Fixed Indexed Annuities: EDU #2525

The Retirement and IRA Show

Jim Saulnier, CFP® & Chris Stein, CFP®

Business, Investing

4.3 • 730 Ratings

🗓️ 18 June 2025

⏱️ 92 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Chris’s Summary:
Jim and I continue our focus for Annuity Awareness Month by explaining how fixed indexed annuities work and the regulatory nuances that distinguish them from other fixed products. We walk through their structure, common misconceptions, when they can be appropriate, and how to compare them to MYGAs and buffered ETFs. We also highlight the motivations behind annuity recommendations in the financial services industry and the risks of proprietary index products.

Jim’s “Pithy” Summary:
With Annuity Awareness Month continuing through June, Chris and I wade into the world of fixed indexed annuities—what they are, how they work, and why they’re not universally good or bad. I explain how they use options to generate index-like returns, how the “fee is baked in,” and how they compare to MYGAs and the buffered ETFs Wall Street has been offering over the past five or six years. If you’re locking up your money for five or ten years, you need to understand what you’re getting—and what the person recommending it is getting too.

We also break down how advisory platform annuities are changing the landscape. Advisors who used to bash annuities now love them—because they can charge their AUM fee inside the annuity without holding an insurance license. But the one actually recommending the product and earning the commission? That’s the wholesaler, and they’re not a fiduciary. And while some moves might be justified, I’ve seen plenty that just don’t sit right. If someone’s trying to move you from one annuity to another, you’d better ask what you’re giving up—and what they’re getting in return.

I also share what I found digging into one of those so-called “uncapped” proprietary indexes. I used ChatGPT’s deep research tools and spent a good 45 minutes pulling disclosures apart—and what I found didn’t impress me. These indexes often skim returns off the top and bury fees most agents can’t explain. If you’re being sold one of those, do some homework. We’ll get into RILAs next week—because yes, I ran out of time.

The post Fixed Indexed Annuities: EDU #2525 appeared first on The Retirement and IRA Show.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The retirement and IRA show represents the words and views of the show hosts exclusively and should not be construed as investment legal or tax advice. All information is believed to be from reliable sources. However, we make no representation as to its completeness or accuracy. All economic and performance information is historical in nature and is not indicative of any future results. Any indices mentioned on the show are unmanaged and cannot be invested indirectly. Diversification and asset allocation strategies do not assure profit or protect against loss.
0:23.8	Never make any investment or financial decisions based on information offered on this show
0:26.9	without first consulting your financial legal or tax advisor.
0:29.7	Financial planning services offered through Jim Solnior and Associates LLC, a registered investment advisor.
0:47.1	This is the retirement and IRA show coming to you from beautiful Northern Colorado.
0:52.8	Join us as certified financial planner Jim Sonier, as well as Colorado State University Finance Instructor and Certified Financial
0:55.1	Planner Chris Stein teach you about IRAs, borrow-en-case, annuities, Social Security,
1:01.1	pension plans, and estate planning in a fun and enjoyable show. Whether you are listening live
1:06.7	in Colorado or streaming from their website or iTunes podcast, Jim and Chris want you to know that
1:12.4	they're available to help you plan for your retirement. Just visit their website at JimHelps.com.
1:18.5	That's Jim H-E-L-P-S dot com and click the Meet the Team button on the homepage. Now here's Jim
1:25.7	and Chris with today's show.
1:34.2	Well, hello and welcome to the Retirement and IRA show, EDU edition for this week.
1:45.8	As we continue on within June 2025 for if you listen to this, I was about to say live, but recently after recording.
1:50.5	And June is National Annuity Awareness Month. So we focus our EDU shows in particular on annuities and have a heavy dose of annuity
1:58.7	questions during our Q&A shows.
2:00.6	But last week we had gotten into the different
2:03.6	types of annuities, some of the the headline names like an immediate annuity versus deferred
2:09.3	annuity, deferred income annuities, different fixed annuities, talked a fair amount about migas,
2:15.9	multi-year guaranteed annuities.
2:18.9	How those work, we delved into a bit of the world of variable annuities, which is its own animal.
2:25.6	And at the end of the show, we kind of let you know that we were going to veer off towards fixed indexed annuities today, as well as one of the more
	...

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