in good standing and assists his current clients.
Our vetted and recommended Fiduciary Financial Planners are required to be properly licensed in assisting clients with their annuity and retirement planning needs. (Due diligence as a client is still always necessary when working with any advisor to check their current standing.)

Site Terms & Disclosure

All tools, videos or information visible on this website's pages, television, or other media are for educational and conceptual purposes only.

Tools, videos or information are not to be considered investment advice, insurance recommendations, tax or legal advice.

It is recommended that site visitors should work with licensed professionals for individualized advice before making any important or final financial decisions on what is best for his or her situation.

Website comments are not considered investor testimonials those shown only relate to an insurance agent referral service, customer service, or satisfaction with the purchase of insurance products and are never based on any investment or securities advice or investment or securities performance.

Please be aware that your feedback and compliments may be shared with our visitors or those that may be interested in our services we will never give out your full name or full address or phone number without your permission. By sending us your feedback & comments you agree to allow us full use in sharing your comments with others in public forums. Thank you for sharing.

Media logos are not any type of endorsement, they only imply that one or more of the Annuity Guys have written for, been quoted by, or appeared on the listed news outlet, broadcast or cable channels, or branded programs for non-advertising and/or advertising purposes, to offer educational and conceptual information about retirement issues.

Income is guaranteed by annuitization or income riders that may have additional costs or fees.

http://www.annuityguys.net & http://www.annuityguys.com forward to https://annuityguys.org. - Further all disclosures and information are to be considered as one and the same for any and all URL forwards, and these same disclosures and information also apply to all YouTube videos featuring Dick & Eric where ever they are viewed.

MarketFree Annuity Definition: Any fixed annuity or portfolio of fixed annuities that protects principal / premium and growth by remaining market risk free.

Market Free (annuities, retirements and portfolios) refer to the use of fixed insurance products with minimum guarantees that have no market risk to principal and are not investments in securities.

Market Gains are a calculation used to determine interest earned as a result of an increasing market related index limited by various factors in the contract. These can vary with each annuity and issuing insurance company.

Premium is the correct term for money placed into annuities principal is used as a universal term that describes the cash value of any asset.

Interest Earned is the correct term to describe Market Free Annuity Growth; Market Gains, Returns, Growth and other generally used terms only refer to actual Interest Earned

Market Free Annuities are fixed insurance products and only require an insurance license in order to sell these products; they are not securities investments and do not require a securities license.

No Loss only pertains to market downturns and not if losses are incurred due to early withdrawal penalties or other fees for additional insurance benefits.

Annuities typically have surrender periods where early or excessive withdrawals may result in a surrender cost.

Market Free Annuities may or may not have a bonus. Some bonus products have fees or lower interest crediting and when surrendered early the bonus or part of the bonus may be forfeited as part of the surrender process which is determined by each contract.

MarketFree Annuities are not FDIC Insured and are not guaranteed by any Government Agency.

Annuities are not Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured and their guarantees are based on the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance company.

State Insurance Guarantee Associations (SIGA) vary in coverage with each state and are not to be confused with FDIC which has the backing of the federal government.

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration.

*"Best” refers only to the opinion of Dick, this site's author; or the opinion of Dick & Eric in videos and is not considered best for all individuals.

*"APO” refers only to the Annual Pay-Out of annuities in the guaranteed lifetime income phase. *APO is NOT an annual yield or an annual rate of interest.

AnnuityRateWatch.com, is only a linked to subscription service, which is not affiliated with this site, it supplies and updates all Annuity Rates, Features Ratings, Fees and Riders. AnnuityRateWatch.com's information is available in the public domain and accuracy is not verified or guaranteed since this type of information is always subject to change.

Dick helps site visitors when help is requested. Dick may receive a referral fee as compensation from an advisor for a prospective client referral. This helps compensate Dick for time spent assisting site visitors and maintaining this educational website.

Eric Judy is both insurance licensed and securities licensed. Eric offers securities as an investment adviser representative through Client One Securities, LLC.

Eric purchases prospective client referrals from Annuity Guys Ltd. and may be compensated by commission for helping prospective clients purchase. Eric may also recommend these prospective clients to an advisor and earn a referral fee or a referral commission split.

Vetted advisors refers to advisors that are insurance licensed and recommended based on referral experience from satisfied clients.

Any recommendation of an advisor is only one aspect of any due diligence process. Each site visitor must accept full individual responsibility for choosing a licensed insurance agent/advisor.

In the event that a recommended licensed advisor/agent is not considered satisfactory, Eric will make reasonable efforts to recommend other advisors one at a time in an attempt to satisfy a site visitors planning or purchasing needs.

Dick is the website author and editor, Annuity Guys Ltd. is the website owner; Eric is a guest video commentator. Videos gathered from other public domain sources may also be used for educational and conceptual purposes.

There is NO COST to site visitors when they are given an advisor referral or recommendation.

By giving the us your contact information such as email, phone number, address and etc. you are giving your permission to be contacted or sent additional relevant information about annuities, retirement and related financial information. We have a NO SPAM policy.

