241: Should I Buy An Annuity? The Real Deal on Annuities with Kelsey Burke

I’ll be honest: I’ve avoided the complex (and often misunderstood) topics of annuities and whole life insurance here on the podcast for a long time—simply because it’s pretty difficult to find an expert to speak about them who isn’t also trying to sell you a policy. That changes today, because on episode 241 of Love, your Money, I'm introducing you to Kelsey Burke, founder of Apricity Financial Planning. Kelsey spent nearly a decade working in the insurance industry, learning everything there is to know about a variety of annuity products and contracts in order to sell them to clients of her firm. Meanwhile, her internal alarms were going off as she realized that the context of selling these products was neither as transparent nor as consultative as she wanted to be. Now that she’s made a successful career transition from insurance sales to working as a holistic financial advisor, Kelsey has enough distance from the industry to see it for what it is–and she lends us her expert perspective to get an inside look at annuities in this episode. We were able to get truly honest about what to look for with annuity contracts, the pros, cons, and opportunity costs of annuities, and who they’re actually right for. (Spoiler: it’s not everyone. Far from it, in fact.) Here’s what you’ll learn in this week’s episode of Love, your Money: What makes Kelsey an expert on annuities, and what caused her to switch from insurance to holistic financial planning What an annuity is, and how it differs from an individual retirement account (IRA) The complexities of annuities, and what might surprise you if you own one What’s often overlooked when buying an annuity, and how it actually might fit into your long-term financial plan How commissions on selling annuities works The opportunity risk of putting your money in an annuity What happens to the money in an annuity in the event of premature death Show Notes To get access to the full show notes, including all the resources mentioned, visit: https://hendershottwealth.com/podcast/kelsey-burke Follow Hilary on: Twitter LinkedIn Instagram Facebook YouTube Subscribe to Love, your Money Apple Podcasts Overcast Spotify Google Podcasts Hendershott Wealth Management, LLC and Love, your Money do not make specific investment recommendations on Love, your Money or in any public media. Any specific mentions of funds or investments are strictly for illustrative purposes only and should not be taken as investment advice or acted upon by individual investors. The opinions expressed in this episode are those of Hilary Hendershott, CFP®, MBA.