 When planning for retirement, one of the biggest concerns most people share is: Will my money last?
After decades of working and saving, the transition from building wealth to living off of it can feel uncertain—especially when market volatility, rising costs, and longer life expectancies are factored in. That’s why many retirees and pre-retirees begin looking for financial tools that offer more predictability and control. Annuities are often part of that conversation, yet they are widely misunderstood. In reality, annuities come in several different forms, each designed to solve a specific retirement challenge—such as protecting savings, generating reliable income, or allowing for growth without full market exposure. In this post, we’ll break down the main types of annuities in plain English so you can better understand how they work and where they may fit into a well-designed retirement plan. Fixed Annuities Fixed annuities are one of the simplest and most predictable annuity options available. When you purchase a fixed annuity, you place money with an insurance company, and in return, the company credits a guaranteed interest rate for a set period of time. Your account value does not fluctuate with the stock market. Key benefits of fixed annuities include predictable growth, protection from market losses, and tax-deferred accumulation. Fixed annuities are often appealing to individuals who want stability, preservation of principal, and a reliable place to grow money without worrying about market volatility. Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuities (MYGAs) A Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuity, commonly called a MYGA, is a type of fixed annuity that locks in a guaranteed interest rate for a specific number of years, often between two and ten years. Many people compare MYGAs to bank CDs because of their fixed rate structure. However, MYGAs typically offer higher interest rates than CDs and allow your money to grow tax-deferred until withdrawals begin. That’s why some people refer to MYGAs as “CD’s on steroids.” MYGAs are often used by people who want predictable growth, dislike market risk, and are looking for an alternative to traditional savings vehicles for retirement dollars. Single Premium Immediate Annuities (SPIAs) A Single Premium Immediate Annuity, or SPIA, is designed to create income rather than growth. With a SPIA, you give the insurance company a lump sum, and in return, they begin paying you a guaranteed stream of income—usually within 30 days to one year. Payments can last for a set period of time or for the rest of your life. SPIAs are commonly compared to pensions because they can provide reliable income that helps cover essential retirement expenses. They are often used by retirees who want certainty and worry about outliving their savings. Fixed Index Annuities Fixed index annuities are often described as a middle ground between safety and growth. Your money is not invested directly in the stock market. Instead, interest is credited based on the performance of a market index, such as the S&P 500. When the index goes down, your annuity does not lose value due to market losses. When the index goes up, you earn interest, subject to certain limits. Fixed index annuities are designed for people who want growth potential without taking on full market risk. They are commonly used by individuals approaching or already in retirement who are more focused on protecting what they’ve built while still allowing for some upside. There are also Fixed Index Annuities that double as Income Annuities. Unlike SPIAs, the income payouts can be turned on whenever the annuity owner wishes and not a pre-selected date determined by the annuity company. Typically, the longer the owner waits to turn on the income payouts, the larger the payouts will be when they begin. Variable Annuities Variable annuities are significantly different from fixed and fixed index annuities. With a variable annuity, your money is placed into investment subaccounts similar to mutual funds. Your account value rises and falls based on market performance, and there is no protection from market losses. Variable annuities often include higher fees and expenses, and they are generally suited for individuals who are comfortable with market risk and understand that their account value can decline during market downturns. Guardian Financial Group does not utilize variable annuities in our planning approach. We believe their inherent fees and market risk are inconsistent with our philosophy of helping clients protect their retirement assets while pursuing responsible growth. Final Thoughts Annuities are not one-size-fits-all solutions. Each type is designed to solve a different retirement challenge—whether that’s protecting savings, generating income, or balancing growth with safety. Many well-designed retirement plans use annuities alongside other financial tools to help create a more predictable and confident retirement. Educational understanding is key. The more clearly you understand how these tools work, the better positioned you are to make informed decisions about your retirement future. Disclosure: This content is for educational purposes and is not intended as financial, legal, or tax advice. Annuities are insurance products, and guarantees are subject to the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Always consult with one of our properly licensed professionals at Guardian Financial Group before making financial decisions.  Most people believe that if their investments average a “good” return over time, they’ll be fine in retirement. That assumption is one of the most dangerous myths in financial planning.
The reality is this: The order in which returns occur matters just as much—if not more—than the average return itself. This is known as Sequence of Returns Risk, and it’s one of the biggest reasons retirees run out of money earlier than expected. What Is Sequence of Returns Risk?Sequence of returns risk refers to the danger that poor market returns occur early in retirement, precisely when you begin withdrawing income from your portfolio. When you’re still working and contributing, market downturns can actually help you by allowing you to buy assets at lower prices. But once you stop contributing and start withdrawing, the rules change completely. Losses early in retirement don’t just hurt—they compound the damage. Why Early Losses Are So DestructiveImagine two retirees with the same portfolio value and the same average rate of return over 20 years. The only difference?
