Why More Retirees Choose Safety Over Big Returns

You can be a thrill seeker and still buckle your seatbelt, and that simple truth is the best metaphor for retirement planning I know. With Peak 65 here, more families are reaching the “now what?” moment at the same time, and the questions are getting sharper: How do we protect the nest egg we built, create reliable income, and avoid getting forced into the wrong move when the market is down?

We walk through a Kiplinger report that says the definition of investment success is changing. Returns still matter, but retirees are increasingly measuring success by durability, flexibility, and confidence. That shift impacts how we think about safe money strategies, asset allocation, and asset location. When every goal sits inside one market-driven bucket, sequence of returns risk can turn a normal downturn into a permanent problem, especially if you are withdrawing for income and paying taxes at the same time.

From there, we tackle annuities head-on using research from Dr. Kevin Lynch, including the core problem annuities are designed to solve: you cannot guarantee a finite portfolio lasts an infinite number of years. We break down the five major retirement risks, explain mortality credits in plain English, and show why guaranteed lifetime income can function like a personal pension. We also lay out who tends to benefit most, from retirees without pensions to people who want an income floor that reduces panic selling and supports better spending decisions.

If you want a plan that’s built to hold up in real life, listen now, then subscribe, share the episode with a friend nearing retirement, and leave a review. What part of retirement feels most uncertain to you right now?

To learn more about Brad Pistole and the Ozark Retirement Group, please visit www.ozarksretirement.com 

Transcript

Welcome And Peak 65

SPEAKER_02 0:11

Welcome to Safe Money Radio with your host, Brad Pistol. Brad is a retirement income and tax planning certified professional, primarily serving clients in the Midwest, but he's sought after nationally for his expertise in helping people secure their retirements. Mr. Pistol is a licensed life insurance professional in approximately 20 different states, and he specializes in working with people who are near retirement and those who have already retired with wealth management, income planning, and asset protection strategies using life, health, long-term care, and annuity insurance products. And now, here to talk with you about securing your retirement, it's your host, Brad Pistol.

SPEAKER_00 1:03

Well, hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us again today for Safe Money Radio. We're in the middle of a really exciting time. In our company and in the United States, there's 11,400 people a day turning age 65 every single day. And I don't know if that number just flies right over the top of your head, but just think about this for a minute, because I was thinking about this today as I was preparing this show. 11,400 people a day, every single day. That means every single week that passes, you could fill up an entire football stadium, a college or NFL football stadium filled with people who are all newly turning 65-year-olds. And that's happening every single week, and that's going to continue to happen for many, many years. My good friend Dr. Jason Fickner calls this peak 65. Last year, 2025, this year, more people are turning 65 than at any other time, and it will continue to stay over 10,000 for many years. So I know what's going on because I'm licensed in more than 20 states. I have more than 2,000 clients all over the United States, and you call, you call us, you email us, you send us messages, you text our phone lines, and you have all kinds of questions about financial planning, retirement planning. And so today's topic is going to be very important for all of you who are listening if you're anywhere near retirement age or you're thinking about

Risk Taking Still Needs Protection

SPEAKER_00 2:35

it. So as we get started today, I just want to ask a question. Have you ever met anyone that you might consider to be a true risk taker? Now, you probably have nicknames for them. You know, they're the first person who will run to the top of a mountain and jump off a cliff at the lake. Maybe they're the first person to ride the biggest roller coaster at the amusement park. Or they would be the first person to go skydiving or bungee jumping. They were probably that kid who was crashing into everyone else in the bumper cars back when we were kids and you actually had bumper cars at the fairgrounds. You know the kind of people I'm talking about. Daredevils, the excitement seekers. You know, I've often wondered, are the daredevil adventure seekers the same way with their money? Or is it just about physical things in life? Is there research to back this up? Are the people who are willing to jump out of airplanes and ride the steepest roller coasters also the people who love the stock market and gambling and cryptocurrency and playing games of chance with their hard-earned money? You know, it would be really interesting to see whether or not there was any study on this or any correlation between the two. But as we get started today, I want you to think about something for a minute, because I know this for a fact. I want you to think about all those people who love the adrenaline rush that come with certain types of activities in life, and I want you to be brutally honest with yourself about this. Think about that person who loves riding the tallest, steepest roller coaster on the planet. The, you know, the kind that goes 70 miles an hour and they flip upside down while going through all kinds of twists and turns, the kind that make you want to lose your lunch. What's the first thing they do when they get out of line and step across into the roller coaster and sit down? What's the very first thing they do? They raise up their arms and someone pulls down a lap bar and then safety harness comes in and goes over their shoulders. Now I want you to think about the person who loves to ramp their motorcycle. You know, from dirt mound to dirt bound. Maybe they like to flip them, they like to twist them, they like to kick their feet out, and you know, they're gonna jump in the air, the motocross stuff. What's the very first thing they do even before they get on their motorcycle? They put on all their protective body gear and they put on their very specialized type of helmet because they want to make sure they protect their head. Let's talk about another one. What about an Olympic downhill skier? What's the very first thing they do before they push off and head down the mountain? It's the same thing. They put on all their protective gear, their protective goggles, and they put on their helmet. What's the first thing the major risk taker does before jumping out of a plane? They meticulously check their backpack and their parachute to make sure that the ripcord's ready and that everything is supposed to perform the way it's supposed to perform. They want to be absolutely certain before they jump out of that plane. And now let's talk about the person who just retired. Honestly, most people who make it to retirement are pretty much done with risk. They're probably more interested in preserving what they've spent their whole life earning. But when you first retire, you're also ready for your go-go years. And things normally start off a little bit quicker than they do during the middle and the last phases, you know, the slow go and the no-go years of retirement, especially when it comes to purchases. Right off the bat, when someone retires, this is when they might buy the car of their dreams. In fact, it might be that fancy convertible. They're ready to pull the top down and drive around in the sun and take trips and just enjoy themselves. You know, they've always wanted one, but they were always working and they didn't feel like the time was right, but now they've retired. So they get up, they go to the dealership, they pick out the exact color and the style they want, and they pull the trigger. They buy the convertible. And once they finish signing all the papers, they take the keys, they lower the top of the car, they get in, and what's the very first thing they do without exception? You guessed it. They put on their seatbelt. Every single time, without exception, no matter how big of a risk taker you are, or how big of a risk taker you think you are, when you get behind the wheel of anything, the first thing you do is you buckle your seatbelt. And if there are passengers in the car with you, if they're smart, they do the exact same thing. Now, why is it? Why is that the first thing we do? We put on the seatbelt, we put on the helmet, we check the harness, we make sure the parachute's ready to work. Because lap bars, shoulder harnesses, protective goggles, helmets, parachutes, and seat belts are what save our lives. They're there to protect us from unnecessary and unexpected dangers.

