A Smarter Alternative to Bank CDs

9.5.25: Audio automatically transcribed by Sonix

9.5.25: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.

Speaker1:
Any examples used are for illustrative purposes only, and do not take into account your particular investment objectives, financial situation or needs and may not be suitable for all investors. It is not intended to predict the performance of any specific investment, and is not a solicitation or recommendation of any investment strategy.

Speaker2:
Welcome to Retirement Results, the national radio show and podcast for listeners like you who want to protect and grow their hard earned money. In a world filled with so much uncertainty and financial risk, we seek to cut through the noise and build successful plans for hard working Americans on their road to financial freedom. Retirement results is powered by Active Wealth Management, a team of fiduciary advisors who always place your needs first. And now your host. He's a registered social security analyst, member of the Forbes Finance Council, and author of multiple books on retirement planning. Here's your chief financial adviser, Ford Stokes.

Speaker3:
And welcome to retirement results result drivers. I'm Ford stokes, your chief financial advisor. Got Sam Davis here with us. He's our senior financial advisor and co-host on the show. Sam, say hello to everybody.

Speaker4:
Welcome to the weekend result drivers. Thanks so much for tuning in. Whether you're listening locally in Atlanta or wherever you get your podcasts, we're so happy that you're here. We've got fantastic information, as always, and for time marches on. We are here in September 2025. Uh, it is fall. The kids are back in school. I know your girls just moved into Auburn University recently, and, uh, would love to hear how things are going for them as they get their semester started and hope everybody's having a good weekend.

Speaker3:
Yeah, we entertained them and and ate of their close friends that are pledged sisters of theirs, um, To come over to the lake and learn how to surf, wake, surf behind the boat this past weekend. And that was a lot, having like 9 to 10 girls sitting in the in the boat. That was something else. Um, but they did great. They were super great. Nice, good girls and and ready to work hard in school and also ready to have a great time in college, like most people do. So, um, yeah, they're all those things were there. That was great. I think they enjoyed seeing Auburn get their first win. Uh, congratulations to Georgia and Georgia Tech for getting their first wins, um, this past week as well. I think, um, I think those schools are all going to have great, great years this year. Um, it was really impressive to see, uh, Georgia Tech kind of grind out a close win at Colorado. Um, I really like their quarterback, but it just. Yeah, it's been good. It's, um. Times change. Our girls are freshmen in college, and, um, we are here to help everyone kind of plan for their retirement as as seasons change within your lives for retirement. And, you know, the definition of retire is to withdraw. We want to make sure that you're not just withdrawing from life or maybe withdrawing from work, but you're kind of propelling yourself to another, better part in life.

Speaker3:
So I encourage you to go ahead and reach out to us at (770) 685-1777 again (770) 685-1777. You're going to get your free portfolio analysis and financial plan. That includes an RSA roadmap, which is a Social security social security maximization report. If you want to get that, we're happy to help you there. Um, but again, if you've been a long time listener, we want you to be a first time caller. I mean, Diane and her team are standing by to take your call this weekend. Um, you can just give us a call again at (770) 685-1777 seven. If you're having a tough time remembering the phone number or catching that phone number, you can just visit retirement. Com that's retirement.com or visit our main corporate website at com. The financial advisors like Sam and myself and Matt McClure and others and Brandy seats and others. We're all here to power retirement results and better educate you on how to better protect and grow your hard earned and hard saved wealth. We know it's hard to make it. It's even harder to save it. We want to get that money working as hard as you have. And the best way to do that is make sure your portfolio is more tax efficient, more fee efficient, and more market efficient.

Speaker3:
And one of those market efficiency topics is our main topic of today's show. The title of this show is Annuities Demystified Clarity, confidence, and Cash Flow in Retirement. We're going to help you understand the products. Avoid the pitfalls and unlock the guaranteed income that lasts an entire lifetime here on this week's show. It's definitely a show you're not going to want to miss. Also, remember, if you if you can't listen to the whole show, let's say you're going to Home Depot or Lowe's or going to the grocery store. You're going to a kid's soccer game or a fall baseball game, or you're going to a dance recital or a cheer competition. During this show, or you're just ready to go watch some college football and you're watching College Game Day on ESPN and you want to get off this call. I would encourage you to listen to our podcast anytime. Um, just go to Retirement results, click that episodes button and you can hear our or any episodes of our podcast and this radio show anytime you want. But I would go ahead and do that. Um, and reach out to us. No problem. Um, and that's retirement. Results.com. Sam, your thoughts on all that before we get started on annuities demystified?

Speaker4:
Yeah, just excited to keep helping everyone in our community. As summer ends and people get back from their summer vacations and their Labor Day trips, we usually start to see that phone ring a little bit more. They get the kids back in school and they start to focus on themselves a little bit more, which I think is a great idea, particularly for those of you who are about ten years away from retirement. It's a fantastic time to just sit down with somebody, figure out where you stand, make some slight adjustments now that will set you up for so much more success down the road in your mid 60s, when you finally do make that step to retire. So whether you're ten years away, whether you want to retire right now, we talked to a lot of people forward who just say, hey, get me out of the office this year or next. I'm ready to retire right now. If that's you, we're here to help, or even if you're already in retirement and you feel like you could do a little bit better, then we want to help you do a little bit better with your retirement because you deserve it.