Because withdrawals during down markets permanently remove capital that can never recover. You’re not just losing money—you’re losing future growth on money that no longer exists. The Math Most People Never SeeHere’s the part that surprises people. If a portfolio drops 20%, it doesn’t need a 20% gain to recover. It needs a 25% gain—just to get back even. Now layer in:
Not because they didn’t earn enough over time—but because losses happened at the worst possible moment. Why This Risk Is Often Ignored: Sequence of returns risk doesn’t show up clearly on average-return charts. It doesn’t get emphasized in glossy brochures. It’s rarely explained in simple terms. And many advisors focus on accumulation—not distribution. But retirement is not about accumulation anymore. It’s about preservation, income, and control. Ignoring sequence risk is like ignoring weather conditions before taking off in an airplane because the average forecast looks fine. How Smart Planning Addresses Sequence RiskManaging sequence of returns risk isn’t about predicting markets. It’s about structuring your retirement income so that market downturns don’t force you to sell assets at the wrong time. That may involve:
The TakeawayMost retirees don’t fail because the market underperforms forever. They fail because:
Retirement success isn’t about chasing the highest returns. It’s about protecting the order in which those returns happen. If you don’t plan for sequence risk, the market will plan it for you—and it rarely does you any favors. If you want to learn how to protect yourself from the Sequence of Returns Risk, make sure you reach out to us today.  A husband was watching his wife prepare a ham for dinner and noticed that she cut off both ends of the ham before placing it in the baking pan.
Curious, he asks, "Why do you cut the ends off the ham?" She replies, "That's how my mom always did it." Not satisfied with that answer, he asks his mother-in-law the same question. She tells him, "That's how my mom always did it." Finally, they ask the grandmother and she says, "Oh, I cut the ends off because my baking pan was too small—the ham wouldn't fit otherwise!" The original reason (a practical limitation like a small pan) was long forgotten, but the action persisted through generations purely out of habit and imitation. This perfectly analogizes how people often do things simply because "that's how it's always been done" or "that's what everyone else does", without questioning the underlying reason why. It's mindless replication of prior behavior, even when circumstances have changed or the original rationale no longer applies. A direct parallel in personal finance is the widespread habit of putting money primarily (or exclusively) into tax-deferred retirement accounts like traditional IRAs and 401(k)s without determining if that is, in fact, always the best decision. Many people do this automatically because:
The lesson: Habits and defaults are powerful, but blind adherence can cost you (literally, in this case). Always ask why. Working through the considerations is a service we provide to our clients. If you've never taken time to consider alternatives, book a time with us to explore other options. 
Most people assume legacy planning means “leaving whatever is leftover.” That assumption can be costly. We have a new client who has $400,000 in tax-deferred retirement assets that they will never personally need in retirement. Their goal with this money isn't retirement income — it's ensuring their two children receive the maximum possible benefit. Here’s what most people don’t take into account: If those assets were simply inherited as is, their two children wouldn’t receive $200,000 each. Instead, it would be closer to $130,000, after taxes. So we explored two advanced planning strategies. OPTION ONE: The $400,000 can be repositioned into an income-producing financial vehicle. Simultaneously, the client will take out a life insurance policy with a $680,000 death benefit. The income the financial vehicle produces will directly cover the premiums on the $680,000 tax-free life insurance benefit. The result:
OPTION TWO: If insurance approval weren’t available for him, there's an alternative strategy that will instantly increase the $400,000 to $600,000 and continue to grow from there. The growth each year will be credited 200% annually, and it locks the gains every year — still dramatically improving the legacy outcome. In both cases, the beneficiaries’ position improves on day one, not years later. This is advanced legacy planning — and it’s an area most financial professionals aren’t trained to address. The client didn't have to do anything other then tell us he had a goal of giving his children more money than he had saved up already. That's it. He didn't have to know all this existed beforehand. He didn't have to have some superior financial education. Our team brought that to the table. If you’d like to understand how advanced financial strategies can work for you, we can have a short discovery meeting to determine if there's a strategy that will work for you. 
 When it comes to money, most people think 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 means 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬.
