No Tricks Today! All Treats!

Treat One: According to data collected, compiled and analyzed by the authors of the recently published SuperFreakonomics, there are three ways a person can extend their life span:

1. Win a Nobel Prize.
2. Get inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
3. Buy Annuities!

Since prospects of Ponce de Leon-ing our way to a longer life through the first two options are dim for most of us, we’re left with little choice than to take charge of our own longevity forecast by engaging in the choice we have most control over: Buying Annuities! After all, it only takes one vote (yours) to accomplish an annuity purchase. The SuperFreakonomics authors concluded that . . .

“People who buy annuities, it turns out, live longer than people who don’t, and not because people who buy annuities are healthier to start with. The evidence suggests that an annuity’s steady payout provides a little extra incentive to keep chugging along.”

So throw away those diet books and cancel that gym membership! Buy an annuity instead and pass the donuts, please! Who knew living longer could be so easy?

But the good news about annuities doesn’t stop there!

Treat Two: In their scholarly paper Rational Decumulation, economists and professors David F. Babbel and Craig B. Merrill (Fellows, Wharton Financial Institutions Center) conclude that lifetime annuities are also the most cost-effective and least risky asset class for generating guaranteed retirement income for life.

Click HERE to view the research paper itself.

Click HERE to request a 2-page summary I wrote on this subject instead.

But wait! There’s more . . .

Treat Three: Even Money Magazine senior editor Walter Updegrave seems to be warming to the notion of lifetime annuities. For years, nary a kind word about annuities ever appeared in one of his many articles. But on October 20, 2009 he confessed:

“If I wanted to know exactly how much income I would have each month and also minimize the chances of running out of money during retirement, I’d buy a fixed-income immediate annuity.”

Click HERE to view Walter Updegrave’s column on lifetime income.

Remember, too, that annuities used to fund personal, physical injury structured settlements are 100% income tax-free if set up properly. With taxes certain to rise, all the more reason to consider these specialty annuities if available to you.

So now that you have three good reasons to buy annuities, please call anytime I can be of service to you or anyone you know. I won’t be much good at helping you win a Nobel prize or achieve Hall of Fame immortality. But if you are considering purchasing an annuity, I hope you’ll let me help you decide if an annuity is right for you.