Accuracy of website information is strived for but is not guaranteed.

Freedom from virus or malware is strived for but is not guaranteed. Website visitors accept any and all risk associated with damage to any computer for any reason when using this website and hold this website harmless from any liability.

Use this website like the vast majority of websites at your own risk. No risk or liability of any type are accepted by any business entity or any of the information providers for this website.

The post Should You Buy Annuities in our Trump Influenced Bull Market? appeared first on Annuity Guys®.

Avoiding Annuity Gimmicks, Amateurs, & Charlatans!

Annuity Guys® — Mon, 28 Oct 2024 06:00:22 +0000

Everyone loves a good practical joke – until the joker happens to be the salesperson who just sold you an annuity and your retirement ends up as his or her punch line.

To help you figure out if your advisor is a “joker, amateur-salesperson, or a true experienced financial planner”, we have put together a list of red flags to look for… (continued below video)

Video: Dick & Eric Discuss… Some of the best ways to avoid a bad advisor experience!

Guarantees, including optional benefits, are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuer, and may contain limitations, including surrender charges, which may affect policy values. During this segment, Dick and Eric are referring to Fixed Annuities unless otherwise specified.

Review 3-Best Retirement Annuities for Your
GROWTH, INCOME & SAFETY!

Be aware of these leading indicators and work with proven experts by referral whenever possible.
Gimmicks:

Sensationalism in marketing materials (the WOW Factor!!!)

8% to 15% Secret Returns or Guaranteed Gains (not clarifying that this is neither interest, yield nor cash gains; rather it is an income payout percentage or a formulaic aspect of an income **guarantee)

I Hate Annuities (advertisements that are biased to sell securities)

Senior Alerts (to warn you about annuities when the real purpose is to sell you one!)

Free Reports (should say get a phone call from several annuity salesmen today)

Instant Quotes (should also say get a phone call from numerous annuity salesmen today)

Urgency to buy (way to much selling pressure)

Amateurs:

Talking product without a sound basis for recommendations (no in-depth questions about your situation)

Rely heavily on brochures (knows how to read)

Focus on generalities that are all positive (cannot think of any reason for you not buy)

Avoid tough questions lacking solid factual answers when asked (repeats simple benefits lacking detailed answers)

Charlatans’:

Present a too good to be true scenario (over the top opportunity, impossible to improve on, insider information)

Rush the sale (pressure, awkward, more pressure, expects the sale)

Create false sense of urgency (again insider information, limited time opportunity, everyone in the know is getting in)

Create an atmosphere of authority that is beyond questioning (makes you feel foolish or untrusting when you pose questions)

Lacks willingness in encouraging questions ( demands trust and wants you to trust based on their implied expertise by pointing out your lack of knowledge)

Typically focus on one or two high commission products; concealing their one size fits all mentality (Ask to talk to several clients see if they were all sold the same thing, hmmm)

Overly friendly and personable prior to the sale (beware of those who are mostly focused on getting to know you with little focus on the planning or products)

Unavailable and indifferent after the sale (oops… it is a bit late at this point, this is what you must avoid)

Here is an exerpt from the article – Here We Go Again: Annuities Promising 7 Percent Returns

It is too good to be true.

Understanding the **guaranteed returns takes time and perseverance. From the products I’ve analyzed, the most common **guarantee involves two annually calculated values. The first is the actual value based on the underlying investment performance. The second, or “**guaranteed value,” is increased by the predetermined return each year. If the “**guarantee” is 7 percent per year, this value would, over a 10-year period, almost double the value for which you originally bought the annuity.

However, and this is a BIG “however,” you can not take the amount accrued over a 10-year period out of the annuity in a single lump sum. You have to “annuitize” that value, meaning it must be paid out over the remaining years of your life (or some other time period). When I calculated the advertised rate of return for one annuity claiming a “7 percent” **guarantee, I found that the rate of return paid out on the annuitized payments was less than 1 percent! In total, the “**guaranteed return” was less than the current 10-year Treasury Bond yield … hardly a 7 percent **guarantee, and you paid some pretty hefty fees for the right to have it.

Another option offered by insurance companies allows investors to take a 4 to 6 percent payout every year for the rest of their lives instead of annuitizing. Investors often confuse this payout with a **guaranteed return. These are vastly different, as the former does not **guarantee the investment principal, which is still subject to investment risks. […read more]

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Using OutCome Based Planning for Your Retirement

We practice and recommend a "Holistic - OutCome Based Planning process when considering annuities." This approach has the effect of balancing your overall portfolio so you can meet your retirement objectives by "first identifying the least amount of your investments or savings (if any) that should be considered for annuities." OutCome Based Planning analyzes and models multiple outcomes so you can clearly identify your best income and growth opportunities.

"The Annuity Guys will only call if you request help". Hence, when you are ready for specialized help we will be available.

"Working with an Experienced Fiduciary Financial Planner can help you Avoid a Trial & Error or Risk Based Retirement"

*FIDUCIARY RETIREMENT REVIEWS
Second Opinions Improve Retirements

"For Your Retirement's Success"

Choose a *Fiduciary Advisor who gives you Full Disclosure of Cost & Selection.

