Page 155 - Ready Set Retire

Ready. Set. Retire!

you. That represents my reputation and my integrity. In
addition to yours, it represents my future and the security of
my family. So if I write something down and give it to you I
want to have a good idea I can actually deliver it.

These Are Not Your Father’s Annuities

Ninety percent time when brokers, TV and radio
commentators, magazines and newspapers, etc., mention
annuities, they are talking about VAs or immediate annuities.
We have already discussed VAs, but haven’t mentioned
immediate annuities, a.k.a. Single Premium Immediate
Annuities, or SPIAs. These were the traditional annuities that
required you to give up control of your money in return for a
lifetime payout. A friend of mine, also in this business, calls
this committing “annuicide.”

The market has changed dramatically since the 1990s and the
insurance industry has caught up in a big way. The primary
differences between now and then has to do with the way the
new generation of retirees and pre-retirees think of their
money.

Our parents were brought up on the defined benefits plan, or
pension. It was based on the idea that they contributed during
their working lives and when they retired they got a specific
benefit...pension, healthcare, etc., for the rest of their lives.

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