John, good to see you climbing interest rates mean good news for Annuity buyers. The third quarter of 2023 saw record growth in annuity sales. According to Limra, which tracks the numbers, total annuity sales at $89.4 billion. That is an 11% jump over the same quarter last year. One of the reasons why of course, the percentage of workers in the private sector with a pension is now 4%. That's down from 60% in the early 80’s. Annuities can provide that guaranteed income. So explain why annuities can be helpful as part of a larger financial plan.

Well as a, part of a larger financial plan, and this is another very individualized area of planning. The annuity is really becoming today's personal pension for a lot of people. And, you know, from a psychological perspective, and I've seen this in both clients and prospects. They want to be able to replicate that paycheck that they're so used to that they had in their employment years. So the pension used to offer that, now, as you said, the pension is becoming a thing of the past. So people are really turning to annuities because, as you said, it gives them that reliable income stream and you know, could be a very powerful psychological factor for them in letting them get that peace of mind they deserve in retirement.

Exactly, yeah that makes sense. So how have recent retirement rate hikes made annuities more attractive?

Well I think recent rate hikes have helped make annuities more attractive in a couple of ways. Number one, we saw a huge spike in volatility both in the stock market and the bond market. So people went to flee to the safer annuities as an alternative. With that, the annuities have also benefited from the interest rate hikes because some of those annuities with, especially fixed rates, are now able to pay out higher rates in their annuities. And that's a big thing that clients can replace bonds, you know potentially, with the annuity. And you know with some of these these annuities they're getting higher rates with no market risks.

So as we talk about maybe the different kinds of annuities, do the interest rate hikes only affect fixed annuities?

Yeah, so there are three types of annuities out there. There's fixed, there's index and there’s variable. And this is for the deferred annuity options. And you know, the fixed as we see there, that’s going to directly affect the fixed annuity, the higher interest rates will give you a higher fixed rate. The index though is a variable here, you may see higher caps and participation rates because of higher interest rates and the importance of that is that allows for you to have a higher potential index gain within those investments. So obviously, you know, that's advantageous for you if you're either trying to accumulate for an income stream or just accumulate with some principal protection in that vehicle.

And since we don't know what's, what the Feds gonna do, regarding interest rates, is now a good time to buy an annuity or would you recommend an annuity laddering?

Yeah, well, there's no good answer to that question. This is really an individualized answer. It’s gonna depend on a multitude whether it's your goals, your risk capacity, the ability to take on risk, your income needs, there's a multitude of planning, thoughts and questions that need to be answered and thought of before you can really decide whether the annuity is the best option for you.

Right, no cookie-cutter answer. So if somebody wants to have that conversation with you to see if it's right for them. What's the best way to reach you? Well, you can always visit our website www.gosecurus.com. While you're on the website, we have a ton of videos and podcasts and information that we put out, because education is a cornerstone of our practice. And while you're on the website, you can visit the Contact Us tab. And while you're there, you can either schedule a 15 minute phone call to answer any questions or an hour complimentary vision and clarity consultation. If you like doing things the old fashioned way you can give us a call the office 858-935-6210 And Emily will get you on my schedule.

John, thank you.

Thank you Erin.