With small monthly contributions, you can count on guaranteed annuity retirement income no matter what happens in the market or how long you live.
You are more than 5 years away from retirement
You want a guarantee for at least a portion of your retirement savings
You are healthy and plan to live a long life
You are within 5 years of retirement (if so, learn about annuities)
You have a fully-funded pension provided by your employer
You are looking to beat the market rather than get steady future income
Corporate pensions are a thing of the past. That’s not because they’re not valuable, it’s because companies were pressured to cut costs. And, well – you can say farewell to the pension.
We’re living longer than ever, which makes lifetime income sources like a pension or Social Security more important than ever.
We’ve created the Personal Pension to give you and all the other non-pensioners out there an easy way to save for retirement using annuities while also protecting you from the market and longevity risks that come with a market portfolio.
If you already have saved in a 401(k), good work.
Your 401(k) and Personal Pension will play complementary roles.
Your Personal Pension is meant to cover all of your fixed expenses once you’re retired; think shelter, food, transportation and – let’s be honest –your cell phone. These expenses are life’s basics. In a small number of instances, the money you’ll receive from Social Security is enough to cover these fixed expenses, but in most cases it’s not.
Assets in your 401(k) can then be used for discretionary expenses; think vacations, grandkids, or hobbies. Admittedly, this is the fun stuff. We want to be fun. But when it comes to retirement, we also want to be certain.
401(k)s were created for companies execs to use as a supplement to their pensions. Accustomed to a higher standard of living than their pensions would provide, the 401(k) offered them a way to save additional money on a tax deferred basis. It was never meant to be the primary retirement tool for average Americans like us.
The insurance companies that guarantee the Personal Pension make a promise to provide you with a pre-determined monthly paycheck that won’t change based on how long you live or whether or not a market crash occurs.
This concept already exists and has been in practice for decades with annuities. With the Personal Pension, we’ve improved on this model. You get the same insurance-backed guarantee of lifetime income along with the ability to get started younger, in smaller amounts and diversify over time.
Learn more about the insurance guarantee.
Retirement income is the “salary” you receive once retired – when living and enjoying life is your only job! Retirement income is generated by savings transferred into a Personal Pension. Once you’re ready to start receiving payments, your pension-like annuity retirement income is guaranteed and won’t stop until you do.
Your Personal Pension is backed by insurance companies that guarantee that for every dollar you contribute, you will receive a set amount of annuity income every month. Those payments will start when you retire and continue for life. Basically, you pay them to take on your investment and longevity risks so you don’t have to.
Your Personal Pension only “costs” you as much money as you’re contributing, which could be as low as $100 a month. That $100 or more of savings converts to lifelong guaranteed annuity income based on your age and gender. There are no upfront or ongoing fees.
Although they both guarantee lifetime income in exchange for a contribution, traditional income annuities are purchased with one-time deposits by people approaching retirement and averaging about $100,000. The Personal Pension allows you to contribute incrementally, earlier on and in smaller amounts – just as you’d put money aside in your savings account or 401(k).
If your financial advisor is a fiduciary, we won’t say no. But know that we’re fiduciaries too . You can ask us about your greater financial picture and we will give it to you straight when it comes to evaluating whether a Personal Pension or annuity makes sense for you. Also, know that annuities traditionally get bad press, so your advisor could jump to conclusions. The types of annuities with a bad reputation are those that are market-based and focused on building wealth instead of income. Their complexity and high fees make them harder to evaluate than fully-guaranteed, simple annuities. At Blueprint Income, we only offer those fully-guaranteed, simple ones that provide retirement income for life that's shielded from the market.
The money you contribute to the Personal Pension is invested by top rated insurers of your choice as an annuity. It’s invested conservatively in their General Account, largely in fixed income investments as well as some in equities. Importantly, they take on all of the investment risk, so if their investments underperform, it’s on them. Not you.