Material Fact 1:

About 90% of advisors ARE NOT REQUIRED by law to do what is best for their clients!

Material Fact 2:

Fiduciary Advisors ARE REQUIRED by law to do what's best for their clients!

Hence, clients of a fiduciary can know that their advisor chose the highest legal standard required by law to work strictly for their highest good.

We estimate Fiduciaries are less than 10% of total U.S. financial service providers. Fiduciaries are held to the highest client legal standard of financial planning and investment advice.

The other 90% are sales oriented advisors, brokers, bank reps, registered reps. & insurance agents, selling products on a much lower suitability legal standard, not necessarily what's best for their client!

   Fiduciaries also must disclose conflicts of interest that could potentially bias their advice, such as; selling products that pay them higher commissions having higher fees or costs, and their lack of investment product access limiting their client's opportunities, to name a few.

Choosing your advisor can have

"The Largest Single Impact on

Your Retirement's Success or Failure"

Δ

This type of approach does take considerably more time, effort and analysis which will show you mathematically the successful possibilities by comparing various outcomes rather than trying to sell or convince you of that "so-called one best solution." Clients frequently tell us that this process removes some of the confusion and emotion to help them objectively identify a better retirement plan; rather than just ending up with the most convincing salesperson or advisor.

When requesting help you can be assured of working with an experienced Annuity Guys' Retirement Planner who is independently insurance licensed and securities licensed as a fiduciary financial planner having access to the vast majority of annuity companies in helping you choose the best annuities using a holistic-outcome based planning approach. We consider the high quality advisor recommendations we make to our website visitors as a direct reflection back on our commitment to serve all client's with a high standard of excellence in financial planning for retirement.

Based on survey feedback on advisors from our website visitors, we eliminated about two-hundred local advisors and now only recommend a few that we consider experienced vetted Annuity Guys' Fiduciary Advisors. Many local advisors continue requesting us to recommend them as a vetted advisor. However, our reputation and future business is driven only by satisfied website visitors. So, unfortunately we've had to tell the vast majority of local advisors no, since we changed our business model four years ago. At that time we stopped trying to satisfy everyone with local advisors, we now primarily work with individuals who are comfortable using today's internet technology to their fullest advantage by working with a select group of vetted, experienced and knowledgeable Annuity Guys' Fiduciary Planners.

Get Full Video Access & Our Library Edition - Annuity Reference Book

Is Your Annuity Advisor a Salesman or a Fiduciary?
2025 Advisor Report

*FIDUCIARY RETIREMENT REVIEWS
No Cost or Obligation - Annuity Guys

"For Your Retirement's Success"

Choose a *Fiduciary Advisor who gives you Full Disclosure of Cost & Selection.

Fiduciary Advisors 10% - Sales Advisors 90%

2025 Financial Advisor Summary Report

*Fiduciary Financial Planners we estimate at less than 10% of total US financial advisors.
The other 90% of advisors are salespeople such as brokers, bank reps, registered reps. & insurance agents.

Advisors licensed only as a sales oriented securities broker, registered rep, or insurance agent, ARE NOT Fiduciaries! They work on a much lower legal standard of Suitability which does not require full disclosure and only requires a suitable product sale, NOT what's actually best for their client!

Fiduciary Financial Planners by law are subject to the highest standard of financial planning and investment advice accountability.
Hence, clients of a fiduciary can know that their advisor is required legally to work strictly for their highest benefit.

This is also referred to as the prudent man rule, which in simple terms means that by licensing as a Series 65 Investment Advisor / Financial Planner they must give clients the best advice they are capable of based on all the knowledge they possess and information they have access to, in the same way they would advise and help close friends or family members.

Fiduciaries also must disclose all known conflicts of interest that could potentially bias their advice, such as - selling financial products that pay them higher commissions with higher fees or costs, and their lack of investment product availability for their clients' needs, just to name a few.

Choosing your advisor can have

"The Largest Single Impact on

Your Retirement's Success or Failure"

Δ

Priority Mail - Free Shipping!

After confirming your request for help and shipping address by phone, we will immediately send your FREE personally signed Library Edition of our popular Annuity Reference Book "The New Retirement" plus Fact-Filled, Full Video Access!

Learn the 3 Best Annuities to Help
ASSURE YOUR RETIREMENT'S SUCCESS!

Selecting the Best Annuity & Retirement Income Advisor

Are you willing to work with one of our retirement and annuity advisors based on their experience and expertise as a first priority rather than being limited by a local or regional area? The good news is that technology has forever eliminated our geographical limitations and leveled the playing field for everyone! As a result of today's technological advances, all of us can now work confidently with experts in any field including personal finance. We are no longer confined by regional or local boundaries limiting our choices and ultimate success. A high quality advisor is now as close as a click or phone call away.

Video:"Choose a National or Local Advisor"?

"There is no room for trial and error when it comes to choosing MarketFree® Annuities or a Successful Retirement Planner."

