Welcome to the 21st Century YOYO Retirement Plan

If you Google the term “Swiss army knife of retirement,” you’ll get results showing Roth IRAs, reverse mortgages, whole life insurance and indexed universal life insurance.

But, if your client is looking for a private, self-funded pension with the most flexibility, certainty and guarantees, the fixed index annuity with a guaranteed lifetime income rider is the product to put in the portfolio.

There are FIAs out there that can, with certainty down to the dollar, show your client exactly the amount the client will be able to withdraw as income for life if the client waits 10, 15 or even 20 years from now.

Just like with the pension options of old, your client can have income that will last a lifetime. Or, if two clients are married to each other, they can choose an income stream that will last as long as one of the clients is alive. However, there is one important way a fixed index annuity is different from a pension: Should a client pass prematurely, any remaining assets in the account will go to the client’s beneficiaries. Is the client concerned about inflation? If so, the client can purchase an annuity that will increase the lifetime income amounts.

Retirees’ Biggest Risk

Finally, the ThinkAdvisor article and the white paper never really address the need for long-term care planning.

In my 20-plus years as an insurance planning specialist, the one area that the thinking has usually been upside down about has been LTC planning.

The single greatest risk retirees face ― above longevity, and above market losses ― is the risk that they will need care as the result of having a chronic condition. That’s another area where the fixed index annuity can benefit those in retirement. A benefit that will double the amount of income from the guaranteed living withdrawal benefit (GLWB) rider may enable some annuity holders to stay in the comfort of their homes and delay, or even avoid, nursing home use, without exhausting their remaining assets.

It makes sense to adopt a wellness-based lifestyle, to be pro-active as opposed to reactive.

That applies to your health as well as your wealth.

The HealthyCapital/IRI white paper shows how living with wellness is less expensive than living with illness, and can add years to your client’s life.

Proper planning with annuities can provide the optimal utilization of your client’s retirement assets, no matter how long your client lives.

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 Tim Todd, an independent insurance specialist with over 20 years experience, works with retirees and pre-retirees and their advisors to provide solutions for health, income, long-term care, safe growth, and legacy planning. He is a resident agent in the state of Nevada with non-resident licenses throughout the country.