“I can pull my money out whenever I want.” But here’s the problem… The moment you use most money, it stops growing. Most people think you either: 1. Spend it 2. Or invest it But you usually can’t do both at the same time. That’s not control; That’s a tradeoff. Real control is when your money continues to grow even while you’re using it. Real control let's you control your money even after you spend it. 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 = 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬. That’s how banks operate. That’s how large corporations operate. And that’s how wealthy families structure their cash flow. If using your money shuts off its growth, you don’t actually control it; you’re just choosing when to give it up. 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 ≠ 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐥 If you want to learn how we help our clients have their cake and eat it too (have access AND control), make sure to click the "Meet With Us" button below.  Do you know what happens to a ship that sets sail headed toward to other side of the world, but starts just one degree off course? Picture a ship setting off from one side of the world toward the other. The route is plotted, the equipment is checked, and everything appears perfectly on course. But on the day of departure, something tiny happens—almost completely unnoticeable. The ship leaves the harbor one degree off from its intended path. Just one degree. No one notices. The engines hum, the days pass, then weeks and months do. Inside the ship, life feels normal. The crew eats, sleeps, works, and trusts the direction they’re headed simply because it feels familiar and steady and they trusted their captain to chart the course properly. Nothing seems wrong. But a one-degree shift doesn’t reveal itself in the first hour. Or the first day. Or even the first week. It shows itself at the destination. After crossing entire oceans, the ship finally reaches land—only to discover it is hundreds of miles away from where it was meant to arrive because the original direction charted wasn’t aligned with where the travelers truly needed to end up. In the maritime world, this is why realignment matters. A tiny adjustment early on—just a degree or two—can completely change the final outcome and toward the direction people actually intended to go all along. Realignment offers three quiet but powerful advantages: 𝐀 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:: The ship ends up where its crew truly meant to go. 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐖𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞: Fuel, time, and resources aren’t spent unknowingly traveling off-course. 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐭: The updated course matches the current conditions and the original destination set before the journey began. Sometimes, the difference between “slightly off” and “perfectly aligned” turns into a massive swing in the right direction—far greater than anyone could predict from such a small correction. And the best part? The benefits don’t take an ocean’s length to feel. A corrected course starts helping almost immediately, and the ship travels smoother, cleaner, and more efficiently on the very next stretch of water. That is the quiet power of realignment: small, smart adjustments that transform the entire journey long before the destination comes into view. It’s too late to do it when you arrive at an incorrect destination, but it’s never too late prior to arriving at it. 𝐀 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐑𝐄𝐃𝐒 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐚 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭. The same way the crew inside the ship didn’t notice they were headed off course, you likely won’t know that you are either. This is why so many of our clients ask us to take over captaining their ship to steer it back on course. They tell us the destination they intended to travel prior to having us look at their charted course and we show them where their prior captain went astray. Sometimes they had someone steering them right where they wanted, but more often than not, the other captains started them off course and then abandoned the ship. Don't wait until it's too late to head in the right direction toward your desired destination. Start heading there now. Let's take a look together to make sure you're on course.   You may have heard that the wealthy don't contribute to Traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs, and that's true, but what do they use? 🤔
There are basically two buckets your retirement money sits in: 1. A Tax-deferred bucket and 2. a Tax-free bucket, but the only tax-free bucket most Americans know of is a Roth IRA. The problem with Roths are that there are: 🔹 1. Income limits that keep many Americans from contributing to a Roth. Single tax filers can’t contribute if their gross income is more than $161,000 and married filers filing jointly can’t contribute to one if their gross income is $240,000 or higher. 🔹 2. Contribution limits cap your contributions at of $7,000 for those under 50 or $8,000 for those over 50. 🔹 3. Access restrictions that keep you from using your money whenever you want without penalty. So what do you do if you make too much to contribute to a Roth or what if you want to contribute more than the cap? What options do you have for tax-free growth on your money? What do the wealthy do with their money? Clearly they can’t utilize a Roth to build tax-free income for retirement because they earn too much money. Most people don’t know the answer to those questions and some people don’t even know the difference between tax-deferred accounts (Traditional IRAs) and tax-free account (Roths). As a result, many people just shove all their money into the tax-deferred bucket where they’re likely going to have to pay some insane amount of taxes on that money later in life (during retirement when they need the money the most). What’s worse is that the money in their tax-deferred accounts reduces the amount of social security they receive. There are other options though, including what is commonly referred to as a “Rich Man’s Roth.” In a “Rich Man’s Roth,” your money grows tax-free without the downside risks of regular Roth accounts and without all of the Roth restrictions. It’s like a Roth on steroids and you don’t have to be rich to use one! The benefits of a “Rich Man’s Roth” are: 🔹 Tax-free Growth: Your money grows tax-free in “Rich Man’s Roth.” 🔹 No Income Limits: These are for low AND high income earners. No matter how much you earn, you can use a “Rich Man’s Roth.” 🔹 No Contribution Limits: You’re not capped on how much you can contribute to your “Rich Man’s Roth” like you are with Roth IRAs. 🔹 Liquidity: You always have access to your money, unlike with Roths or Traditional IRAs. You don’t have to wait several years to access your money and when you do access your money in your “Rich Man’s Roth,” there’s no penalty for doing so. 🔹 Market Protection: Your money in a “Rich Man’s Roth” is protected from market volatility. You never have to stress out when markets are crashing (like they are this year). 🔹 Leverage: You can leverage your money in a “Rich Man’s Roth.” That means that your money can work for you in more places than one, which allows you to earn on the same money multiple times. If you want to learn more about a “Rich Man’s Roth,” or want to just see how one can work for you, make sure you message us “Rich Man’s Roth" and we can setup a time to discuss it.  𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐗-𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬:
𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗣 𝟭: If you don't already have an "Infinite Banking" policy, create one. If you already have one, then CONGRATULATIONS, you've already completed Step 1. Your money grows tax-free in your Infinite Banking account. So there's tax-free income #1. 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗣 𝟮: After a market decline (or a crash), you can use money in your Infinite Banking account, (which doesn’t lose money in a market decline and grows TAX-FREE), and fund (or add money to) a Roth IRA (which also grows TAX-FREE). There's tax-free income #2 - a Roth. This strategy can be effective because it can allow you to buy more shares of stock when shares are, as some people say, "on sale" (or much lower in value than they may be in the future). When/if they increase in price, the growth on those shares experienced inside of a Roth is TAX-FREE. If you use this strategy to fund a Roth IRA with tax-free gains from your Infinite Banking account, then you effectively funded a tax-free Roth IRA with tax-free profits from your Infinite Banking account. 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧'𝗦 𝗗𝗢𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗘 𝗧𝗔𝗫-𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗘! The profits from an Infinite Banking account can be accessed at any age, and that means that they can be accessed for investing outside of your Infinite Banking account whenever you see an opportunity. Yes, that means Infinite Banking account profits can be accessed tax-free prior to age 60, and your Roth IRA can be accessed tax-free after age 60. 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗣 𝟯: Finally, at retirement age, since both Infinite Banking accounts and Roth IRAs don't trigger taxation on your social security payments (Google "Provisional Income"), you can access:
𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧'𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗘𝗘 𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗠𝗦, 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗔𝗫-𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗘! *This isn’t investment advice and is meant purely for educational purposes, but it is a strategy that you should learn more about.  𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝟒𝟎𝟏(𝐤) 𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐑𝐀
There’s a simple math formula your financial advisor isn’t telling you that can wreck your 401(k) or IRA. 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐮𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝟒𝟎𝟏(𝐤)𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐑𝐀𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐬. There is a solution to this problem that I will share at the end, but you need to understand the problem first. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐡: Let’s say that Tom and Mary need $100,000 after taxes from their IRA to support their lifestyle in retirement. For simple illustration purposes, we’ll say they will owe a total of 30% in taxes on their withdrawals. How much will they have to take out of their IRA to be able to pay both the taxes to the IRS and the $100,000 they need for their lifestyle? I’ve asked this question to so many people and the answer I get 90% of the time is $130,000. On the surface this answer makes sense. Thirty percent of $100,000 is $30,000, right? Add that to the $100,000 you need to pay for your lifestyle and there’s your answer. But is that how it works? It’s a little bit more complex than that. If you pay 30% in taxes, then you get to keep 70%. However, 70% of $130,000 is only $91,000, which leaves you $9,000 short. 𝐒𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 $𝟏𝟒𝟐,𝟖𝟓𝟕. That’s $12,857 more than most Americans think. Therein lies the problem. Americans just don’t account for that in retirement because they’re simply not being told about it. In other words, when the typical American calls up their financial advisor and says, “I need $100,000 after taxes,“ they think that their balance is going to go down by $100,000. In reality, it’s going to go down by $142,857. Is it possible that quite a few Americans will be running out of money in their 401(k)s or IRAs a lot faster than they thought? It sure is, and it’s all because of this simple math formula that financial advisors and Wall Street pundits don’t tell them. 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄’𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐔𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍: Use the tools the I.R.S. makes available to you to 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐱-𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞. There are multiple tools that can provide great returns without the risk of market volatility and without having to pay taxes on your money when you need it most (in retirement). To have access to these specific tools, you need to speak with a licensed professional, who can help you find the best one for you and here's the best part... YOU DON'T PAY US FOR OUR HELP. When helping our clients with making the best decision for their future, our main goal is EDUCATION. We want people to learn about the dangers of letting some advisor "manage" their money compared to what we do, which is remove as many risks as possible including fees, market volatility, the sequence of returns risk, etc. Here is a page out of one of our agents' newest books going over the impact of taking a loss in your retirement account. We hope this shines some light on what truly happens when you have a down year. The reality is that you could spend many years just climbing back to breakeven before you are profitable again  |
Archives
January 2026
Categories |
RSS Feed