When you think about it, your money is almost always in some other state with a custodian; whether invested in the market or with an annuity insurance company, the advisors competence is primarily needed when positioning your money initially. So working with a specialized expert in a financial discipline like investments or retirement planning is imperative. There are no undo buttons in retirement! Once the annuities get set up correctly, it is customary and more efficient for owners to benefit by having direct access to the issuer instead of having to go through the agent. And, of course any reputable advisor, local or national, is more than willing to assist their clients if needed after they are implemented.

Video:"Why These 3 Types of Annuity Advisors are Not Created Equal"

"There are no undo buttons in retirement so it is vitally important that you do it right the first time!"

We are fortunate to have a select few who we believe are truly the highest qualified advisors out of about two hundred licensed insurance agents that we eliminated. Your survey feedback is what helps us make these tough decisions. Our advisors have an independent financial practice, specializing in annuities and retirement planning, which helps ensure that you are given the best options available for your retirement planning.

Video: "How Much of Your Money Should You Consider Placing into Annuities"?

"It takes an experienced expert to know how to structure annuities for income, inflation, growth, return of principal, and tax advantage."

"Anyone can sell you an annuity; however, it takes a truly qualified and experienced advisor to know how to structure them for income, inflation, growth, return of principal, and tax advantage. Typically, there is not just one that can accomplish all of these objectives. It is how an advisor structures multiple annuities in balancing your total portfolio that makes it possible to achieve your most important retirement objectives."

Video: "How to Choose a Great retirement Advisor"?

Why Searching for the Best Annuities on Your Own Can be so Frustrating...
Almost everyone nowadays turns to the internet for answers on everything - from buying new widgets to researching just about everything under the sun; and finding the best annuity is no exception! At first, it may seem that researching will be straightforward but the more time you spend researching them, the more frustrating it can be. Why is this? First of all, it does not take long to realize that gimmicks abound - such as warnings and alerts from salesmen who just want your attention so they can sell you one or the "too good to be true" claims of 8% to 14% **guaranteed interest and of course the claim that you can get the full market upside with no downside risk! If you have done any research you have heard all of these claims in advertising which are mostly half truths and not fully explained. So how can you find the best annuities on the internet? The truth is... you can't! And what is even more frustrating is all the conflicting points of view from so called experts. There are well over 6,000 different annuities - all designed for different reasons, so is it any wonder that the deck is stacked against the average researcher or do-it-yourselfer. Add to that the fact that they pay high enough commissions to attract a plethora of both good and bad agents. This does not make annuities good or bad; they are simply a financial tool that truly benefit those who use them correctly. How can you find the best annuities for your unique situation?

Use the internet cautiously;

Work with a vetted and experienced specialist;

Do not settle for that one dubious best plan. Compare multiple Outcome Based Plans to decide on the one that is truly best for you;

Be keenly aware of scare tactics and hyperbole - avoid those advisors and websites;

Avoid websites that are focused on rushing free reports, rates and quotes to get your contact information they are rushing you to speak with them, instead, take your time and choose someone you are more comfortable with that works on your time-table;

Know the Five Vital Factors (listed above) that an experienced specialist must answer before helping you select the best options for your situation;

Watch this telling video "Avoid Annuity Gimmicks, Amateurs and Charlatans"...

Video: "Avoiding Gimmicks, Scams & Charlatans"

^** Guarantees, including optional benefits, are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuer, and may contain limitations, including surrender charges, which may affect policy values. Annuities are not FDIC insured and it is possible to lose money.
They are insurance products that require a premium to be paid for purchase.
Annuities do not accept or receive deposits and are not to be confused with bank issued financial instruments.
During all video segments, Dick and Eric are referring to Fixed Annuities unless otherwise specified.

^*Retirement Planning and annuity purchase assistance may be provided by Eric Judy or by referral to a recommended, experienced, Fiduciary Investment Advisor in helping our website visitors. Dick Van Dyke semi-retired from his Investment Advisory Practice in 2012 and now focuses on this website. He still maintains his insurance license in good standing and assists his current clients.
Our vetted and recommended Fiduciary Financial Planners are required to be properly licensed in assisting clients with their annuity and retirement planning needs. (Due diligence as a client is still always necessary when working with any advisor to check their current standing.)

Site Terms & Disclosure

All tools, videos or information visible on this website's pages, television, or other media are for educational and conceptual purposes only.

Tools, videos or information are not to be considered investment advice, insurance recommendations, tax or legal advice.

It is recommended that site visitors should work with licensed professionals for individualized advice before making any important or final financial decisions on what is best for his or her situation.

Website comments are not considered investor testimonials those shown only relate to an insurance agent referral service, customer service, or satisfaction with the purchase of insurance products and are never based on any investment or securities advice or investment or securities performance.

Please be aware that your feedback and compliments may be shared with our visitors or those that may be interested in our services we will never give out your full name or full address or phone number without your permission. By sending us your feedback & comments you agree to allow us full use in sharing your comments with others in public forums. Thank you for sharing.

