First Look Great Option With Annuities, With Stan the Annuity Man

The "free look" idea is probably the best thing the annuity industry has ever done, according to Stan the Annuity Man.  It allows people to get their money back without question and it's important to look into the time period allowed for this, as it varies state by state.  

Stan Haithcock, better known as Stan the Annuity Man, believes this provision is a great option for people who may not have known what they got themselves into.  Once they the policy delivered to them, the "clock starts ticking," and he tells people that if they have any questions, to call the carrier and not the agent.  This allows them to ask questions to the carrier and not get the answers they received during the high pressure or confusing sales presentation from the agent.  This is important to understand what you own and if you don't like it, you can get your money back.  

Stan the Annuity Man

Source: www.stantheannuityman.com

Stan thinks the most confusing part of annuity contracts are the way the benefits work, such as the bonus.  It's important to understand the fees within the bonus and the product itself, how the accumulation value is going to work and how the benefits are going to work.  The people at the carrier itself are not sales people and their job is to explain the product in full to people.  Getting this second opinion verification from the carrier is important to make sure you fully understand the product and if you don't, Stan says to get your money back.

Stan Haithcock, "Stan the Annuity Man," is a nationally recognized expert on annuities and he spoke with Retirement News Today during this interview.  Retirement News Today provides online retirement news video content and is a featured network of Sequence Media Group. 

Women are Closing Gap on Men With Financial Knowledge

In their annual study of the gender gap in financial literacy, Financial Finesse says that the gap is closing.  While women are making strides in this area, they still have work to do. 

Erik Carter, Senior Financial Planner with Financial Finesse, says that women are making gains in every area of financial planning and in doing so, are closing the gap on men in virtually every area.  He attributes a lot of this to women being more proactive in their finances.  There are gains by women being shown in cash management, managing day to day cash, having an emergency fund, paying down debt, with the biggest gains being shown in investing and retirement planning. 

The study showed that it's more important to know what to do with what you have, not necessarily just to have more and that the more money you make, the more money you have to save, in absolute terms and a percentage of your income. 

The wage gap is not something Financial Finesse is seeing closing, as their study focuses more on people's behaviors.  That being said, Carter says it's more important than ever for women to try and close that gap in terms of behavior.

Carter believes that companies are reaching out to women in understanding they need the help more than men.  With their benefits lower and them living longer, there is an effort now to make sure women are taking advantage of the resources available to them by their company.  This is one of the reasons we're seeing that gap close, remarks Carter. 

Financial Finesse designs customized financial education programs for employers, to help their employees not only understand their benefits but also use them in a way that improves their financial life for their entire financial future, both inside and outside of work.

Erik Carter is a Senior Financial Planner with Financial Finesse.  He spoke with Retirement News Today, providing online retirement news video content and is a featured network of Sequence Media Group.

Retirement Money Needs to Last 40 Years

While most Americans are afraid of running out of money during retirement, there is also the fact that Americans are living longer.  If you're a healthy 65-year-old male, you have a 50-50 chance of living to the age of 85 and for the same aged-female, it's also a 50-50 chance of living to the age of 88.  If you retire at the age of 60, that money needs to last 30-40 years.  Joe Lucey, a Certified Financial Planner and contributor to Wall Street Journal Marketwatch, asks in his article, "How to Go Forty Years Without a Paycheck," if that's possible. 

While Lucey believes the industry has done a wonderful job of telling Americans how to save, he says Baby Boomers are now finding that they're having to figure out how to make sure that lasts a lifetime so they can spend in confidence.  He says that one thing every Baby Boomer should be doing today with 5 years of retirement is to look at some of the benefits that are out there to guarantee lifetime income, such as social security, pension maximization or even creating personal pensions. 

Joe Lucey

Source: set2retire.com

Lucey says that our industry has built these retirement plans around the notion that it's about accumulation of assets so many families are finding today that they have the option of being in the market or out of the market and it's either "switch on or switch off," which is why, he says, it's so important to know what your options may be.  There may be better options out there to help protect your principle or create lifetime income, he adds.

Another piece of advice Lucey offers is to make sure you're working with someone who can look at the overall retirement plan.  There are a lot of advisors out there still selling packaged products and so getting a comprehensive plan that goes beyond the investment allocation is important.  It should include taxes, lifetime income strategies, how you're going to leave this legacy of money and healthcare concerns.  "You should be looking for somebody that has the credentials and experience that works with families like you that are in the same situation," Lucey says and that are in the process of taking the money back and not double or triple their money over the next 10 years.

Joe Lucey is a Certified Financial Planner and contributor to Wall Street Journal Marketwatch.  To read his article, "How to Go Forty Years Without a Paycheck," click here.  He spoke with Retirement News Today, providing online retirement news video content and is a featured Network of Sequence Media Group.