The Seatbelt Rule For Retirement

SPEAKER_00 7:38

Friends, this past week I read a fascinating article in the Kiplinger report, and I want to share it with you today. It suggests that most people in 2026 are no longer solely focused on gains in their retirement accounts. It suggests that they prefer safety over gains. And in all my years of research from working with retirees from all over this country, I would suggest that it's actually been this way for many, many years, and it will continue to be this way long into the future because 11,200 people are turning age 65 every single day for many, many years, and they don't want to lose their hard-earned money. This is why I've written two best-selling books about this. Now, all the way back in 2014, I wrote a book called Safe Money Matters, and then I added a chapter to it and edited it, and it became a bestseller in 2017. And then in 2021, I released my second book, Bulletproof, The Safe and Secure Retirement Income Plan. And Ed Slot, America's IRA expert, wrote the Ford to that book, and we teamed together to talk about the tax tumor that you have in your retirement accounts and in your retirement plans and how you need to deal with that and how safety is a big, big portion of what it is that you need to be planning for in the future and guaranteed lifetime income. And that became a bestseller. And so, and I've sold thousands of copies of these books, but I've also given them away to people all across the country. And so if you would like to read a copy of either book, I'll give you a signed copy. Just go to Ozarksretetirement.com and fill out the contact us form. The message will come directly to me and I will personally make sure you get a copy. Now, if you live across the United States, I'm probably going to send you a digital copy of Bulletproof. If you live locally to the Ozarks, you can come by and have a free consultation and I will hand you a personal signed copy from me. Since I have to take a break, now would be a great time to call me for a complimentary copy of my best-selling book, Bulletproof, the Safe and Secure Retirement Income Plan. And I'll also give you a copy of my Safe Money kit. My number is 866-780 SAFE. That's 866-7807233. Isn't it time to stop exposing your retirement to market risk? You're listening to Safe Money Radio with Brad Pistol.

SPEAKER_01 10:09

Hey, it's Glenn Beck. Can you feel it? America's pride is on the rise again. And right here in the Ozarks, the same pride lives on in how we protect our families and plan for the future. That's where Brad Pistol, president of the Ozarks Retirement Group, comes in. Brad's a certified financial fiduciary, and most importantly, a trusted neighbor who's helped countless Ozark families find financial independence. Call Brad Pistol from the Ozarks Retirement Group, 417-581-9222. That's 417-581-9222 or Ozarksretirement.com.

SPEAKER_02 10:40

You're listening to Safe Money Radio with your host, Brad Pistol.

SPEAKER_00 10:46

Hi, this is Brad Pistol, the host of Safe Money Radio, right here in the Ozarks. I'm a retirement income and tax planning certified professional through the American College, and I'm so happy to be hosting this show for the past two decades. Thanks for joining us today. Now let's get right back to the show.

Why Safety Matters More Than Returns

SPEAKER_00 11:05

So here's what I want to do. I want to jump right into the Kiplinger report that talks about why people value safety more than they do returns, because this is a big shift in atmosphere and attitudes regarding retirement income planning. Here's what this report says. For much of the past several decades, investment success has been commonly measured by returns. Growth was the primary indicator that a strategy was working and market performance often dominated financial decision making. That definition is changing. After years of building wealth, priorities evolve. The focus shifts toward preserving what's been built, maintaining flexibility as circumstances change, and ensuring that today's decisions will hold up over time. In that context, performance is no longer defined solely by upside potential. It's increasingly defined by durability. This shift is reshaping how protection fits into long-term planning. Rather than being viewed as a conservative counterweight to growth, protection is becoming an important part of how growth is sustained. Then it says make sure growth assets aren't doing all the work. Now, what do they mean by this? One of the most practical steps to improving long-term performance is to clearly define the role each major pool of assets is meant to play. Growth-oriented assets such as stocks and equity-based funds or other market-driven investments are designed to take risk over time. But then there's other assets such as cash, bond portfolios, annuities, and insurance products. And their intent is to support liquidity, income needs, and future estate goals. When these roles aren't clearly delineated, growth assets often do way too much of the heavy lifting. They're expected to fund spending, provide flexibility, and support legacy outcomes, all while absorbing market volatility. Creating clear distinctions might help reduce that strain. Assets intended for long-term growth can remain focused on growth, while assets tied to more time-sensitive or non-negotiable needs can be positioned to offer greater stability. This approach doesn't require abandoning your growth. It requires being more intentional about where growth risk belongs. To put it simply, it's not just what you invest in that matters, but where those assets live. Asset location or the vehicles used to hold investment, such as brokerage accounts, retirement accounts, annuities, or insurance policies, can be just as important as asset allocation in shaping your future outcomes. Now