Media logos are not any type of endorsement, they only imply that one or more of the Annuity Guys have written for, been quoted by, or appeared on the listed news outlet, broadcast or cable channels, or branded programs for non-advertising and/or advertising purposes, to offer educational and conceptual information about retirement issues.

Income is guaranteed by annuitization or income riders that may have additional costs or fees.

http://www.annuityguys.net & http://www.annuityguys.com forward to https://annuityguys.org. - Further all disclosures and information are to be considered as one and the same for any and all URL forwards, and these same disclosures and information also apply to all YouTube videos featuring Dick & Eric where ever they are viewed.

MarketFree Annuity Definition: Any fixed annuity or portfolio of fixed annuities that protects principal / premium and growth by remaining market risk free.

Market Free (annuities, retirements and portfolios) refer to the use of fixed insurance products with minimum guarantees that have no market risk to principal and are not investments in securities.

Market Gains are a calculation used to determine interest earned as a result of an increasing market related index limited by various factors in the contract. These can vary with each annuity and issuing insurance company.

Premium is the correct term for money placed into annuities principal is used as a universal term that describes the cash value of any asset.

Interest Earned is the correct term to describe Market Free Annuity Growth; Market Gains, Returns, Growth and other generally used terms only refer to actual Interest Earned

Market Free Annuities are fixed insurance products and only require an insurance license in order to sell these products; they are not securities investments and do not require a securities license.

No Loss only pertains to market downturns and not if losses are incurred due to early withdrawal penalties or other fees for additional insurance benefits.

Annuities typically have surrender periods where early or excessive withdrawals may result in a surrender cost.

Market Free Annuities may or may not have a bonus. Some bonus products have fees or lower interest crediting and when surrendered early the bonus or part of the bonus may be forfeited as part of the surrender process which is determined by each contract.

MarketFree Annuities are not FDIC Insured and are not guaranteed by any Government Agency.

Annuities are not Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured and their guarantees are based on the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance company.

State Insurance Guarantee Associations (SIGA) vary in coverage with each state and are not to be confused with FDIC which has the backing of the federal government.

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration.

*"Best” refers only to the opinion of Dick, this site's author; or the opinion of Dick & Eric in videos and is not considered best for all individuals.

*"APO” refers only to the Annual Pay-Out of annuities in the guaranteed lifetime income phase. *APO is NOT an annual yield or an annual rate of interest.

AnnuityRateWatch.com, is only a linked to subscription service, which is not affiliated with this site, it supplies and updates all Annuity Rates, Features Ratings, Fees and Riders. AnnuityRateWatch.com's information is available in the public domain and accuracy is not verified or guaranteed since this type of information is always subject to change.

Dick helps site visitors when help is requested. Dick may receive a referral fee as compensation from an advisor for a prospective client referral. This helps compensate Dick for time spent assisting site visitors and maintaining this educational website.

Eric Judy is both insurance licensed and securities licensed. Eric offers securities as an investment adviser representative through Client One Securities, LLC.

Eric purchases prospective client referrals from Annuity Guys Ltd. and may be compensated by commission for helping prospective clients purchase. Eric may also recommend these prospective clients to an advisor and earn a referral fee or a referral commission split.

Vetted advisors refers to advisors that are insurance licensed and recommended based on referral experience from satisfied clients.

Any recommendation of an advisor is only one aspect of any due diligence process. Each site visitor must accept full individual responsibility for choosing a licensed insurance agent/advisor.

In the event that a recommended licensed advisor/agent is not considered satisfactory, Eric will make reasonable efforts to recommend other advisors one at a time in an attempt to satisfy a site visitors planning or purchasing needs.

Dick is the website author and editor, Annuity Guys Ltd. is the website owner; Eric is a guest video commentator. Videos gathered from other public domain sources may also be used for educational and conceptual purposes.

There is NO COST to site visitors when they are given an advisor referral or recommendation.

By giving the us your contact information such as email, phone number, address and etc. you are giving your permission to be contacted or sent additional relevant information about annuities, retirement and related financial information. We have a NO SPAM policy.

Accuracy of website information is strived for but is not guaranteed.

Freedom from virus or malware is strived for but is not guaranteed. Website visitors accept any and all risk associated with damage to any computer for any reason when using this website and hold this website harmless from any liability.

Use this website like the vast majority of websites at your own risk. No risk or liability of any type are accepted by any business entity or any of the information providers for this website.

The post Avoiding Annuity Gimmicks, Amateurs, & Charlatans! appeared first on Annuity Guys®.

Annuities versus Securities

Annuity Guys® — Thu, 24 Oct 2024 06:00:39 +0000

When you build a house, you don’t start with the roof – you start with the foundation. For many retirees annuities help make-up one of the of the foundational elements in their retirement’s safer money growth allocations and/or their income plan alongside Social Security, pensions, and other reliable income streams.

Once you have the income foundation of your retirement plan set in place, you can then set the walls and “raise the roof” with safer growth or riskier return allocations – including securities – knowing that you have a solid income foundation in place. Typically, securities offer more growth potential which can help retirees combat inflation and the potential loss of spending power. By having a solid foundation in place, you help remove [continued below video…]

Video: Annuity Guys, Dick & Eric compare annuities to securities for retirement.

