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The Personal Pension

Monthly Retirement Paycheck for Life

The Personal Pension is a monthly retirement paycheck guaranteed by insurance companies. Every dollar you put in buys you steady monthly retirement income that you can't outlive.

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The Personal Pension

Private Pensions to Supplement Your 401(k)

The Personal Pension provides guarantees and protection that the 401(k) does not, namely from longevity and market risks. Use a Personal Pension to supplement your 401(k), making sure to always take advantage of the 401(k) employer match.

Inside Blueprint Income

Blueprint Income Was Started For This Reason

We started Blueprint Income to bring back the pension so that everyone has an easy and secure way with a private pension platform to prepare for retirement.

The Personal Pension

Employer Pension Vs. Private Pension

If you don't have an employer pension plan, you can use a private pension (Personal Pension) to create one for yourself. Every dollar you put in buys you insurer-guaranteed income.

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Inside Blueprint Income

Q&A with Annuity Actuary Lauren Minches, FSA

I sat down with Lauren Minches, FSA, an annuity actuary at Blueprint Income, to hear what she and her team at Blueprint Income are doing to improve annuities and our retirements.

Inside Blueprint Income

Q&A with Retirement Income Expert Nimish Shukla, CFA

I sat down with Nimish Shukla, CFA, retirement income expert and co-founder of Blueprint Income, to get learn about Blueprint Income's approach to helping clients with their retirement income.

Inside Blueprint Income

Q&A with Annuity Expert Matt Carey

I sat down with Matt Carey, annuity expert and CEO of Blueprint Income, to get his thoughts on the annuity market and hear what he and his team at Blueprint Income are doing to improve our retirements.

Annuity Basics

Stocks Lose 7% in October While Annuity Rates Continue to Rise

There are warning signs building that the 8-10% average market returns we’ve experienced over the last decade likely are not here to stay. The guaranteed 4%+ growth of most top-paying fixed annuities are starting to look more attractive.

Inside Blueprint Income

Blueprint Income Launches Fixed Annuity Marketplace

Easy and free access to the marketplace of simple, fixed annuities for consumers. The platform provides real-time fixed annuity rates from 25+ insurers, native digital application with automation-assisted suitability review and eSignature capabilities.

Retirement Income

Should You Buy a Fixed Annuity?

A fixed annuity provides a safe, tax-advantaged way to earn a good return on savings needed in the near future, similar to a CD. We’ve created this quick checklist so you can know if a fixed annuity is a good fit for you.

Retirement Income

The Pros and Cons of a Fixed Annuity

Fixed annuities have several financial benefits to help make retirement planning simpler, but also have some drawbacks. Find out what a fixed annuity has to offer before you purchase.

Retirement Income

Customizing Your Fixed Annuity

There are many features you can add to your fixed annuity so it best fits your needs. We’ve broken down the options you can select to customize your fixed annuity.

Annuity Basics

Recent Fed Moves and Their Impact on Annuity Pricing

Annuity rates didn’t really budge in August. But given the declines in bond yields, that’s actually a good thing and means that annuity pricing might soon decline. If you’re thinking about making an annuity purchase before the end of the year, now is an attractive time to do it.

Annuity Basics

Optimizing a Retirement Portfolio Using Annuities

If one's goal is to avoid running out of money in retirement while leaving the largest possible legacy behind at death, then income annuities play a crucial role. In Blueprint Income's recent white paper, we demonstrate that portfolios made up of just stocks and annuities produce the best outcomes.

Retirement Income

New Study Highlights Baby Boomers Need for Retirement Income

A recent study by the Insurance Retirement Institute (IRI) shows that baby boomers are not adequately prepared for retirement. Retirement income from an annuity can help baby boomers retire with the peace of mind that they will not outlive their retirement savings.

Retirement Planning

Use Technology to Address These 3 Retirement Challenges

Preparing for retirement can be challenging but new technology is making it easier to prepare, plan and manage retirement. Using technology can lower fees, provide better education and access to new opportunities

Annuity Basics

The Yield Curve Is Flattening — Here’s What It Means for Annuities

A flattening yield curve (one where the difference between short-term and long-term Treasury yields is smaller than usual) suggests two annuity buying strategies. Either buy a fixed rate annuity now, and wait for rates to rise before buying an income annuity. Or, start buying income now but do so in small pieces over time.

Retirement Planning

Taxes in Retirement

Taxation has a large impact on your retirement preparedness. Developing a plan to handle the differing rules and regulations on various types of retirement income is an important step to effectively plan for retirement. This article provides an overview of taxation on retirement income and links to resources that will help you understand taxes in retirement and make the decisions that are right for you.

Pensions

Should You Keep Your Pension or Do the Lump-sum Buyout?

The majority of people who are offered a lump-sum buyout should keep their pension, but there are some situations where it is worthwhile to consider taking the lump-sum buyout and using a portion of it to purchase an annuity.

Retirement Planning

Annuities Can Solve the Retirement Spending Dilemma

The habits that help us build our retirement nest-egg also prevent us from spending as much as we can in retirement. Annuities can help solve this challenge of underconsumption in retirement.

