True Life Story: Power of Saving and Lifetime Income
Written by: Billy Snyder | B Snyder Insurance
I grew up in the Fort Lauderdale, FL. area where my family lived a comfortable life. We weren’t rich but as a youngster, it seemed like we were doing OK. My Dad worked in the Broward County school system and was also a wedding photographer. Mom stayed at home raising us five kids, and she really taught us the value of saving. She was a coupon queen, and we used to laugh at her because she was so intent on saving money. Little did we understand back then just how important that would be, but now we do.
Dad retired and they began to travel. Hawaii, Alaska, and they even went on a bicycle tour around Holland (the country, not Michigan). Now, it all started to make sense: Mom saved money for over 40 years, a penny here, a nickel there, and now look at them. We may not have had the name brand clothes or shoes, and we took a brown paper bag with our lunch in it every day, but Mom had a plan and she stuck to it. She saved money when it was coming in so that when it stopped, she would still have plenty left. What a novel idea! Dad had stopped doing photography after 40 years and I learned that most of that income went into saving accounts and investments to help supplement the pension that came after he retired. The house and all their stuff had been paid for, so other than utilities and normal monthly expenses, they didn’t have any bills. They had more than enough to see them through. Dad has since passed and Mom is being well taken care of and will have plenty of money thanks to the annuities and her Long Term Care policy she bought several years ago (another smart idea).
If you are like my Mom and Dad, you probably have a nice nest egg set aside and hopefully you didn’t lose a bunch of it when the stock market crashed the last two times! But now you’re asking, “What should I do with it so that I can have enough to last a lifetime?” You may also be worried about taxes and how they have already started to go up. And how long will Social Security and Medicare be available? And are there any guarantees? And what about leaving some to the kids? I understand these are very serious concerns and I am here to help.
You want guaranteed interest rates? Check! Tax deferred (or tax free) growth? Check! Lifetime income? Check! Money for emergencies and the ability to leave an inheritance? Check! You can have all of this in a Fixed Income Annuity (FIA).
When you own a FIA, you receive a guaranteed interest rate that will perform like the stock market. So when the market goes up, so does your interest rate. But when the market goes down, you don’t lose any of the principal or growth that you have earned. The tax you would pay on your earnings will be deferred until you start to take money out, so your money grows with triple compounding: Interest on the principal, interest on the interest, and interest on the taxes you aren’t paying. Nice, Huh? When you are ready to start receiving your monthly income, the insurance company will tell you exactly how much you will get, and even if your account runs out of money, you are guaranteed to continue to get that same amount until one or both of you pass away. If there is any money left in the account when you pass, that money will be left to your beneficiaries.
You can have the peace of mind that my Mom has knowing that all of your hard work, scrimping and saving has been worth it and with a FIA, you won’t have to worry if there is going to be enough.
On the next article, I will be discussing how an FIA is safe from negative returns during a down market and how it benefits from the greatest concept ever: Annual Reset.
If you have any questions, feel free to call me and we can discuss your specific situation and see if a FIA is the right choice for you. You can reach me by calling 615.512.9136 or by email billy@bsnyderinsurance.com .
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