**Guarantees, including optional benefits, are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuer, and may contain limitations, including surrender charges, which may affect policy values. During this segment, Dick and Eric are referring to Fixed Annuities unless otherwise specified.

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[continued…] the concern over a market downturn slicing into your retirement savings and reducing your needed income.

Some might presume that as Annuity Guys we are opposed to stocks and bonds; however, we truly believe that securities can be an important allocation providing growth potential and liquidity within most portfolios.

Securities versus annuities is not a battle of good versus evil – both can be beneficial elements of a well-designed retirement plan. However, failing to look at all your options when constructing a retirement plan may be unfair or even harmful to your retirement. It is best to have an advisor that helps you consider both; unfortunately, there are a number of advisors who fail to take the time to analyze if annuities and securities should be part of an individual’s balanced retirement plan. These advisors tend to take more of a “one-size fits all” biased approach by emphasizing one over the other.

Here’s a related article from Dr. Wade Pfau in Financial Advisor magazine.

Substituting Income Annuities For Bond Funds in Retirement
WADE D. PFAU

Retirement income planning is still a relatively new field with different dynamics than traditional wealth accumulation. After a lifetime focused on maximizing wealth or beating a benchmark, your goal becomes creating sustainable income over an indefinite length of time—the rest of your life. Retirees must manage risks like market performance along with their own longevity and the uncertainty about their spending requirements.

The Wall Street Journal once quoted me referring to income annuities as “super bonds,” which is not the most academic term. Recently, I started calling them “actuarial bonds.” My experience with retirement income has led me to conclude that income annuities have the potential to improve retirement outcomes over what is possible with bond funds.

In thinking about retirement income, we extend the efficient frontier of modern portfolio theory beyond its single-period focus to consider lifetime risk and reward measures.

Lifetime risk can be framed simply as the possible shortfall in the amount you will need to spend, which can happen when market returns are bad or your life is unusually long. Reward, on the other hand, can be defined by any liquid financial assets available to support your additional spending for contingencies or fund legacy objectives when you have otherwise been able to meet your lifestyle spending goals.

There can be a trade-off between these objectives. You can lock in spending or reduce your portfolio volatility to protect yourself during downturns. This generally means sacrificing some of the potential growth on the upside. You can meet these objectives by using stocks, bonds and annuities in combination. Some allocations can be more efficient than others in accomplishing the objectives.

My research article on the efficient frontier for retirement in the Journal of Financial Planning concluded that combinations of stocks and income annuities produce more efficient outcomes than combinations of stocks and bonds. Income annuities effectively serve as a replacement for the fixed-income allocation in a retirement portfolio. When retirees know what they will receive upon purchasing an income annuity, they are in good shape if they have enough saved to lock in their income objective. …[Read More…]

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Using OutCome Based Planning for Your Retirement

We practice and recommend a "Holistic - OutCome Based Planning process when considering annuities." This approach has the effect of balancing your overall portfolio so you can meet your retirement objectives by "first identifying the least amount of your investments or savings (if any) that should be considered for annuities." OutCome Based Planning analyzes and models multiple outcomes so you can clearly identify your best income and growth opportunities.

"The Annuity Guys will only call if you request help". Hence, when you are ready for specialized help we will be available.

"Working with an Experienced Fiduciary Financial Planner can help you Avoid a Trial & Error or Risk Based Retirement"

*FIDUCIARY RETIREMENT REVIEWS
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"For Your Retirement's Success"

Choose a *Fiduciary Advisor who gives you Full Disclosure of Cost & Selection.

Material Fact 1:

About 90% of advisors ARE NOT REQUIRED by law to do what is best for their clients!

Material Fact 2:

Fiduciary Advisors ARE REQUIRED by law to do what's best for their clients!

Hence, clients of a fiduciary can know that their advisor chose the highest legal standard required by law to work strictly for their highest good.

We estimate Fiduciaries are less than 10% of total U.S. financial service providers. Fiduciaries are held to the highest client legal standard of financial planning and investment advice.

The other 90% are sales oriented advisors, brokers, bank reps, registered reps. & insurance agents, selling products on a much lower suitability legal standard, not necessarily what's best for their client!

   Fiduciaries also must disclose conflicts of interest that could potentially bias their advice, such as; selling products that pay them higher commissions having higher fees or costs, and their lack of investment product access limiting their client's opportunities, to name a few.

Choosing your advisor can have

"The Largest Single Impact on

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This type of approach does take considerably more time, effort and analysis which will show you mathematically the successful possibilities by comparing various outcomes rather than trying to sell or convince you of that "so-called one best solution." Clients frequently tell us that this process removes some of the confusion and emotion to help them objectively identify a better retirement plan; rather than just ending up with the most convincing salesperson or advisor.

When requesting help you can be assured of working with an experienced Annuity Guys' Retirement Planner who is independently insurance licensed and securities licensed as a fiduciary financial planner having access to the vast majority of annuity companies in helping you choose the best annuities using a holistic-outcome based planning approach. We consider the high quality advisor recommendations we make to our website visitors as a direct reflection back on our commitment to serve all client's with a high standard of excellence in financial planning for retirement.