Separate Buckets For Clear Purposes

SPEAKER_00 13:58

let's talk about creating flexibility that holds up during volatile market times. Flexibility matters most during periods of market stress when selling assets can feel particularly costly. Long-term strategies typically benefit from having at least one source that doesn't depend on favorable market conditions. This means identifying where access to capital would come from if circumstances changed unexpectedly. Plans that rely entirely on liquidating market-based assets can feel constrained when volatility is elevated. Incorporating components designed to behave differently can help reduce that dependency and preserve your choices. For some, this includes exploring protection-oriented solutions, such as indexed insurance policies like index-length annuities, that are designed to limit downside exposure while allowing for some participation in market growth without any of the risk. When used appropriately, these tools aren't meant to replace traditional investments. They're meant to provide flexibility when markets aren't cooperating.

Flexibility During Volatile Markets

SPEAKER_00 15:09

Legacy planning is no longer just about how much wealth gets transferred. When spreading wealth across one generation to another, one way to measure success is how reliable and efficient the transfer occurs. Some assets are designed to be passed on with clarity and predictability. Others can introduce complexity, timing risk, or tax friction for heirs. Reviewing which assets are most likely to support a smooth transfer can materially improve estate outcomes. This might involve favoring assets that offer defined benefits, built-in tax efficiency, or simplified administration for beneficiaries. It might also involve ensuring that at least part of the legacy strategy is insulated from market timing risk so that outcomes are not overly dependent on conditions at any one single point in time. Well-designed protection strategies such as cash value life insurance can play a meaningful role here by helping create transferable value that is easy for heirs to understand and use as intended. That's why it's always important to take inventory of protection that already exists. Before adding any new elements into your plan, it's worth taking stock of what's already in place. Most long-term plans evolve over time, layering in guarantees, risk management features, and growth assumptions at different stages. Individuals should review their plans every three to five years or when a major life event occurs. And consider the inventory of protection in place and what needs to be added, as some of those elements might no longer align with your current goals or with your time horizons or your estate priorities. So I always say if there's been a death, a birth, a divorce, a change of address, you need to do a review. Reviewing the areas where protection already exists and what it's designed to do can uncover opportunities to rebalance risk more intentionally. In many cases, the most effective changes involve refinement rather than overhaul. The aim is not to eliminate uncertainty, but to ensure that risk is being taken where it makes the most sense and reduced where it does not make sense. Performance today is more than just returns. It's about confidence. Confidence that a plan can adapt as changes occur. Confidence that volatility doesn't force unwanted decisions. Confidence that wealth can support both present needs and future long-term legacy intentions. Protection plays a central role in building that confidence. Not as a retreat from opportunity, but as a way to make opportunity more sustainable. In that sense, protection is redefining what performance means in a world where flexibility, resilience, and long-term outcomes matter. Friends, this is why, no matter how risky you feel, when you step into a vehicle, you always put your seatbelt on first. And this is what we've been helping people do for two decades all across this country.

How To Get The Books

SPEAKER_00 18:20

If you want our help showing you a much better way to preserve and protect your retirement money, give us a call anytime. Our number is 866-780 SAFE. That's 866-780-7233. In many states right now, you can even get up to as much as a 19% cash value bonus on the first day you open or roll over your existing account into a new Safe Money account. It doesn't matter if you're rolling over a 401k, an IRA, or even writing a check from your checking account that money's been sitting in the bank making nothing, or maybe in a CD making 2 or 3%. And whatever that amount is that you roll over, the custodian will add 19% on day one. Friends, just think about this for a minute. If you have a CD making 4% right now, it would take you five years making 4% in that CD to make the same amount of money you would make on your very first day in a safe money account. If you put $100,000 into it, it would be worth $119,000 on day one. Or maybe you have a 401k and maybe it's got $300,000 in it, and you're ready to retire and you don't want any more risk from the stock market affecting your balance like this year during all the ups and downs of the war. A $300,000 account would receive a $57,000 bonus on day one, making the total $357,000. And then that account would be 100% protected from market losses for the life of that account. If you're more concerned about the safety of your accounts and you want to know how this works and what a bonus might look like in your specific area or state, just give us a call. Our number is 866-780-7233, or go to Ozarksretirement.com and click on the contact us button. I will personally reach out to you. That's 866-780-7233, and there's always someone standing by to take your call. This is Brad Pistol, your host of Safe Money Radio. I'll be right back after this informative message.

