Retire For Less With The Annuity Expert
by Shawn Plummer
The Annuity Expert podcast dives deep into the world of annuities, insurance, and retirement planning, offering insights tailored to meet specific needs with over 100+ insurance companies. Whether you're navigating the complexities of retirement or seeking the ideal insurance plan, The Annuity Expert podcast equips you with industry-standard formulas, professional expertise, and the latest economic trends for a secure financial future.RSSVERIFY
Episodes
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How Annuity Rates Have Changed Over Time
How have annuity rates, caps, and income payouts evolved over the last two decades, and where do they stand today? With nearly 19 years of hands-on industry experience—spanning wholesaling, product design, advisor training, and independent brokerage—Shawn from The Annuity Expert breaks down...
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How Do Annuities Pay Out?
In this clear and unfiltered breakdown, Shawn from The Annuity Expert explains how annuity payouts work and compares traditional annuitization directly against modern income riders: Traditional Annuitization (Irrevocable): Handing over your lump sum to the insurance company in exchange for an...
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Is There a Minimum Age for Annuities Withdrawal?
Are you wondering when you can legally access money from your annuity without getting crushed by IRS penalties or carrier surrender fees? While technically you can request a withdrawal at any age, pulling money out of a tax-deferred annuity before reaching standard retirement milestones can…
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Can You Change an Annuity to Drawdown?
In this clear and unfiltered video, Shawn from The Annuity Expert breaks down the three distinct methods of taking income from an annuity and explains when switching to a drawdown plan is contractually possible: Traditional Annuitization (Irrevocable): If you purchased a Single Premium Immediate...
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Are Fixed Annuities Safe and Can You Lose Money?
Are you looking at fixed annuities to shield your retirement savings from market volatility, but wondering if there is any catch where you could still lose money? The direct answer is that fixed annuities are completely shielded from stock market crashes, but there are non-traditional traps, fee...
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When Are Annuity Surrender Charges Waived?
Are you worried about getting locked into an annuity surrender charge schedule or needing early access to your principal in an emergency? While surrender charges are designed to penalize premature contract cancellations, virtually all modern deferred annuities—including Multi-Year Guaranteed...
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What Happens to Earned Interest After Death?
Are you wondering what happens to the interest earned inside your deferred annuity if you pass away before taking withdrawals? As long as you haven't annuitized the contract (surrendered control to the insurance company for fixed monthly checks), the full account value—including all tax-deferred...
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Is an Annuity a Qualified Retirement Plan?
Are you wondering if an annuity itself qualifies as a formal retirement plan like a 401(k) or IRA? The short answer is no: an annuity is not a qualified plan in itself, but rather the financial vehicle that holds or funds a qualified retirement account. In this clear and unfiltered video, Shawn...
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Do Banks Sell Annuities? Beware
Are you considering purchasing an annuity directly from your local bank branch or credit union? While bank representatives frequently pitch fixed annuities alongside traditional savings accounts, relying on a bank for your retirement annuity is one of the riskiest and most expensive mistakes you...
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Which Annuities Offer the Most Flexibility?
Are you worried that buying an annuity means locking up your money in a rigid contract with no access to cash when life happens? While traditional annuities required giving up control of your principal, modern fixed and fixed index annuities (FIAs) offer significant flexibility across term…
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Is There a Maximum Age to Buy an Annuity?
Are you wondering if you or an aging family member are too old to purchase an annuity? While there is no single federal age limit, individual life insurance carriers strictly enforce age cutoffs depending on the specific type of annuity product. In this clear and unfiltered video, Shawn from The...
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Can You Own Multiple Annuities?
Are you wondering if you can—or should—own more than one annuity contract at the same time? The short answer is a resounding yes. Not only is owning multiple annuities permitted, but splitting your retirement savings across several carefully selected carriers is often one of the smartest...
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Can You Buy an Annuity Without a Broker?
Are you considering buying an annuity direct from an insurance company to bypass a broker and avoid advisor commissions? While direct-to-consumer (DTC) purchasing is technically possible for about 1% of the annuity marketplace, skipping an independent broker can severely compromise your long-term...
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How to Compare Annuity Quotes
Are you shopping for an annuity and relying on a quote from your local bank, credit union, or big-box brokerage firm like Fidelity or Schwab? Relying on a single recommendation without running an independent, side-by-side comparison is one of the most expensive mistakes a retiree can make. Most...
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How a Three Year Fixed Annuity Works
Are you looking for a short-term, safe place to park your retirement funds without locking your money up for an entire decade? A 3-year fixed annuity offers a flexible, short-term commitment that guarantees your principal while providing competitive interest growth protected from market crashes.…
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What Is a Multi Year Guaranteed Annuity (MYGA)?
Are you looking for a safe, predictable way to grow your retirement savings without exposing your principal to stock market volatility? A Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuity (MIGA)—the insurance industry’s version of a bank Certificate of Deposit (CD)—allows you to lock in a guaranteed fixed interest...
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Are Annuities Insured by the State?