Speaker3:
Yeah, there's no doubt about it. We want to help everybody get a lot better. Specifically, we want to help you get more tax efficient, more efficient, and more market efficient with your portfolio. All right. So here's an overview of today's show. We've got the role of annuities today. Annuities are no longer old fashioned or even a one size fits all. You can actually kind of customize annuities to really make it work for you and best for you. We're going to share the definition of what a multi year guaranteed annuity is or omega. We're going to share what a fixed index annuity is or a fire or FIA. And we're also going to share a little bit about fixed and variable annuities. Let's try to stay away from the variable annuities because they are at risk in the market. They are securities that are that have market risk associated with them. And they're also very high in fees and fees, which R stands for mortality and expense fees. We'll get into that. And then also number three is we're going to share how annuities can protect from market volatility. And annuities act as a buffer against downturns. And number four is we're going to share our problem solver case study. We've got two retirees and two different outcomes, which I think you're going to find fascinating. We'll compare the experience of one retiree all in the market versus one with a mix that includes a fixed index, annuities, and show how annuities can safeguard income and confidence, but also account value. Sam, let's go ahead and share the financial wisdom. Quote of the week. And this is an awesome one. All the way back from the 1800s.

Speaker5:
And now for some financial wisdom. It's time for the quote of the week.

Speaker4:
Yeah, this is a great one. This was also a quote featured in your book annuity 364. So if any of you want to get your hands on that book, that audio book or that e-book, let us know. But this week's quote of the week comes to us from Jane Austen. And Jane Austen once said, people always live forever when there is an annuity to be paid to them.

Speaker3:
You know, annuities once kind of had the reputation of being your grandfather's retirement tool. But it is interesting all the way back to when Jane Austen wrote the book Sense and Sensibilities in the 1800s. She talks about how when you've got an annuity that you're paying out, they will stay alive. And especially if you're the payer. It's really amazing. There's been studies done about it as well. So it's just good to have that peace of mind that people will live to the next paycheck in general. But it is interesting the studies that have been done about it. So once thought to kind of be predictable but outdated annuities today are one of the most in-demand ways to balance security and flexibility in retirement. And I'll just tell you this specifically. A lot of people are running away from bonds. They're running to fixed, indexed annuities. If you have even 20% of your assets in bonds, I would encourage you to invest into fixed index annuities instead and go fully aggressive with the rest of your portfolio. And you can put 20 to 40% of your portfolio, the income portion of your portfolio, into fixed index annuities. And you're going to find that your retirement income is safe and you can never outlive it. And so therefore, you're not going to just be living on just Social Security if you have down years in the market, and also if you're over withdrawing money from your overall portfolio. So, Sam, let's talk about why our annuities back in style.

Speaker4:
Yeah. Well, I think for one, we've talked about this on the show before is the interest rate environment that we're in lends itself to products that are doing a better job for the retirees that have them? I mean, for you talk all the time about just the ten year US Treasury, which a lot of the rates that these carriers base their rates on is based off that ten year US Treasury. And when it's higher, then they're able to pass some of those gains onto the consumer as well.

Speaker3:
Yeah. We'll talk about when we come back to the break. We'll talk about what the current ten year US Treasury yield is as of the airing of this. This show. Um, it's pretty remarkable. And and then especially compared to what it's been historically. And we're gonna get more into how we're going to demystify annuities. This show. I think this show is a really important show for people to understand everything they need to know about annuities. And also, if you want to get my book annuity 360, uh, you can. All you got to do is reach out to us at retirement. Com forward slash plan. That's retirement. Com forward slash and come right back. We're going to talk about the ten year US Treasury yield as of the airing of this show. And also talk about more facts and figures about fixed index annuities and multi-year guaranteed annuities right here on retirement results on Am 920.

Speaker2:
The answer call (770) 685-1777 to schedule your free, no obligation meeting with us today. You're listening to retirement results.

Speaker6:
That could change if she ever found out about you and I.

Speaker2:
Schedule your free, no obligation consultation today by visiting retirement Results.com. Now back to the show.

Speaker3:
And welcome back to retirement results. Result. Drivers got Sam Davis here with us and myself. Um, Ford Stokes, our chief financial advisor. Sam's our senior financial advisor and co-host on the show. So we're talking about demystifying annuities on this week's show. We're going to go through the whole thing, just kind of give you a full shot of why you should consider investing in fixed, indexed annuities, not just one, maybe one, or multiple ones, to try to protect your income and generate an income you can never outlive. But also the role of annuities today as well. And one of the big drivers of that, especially in this interest rate environment. The current US ten year Treasury, that yield is right around 4.269% right now, which is the highest it's been since 2008. In 2008, it was right around 4% in different parts of 2008. It's literally 17 years later. It is higher than what it's been. And, you know, throughout my career, a lot of times the ten year US Treasury has been right around 1.4 to 1.8. It's almost triple of what it's been. And so it is a remarkable result. And that allows the annuity companies to give you a higher rate of return, because the underlying product with a fixed indexed annuity is generally the ten year US Treasury.