SPEAKER_01 20:33

Hey, it's Glenn Beck. Can you feel it? America's pride is on the rise again. And right here in the Ozarks, the same pride lives on in how we protect our families and plan for the future. That's where Brad Pistol, president of the Ozarks Retirement Group, comes in. Brad's a certified financial fiduciary, and most importantly, a trusted neighbor who's helped countless Ozark families find financial independence. Call Brad Pistol from the Ozarks Retirement Group, 417-581-9222. That's 417-581-9222 or Ozarksretirement.com.

SPEAKER_02 21:07

Now back to more Safe Money Radio with your host, Brad Pistol.

SPEAKER_00 21:14

Hi, this is Brad Pistol, a tax planning certified professional through the American College, and I love reminding you each and every week what my good friend, America's IRA expert Ed Slott says. Remember, it's not how much you make, it's how much you keep after paying your taxes that counts. Now let's get back to the show.

The Annuity Comeback Story

SPEAKER_00 21:34

Now, friends, early in the show today, we were talking about a Kiplinger report that's talking about how there's been a shift in today's world with retirees, specifically retirees, but it's actually affecting people in their late 40s and early 50s where they're not as concerned about going after massive returns. They're more concerned about the preservation of their money and keeping what they built. And there's a lot of reasons for that. We've watched the market take some major dives in 2012. Now it's come back up and then it's gone back down and it's come back up. It's been a lot more like a true roller coaster in 2026. And when someone nears retirement, if they've done any research whatsoever, they've learned a lot about sequence of returns risk and that timing is really, really important. Now, in recent weeks, I had my good friend Dr. Kevin Lynch on the show. It's one of the most beautiful stories of my 20 years. And it's just so interesting how I was in full-time ministry in my early years. Now I'm in full-time financial planning. He was in full-time financial planning all throughout his career. Now he has his doctorate of ministry, and he's serving in soup kitchens and serving at his local church and doing all these things. It's like our lives have been reversed. But this is one of the most educated people I've ever met in my life. In fact, I don't know a more educated person. He has 20 plus sets of letters behind his name. This includes the highest level of designation there is CFP, certified financial planning professional. He's a CFP, he's an RICP like myself, retirement income certified professional, he's a CLU, chartered life underwriter, he has his doctorate. So Dr. Kevin Lynch talks about why he found us and asked me to work as one of his trusted advisors. Because even though he taught people all day long, every single day, about protection and building their portfolios and risk versus safety, hey, he's got money in the markets. He loves his Vanguard accounts, does really well inside those market-driven accounts. But he also pulled a big portion out when he turned 70 and was ready to start thinking about retirement. He wanted to know that he had guaranteed lifetime income secure from Social Security and from his annuities with income writers so that he could feel free to spend from his investments if he needed to. And so we had him on the show. He talked about all this. And if you want to go watch it, you can just go to YouTube, type in Brad Pistol, Kevin Lynch, and you can watch the interview. It's fascinating. He found us online. A lot of you are listening right now. Maybe you're watching on YouTube or listening on YouTube or listening to the podcast. But after hearing the show, he did some research. He ordered both my books, Safe Money Matters and Bulletproof, the Safe and Secure Retirement Income Plan. He read them both. And so he had a lot of time invested in reading material. And then he reached out and said, Hey, I want to start talking to you. And then it took us about a year to build his plan. Here's the fascinating thing. If you go back and watch the show, he said he read more than 20 different retirement planning books, including my two, before he said, This is the group I want to work with. Brad Pistol's the person I want handling my retirement. Now, he lives in North Carolina. He's been here, now that he's retired, he's been here to the Ozarks to vacation. And here's the beautiful thing about Kevin. He's very open. He tells his story, uh, how many years he taught for the American college and his love and passion for teaching and for students and that sort of thing. But he has written several different papers that are as good as anything I've ever read. And I want to share part of one of them with you today because the the Kiplinger report suggests that safety is now more important than growth to most retirees. And Kevin has written something called Why Annuities Are Special. Now, you may be listening to this and think, oh, that annuity, that's that bad word. Well, most people don't think that. You've probably had your head in the sand for a while if you