Are you wondering how safe your annuity really is and what happens to your life savings if the insurance company goes under? While annuities are not FDIC-insured like bank CDs, they are heavily regulated at the state level and backed by individual State Guaranty Associations (SGAs)—the insurance...
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Do Annuity Payments Count Toward RMDs?
Are you approaching age 73 or 75 and wondering if the income payments from your qualified annuity will satisfy your Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)? While the short answer is yes, failing to understand how the IRS calculates RMDs across multiple retirement accounts can lead to massive tax...
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Long-Term Care Insurance vs Annuities
Are you worried about how to pay for nursing home or assisted living care in the future? Many people default to traditional long-term care (LTC) insurance, but the reality is that traditional LTC policies are incredibly expensive, prone to massive premium hikes as you age, and are strictly...
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How to Evaluate an Annuity Illustration
Are you looking at a 20-page annuity illustration and wondering which numbers are actually guaranteed versus what is just a theoretical sales pitch? Before you sign a contract and lock up your retirement savings, you must know how to separate contractually guaranteed principal protection from...
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A Warning To Those Buying Fixed Annuities (Annuity Company Downgraded to C+)
Are you shopping for the highest fixed annuity rates online and tempted by headline-grabbing yields of 6% or 7%? Before placing your life savings with a carrier offering suspicious teaser rates, you need to be aware of a major breaking development in the Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuity (MYGA)...
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Watch This Video Before You Buy A Fixed Index Annuity For Safe Growth
Planning to buy a Fixed Index Annuity (FIA) for safe growth? Before you sign any contract, there is one critical fine-print risk you must understand: Renewal Rate Risk. While FIAs protect your principal from market crashes and offer stock market-linked upside, most standard contracts allow the...
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Best Fixed Annuity Rates for October 2026 (up to 6.45%)
Are you looking for the best fixed annuity rates for October 2026? This month brings massive news for the annuity market, as A-rated insurance companies are finally crossing the 6% guaranteed yield mark for the first time this year. In this unfiltered monthly update, Shawn from The Annuity Expert...
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Why The Annuity Expert Is the Best Place to Buy Annuities
Are you shopping for an annuity and trying to figure out who you can actually trust with your life savings? With hundreds of aggressive online sales pitches, inflated teaser rates, and pushy financial advisors competing for your business, finding objective, transparent advice is harder than ever....
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How Long Does an Annuity Last?
Are you wondering how long an annuity actually lasts and if it is possible to outlive your payments? The answer depends entirely on the specific payout structure you select and whether you are referring to the income phase or the deferral period. In this unfiltered video, Shawn from The Annuity...
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What is a Good Rate of Return for an Annuity?
Are you trying to figure out what kind of rate of return you can realistically expect from an annuity? With so many confusing products, aggressive advertisements, and headline-grabbing rate promises, it can be difficult to separate genuine growth potential from marketing gimmicks. In this...
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What is a Rider Fee on an Annuity?
Are you considering adding custom features to your annuity contract and wondering how much rider fees will actually cost you? Annuities are highly customizable, multi-purpose retirement tools, and adding a rider allows you to tailor a policy to solve specific financial problems—whether you need...
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What Is a Growing Annuity?
Are you worried about inflation eating away at your retirement purchasing power? A "growing annuity"—known in the financial industry as an increasing income or COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) annuity—is specifically designed to solve this problem by providing paychecks that systematically…
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What Is a Temporary Annuity?
A temporary annuity—known in the financial industry as a Period Certain annuity—pays you a guaranteed, fixed income for a specific number of years (such as 5, 10, or 20 years) rather than for the rest of your life. While these irrevocable contracts permanently convert your lump sum into a...
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Four Main Types of Annuities Explained
Are you overwhelmed by the sheer number of annuity products on the market and struggling to figure out which one is actually right for your retirement? While there are historically dozens of different annuity classifications, the vast majority of strategies fall into four primary categories—each...
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The Downside of Owning an Annuity
Are you worried about the potential downsides of owning an annuity? Critics often claim that annuities are overly complex, highly illiquid, and riddled with hidden fees—but how much of that is factual, and how much is simply a fear tactic used by wealth managers trying to keep your money in the...
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How To Find the Highest Paying Annuity On The Market Fast
Are you looking for the absolute highest guaranteed lifetime income payout available for your retirement savings? Because every insurance company uses different formulas based on your age, state, and deferral period, the highest-paying carrier for a 60-year-old might be completely different than...
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What is the Difference Between a Life Annuity and a Period Certain Annuity?
In this unfiltered video, Shawn from The Annuity Expert breaks down the exact differences between these popular payout options. A Life Annuity guarantees a paycheck for the rest of your life (or both you and your spouse's lives), but traditionally leaves no death benefit when you die. Conversely…
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What Is a Cash Refund Annuity?
Are you considering a Cash Refund Annuity and wondering exactly what happens to your money if you pass away early? Before locking your retirement savings into an irrevocable payout structure, you need to understand how cash refunds work—and why there is a vastly superior alternative available. In...
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Are Annuities Safe If The Market Crashes?