Speaker3:
Because annuities are regulated by the states, they're not regulated by the federal government, and the states have to balance their budgets. So therefore, when an annuity company wants to do business in the state of Georgia, as an example, they have to come in with saying, hey, we will put 100% of the money that a client gives us, will financially reserve that money in the ten year US Treasury, and we'll only invest the interest off of that investment in the ten year US Treasury into options in things like, you know, the BNP Paribas Global Factor Index or the index or the Nasdaq 100 index, or the J.P. Morgan Cycle Index, or the Credit Suisse Momentum Index, or all those different things. There's hundreds of different proprietary indexes these annuity companies work with as the underlying index that will get you the market like growth. But the other thing is so great is these these insurance companies and annuity companies, they buy options in $100 million blocks, which they can buy options a lot more cheaply than we can. And so therefore you can get a higher yield and they can give you greater returns on your annuities. An example the Aspida Synergy choice bonus ten is paying 75% of how the underlying index performs, and they're giving you a 15% bonus.

Speaker3:
So if the Q-q-q performs, let's say it does, it does 10% in a given year, well, you're going to get 7.5% of the growth on all of your money that's invested into that fixed index annuity. What else is more interesting even further is if you don't get the bonus product, you just get the synergy choice product from Aspida, which is an A minus rated carrier. You can get 113% on how the index performs, so you'd rather be in that product than actually just be invested into the q-q-q itself in the market. And you can't lose any principle because your money's invested in the ten year treasury. They're not in. It's not invested into the underlying index options themselves. So if the index performs poorly in a year and shows a negative performance, your money's still invested in a ten year US Treasury. You can't lose your principal. So zero is your hero with a fixed index annuity. That's another way to demystify annuities and say, okay, wait a second. Zero is my hero with an annuity and I only stair step up, I never retreat. That's a really cool thing. Sam, why don't you talk about the role of annuities today and let's go specifically again, why annuities are back in style. Let's also talk by the numbers.

Speaker4:
Yeah. Well, we're just seeing that the retirement landscape has changed dramatically, not just over the last ten, 20 years, but really over the last 50 years. The biggest reason for that is that pensions are largely disappearing from the workplace unless you are in the military or some sort of federal or state employee. We're really not seeing those defined benefit plans. We are seeing a dramatic switch over to the defined contribution plans. That's your 401 K. That is your 403 B. Maybe the 457 plan is what you have depending on where you work. But that is you decide how much to contribute. Hopefully you're taking advantage of any free match that your employer gives you. We highly recommend that people do that, because that's a 100% gain and free money on all that money that gets matched. Sure, there's no vesting requirements and you've got to stay with the employer for so many years before all of that's fully yours. But some of it you're going to be vested in very quickly. And that is free money. So if you are looking for a pension and retirement, that's not something that you're getting from your employer anymore. And Social Security, which is if you don't have a pension, your only other guaranteed source of income.

Speaker4:
There are some long term uncertainty with that. We're seeing that in about a decade that the Social Security trust funds are going to start to run dry, and you're going to see a cut in benefits across the board if they don't do anything to really patch up Social Security. And we're also seeing a world where market volatility feels like a new normal, just rampant speculation in the marketplace. So many people able to invest right from their pocket. You may even have a trading app on your phone right now as you're driving around, listening to us or listening to us on the podcast, where you could go in and you could put in a trade right now and have that execute at the next trading window. And that's led to a lot of market volatility. It's something that we're all dealing with. And it's one of the big reasons why annuities are back in style. And to be clear Ford, we never recommend that people do this with the entire entirety of their portfolio. This is only for a percentage of your portfolio. But what we've seen over time, especially for our retirees, it becomes their favorite portion of their portfolio because they're getting that check every single month.

Speaker3:
Yeah. According to US News and World Report, less than 16% of S&P 500 companies still offer pensions. So it might be a really good idea to go ahead and try to invest in your own pension. And also, you know, it would be great to get the bonus of potentially living longer to get to the next check each time to help you have a great a greater lifestyle as well. When you can count on the income that you're looking for as well. So by the numbers, Sam, have we gone through that?

Speaker4:
No, let's let's just let the people know that Limra projects that we're going to have $400 billion in annuity sales in 2025. We've had three consecutive years of record highs of people investing into annuities. Limra projects that that is going to happen once again, and it's going to be more than 400 billion in annuity sales. So that would be a record. We're also seeing younger buyers, folks in their 40s and 50s are jumping in to lock in the guarantees. We actually had a active wealth client earlier this year. Get ready to invest in that nationwide peak ten product on their 45th birthday, because you can't invest in that feature that they wanted until you're 45 years old. So we're seeing younger buyers also with that aspida FIA that you just mentioned, getting a high participation rate in an index like the Q-q-q is attractive to folks whether you're close to retirement or not. If you just want to participate in the gains of the stock market without ever having to suffer those down years, that's why we're seeing a lot of younger folks really get into the annuities with a portion of their portfolio. And we're seeing, yeah, continued great sales numbers, um, across the country. And we understand why. I mean, there's so much volatility. People want a pension. They're worried about Social Security. And by just putting a portion of your portfolio into a product that's right for you and your situation, it can give you a lot of peace of mind.