still think that. Yeah, back in the early 2000s, 2005, maybe even 2010, that was the case. But see, I started on Safe Money Radio hosting a show nationwide back in 2000, late 2009, early 2010. And back then everyone locally coined me as, oh, he's just that annuity guy. That's all he does. And they poo-pooed annuities and they said a lot of bad things about them. And guess what? Now all those people sell annuities and write annuities for their clients. And they all wish they could structure annuities like I have. I've structured more than 2,000 annuities in my career. I own eight of them personally, and I've owned them all the way since back in 2008. And here's my question to all of you listening right now before we jump into why annuities are special with Dr. Kevin Lynch. And I say this and I don't say this in a bragging way. I think people want to hear from people who are successful and they want them to share their story. Well, I'm a rags to riches story. I was in full-time ministry. I lived paycheck to paycheck. Now I'm a multi, multi, multi, multimillionaire. I don't have any debt. I own multiple properties. I will never ever have to worry for money. I could retire today. So why would I own annuities if they were terrible products? I can own anything I want to own, and I do. Market-driven accounts, real estate, farms, you you name it, you pick the investment, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, you name it, I own it. Why would I buy something that's terrible, that's awful, that's a four-letter word? And why would I do it eight different times? I have seven figures in annuities. Why? Because annuities are special, just like Dr. Kevin Lynch says. But I'll go on, I'm not just going to use me as an example. Why do I own eight annuities? Because my good friend Tom Hegna, a world-renowned economist, owns 13 annuities. And I learned from him years ago, if he owns them, I should own them. And then America's IRA expert, Ed Slott, he owns annuities. His father owned annuities. He will say, has said many times on this show, one of the greatest things his father ever did for his family was purchase annuities. That then went on to his mother and how excited she was every single month to show Ed, call him in. Eddie, Eddie, come look. They still keep putting this money in my account every single month. And he talks about the power of annuities. And I could just go on and on and on with all the research specialists, people who have doctor in front of their name, who own annuities, who are pro-annuity, who say it's the secret sauce, it's the recipe or the license to spend more. When you own annuities and you have a guaranteed lifetime paycheck coming in every single month, then you can go do whatever you want to do. You don't have to worry about having to sell something off from your market-driven accounts when the markets go down. Because that's a bad formula. If you have everything in the market, and I have a lot of money in the market, seven figures in the market. I don't have to worry about having to sell when we're at war with Iran and the markets down, but I have to take my income from somewhere and it's the only bucket of money I've got, so I sell it when it's 15 or 20% down. That's a bad plan. You better have buffer assets, things in place that will allow you to take distributions from them when the markets are down because you don't want to sell from your investments to take income out when they're down. That's just that's a bad plan. You've all heard buy low, sell high. Well, you don't do the opposite of that. You don't buy high and sell low. But a lot of people do, and that's why they get into trouble, and that's why there's something called the 4% rule of thumb that says, hey, if you retire and under standard market conditions and you take out about 4%, it should last about 30 years. If the timing's right, if we don't go through really bad market experiences in your early years of retirement, so that's a big enough of an introduction. Let's jump in to what Kevin Lynch, Dr. Kevin Lynch, Certified Financial Planner, CFP Kevin Lynch, retirement income certified professional Kevin Lynch, 20 different financial designations, one of the most educated people on the planet. Why does he think annuities are special? Well, let's jump in. He says, the core problem annuities solve. Most people approaching retirement ask the wrong question. They focus on how much money do I have? When the more important question is, how long will my money last and what happens if I outlive it? Modern retirement can last 30 years or more. A 65-year-old couple today has roughly a 50% probability that at least one spouse will live to age 90, and a meaningful chance of one reaching age 95 or beyond. No investment strategy alone can guarantee that a finite pool of savings will last an infinite number of years. That is the fundamental problem. And it is the problem that annuities were designed to solve. Then he jumps into the fundamental retirement risks that we all face, and I want to go through these. I talk about them all the time on this show. I talk about them in my books. Here we go.