Worried about a stock market crash wiping out your retirement savings? Many retirees turn to annuities for safety, but the hard truth is that not all annuities are created equal when the market tanks. Depending on the type of contract you own, a recession could still cost you a massive chunk of...
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What Is a Roll-Up Rate in Annuities?
Have you been pitched an annuity with a guaranteed "7% roll-up rate" and thought you were earning 7% cash interest on your money, just like a bank CD? Before you lock in your retirement savings, you need to understand the difference between actual cash growth and "phantom" income values. In this...
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There Are Way More Garbage Annuities Than Good Annuities. Here's How To Avoid Them.
Are you worried that you are being sold a "lemon" annuity contract that will cost you tens of thousands in hidden fees, lock up your money, or underdeliver on growth? With over 1,500 annuity contracts on the market, the harsh reality is that there are far more garbage products than genuinely good...
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What is the Purpose of an Annuity Rider?
Are you shopping for an annuity and feeling overwhelmed by all the available add-ons, features, and optional riders? An annuity rider is simply a customizable add-on designed to solve a specific financial problem, whether you need guaranteed lifetime income, nursing home coverage, or an enhanced...
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What is the Most Effective Way to Withdraw Money From an Annuity?
Are you looking for the best way to take income from your annuity without incurring penalty fees or running out of money in retirement? While many retirees simply take standard withdrawals as needed, failing to use the right withdrawal structure can leave you vulnerable to depleting your…
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What is the Downside to a Fixed Income Annuity?
Are you looking to turn a portion of your retirement nest egg into a guaranteed stream of income, but wondering about the potential drawbacks? Before committing your savings, it is crucial to understand that "fixed income annuities" come in two distinct structures—annuitized contracts and…
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What is the Downside to a Fixed Annuity?
Fixed annuities—officially known as Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuities (MIGAs)—are often marketed as simple, safe, high-yield alternatives to bank CDs. However, despite their straightforward appearance, the fixed annuity marketplace is packed with more hidden traps, administrative gimmicks, and...
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What is the Shortest Term Annuity You Can Get?
Are you looking for a short-term place to park your retirement money and wondering how short an annuity contract can actually be? While bank CDs commonly offer terms as short as three or six months, annuity contracts operate under very different rules and term structures. In this quick…
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What is the S&P 500 Annual Point-to-Point Index Account with Cap Rate?
In this clear and unfiltered guide, Shawn from The Annuity Expert breaks down the exact mechanics of S&P 500 Annual Point-to-Point crediting. Shawn explains that your money is never directly invested in the stock market; instead, the insurance company uses the S&P 500 as an external measuring...
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What is the Rate of Return on a Lottery Annuity?
Did you win the Powerball or Mega Millions and are trying to decide between taking the lump sum or the 30-year payout? Understanding the actual rate of return baked into a lottery annuity is critical to protecting your new wealth and making the right financial choice. In this unfiltered video,...
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What Is the Riskiest Type of Annuity?
In this completely unfiltered video, Shawn from The Annuity Expert breaks down the riskiest types of annuities on the market. The number one riskiest is the Variable Annuity, which exposes your principal directly to stock market losses while charging exorbitant 3% to 4% annual fees. Coming in...
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Disadvantages of Immediate Annuities Explained
In this unfiltered video, Shawn from The Annuity Expert breaks down the severe disadvantages of immediate annuities. The biggest flaw of a SPIA is the irrevocable loss of control. When you purchase an immediate annuity, you hand over a lump sum to the insurance company—it becomes their money, not...
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Downsides of Fixed Index Annuities Explained
In this completely unfiltered video, Shawn from The Annuity Expert breaks down the specific disadvantages of FIAs. He explains the actuary's "100 pennies" rule: every guarantee or bell-and-whistle you add to a contract (like a premium bonus or an income rider) directly lowers your upside growth...
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Which Annuity Type Has the Highest Fees
Are you wondering which type of annuity has the highest fees? Before you sign a contract that could drain tens of thousands of dollars from your retirement accounts, you need to understand exactly how different annuities charge for their services and guarantees. In this completely unfiltered…
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What Are The Death Benefits Of An Annuity?
Are you wondering what happens to your annuity when you pass away? Many people fear that if they die early, the insurance company simply keeps all their remaining money. While that can happen with certain poorly structured contracts, most modern annuities provide robust death benefits to protect...
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Disadvantages of Deferred Annuities Explained
In this completely unfiltered video, Shawn from The Annuity Expert breaks down the major disadvantages across every major type of deferred annuity. He exposes hidden pitfalls in Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuities (MYGAs)—such as low-rated carrier risks, restrictive renewal terms, and unexpected...
About this show
The Annuity Expert podcast dives deep into the world of annuities, insurance, and retirement planning, offering insights tailored to meet specific needs with over 100+ insurance companies. Whether you're navigating the complexities of retirement or seeking the ideal insurance plan, The Annuity Expert podcast equips you with industry-standard formulas, professional expertise, and the latest economic trends for a secure financial future.RSSVERIFY
Hosted by
Shawn Plummer
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