Speaker3:
Well, and we're going to go ahead and just say the first name, not the last name of that client, but the client is Julie, and she's 45 years young and she's a pharmacist. And I just think it's really interesting that she's been a, you know, a bank CD investor for a long time because she doesn't trust. She was so scared of the market. And we kind of got her where she. Okay. Better off to be in some other things like a fixed index annuity. And she was also 45 years young. And she's loving her fixed indexed annuity. She's got a 20% immediate bonus. She got 8% guaranteed interest in the income account. And it's pretty amazing. Um, when we come back to the break, we're going to talk more about how to beat bank CDs. We got our beating Bank CD segment. We've also got, you know, a really great problem solver. Um, that's going to compare to different, um, investors out there. I think that you're going to really find this segment really interesting. This problem solver is something else. I can't wait for this one and come right back. You're listening to Retirement Results right here on Am 920. Answer WGN.

Speaker2:
We'll be back in just a moment to continue helping you navigate your financial journey. Stay tuned for more retirement results.

Speaker7:
You don't know me. I recognize my face.

Speaker1:
Do you want a steady stream of income for retirement? Then it's time to consider annuities. I'm Matt McClure with the Retirement Radio Network powered by Imara life. Gone are the days when most employers offered pensions with guaranteed lifetime payouts to their workers. But what if I told you that you can build your own personal pension? It's possible with an annuity. An annuity is a financial product that provides a series of regular payments to an individual over a specified period of time, often for the rest of their life.

Speaker3:
There are several options for you to consider when choosing an annuity. Be confident in knowing that there is an annuity out there that can meet all of your needs.

Speaker1:
Fort Stokes is founder and president of Active Wealth Management and author of the book annuity 360. There are several different types of annuities, including fixed, variable, and fixed indexed.

Speaker3:
A fixed annuity offers a specific guaranteed interest rate on their contributions to the account. A fixed index annuity is an accumulation based product offered by an insurance company. The growth of your fixed indexed annuity is dependent on the performance of a chosen stock market index, but your money is not actually invested in this index. This offers you great growth potential and exceptional protection for your investment.

Speaker1:
While each can provide tax deferred growth and a lifetime income stream, variable annuities put your principal at risk in the market.

Speaker3:
If you are currently investing in a variable annuity, your funds could be in serious trouble if the market experienced any downturns.

Speaker1:
With so many possible choices to consider, it's essential you speak to a financial advisor or professional to help you make the best decision for your future. So are you ready to consider an annuity as part of your retirement plan? It's a key question to consider as you approach what should be your golden years with the Retirement Radio Network powered by Amira Life. I'm Matt McClure. Fixed annuities, including multi-year guaranteed rate annuities, are not designed for short term investments and may be subject to restrictions, fees and surrender charges as described in the annuity contract. Guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims paying ability of the issuer.

Speaker2:
You're listening to retirement results where we help you protect and grow your hard saved money. But now back to the show.

Speaker3:
And welcome back to retirement results. Result drivers on Fort Stokes, our chief financial advisor got Sam Davis here with us. He's our senior financial advisor and co-host the show. So Sam we're we're talking about the role of annuities today. We're also going to get in our beating Bank CD segment and this great problem solver all in this segment. But one of the parts of the role of annuities today is kind of innovation. We've got a lot of new innovation in these products because they're competing for Baby Boomer and Gen X dollars right now. Modern annuities aren't just cookie cutter, they've got flexible withdrawal options. You can get 10% penalty free withdrawal, or you can annuitize it annuitize it, which means turning on the income function of the annuity. Um, they've also got inflation protection writers as well, long term care add ons. So if you don't if you can't meet two of six ADLs activities of daily living, like being able to feed yourself or brush your teeth or or move and and move yourself and things like that, that can trigger actually double your annuity income that comes from your annuity. You've also got long term care add ons to like that fully help you with long term care if you want that as well. If you want long term care insurance, we can do that separately too. And you've also got legacy planning benefits as well. So there are a lot of great ways to customize your fixed indexed annuity. And even within products that are doing great, that are industry standards, um, you can still kind of tweak it to fit your own needs. And the last one, Sam, is the real value here with fixed indexed annuities. It just gives you peace of mind to get that income you can never outlive.

Speaker4:
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, why wouldn't you take a look at what your budget is? How much do you need each month to cover your expenses? If you can figure that out today, we can figure out that it's going to be close to that number in retirement, maybe slightly different. And between Social Security and the investment in the right FIA that fits you and your situation. Why not get to the guarantees and make sure that the income you need in retirement is going to be coming to you monthly, on a guaranteed basis, between Social Security and a contract with a highly rated insurance company through a fixed indexed annuity. We think that's a fantastic idea, and that it would really give you a lot of peace of mind to know that the rest of your portfolio can be invested, depending on your risk tolerance. Let it grow because your income needs are going to be met, and you can just get on with enjoying your retirement.

Speaker3:
No question about it. All right, let me jump right in here real quick and do these quick definitions because we said we would. So the types of annuities you've got a fixed annuity which is steady guaranteed interest rate. It's simple predictable. It's kind of like a CD alternative. We'll get into the TD Bank CD segment here in a second. A variable annuities invested in market Subaccounts. It is a security. It's at risk in the market. It's invested in market subaccounts. It's kind of like a mutual fund wrapped into an annuity. And there's there can be some growth potential there. But you're also exposed to market losses and also M&A fees with mortality and expense fees. We like to avoid those. Most variable annuities bring 3 to 6% a year in fees. So let's avoid variable annuities if we can, a multiyear guaranteed annuity or a myga. It's a great, uh, bank CD alternative. You can lock in a set rate for several years, often 5 to 6% in today's market. And we've got one that's offering 5.9% today in our in our, uh, beating the Bank CD segment. And then a fixed indexed annuity is offers a product that is principal protected.

