Disclosures
Every disclosure, in plain English.
This page covers everything Annuity Explained publishes and sends: this website, our guides and film, our emails and texts, and our paid advertising on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Last updated July 11, 2026.
Who we are, and who we are not
Annuity Explained (annuityexplained.com) is an educational resource and a matching service. We publish plain-English education about annuities, indexed universal life insurance, and the retirement tax picture, and we can connect you with an independent, licensed insurance professional if you ask us to.
We are NOT an insurance agency or an insurance company. We are not licensed to sell insurance. We do not take applications, quote rates, or negotiate policy terms. Nothing on this site is individualized advice, and nothing here is a recommendation to buy, keep, or replace any specific product or policy.
How we make money
Licensed insurance professionals and their firms pay us flat marketing fees, per-introduction fees, or subscriptions to be matched with people who ask to talk to someone. Our compensation never depends on whether you buy anything, what you buy, or how much you buy. We do not receive commissions and we do not share in commissions.
You never pay us. Meetings arranged through this site are complimentary and carry no obligation. If you later choose to buy a product through a licensed professional, that professional may be paid a commission by the insurance company. Ask them directly how they are compensated; they are required to tell you.
Our advertising
We run paid advertising, including on Meta platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Our ads are educational invitations to learn and, if you choose, to request a conversation with a licensed professional. They are not offers to sell a policy and not offers to contract in any state.
All of our advertising identifies Annuity Explained by name and domain. Our ads never quote specific rates, caps, premiums, or account values, never name a specific insurer or product in a promotional way, and never claim that any product is without risk. If you ever see an ad that claims to be from us and does otherwise, it is not ours; please report it to team@annuityexplained.com.
We do not use paid actors presented as customers. If we ever publish a testimonial or endorsement, we will disclose any relationship or compensation next to it, and no experience described should be read as typical or as a promise of results.
Product disclosures
These apply everywhere we discuss annuities or indexed universal life (IUL) insurance:
- Any guarantee in an annuity or life insurance policy is backed solely by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. These products are not FDIC-insured, not NCUA-insured, not bank or credit union deposits, and not guaranteed by any bank, credit union, or government agency.
- Annuities are long-term products. Most carry surrender charges for early withdrawal, and withdrawals before age 59 and a half may incur a 10 percent federal tax penalty in addition to ordinary income tax.
- Annuity growth is tax-deferred, not tax-exempt. Withdrawals of gains are taxed as ordinary income.
- IUL is life insurance, not an investment and not a retirement account. Policy loans and withdrawals reduce the death benefit and cash value, can cause a policy to lapse, and can create taxable events, including under the modified endowment contract (MEC) rules.
- Every dollar figure, illustration, and index-crediting example we publish is hypothetical and for education only. Caps, participation rates, spreads, and crediting methods vary by insurer and product and change over time. We do not publish current carrier rates.
- Optional riders carry their own costs and strict qualification triggers, and using them changes other policy values.
State availability and licensing
Our educational content is available in every state. Insurance products, features, riders, and their terms vary by state, and not every product or feature is available in every state. Nothing on this site is an offer to contract in any state.
The professionals we match you with are independent and individually licensed by the states where they do business. We confirm licensing before a match, and your advisor's name, background, and license details are provided to you before your meeting. You can independently verify any insurance license through your state's department of insurance; the NAIC directory of state regulators is at naic.org.
Annuity Explained is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Social Security Administration, Medicare, the NAIC, or any state department of insurance or other government agency.
If you are 55 or older
Most of our readers are near or in retirement, so we hold ourselves to the senior-protection standards insurance regulators expect. No one on our side or on an advisor call arranged through us should ever claim a special senior designation, pressure you with urgency or fear, or push a decision at a first meeting. Take your time, involve family or another trusted person whenever you want, and end any conversation that does not feel right. If any of that standard is violated, tell us at team@annuityexplained.com and we will remove the professional from our network.
Your communication choices
When you submit a form on this site, you agree to be contacted by Annuity Explained and, if you request a meeting, by the licensed professional matched to you, by email and by phone or text message at the contact details you provide, including through automated means. Consent is not a condition of any purchase. Message and data rates may apply.
You can opt out at any time: reply STOP to any text, use the unsubscribe link in any email, or write to team@annuityexplained.com. See our privacy policy for how your information is handled.
Accuracy and updates
Tax figures, contribution limits, and statutory numbers are dated where they appear and reflect the rules in effect when written. Tax law changes; confirm current figures with a licensed tax advisor. We correct errors as soon as we find them. This page is reviewed with counsel and updated as our marketing and the rules evolve. Questions about anything here: team@annuityexplained.com.