Go2Income Archives - Jerry Golden on Retirement

How a Fixed Index Annuity Can Manage Retirement Income Risks

January 23, 2024 By Jerry Golden in Annuity Tags: Fixed Index Annuities, Go2Income, retirement income, Retirement Planning

Good retirement income planning involves adjusting to circumstances and evaluating innovative products. Consider an FIA to manage downside risk.

I have spent my career looking for new ways for retirees to create income — particularly safe, lifetime income — and at the same time meet their objectives for legacy, inflation protection, liquidity and risk management.

I think about results, not specific products, so although annuity payments have been at the core of my research and approach, I have incorporated other types of income sources into my Go2Income planning method, too. The latest is called a fixed index annuity (FIA), which has become a trillion-dollar industry because it protects your investment during bad markets while getting higher returns than fixed-income portfolios in most scenarios.

It’s our job at Go2Income to do the analysis for investors like you.

Are You Worried About Running Out of Money in Retirement?

May 30, 2023 By Jerry Golden in Annuity Tags: Go2Income, guaranteed lifetime income, Income annuities

Planning that integrates income annuities can help alleviate the No. 1 fear of retirees, even in worst-case investment scenarios and when living way beyond your life expectancy.

(Our examples use Go2Income to develop plans, estimate annuity rates and prepare comparisons.)

Some people make retirement seem like so much carefree fun. And ideally it is a time to enjoy yourself, travel, and spoil your children. If we could just forget that Social Security is slipping toward a steep cliff, inflation continues at nearly three times what the Fed says is acceptable, and health care costs are soaring even as we age and are more likely to get sick, while the stock market looks sick, too.

If we could forget about all that, we would never worry about our retirement finances affecting our retirement lifestyle. Running out of money during retirement is the concern that consistently ranks as the No. 1 fear of retirees. (Here is one survey, from SeniorLiving.org, but there are many more.)

Why So Many Experts Consider Annuities a Win for Retirees

February 22, 2023 By Jerry Golden in Income Power Tags: Annuities, Go2Income, Jerry Golden, retirement income

Rising interest rates, pressure on Social Security, unpredictable markets and longevity risks are making annuities ever more attractive as a part of retirement planning.

Do you know what type of retirement product saw sales soar 44% in 2022 — and received praise and positive publicity in the finance field as consumers saw their other retirement investments lose value?

It’s not cryptocurrency! It’s not some hedge fund. Or junk bonds. It’s easily understood and won’t be seen as a fad in future years.

I’ve described it as a product that “doesn’t make your retirement; it makes your retirement better.”

So, what is it?

Its technical term is single premium immediate annuity, or SPIA. Some finance experts call it a simple annuity. As just one element of a plan for retirement income, I consider simplicity a plus, particularly when you read the positive reasons for the experts’ praise for this product. Others call it a paycheck annuity. It’s utilitarian. And I’ve used the term annuity payment contracts in earlier blogs. Whatever you call this annuity, it pays you a guaranteed income for life.

Doing Your Retirement Income Planning in the Right Order Matters

December 27, 2022 By Jerry Golden in Annuity Tags: Go2Income, Jerry Golden, retirement strategy, right order

A strong retirement income strategy considers many factors, including the retiree’s unique
financial resources and needs. How and when you tackle them is critical.

For all sorts of activities, doing things in the right order matters. We mostly talk about the process of retirement income planning, but the order of retirement income planning is important. To illustrate the point, let’s first look at the simpler example that baseball provides.

Slugger Aaron Judge found himself hitting first in the Yankees lineup while he pursued the American League home run record. As the first hitter up, he usually got an extra at-bat in each game, which gave him additional chances to hit No. 62.

Inflation, Market Losses Impacted Your Income Plan?

July 1, 2022 By Jerry Golden in Annuity Tags: Annuities, annuity payments, Go2Income, Income annuities, reduce risk, stock market crash

How the right plan now can get you back on track and reduce the risk going forward

You know what they say about the best laid plans going awry. Well, with what has been going on in the financial world this year, that’s what has happened to countless retirement plans.

For instance, let’s look at one hypothetical retiree who, until recently, thought she was all set. Our sample investor put off formalizing her plan for retirement income until she began taking Social Security at age 70 and making withdrawals from her rollover IRA. It was December of 2021. Inflation seemed to be reasonably under control; the markets were performing well; and with 50% of her $2 million portfolio invested in bonds it was pretty conservative.

Social Security and a pension totaling $60,000 per year helped her meet her starting income goal of $150,000. The balance of $90,000 was coming from her $2 million in retirement savings.