Speaker3:
100% of your principal is protected against and away from market risk. And also you get the gains tied to an index like the S&P 500, the BNP Paribas Global Index, the Nasdaq 100, the Q-q-q, etc. you share in market upside but with limits with some caps and participation rates. But the participation rates are higher than 100% in many respects for many products. So you're better off being invested in these than in options are just with indexes that are in the market. So that's something to think about as well. Also, you get matching with the right products, the right person. We want to try to conservative risk averse folks or kind of fixed or migas. The balanced retiree wants protection and growth and they want a fixed index annuity. And if somebody wants extreme market risk and high fees, then the variable annuity might be right for you. But I would strongly urge you to reconsider and avoid the variable annuity. Here's what trips people up is caps and participation rates, surrender periods and contract riders like income inflation death benefits. And these can To determine whether your annuity becomes a blessing or a frustration.

Speaker2:
Need a higher rate of return from your safe money? Listen up. It's time to beat the bank. Cd rates.

Speaker3:
So security setting a life which is a highly rated carrier. The triple B plus rated. They are offering a personal choice multi year guaranteed annuity or a miga NYG that is offering 5.9% for five years. Compound interest. You get the principal and the interest at the end of the five years guaranteed. That's based on the claims paying ability of security sentinel life. That's a pretty good stuff. And which is a highly rated carrier that's higher than what you get with bank CDs. So if you're interested in getting a 5.9% multi year guaranteed annuity interest rate every year, compounded interest for five years on your money. Give us a call at (770) 685-1777. Again (770) 685-1777. And again, that is offered by the financial advisors here at Active Wealth Management. And we're the ones that power retirement results. We're happy to bring this to you through your radio and or your phone, uh, with the podcast as well. It's been great that we've had over 100,000 views on our YouTube channel. Thanks so much, everyone for making that a reality. And again, check out retirement. Com for more information check out our episodes tab to get that as well. But that's what a multi year guaranteed annuity will do. And that is beating a bank CD rate.

Speaker4:
Yeah Ford I just feel like so many people out there are actually concerned about the markets. They are risk averse like we mentioned Julie earlier in the show. But you don't have to settle for whatever your bank is giving you on a CD rate. Just too often we see that people go to whatever their, you know, retail, their brick and mortar bank is see what that bank CD, their offering is because it's convenient and then locking up their money there. Well, why don't you take the time, you know, give us a call. You can go to active Wealth.com and learn about our business. You can go to retirement. Com and learn about the show and listen to all our past episodes. We would love to do an analysis for you on your portfolio and actually show you, hey, these are the best products right now that would kind of fit into what your plan is. And if your plan requires any changes. For we help people implement changes all the time, and I think it'd be good with the rest of the segment to let people know what they actually get when they work with active wealth. And then we'll get ready for our problem solver in segment four.

Speaker3:
Yeah. So what you get when you work with us, you get one a portfolio analysis. So you understand the risks you're taking and the fees you are were paying with your current portfolio. You may not understand what the expense ratio is within your portfolio. If you don't, you really should give us a call at (770) 685-1777 or visit retirement Results.com. Number two is we're going to give you a retirement income gap analysis so you can understand okay, am I starting with a positive retirement income surplus or a negative retirement income gap with my retirement income month over month? Number three is we're going to give you a financial plan, your 95th birthday. That has nothing to do with us. It's just an analysis of your current plan. Number four is we're going to give you a financial plan of your 95th birthday with our recommended portfolios. And number five is we're going to give you a financial plan, your 95th birthday with our recommended portfolios. That also includes a strategic Roth ladder conversion plan. And as a bonus, we're going to give you an RSA roadmap, which is your Social Security maximization report. I'm one of 24 Rsas registered in the state of Georgia. And Matt McClure, who's one of our advisors, is also the reporter and does all of our reports on here on the show. He is also a registered Social Security analyst. So we're going to do all that absolutely at no cost to you. It's a $2,800 plus value. And we're going to give it to you because we love our listeners. We want to help them be better prepared for retirement. So go ahead and reach out to us at Retirement Comm. Click that schedule a consultation button in the upper right corner, and let's get going right away.

Speaker4:
And when we come back forward, we are going to do our problem solver. And our problem solver is going to be a little bit different. This week we're going to do, um, Mark and Linda, except Mark and Linda are two completely different retirees from two completely different families, but chose different routes with how they were going to manage their money as they approached retirement. So keep listening. This is retirement results and we'll be right back.

Speaker2:
Don't go away. Retirement results will be right back. To schedule your free, no obligation consultation, visit retirement Results.com.

Speaker7:
She's taking a swipe at fund.

Speaker1:
Any bonuses mentioned may be subject to additional restrictions and regulations based on the offering annuity company. You may not receive the bonuses if the contract is fully surrendered, or if traditional annuity payments are taken, and if the policy is partially surrendered, it could result in a partial loss of bonuses. Because these are bonus annuities, they may include higher surrender charges, longer surrender charge periods, lower caps, higher spreads, or other restrictions that are not included in similar annuities that don't offer a bonus feature.