Based on survey feedback on advisors from our website visitors, we eliminated about two-hundred local advisors and now only recommend a few that we consider experienced vetted Annuity Guys' Fiduciary Advisors. Many local advisors continue requesting us to recommend them as a vetted advisor. However, our reputation and future business is driven only by satisfied website visitors. So, unfortunately we've had to tell the vast majority of local advisors no, since we changed our business model four years ago. At that time we stopped trying to satisfy everyone with local advisors, we now primarily work with individuals who are comfortable using today's internet technology to their fullest advantage by working with a select group of vetted, experienced and knowledgeable Annuity Guys' Fiduciary Planners.

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Fiduciary Advisors 10% - Sales Advisors 90%

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*Fiduciary Financial Planners we estimate at less than 10% of total US financial advisors.
The other 90% of advisors are salespeople such as brokers, bank reps, registered reps. & insurance agents.

Advisors licensed only as a sales oriented securities broker, registered rep, or insurance agent, ARE NOT Fiduciaries! They work on a much lower legal standard of Suitability which does not require full disclosure and only requires a suitable product sale, NOT what's actually best for their client!

Fiduciary Financial Planners by law are subject to the highest standard of financial planning and investment advice accountability.
Hence, clients of a fiduciary can know that their advisor is required legally to work strictly for their highest benefit.

This is also referred to as the prudent man rule, which in simple terms means that by licensing as a Series 65 Investment Advisor / Financial Planner they must give clients the best advice they are capable of based on all the knowledge they possess and information they have access to, in the same way they would advise and help close friends or family members.

Fiduciaries also must disclose all known conflicts of interest that could potentially bias their advice, such as - selling financial products that pay them higher commissions with higher fees or costs, and their lack of investment product availability for their clients' needs, just to name a few.

Choosing your advisor can have

"The Largest Single Impact on

Your Retirement's Success or Failure"

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Selecting the Best Annuity & Retirement Income Advisor

Are you willing to work with one of our retirement and annuity advisors based on their experience and expertise as a first priority rather than being limited by a local or regional area? The good news is that technology has forever eliminated our geographical limitations and leveled the playing field for everyone! As a result of today's technological advances, all of us can now work confidently with experts in any field including personal finance. We are no longer confined by regional or local boundaries limiting our choices and ultimate success. A high quality advisor is now as close as a click or phone call away.

Video:"Choose a National or Local Advisor"?

"There is no room for trial and error when it comes to choosing MarketFree® Annuities or a Successful Retirement Planner."

When you think about it, your money is almost always in some other state with a custodian; whether invested in the market or with an annuity insurance company, the advisors competence is primarily needed when positioning your money initially. So working with a specialized expert in a financial discipline like investments or retirement planning is imperative. There are no undo buttons in retirement! Once the annuities get set up correctly, it is customary and more efficient for owners to benefit by having direct access to the issuer instead of having to go through the agent. And, of course any reputable advisor, local or national, is more than willing to assist their clients if needed after they are implemented.

Video:"Why These 3 Types of Annuity Advisors are Not Created Equal"

"There are no undo buttons in retirement so it is vitally important that you do it right the first time!"

We are fortunate to have a select few who we believe are truly the highest qualified advisors out of about two hundred licensed insurance agents that we eliminated. Your survey feedback is what helps us make these tough decisions. Our advisors have an independent financial practice, specializing in annuities and retirement planning, which helps ensure that you are given the best options available for your retirement planning.

Video: "How Much of Your Money Should You Consider Placing into Annuities"?

"It takes an experienced expert to know how to structure annuities for income, inflation, growth, return of principal, and tax advantage."

"Anyone can sell you an annuity; however, it takes a truly qualified and experienced advisor to know how to structure them for income, inflation, growth, return of principal, and tax advantage. Typically, there is not just one that can accomplish all of these objectives. It is how an advisor structures multiple annuities in balancing your total portfolio that makes it possible to achieve your most important retirement objectives."

Video: "How to Choose a Great retirement Advisor"?

Why Searching for the Best Annuities on Your Own Can be so Frustrating...
Almost everyone nowadays turns to the internet for answers on everything - from buying new widgets to researching just about everything under the sun; and finding the best annuity is no exception! At first, it may seem that researching will be straightforward but the more time you spend researching them, the more frustrating it can be. Why is this? First of all, it does not take long to realize that gimmicks abound - such as warnings and alerts from salesmen who just want your attention so they can sell you one or the "too good to be true" claims of 8% to 14% **guaranteed interest and of course the claim that you can get the full market upside with no downside risk! If you have done any research you have heard all of these claims in advertising which are mostly half truths and not fully explained. So how can you find the best annuities on the internet? The truth is... you can't! And what is even more frustrating is all the conflicting points of view from so called experts. There are well over 6,000 different annuities - all designed for different reasons, so is it any wonder that the deck is stacked against the average researcher or do-it-yourselfer. Add to that the fact that they pay high enough commissions to attract a plethora of both good and bad agents. This does not make annuities good or bad; they are simply a financial tool that truly benefit those who use them correctly. How can you find the best annuities for your unique situation?