The Five Risks That Derail Plans

SPEAKER_00 30:53

Number one, market risk. Number two, sequence of returns risk. Number three, longevity risk, number four, inflation risk, and number five, something called behavioral risk. So let's spend a minute going through each one of these. What is market risk? It's the portfolio value and how it can fall dramatically, especially in the early years of retirement. If you retire in 2001, when the market starts to crash, and you're taking withdrawals while selling off investments, while paying taxes, while paying a fee to the advisor who's managing the account that's going backwards, you're in trouble. If you retired in late 2007 and repeated that same process where right off the bat in 2008, when the market's crashing, you're taking distributions and paying fees while experiencing losses, while paying taxes, you're in trouble. That's market risk. So you're, if you leave everything in one basket and you don't have any type of buffer plan or bucket plan, you're just praying that you picked good timing, that the market is going up in your early years. If not, it can go really bad. Sequence of returns risk. I talk about this all the time. All of my colleagues talk about this. Dr. Wade Fowl, Dr. Michael Finca, Dr. David Blanchett, Dr. Jason Fickner all are going to talk about sequence of returns risk. A market crash in the first five years of your retirement can be devastating and irreversible, even if the markets recover later. Now, later in this paper that he's sharing here, he's going to give an example and we'll talk about sequence of returns risk. Longevity risk, this one's simple. Living longer than you expected. That means drawing down your savings for more years than you'd planned. Yeah, your retirement plan would have worked great if it would only last 10 years, but you live for 27 years and you ran out of money at about year 18. That's where there's a problem with longevity. Inflation risk. Fixed income may not keep pace with rising prices over 25 to 30 years of retirement. I had someone who works in politics, works in their community, and is a farmer and is worth a lot of money here at the office today. He said, You know, now that I'm retiring from all my public work and all the things I do, he said, I love working on the farm, but he said, Here's the problem. Cattle prices, as you know, have just gone through the roof, and that's great. But guess what else has gone through the roof? Everything else. Because he said, I'll give you a, for instance, I used to pay X number of dollars to have cattle picked up and driven 50 miles for me so I don't have to do it. And this year, they've doubled the cost to drive that 50 miles. He said, gas didn't double. Economic conditions didn't require doubling, but they know we're making more money on the cattle, so everyone's jacking their prices up. And he said, here's the problem. I have to pay it, I'm willing to pay it, but when cattle prices go back the other way, you and I both know what's going to happen. And I smiled and said, exactly. They're never going to lower their prices back to half of the price. Once it steps up with inflation, it doesn't go back down. So we've seen this. Milk, bread, eggs, like the cost of buying food and goods and services is through the roof. It went up so quickly after COVID. And it's not going to go back down. They keep saying, oh, it's because of this, it's because of that. It was COVID, then it was the war, then it was inflation. It's not going back down. So inflation risk is a very big fundamental retirement risk. Then there is behavioral risk. Fearing downturns causes many retirees to sell at the worst time, permanently impairing their portfolio. That's what happens. You're nervous, Nelly, the markets are going down, and if you have all your eggs in one basket and you are selling them off, then you you're in a disaster. I call it the quadruple whammy that's taking the distributions while paying fees to the advisor who's managing something that's losing its money while experiencing volatility while paying taxes. So withdrawals, fees, losses, taxes. That is a really bad recipe. And someone may not be able to stomach that. And if all their eggs are in one basket, they say, I'm out, sell it, move it to safety, when they actually should have bridged a gap by doing some of that planning way earlier, not taking everything out of the market, but taking enough out of the market and putting it into guaranteed resources like annuities with income riders, so that they would never have to worry about market volatility. So of all these risks, Dr. Kevin Lynch says longevity risk is unique in that it cannot be hedged through a portfolio alone. You cannot diversify against living too long. Only insurance, specifically, life contingent annuity income, can provide a genuine guarantee against outliving one's money. Now, I know that was a lot, but I want to repeat this because this is it. Dr. Kevin Lynch, 20 plus financial designations, a CFP, he has his doctorate, he understands something that very few people don't understand. All these negative annuity people, oh, they're awful, you should never own one, and that's because they're fee-based managers and they just want to collect a lifetime fee from you of one and a half to two percent for the rest of your life. You're their annuity. If you get that, do you understand that? Anyone who's saying you don't need an annuity, they're terrible, but you should keep your money in a managed account, your brokerage account. I'm gonna charge you, you know, one and a half all-in fee for that. You're paying them an income stream for the rest of your life. You are their annuity. They love annuities. Annuities are things that pay you for the rest of your life. And Dr. Kevin Lynch says this the risk of longevity, living too long, it cannot be hedged through your portfolio alone. Doesn't matter how diversified you are. If you live too long to 95, 98, 100, 103, the that diversity in that portfolio alone is not going to save you. Only insurance can do that. And annuities are insurance-based. There's protection, contractual guarantees that if you live too long and your balances go to zero, they have to keep making the payments to you, even if there's no money left in the account. Your bank account can't do that, your CD can't do that, your brokerage account can't and won't do that. You run out of money for living too long, they will say, bye-bye, nice knowing you, have a good day. Welcome to the land of Medicaid, because that's what you're gonna be on. So, friends, I know this is a lot of information. We only have a little bit of time left on the show today. I just want to say this if you want to know more information, because we're gonna come back to Kevin Lynch's research here in a minute, you can call us anytime. Again, I personally own eight annuities. I've structured more than 2,000 of them. It is part of a well-balanced retirement income plan. We do everything here at the Ozarks Retirement Group. We handle your Medicare, we handle your Social Security, we handle your investments, we handle the annuities, the life insurance, the whole overall plan. Both my son and I are retirement income certified professionals. He handles the investment side, he's an investment advisor representative, and I handle the safety guarantee and tax planning side of things. But you can always go to Ozarksretirement.com or you can call us at 866-780 SAFE. That's 866-780-7233. There's always someone standing by to take your call. Or if you go to the website and you click on contact us at ozarksretirement.com, I will personally respond to you. Well, I must take a short break. This is Brad Pistol, and you're listening to Safe Money Radio. Let's pause for some exciting announcements.

SPEAKER_01 38:43

Hey, it's Glenn Beck. Can you feel it? America's pride is on the rise again. And right here in the Ozarks, the same pride lives on in how we protect our families and plan for the future. That's where Brad Pistol, president of the Ozarks Retirement Group, comes in. Brad's a certified financial fiduciary, and most importantly, a trusted neighbor who's helped countless Ozark families find financial independence. Call Brad Pistol from the Ozarks Retirement Group, 417-581-9222. That's 417-581-9222, or Ozarksretirement.com.

SPEAKER_02 39:16

You're listening to Safe Money Radio with your host, Brad Pistol.

SPEAKER_00 39:22

Hi, this is Brad Pistol, the host of Safe Money Radio for almost two straight decades. I'm a retirement income certified professional, and I love talking to you each week about developing your safe and secure retirement income plan. Now let's get back to the show. Now let's