Speaker3:
Hi, this is Ford Stokes, chief financial advisor. With retirement results, you've saved your whole life so you wouldn't have to worry about your money when you retire. But you worry now more than ever. You've been a good saver. You have 500,000, $1 million, or maybe even more. You should feel confident, but you don't. You're worried a big loss will wipe you out. You want to retire, but you don't. You're worried you don't have enough any of this. Sound familiar? It should, because we hear these things all the time from people just like you who are preparing for retirement or already retired. So why do you worry so much? It's because you don't have an actual plan in writing. Nothing to guide you through retirement. Retirement results helps people just like you. You'll get a free, customized written retirement plan. That's right, free and no obligation. Schedule your meeting now at retirement. Com forward slash plan. That's retirement.com/plan.

Speaker2:
Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management, LLC, a registered investment advisor. This part of today's show. Retirement results is available wherever you listen to podcasts and online at retirement Results.com.

Speaker3:
And welcome back to retirement results. I'm George Stokes, chief financial advisor. We've got Sam Davis here with us on the mic. He's our co-host and senior financial advisor as well. And we're here to really demystify annuities today, give you all the great information about how fixed indexed annuities can give you peace of mind. Have you? Make sure you don't outlive your money as well, and also replace the bonds within your portfolio to have you stop taking the market risk with bonds, one that we haven't covered. When you invest in a fixed indexed annuity, there are no advisory and portfolio fees. As a financial advisor, we don't double dip and we get paid a commission from the annuity company that they use that as their cost of sales and marketing expense, and they pay us, but they don't deduct any of that money from your annuity. So that's really great. And so we there's no way we should also charge a management fee to manage the, the annuity, because we're already getting paid a commission on the front end. So there's no double dipping there. Let's say you invest 20 to 40% of your portfolio in a fixed indexed annuity, or a multiple fixed indexed annuities that add up to to 20 to 40%. You're going to delete the advisory and portfolio fees by 20 to 40%, and quite likely also delete the amount of expense ratio by 20 to 40% as well. So that's a really attractive situation. If you get in the right types of annuities. All you got to do is reach out to us at retirement Results.com click that schedule a consultation button in the upper right corner. We'll get started right away.

Speaker2:
It's time for this week's Problem Solver.

Speaker4:
All right fjord. So we've got Mark and Linda. And this is all about not every retiree is going to face the same outcome, even if they start with the same amount of money. So Marc and Linda, let's assume they have the exact same amount of money save for retirement. And the real difference you'll see comes down to how they structured their portfolio, not the luck that they experienced along the way. So Marc on one hand, is fully invested in the stock market. He's been working. He's been saving into his 401 K and his and his IRA. He's seen some good growth over the years. You know, 2008 was certainly rough. And he took a hit during that stretch. But he's been investing in the stock market. He loves the growth potential and he's ignoring the risks. Um, but Marc is approaching retirement. Uh, Linda, Linda's splitting her savings between the stock market and a fixed indexed annuity. Equally, uh, she wants growth and protection. She wants that growth potential of the stock market, but she's been working hard. She recognizes that she doesn't want to retreat more than she has to when there's natural market corrections. So, Ford, let's first take a look at what would happen to Mark and what would happen to Linda if the market dropped 25%, which is not unreasonable. This is something that we've seen multiple times over the last.

Speaker3:
2020, 2022. Basically, the Nasdaq 100 lost 24.2%. So it's pretty close. And it would mark situation as portfolio. Its portfolio value plummeted. The withdrawals were taken directly from a shrinking balance and the confidence plummeted as well. And his long term plan kind of got derailed with Linda, the equity portion falls, but the FIA balance held steady. Withdrawals come from the protected funds, and it keeps the income intact and avoids panic decisions and avoids panic selling that also allowed her stuff to rebound as well. So it allowed her at risk equity portion to be stay invested and to rebound during recovery. Mark struggles to rebuild and also early withdrawals means less money left to recover the losses for Linda. The fixed index annuity keeps providing reliable income and the equity side rebounds and portfolio regains strength.

Speaker4:
Yeah. And for. I just want to mention that mindset difference after that market drop. Mark is making withdrawals from an account that he just saw shrink by 25%. Whereas Linda's income is coming from another source entirely sure, her stock market investments have suffered, but her next month's paychecks not a concern because that's coming from Social Security and that's coming from her guaranteed income from the FIA.

Speaker3:
Here's what the research says 61% of advisors report using annuities to help clients manage their market risk. Retirees with guaranteed income streams are less likely to panic sell during downturns, and studies show that they also reported higher retirement confidence compared to those without the guarantees. The same dollar amount can lead to very different retirements. Adding annuities into the mix means steadier income, less stress and stronger long term outcomes. Here's a quick tip run a what if stress test on your own retirement plan. Compare one version with annuities and one without, and the difference may really surprise you and we are happy to help you do this. Also, it's probably a good idea right now, Sam, to share the, you know, the nationwide peak ten. That product's amazing. We love that product. We put a lot of folks in that product. It's not the only product we sell, but only 1% of financial advisors have access to it. So it is a really attractive product both in features and benefits. Um, as well, because of that scarcity and because nationwide has done a great job developing that product with a life that both of us have worked with in the past as his advisor, mentors and with media people. Here's what you get. You get a 25% immediate bonus. You get an 8% guaranteed interest growth every year. You defer withdrawals into the income account, and you get 310% of how the BNP Paribas Global H factor Index performs, and that index averages between four and a half to 5% a year.

