Insights · The Annuity Explained blog
Plain-English annuity and retirement income insights
This is our full library: forty-four plain-English posts on how annuities work, what they cost, how retirement income is taxed, and when to walk away. Every post shows both sides, cites regulators rather than brochures, and sells nothing. Start with the category that matches your question; the skeptical posts come first for a reason.
For the skeptics
4 postsHonest answers for readers who distrust annuities, starting with the criticism that is earned.
Types of annuities
4 postsWhat each product actually is, one page at a time, without the jargon.
Comparisons
5 postsAnnuities set against the alternatives you already know, with the trade-offs shown on both sides.
The fine print
4 postsFees, surrender charges, and riders, out loud and in the open before you sign anything.
The numbers
2 postsWhat an annuity actually pays, in dollars, with the assumptions shown. Prefer to run your own numbers first? The Income Floor Gap Calculator shows the gap between essential expenses and guaranteed income in four taps, with no contact information asked.
Taxes
8 postsHow annuity and retirement income taxes really work: RMDs, exchanges, exclusion ratios, and the Medicare surcharge nobody warns you about.
How Annuities Are Taxed: Qualified vs. Non-Qualified
The Exclusion Ratio: Why Part of Your Annuity Check Is Tax-Free Return of Principal
Annuities and RMDs: How They Interact
The 1035 Exchange: Swapping Annuities Without a Tax Bill
The Tax Torpedo: When RMDs Collide With Social Security
IRMAA, Explained: The Medicare Surcharge That Sneaks Up
RMD Timing Basics: The Deadlines, Plainly
The Inherited IRA 10-Year Rule, Explained
Retirement risks
4 postsThe retirement risks annuities exist to answer, and the withdrawal math around them, named plainly.
Trust and safety
1 postWhat actually backs an annuity's promise, and what happens when an insurer stumbles.
IUL, honestly
2 postsIndexed universal life with both sides shown, because it gets pitched right alongside annuities.
Deciding
7 postsWhen an annuity fits, when to walk away, and exactly what to ask before you sign.
Who Should NOT Buy an Annuity?
12 Questions to Ask Any Annuity Advisor (Before You Sign Anything)
The Best Age to Buy an Annuity, and Why It Is Not One Number
Should a 65-Year-Old Buy an Annuity? A Straight Answer
Joint or Single Life? The Annuity Choice Couples Get Wrong
When an Annuity Is the Wrong Answer
How to Prepare for Any Annuity Meeting
Your state
3 postsHow the rules shift at the state line: premium taxes, the guaranty safety net, and what a move changes. Facts, never a reason to buy. Every state and DC has its own page in the state directory.
The Plain-English Income Plan™
Understand it first. Then decide, on your timeline.
When you are ready, and only then, talk with an independent, fiduciary-minded advisor in a complimentary discovery meeting. No products, no rates, no pressure. Just a clear read on whether an annuity has a job to do in your plan.
Book a complimentary meetingComplimentary · No obligation · The advisor is independent and licensed.
You leave with your Retirement Income & Tax Blueprint
- Where your guaranteed income floor stands today
- Your three-bucket tax picture, mapped
- Your reading list above, turned into a plan
- When an annuity fits, and when to walk away