Mortality Credits Explained Simply

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continue. Dr. Kevin Lynch talks about why annuities are special, and he goes into the structural design of an annuity and why they do something that no other product can do. And it's something called mortality credits. Now you may not understand this, but I want to talk about it because Tom Hegna spends a lot of time talking about it too. And mortality credits are something that Dr. Kevin Lynch calls the hidden engine. The most powerful and least understood feature of an annuity is the mortality credit. When a large group of people pull their longevity risk through an insurance company, something mathematically remarkable happens. Those who die earlier than expected subsidize the income of those who live longer than expected. This pooling effect, called mortality credits, means an annuity can pay a higher income per dollar than you could safely withdraw from a personal portfolio. The longer you live, the more mortality credits benefit you. A healthy 70-year-old can receive a significantly higher guaranteed income rate from a SPIA, a single premium immediate annuity, than the 4% safe withdrawal rate commonly cited for portfolios without any investment risk. Now, the same person pulling 4% out of their market-driven account because of the 4% rule of thumb, like I said earlier in the show, the standard 4% rule is that if you pull out 4% in hedge hedging for inflation and with market volatility, you can expect to have your portfolio last about 30 years. You could get 7, 8, or 9% in withdrawals from an annuity that's guaranteed for life. Here's a question. On $100,000, would you rather have $4,000 a year or $9,000 a year? That's the difference in 4% and 9%. If you had a million dollars, would you rather take out $40,000 a year or $90,000 a year? It's a big, big difference. How much they're willing to pay you, the what's called the payout percentage from the account, is what drives everything. And that's what something, that's something that an annuity can do that no one else can do. So here's the thing that Dr. Kevin Lynch says mortality credits cannot be replicated. No individual investor, no matter how sophisticated they are, can replicate mortality credits on their own. You cannot pull longevity risk by yourself as one person. This is a structural advantage exclusive to insurance products. And it's the primary mathematical reason why annuities can outperform any self-managed withdrawal strategy for people who live a long

Guaranteed Income And The Three Legs

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time. Here's another feature of annuities: guaranteed income for life. The promise that no portfolio can make. Now, before we run out of time today, I want us to talk about this for a little bit because there's a lot of people who are either for or against. Now, I hear people who say all you need is annuities, and that's not true. If that's true, no one sells them more than I do. Maybe stay in the annuity man, maybe. But again, you can't find very many people that structured more annuities than I have. And I don't think you should have all your money in annuities. Maybe 50-50. It depends on your situation. How much Social Security do you have? Do you have any pensions in place? If not, if you have really low Social Security and no pensions, you're going to need more annuity income because you need the three-legged stool. Guaranteed lifetime income from as many sources as you can. And annuities, Social Security, and pensions are the three main sources. You could also add in there investments like your portfolio, your stocks, bonds, mutual funds, but they're not guaranteed the way an annuity, Social Security, or a pension is. So, guaranteed income for life, the promise no portfolio can make. A properly structured annuity makes a guarantee that no investment can. It will pay a specified income for as long as you live, no matter how long that takes. Markets go up, markets go down. As you've all learned recently, CDs mature and they're not maturing and paying what they were paying two years ago. If you don't believe me, if you took out a CD in 2024, maybe early 2025, it might have been north of Wait till it renews. It will be 3% or less. Bond funds fluctuate, but a life contingent annuity payment continues even if you live to be 105 years old, or 110, or 115. I was watching Wheel of Fortune this last week, and the lady that was on the show said that her aunt was 113 years old. Incredible. I hope she owns annuities. This guarantee is backed not by market performance but by the claims paying ability of the insurance company and the regulatory protections of the state insurance system, including state guarantee associations that provide a backstop in the unlikely event of insurer insolvency. He goes into your stock portfolio, your bond ladders, your CD ladders, your Social Security, and then the annuity products. And he talks about the differences in all these things. Now I'll say this. I would love to share more with you about Dr. Kevin Lynch's research. We're almost out of time, but I'll say this. He also goes into the income flooring strategy and how it changes everything. He also talks about the retirement income stool, the three legs, Social Security, annuities, and pensions, like we talked about. He talks about how you solve sequence of returns risk by owning annuities. He talks about how guaranteed income changes your retirement behavior. It keeps you from reduced panic selling. It keeps you in a better mood. There's improved spending confidence because your bills are paid from all the bills that you have are paid from the annuities and the Social Security, and therefore you can do whatever you want to with the investments and not have to worry about market volatility. It eliminates the can I afford this anxiety. It simplifies your financial management. It protects you against cognitive decline. People make really, really bad decisions in their investments and with their portfolios when their mind starts to go. They make some really poor choices. When an annuity is set up on an autopilot autopilot with a professional who knows what they're doing, such as myself, a certified annuity specialist through the Institute of Business and Finance, it keeps you from making bad decisions. It's on autopilot. You can't mess it up. There's some structure in that that's very powerful. And then he talks about the people who benefit the most from annuities, and that's where I want to wrap up the show