The Personal Pension

Can We Solve the Annuity Puzzle by Reframing Annuities?

Annuity adoption is less than would be expected in traditional economic models, as economists have shown that purchasing an annuity can lead to higher retirement income than a self-managed portfolio. Reframing annuities as a mechanism to improve consumption in retirement can improve utilization of annuity products.

Retirement 101

Comparing Bonds and Annuities for Retirement

Bonds and annuities have unique features that make them important components of your retirement portfolio. Understanding the role each plays in preparing for retirement can help you optimize the conservative, or safe, portion of your portfolio.

Annuity Basics

Annuities & Inflation Risk in Retirement

Inflation risk in retirement captures the possibility that the prices of goods will increase beyond what your retirement income and savings can handle. Annuities do not do a good job protecting you from that risk, and instead are built to protect you from the other two big risks: market risk and longevity risk.

Pensions

Pension De-risking and Risk Transfer, Demystified

For many pensioners, corporate pension de-risking and risk transfers may have a minimal impact on their lives and could ultimately promote their retirement security. Read on to understand these transactions better.

Retirement Planning

How to Restore the Three-Legged Retirement Stool

The rise of the 401(k) and the corresponding decline of defined benefit pension plans upended the three-legged stool model for retirement savings, leading to retirement insecurity. Blueprint Income is working to restore the broken leg of the stool: pensions.

Retirement 101

Insurance and Consumer Backstops for Retirement Savings

We entrust our long-term retirement security with companies and organizations who we hope will be around when we retire. What happens in the rare instances when they fail? This guide provides an explanation of forms of government-aided insurance and consumer backstops that protect your retirement nest-egg.

Annuity Basics

State Guaranty Associations for Annuity Contracts

An annuity is a lifetime income guarantee that you purchase from an insurance company, who is overseen by state-based guaranty funds that insurers your annuity purchases. In this article, we discuss this important protection, as well as provide some helpful resources that you should be aware of.

The Personal Pension

5 Reasons Why Annuities Without Cash Value Is Best

Annuities without cash value, a.k.a. income annuities, offer you protection from running out of money by providing guaranteed retirement income. These are the 5 reasons why income annuities are the best option for your retirement plan.

Annuity Basics

Annuities 101 — Annuity Basics for Beginners

An annuity is guaranteed lifetime income that reduces the likelihood that you’ll run out of money in retirement. Income from an annuity is predictable, steady, and cannot be outlived. This Annuities 101 article provides an overview of annuities and links to resources that will help you decide if an annuity is right for you.

Retirement Planning

How Stock Market Drops Affect Your Retirement

401(k)s have become the predominant way to prepare for retirement, which leaves retirement savings exposed to market volatility. As a result, we are more sensitive to changes and drops in the markets. Knowing how stock market drops affect your retirement means it's important to protect your investments from movements in the market.

Annuity Basics

Ready to Buy an Annuity? Here’s How the Process Works

To make the process of buying an annuity as seamless as possible, prepare to go through the following steps and be familiar with the following terminology. In addition to providing free, real-time annuity quotes, Blueprint Income will take care of the rest of the annuity buying process for you.

Retirement Income

Navigate Market Crashes with Retirement in Mind

The market performing poorly reminds us that we need to be cautious with the risks we take so we navigate market crashes well. Defend against recency bias by having a financial portfolio that will do what you need it to do through all kinds of market cycles.

QLACs

New Legislation, If Passed, Would Increase QLAC Limits

One part of the The Retirement Plan Simplification and Enhancement Act, calls for making upward revisions of the QLAC limit. Under the new proposed rules, you could contribute up to $200,000 or 100% of your 401(k) or IRA account balance to a QLAC, but it is still up in the air as to whether this will get passed.

Annuity Basics

Annuity Tax Forms for Qualified and Non-Qualified Income Annuities

Qualified and non-qualified income annuities have differing tax treatment, meaning that once your retirement income has begun you will receive different tax forms reporting the amount of income generated from your qualified or non-qualified annuity. Here are the tax forms for your annuity and when you can expect to receive them.

The Personal Pension

Personal Pension 401(k) Rollover

If you have an old 401(k) sitting with a former employer, consider a Personal Pension 401(k) rollover that will turn the money you've worked hard to save into a guaranteed source of income you can't outlive.

The Personal Pension

The Personal Pension for Beginners

A Personal Pension offers guaranteed retirement income that lasts as long as you. Here's how the Personal Pension works.

Annuity Basics

Why Are Annuity Rates Increasing and Will It Continue?

Increasing annuity rates, usually driven by long-term Treasury bonds and investment-grade corporate bond yields, have caused buyers to question whether the trend will continue and how that affects their plan to purchase an annuity. While it's challenging to predict future long-term interest rates, there are strategies to mitigate interest rate risk.

Retirement Planning

Taking Gains off the Table

The recent bull market has been an attractive place for investors looking to generate sizable returns on their investment. Ongoing speculation of a potential market downturn in 2018 is now leaving investors with the challenge of finding a way to protect their recent gains.

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