Speaker3:
So let's say you get 10% growth. You're looking at 31% total growth on your account in two years, less a 1% spread rate. So a 30% total growth. That's a remarkable potential outcome. And your money's not invested in the market. With a nationwide peak ten, you're going to get 310% of how the market performs on the BNP Paribas Global H age factor performs. You're getting an 8% guaranteed interest growth into the income account, which is what the account you're going to use to get your money paid back out to you. And then you're also going to get a 25% immediate bonus in the income account as well, to really spike that income account, which is a remarkable outcome. If you want to know how much money you're going to get of your original principal, that we're seeing significant percentages well beyond the 4% withdrawal rate of the original principal. If you defer two, three, four, eight years. And it's really great for folks that are in their 50s and 60s taking this product early and taking advantage of the withdrawal rate and the deferral rate, go ahead and reach out to us at retirement. Com click that schedule a consultation button or go to retirement.com/plan. But retirement com that's retirement.com.

Speaker7:
It's the final countdown.

Speaker2:
So let's recap what you may have missed. It's the final countdown.

Speaker7:
The final countdown.

Speaker3:
Thanks so much for listening to us on this week's show, where we hope we did a good job at demystifying annuities, and gave you a little bit more clarity and confidence in cash flow during your retirement. Um, we try to help you understand the products, avoid the pitfalls. We did some product definitions, and we try to also help you unlock the guaranteed income that lasts a lifetime. We gave you the role of annuities today. We gave you the definitions of a fixed index annuity, a fixed annuity, and variable annuities. Try to stay away from the variable annuities. If you can avoid the 3 to 6%, uh, in fees and fees, and then also avoid that financial market risk with variable annuities. We really like fixed index annuities. And um, also we gave you our beating Bank CD segment with, uh, this Security Sentinel personal choice that's paying a 5.9%. If you want to get and take advantage of that, go ahead and reach out to us at retirement. Com. We also talked about how annuities protect from market volatility. We gave you a great problem solver case study. It was a new one where we compared Mark and Linda with two different retirees with two different investment mindsets with two different outcomes. We really appreciate each and every one of you. Remember, if you are planning for retirement, seek as much information as you can. If you're going to be a bear, be a grizzly. Be aggressive about it. Reach out to us at retirement. Com click that schedule a consultation button in the upper right corner. You'll get booked directly into our calendars. We can't wait to work with you and give you that free $2,800 value by giving you the full portfolio analysis and financial plan your 95th birthday. That also helps you delete the IRS from being your partner in retirement with a strategic Roth ladder conversion plan. Reach out to us. Give us a call at (770) 685-1777. Have a great week everybody.

Speaker2:
Thanks for listening to retirement results. You deserve to work with an independent team of fiduciary advisors that will strategically work to protect and grow your hard earned assets. To schedule your complimentary financial consultation, call us now at (770) 685-1777. That's (770) 685-1777. To connect with a qualified advisor. To learn more about our mission and our team, visit retirement Results.com. Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management, LLC, a registered investment Advisor, VCM and Active Wealth Management are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM, but are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents. Investments involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Past performance cannot be used as an indicator to determine future results.

Speaker1:
Registered investment advisors and investment advisor representatives act as fiduciaries for all of our investment management clients. We have an obligation to act in the best interests of our clients and to make full disclosures of any conflicts of interest. Please refer to our firm brochure, the Adv2 item four for additional information.

Speaker3:
Hey, this is Ford Stokes with active wealth management and retirement results. You've gotten used to getting higher interest rates on your savings accounts and bank CDs, but the fed has been lowering rates. If you are 55 or older and have at least $250,000 to invest, and you'd like to lock in to higher interest rates, we can help. Currently, we can lock in income payout rates as high as 8%, 9%, or even 10% guaranteed for life. Even if interest rates drop back down to 1% or lower, you'd be locked into higher income payout rates for as long as you live. You can do this with your IRA. 401 K Fw43b pension, rollover, current bank savings, or even brokerage accounts. Schedule your free meeting with us at active Wealth.com, and we will help you battle lower interest rates by locking in great income payout rates for the rest of your life. Call our office today at (770) 685-1777 or visit active wealth.com.

Speaker1:
Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC, a registered investment advisor. Guaranteed income streams referred to fixed insurance products only and are subject to the claims paying ability of the issuing company.

Speaker2:
You're listening to retirement results.

Speaker4:
And welcome back to the bonus segment, exclusive to our podcast listeners and our listeners on done. And if you're listening on done right now, you can actually listen to our show Retirement Results wherever you listen to podcasts on demand. You can listen to episodes a day early, and you can also go back and listen to all of our past episodes as well. Just a couple of great benefits for all of our podcast subscribers and listeners out there, but for for this week's bonus segment, we've got the six expenses that drain your retirement savings the fastest and what you can do to protect your money. Number one. Uh, no surprise here. Market downturns for people are looking to protect themselves from market volatility. What can they do?