Use the internet cautiously;

Work with a vetted and experienced specialist;

Do not settle for that one dubious best plan. Compare multiple Outcome Based Plans to decide on the one that is truly best for you;

Be keenly aware of scare tactics and hyperbole - avoid those advisors and websites;

Avoid websites that are focused on rushing free reports, rates and quotes to get your contact information they are rushing you to speak with them, instead, take your time and choose someone you are more comfortable with that works on your time-table;

Know the Five Vital Factors (listed above) that an experienced specialist must answer before helping you select the best options for your situation;

Watch this telling video "Avoid Annuity Gimmicks, Amateurs and Charlatans"...

Video: "Avoiding Gimmicks, Scams & Charlatans"

^** Guarantees, including optional benefits, are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuer, and may contain limitations, including surrender charges, which may affect policy values. Annuities are not FDIC insured and it is possible to lose money.
They are insurance products that require a premium to be paid for purchase.
Annuities do not accept or receive deposits and are not to be confused with bank issued financial instruments.
During all video segments, Dick and Eric are referring to Fixed Annuities unless otherwise specified.

^*Retirement Planning and annuity purchase assistance may be provided by Eric Judy or by referral to a recommended, experienced, Fiduciary Investment Advisor in helping our website visitors. Dick Van Dyke semi-retired from his Investment Advisory Practice in 2012 and now focuses on this website. He still maintains his insurance license in good standing and assists his current clients.
Our vetted and recommended Fiduciary Financial Planners are required to be properly licensed in assisting clients with their annuity and retirement planning needs. (Due diligence as a client is still always necessary when working with any advisor to check their current standing.)

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MarketFree Annuity Definition: Any fixed annuity or portfolio of fixed annuities that protects principal / premium and growth by remaining market risk free.

Market Free (annuities, retirements and portfolios) refer to the use of fixed insurance products with minimum guarantees that have no market risk to principal and are not investments in securities.

Market Gains are a calculation used to determine interest earned as a result of an increasing market related index limited by various factors in the contract. These can vary with each annuity and issuing insurance company.

Premium is the correct term for money placed into annuities principal is used as a universal term that describes the cash value of any asset.

Interest Earned is the correct term to describe Market Free Annuity Growth; Market Gains, Returns, Growth and other generally used terms only refer to actual Interest Earned

Market Free Annuities are fixed insurance products and only require an insurance license in order to sell these products; they are not securities investments and do not require a securities license.

No Loss only pertains to market downturns and not if losses are incurred due to early withdrawal penalties or other fees for additional insurance benefits.

Annuities typically have surrender periods where early or excessive withdrawals may result in a surrender cost.

Market Free Annuities may or may not have a bonus. Some bonus products have fees or lower interest crediting and when surrendered early the bonus or part of the bonus may be forfeited as part of the surrender process which is determined by each contract.

MarketFree Annuities are not FDIC Insured and are not guaranteed by any Government Agency.

Annuities are not Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured and their guarantees are based on the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance company.

State Insurance Guarantee Associations (SIGA) vary in coverage with each state and are not to be confused with FDIC which has the backing of the federal government.

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration.

*"Best” refers only to the opinion of Dick, this site's author; or the opinion of Dick & Eric in videos and is not considered best for all individuals.

*"APO” refers only to the Annual Pay-Out of annuities in the guaranteed lifetime income phase. *APO is NOT an annual yield or an annual rate of interest.

AnnuityRateWatch.com, is only a linked to subscription service, which is not affiliated with this site, it supplies and updates all Annuity Rates, Features Ratings, Fees and Riders. AnnuityRateWatch.com's information is available in the public domain and accuracy is not verified or guaranteed since this type of information is always subject to change.

Dick helps site visitors when help is requested. Dick may receive a referral fee as compensation from an advisor for a prospective client referral. This helps compensate Dick for time spent assisting site visitors and maintaining this educational website.

Eric Judy is both insurance licensed and securities licensed. Eric offers securities as an investment adviser representative through Client One Securities, LLC.

Eric purchases prospective client referrals from Annuity Guys Ltd. and may be compensated by commission for helping prospective clients purchase. Eric may also recommend these prospective clients to an advisor and earn a referral fee or a referral commission split.

Vetted advisors refers to advisors that are insurance licensed and recommended based on referral experience from satisfied clients.

Any recommendation of an advisor is only one aspect of any due diligence process. Each site visitor must accept full individual responsibility for choosing a licensed insurance agent/advisor.

In the event that a recommended licensed advisor/agent is not considered satisfactory, Eric will make reasonable efforts to recommend other advisors one at a time in an attempt to satisfy a site visitors planning or purchasing needs.

Dick is the website author and editor, Annuity Guys Ltd. is the website owner; Eric is a guest video commentator. Videos gathered from other public domain sources may also be used for educational and conceptual purposes.

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