Who Benefits Most From Annuities

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today. Who benefits the most from owning an annuity? Well, there are retirees without a pension, there are people in good health with longevity in their family, there are those with essential expense gaps, there are those retirees who fear market volatility, there are those approaching or in their early years of retirement, there are people with difficulty managing their own finances, and there are high earners that are seeking additional tax deferral. And so I want to walk through these quickly and then we'll wrap up the show. While the case for annuities in retirement income planning is broadly applicable, certain individuals stand to benefit the most from the unique features that are offered only by insurance products like annuities. So let's talk about the retiree without a pension. For those who lack a defined benefit pension from their employer, an annuity is the primary way to create a pension-like guaranteed income stream. Now, if we were sitting here in class today, I would say, how many of you are going to have a pension? And raise your hand. Wherever you are, you might do that. But I can tell you this, it's only going to be about 25% of you who are going to have a pension. And for those of you in that 25% who are blessed to have one, it it may even be reduced pensions because they're not guaranteed like they used to be. So if you don't have a pension plan that's 75% of people today, you would benefit from an annuity. Here's another one. People with really good family health history and longevity. The longer you live, the more these mortality credits are going to help you. Annuities deliver the greatest value to those who live the longest. Now, my father passed three years ago. My mother, if she's in town and we're running around together, someone will think she's my wife. It's my mother. But I look older than my mother. And she is almost 80 years old. And she had ants live to be 99, 102, and 103. My mother will live for 20 more years. And so if there's longevity there, the annuity, guess what? My mother owns three annuities. And I have to say, Mom, don't worry about it. But what am I, what about when I'm going to have to buy another car? Don't worry about it. What about it when I have to replace the roof on the house? It's okay. We have annuities in place for that. And they're just sitting here waiting to be triggered. When you need more income, we'll trigger one from the first one and then from the second one and then from the third one. We have a great guaranteed bucket strategy, and you're never going to run out of money, Mom. That's a great feeling. Here's another person who's a good candidate. Those with essential expense gaps. Anyone whose Social Security income does not fully cover their essential living costs and they have no pension, it's got to come from somewhere. So the annuity is the perfect place. And how do you get the money into the annuity? Well, that might be for a 401k that's sitting there in a brokerage account with too much risk. Or maybe it's money that was in a CD or just sitting in the bank. Or maybe you rolled over an IRA years ago and it's sitting there. Maybe you inherited money or you sold a piece of property. Wherever those situations are or what they might be, that would be a way to fund an annuity. Another great, great person, those who fear market volatility. People who might panic sell. There's been a lot of panic selling in 2026. The market just dropped way too much, way too quick, and people thought we were going to stay at war forever, which who knows, at the time of this recording, we're still at war. And so they panic sell. Annuities protect you from that. Those in the early years of retirement, we've talked about it so much, but here's the thing sequence of returns risk is a big, big deal. You simply cannot afford risk in the early years of your retirement. You can afford it on down the road, but you can't in the early years. Negative returns at the very beginning of your retirement years will wipe you out if you're spending from your portfolio only. People who have trouble managing their finances. Now, my mother falls into this category. My father was a financial planner for more than 50 years. He passed away first. Guess what? Men are older and they die first. Here's a fact 80% of men die married. 80% of women die single. My dad died first. He knew everything about money. My mother knew very little about money. And so she has difficulty dealing with finances. And an annuity, when it's structured properly, takes away the fear, panic selling, making the wrong decisions, stress, all that comes with it. It's just a guaranteed paycheck showing up in your mailbox every single month for the rest of your life. You don't have to understand it, you don't have to know how it works, but it is great for people who struggle with math. Here's a fact four out of three people struggle with math. You'll get that here in a minute. I saw that this week made me laugh. It reminded me of what my good friend Ed Slott says. He said, there are three kinds of people in this world, those who understand math and those who don't. If you don't get that one, I know which one you are. Here's the last one, my friends. Those who benefit the most from annuities. High income earners seeking additional tax deferral. After maxing out a 401k and IRA contributions, annuities offer additional tax-deferred accumulation capacity with no IRS contribution limits.

Free Analysis And Next Steps

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Friends, I know this has been a lot of information on the show. I didn't even get to the book of my good friend Jamie Hopkins. He's just written a new bestseller, 125 retirement planning lessons for financial experts. He talks about annuities and guaranteed insurance products all through the whole thing. We'll talk about it on another show. But here's the thing: if you need our help, if you're one of the people we talked about on the show today who maybe gets stressed out when the market's volatile, or maybe all your eggs in one basket and it's all in the market and you don't like it when it goes down, you don't like the risk, you're the person who put your seatbelt on and you put your helmet on right when you get in the car or you get in a vehicle. You need safety products. You need to know that you've got guaranteed lifetime protection from a contractually guaranteed account. And that's what we do. We help people do as part of their retirement income plan. Just go to Ozarksretirement.com, click on the contact us button, or call us anytime, 866-780-SAFE. That's 866-780-7233. We'll take a look at your portfolio, your financial plan, give you a free retirement income analysis, and put you on the right path. One that's bulletproof, the Safe and Secure Retirement Income Plan. Well, I'm about out of time, and I would like to thank you for listening to Safe Money Radio. If you're serious about your financial future, give me a call, and together, we'll get your retirement savings on the fast track to accumulation while reducing exposure to market losses. Thanks for listening, and until next time at the same time, I'm Brad Pistol, reminding you to stay safe so you can step into a secure future.

SPEAKER_02 53:27

You've been listening to Safe Money Radio with your host, Brad Pistol. Find out how to contractually guarantee that your hard-earned money is safe while avoiding market loss so you can have the retirement that you deserve. Call Brad Pistol now for your complimentary safe money book and safe money information kit at 866-780 safe. That's 866-780-7233.

SPEAKER_03 53:58

Safe Money Radio!

Disclosures And Sign Off

SPEAKER_02 54:04

The preceding information does not represent tax, legal, or investment advice. Surrender charges apply to base contracts. Optional lifetime income benefit writers are used to calculate lifetime payments only and are not available for cash surrender or in a death benefit unless specified in the annuity contract. Fees may apply. Guarantees are based on the financial strength and claims paying ability of the insurance company. No information presented today should be acted upon without meeting with a qualified and licensed professional. Obviously, by calling us now, you are just taking the first step towards protecting your retirement. It's important that you read all insurance contract disclosures carefully before making a purchase decision. Rates and returns mentioned on this program are subject to change without notice.