Speaker3:
Yeah. The number one way to do that is to make sure you're fully and truly diversified. You're diversified not just between stocks and bonds or traded on the stock exchange. You've got investments into stocks exchange traded funds for more diversification. And then also true diversification with insurance products like life insurance or fixed indexed annuities. Um the fixed indexed annuity is is really taken over the investment world. It used to be that variable annuities were more prevalent because they were always sold by bank advisors sitting there in the lobby. Um, now you're seeing where fixed indexed annuities are sold. So I'd encourage you to consider a fixed index annuity and never consider a variable annuity. But the market downturns. What they can do is do a great job at investing the retirement income portion of their portfolio. Let's say it's 20% to 40%. So if you've got $1 million, take 200 grand to $400,000 and invest that into a fixed index annuity, replace the bonds that are in that portfolio. You're deleting the fees, the advisory fees, and the portfolio fees as well. Because with a fixed index annuity, there are no advisory and portfolio fees because the advisor like us, we cannot and we never would anyway, can't double dip. We're going to get paid a commission by the insurance company doesn't come out of your side at all. You actually get up to a 20 to even 27% bonus. We have a product that is paying a 27% bonus right now from North America, which is an A-plus rated carrier. I would encourage you to go ahead and reach out to us at (770) 685-1777 to understand how you can get paid a 27% 7% bonus. And that's actually into the account value, not just the income account value. And so that's the number one thing they can do is just replace the bonds. And therefore they won't experience the interest rate risk the reinvestment risk. And they'll also take more the equity risk off the table as well.

Speaker4:
Yeah. The next two expenses that drain your retirement savings the fastest kind of go hand in hand. The first one is healthcare. Just understand even with Medicare out of pocket, healthcare expenses can be significant for retirees. Some people just don't understand some misconception. They think that Medicare will pay for all of their healthcare expenses in retirement. That's just not the case. It'll help, but it won't cover everything. So the next one is longevity. So with better healthcare these days, people are living longer thanks to advances in technology and medicine. But what that means is you might get to spend more time enjoying your golden years. It also means you've got to have you're going to have some greater overall lifetime expenses for. That's another reason to consider a personal pension or a fixed indexed annuity, an option that can establish that that income for you that you can't outlive.

Speaker3:
Yeah. I mean, healthcare is going to be one of the top, um, largest expenses you're going to have. It's going to be for a married couple. It's over $320,000 over a 35 plus year, uh, retirement. So it's going to be significant on the health care costs. So we want to do everything we can to try to minimize those, get that Medicare Advantage plan or get that Medigap supplement plan and make sure you've got everything ready to go within, um, your Medicare. Also, just remember, you're likely going to live much longer than your grandparents did, so be planning for that. Uh, next is also just inflation. We've talked about it. It can significantly impact your future savings and it definitely impacts your purchasing power. You've just got to do a great job at staying invested, whether that's in a in market like investments, like a fixed index annuity where you get those the index linked growth, or whether that's just being invested in the market. You need to stay invested so you can keep pace with inflation as well. Taxes. We've got to do everything we can to delete the IRS from being your partner in retirement.

Speaker3:
They're not the kind of partner you want in retirement. They're the ones that are sitting there with their hand out. Let's do a great job at moving money from our IRA to a Roth IRA, and minimizing the damage the IRS can do. Let me just ask you a question. How are you going to feel when you're handing in tax dollars 20 years after you stopped working? You're just going to be like, why am I doing this? If you do a Roth conversion in the first 5 to 7 years, it's going to be over. And there's no taxes. On withdrawals from a Roth IRA after five years or after any five years after any conversion. And then the last is home ownership. Um, if you own a home, that can be another source of major expenses. Sam, you've dealt with that this past year. Uh, you've got to do everything you can to make sure that we're downsizing, get your house paid off, and try to make sure that you're you're keeping your house as maintenance free as possible.

Speaker4:
Yeah. And if you would like to take a look at that list or if you have any questions about anything you heard on this week's episode of Retirement Results, just reach out to us at (770) 685-1777 or visit our website. Retirement results.com. You'll find our phone number on that website as well. Thank you so much for and thank you all for listening to retirement results.

Speaker2:
To schedule your free, no obligation consultation, visit retirement Results.com.

Speaker7:
Ain't got no regrets. I ain't losing track of which way I'm going.

Speaker2:
Are you concerned about rising taxes and how that could affect you and your family during retirement? If you have an IRA balance over $400,000, you could save six figures in retirement taxes that you would be paying during a 35 year retirement. Find out how much you could save today by scheduling your no obligation Roth conversion consultation with Ford Stokes of retirement results. Learn more and schedule an appointment at retirement Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management LLC, a registered investment advisor. Visit retirement.com for more information.

Speaker8:
And he rates mentioned are subject to change.

Speaker1:
Registered investment advisors and investment advisor representatives act as fiduciaries for all of our investment management clients. We have an obligation to act in the best interests of our clients and to make full disclosures of any conflicts of interest, if any, exist. Refer to our firm brochure, the ADV Two-a, page four for additional information. Any comments regarding safe and secure products and guaranteed income streams refer only to fixed insurance products. They do not refer in any way to securities or investment advisory products. Fixed insurance and annuity product guarantees are subject to the claims paying ability of the issuing company and are not offered by BW.

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