Social Security, has been providing Americans with guaranteed income throughout retirement for years. Here’s how the program works and when you can claim your Social Security benefits.

Financial Products for Longevity: Social Security

You know that Social Security plays a significant role in retirement, but what are the overlooked pros and cons of it? We’ve laid them out here. 


The Good and Bad of Social Security

An immediate annuity can provide you with peace of mind during retirement. While not right for everyone, find out if an immediate annuity fits your retirement needs.

Should You Buy an Immediate Annuity?

For over eighty years, Social Security has provided Americans with a stream of guaranteed income that gives certainty in retirement. But few people actually understand how the program works. Here’s what you need to know.


Basics of Social Security

Find the answers to your questions when buying a longevity annuity. 

Tips When Buying a Longevity Annuity

An annuity is a way to turn your savings into guaranteed income you can’t outlive, no matter what happens in the market or how long you live.

Fixed and Income Annuities Overview

QLACs’ special designation means that the income you receive can start later than age 70 1/2, reducing your RMDs and associated taxes. We’ve laid out the tax treatment your QLAC can receive. 

How Will My QLAC Be Taxed?

Your personal attributes and the extra features you choose to customize your immediate annuity with will affect the income you can generate. We’ve broken down how each option will impact your rates.

These Features Will Impact Your Immediate Annuity Quotes

Although QLACs are similar to longevity annuities, they differ in a few key ways. We’ve clarified the four unique features of a QLAC here.

Product Details of a QLAC

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

The Pros and Cons of a Longevity Annuity

A Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract (QLAC) is a pension-like product you can purchase with qualified savings that will provide you income for as long as you live. We’ve outlined the key components of QLACs and how they work here.

What's a QLAC?

Utilizing asset-based tools to save for retirement is a great supplement to income annuities. Find out the four ways you can accumulate additional assets. 

Non-Guaranteed Retirement Income Strategies

Immediate annuities have many financial benefits that help make retirement planning simpler, but also some drawbacks. Find out what an immediate annuity has to offer before you purchase. 


The Pros and Cons of an Immediate Annuity

Unsure of the best way to save for retirement during your working years? There’s no right answer, but having a strategy and knowing of the available saving vehicles doesn’t hurt. 


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4 Smart Retirement Decisions During Your Working Years

Comparing the exact financial value of an immediate annuity to a traditional investment product is like comparing apples to oranges. But it’s important to make some assumptions and run the numbers. So here it goes! 


The Financial Value of an Immediate Annuity

While Social Security has evolved since its inception, projections of its available funding has created concerns of its future viability. There could be changes to Social Security going forward.  Here’s what you need to know. 

Changes to Social Security

A classic, good annuity is one that provides guaranteed income for as long as you live. It’s a way to diversify your portfolio, and make sure that your basic retirement expenses will be covered. But beware of market-based annuities that promise too much and don't deliver good value.

Good Annuities

The answers to the most important questions for when you purchase a QLAC.


Tips When Buying a QLAC

QLACs have many financial benefits which make retirement planning simpler. But, it’s important that you know all they have to offer to determine if it’s right for you.


The Pros and Cons of a QLAC

A QLAC offers you a guaranteed income stream to give you peace of mind during retirement. We’ve created this quick checklist so you can know if a longevity annuity is a good fit for you.


Should You Buy a QLAC?

The immediate annuity (sometimes also referred to as a Single Premium Immediate Annuity or SPIA) is a pension-like product you can buy for yourself from an insurance company using your retirement savings. An immediate annuity generates a guaranteed income stream that lasts as long as you do with income starting no more than a year from your purchase. It’s a way to diversify your portfolio, and make sure that all, or most, of your basic retirement expenses will be covered for as long as you live. 

What's an Immediate Annuity?

Financial Literacy 

Why is financial literacy important?

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

Customizing Your QLAC

Longevity annuities are comparable in many ways to low-risk fixed income investments, which provide steady, reliable income that doesn’t depend on the stock markets. We’ve laid out how a longevity annuity fits well in a diversified portfolio.

Diversify Your Portfolio with a Longevity Annuity

A longevity annuity can provide you with peace of mind during retirement. While not right for everyone, find out if a longevity annuity fits your retirement needs.

Should You Buy a Longevity Annuity?

Traditionally we're told to save for retirement, but we don't have security of income and no one tells us about how much is enough, when to start spending our retirement savings or how long we should plan to make it last.  This is why at Blueprint Income we value an income-focused retirement plan.

Security of Income in Retirement is Our Secret

Your combined income affects how much your Social Security benefits are taxed. Learn what tax bracket you fall into. 


Taxing Social Security Benefits

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. 


Annuities Can Solve the Retirement Spending Dilemma

Comparing the exact financial value of a longevity annuity to a traditional investment product is like comparing apples to oranges. But it’s important to make some assumptions and run the numbers. 

The Financial Value of a Longevity Annuity

Find the answers to your questions when buying an annuity. 

Tips When Buying an Immediate Annuity

As you get closer to retirement and continue working towards your saving goals, it’s important to incorporate a plan for your retirement spending. Here’s how you can start thinking about it. 


Staying on Track for Retirement in Your 50s

It’s just as important to have a plan for spending money as it is for saving it. Here’s what you need to know. 


Utilizing a Retirement Decumulation Strategy

Retirement is a time for you to live life to the fullest. We created a quick checklist of what you can do to stay ahead of your health and saving to-dos. 

The 5 Things to Add to Your Longevity Action Plan

The kind of savings used to purchase your longevity annuity will determine the taxes owed on the income payments you receive. We’ve broken down how you may be taxed.

How Will My Longevity Annuity Be Taxed?

The average human lifespan is increasing, and with that retirement is too. It’s important to consider these three questions so you don’t outlive your savings during retirement. 

Announcing Our Series on Longevity

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.

Navigate Market Crashes with Retirement in Mind

Knowing when you’re eligible to receive Social Security impacts your retirement planning. We’ve broken down the three key ages for when you can start. 

Social Security by Age of Participant

After working and saving for so many years, it’s finally time to retire. Here’s a quick to-do list to make sure you’ve done everything to prepare.


How You Can Prepare for Retirement During Your 70s

The most prevalent retirement options today present a great risk: you could outlive them. Here we present five retirement options you can't outlive.

Retirement Options To Not Outlive Your Retirement Savings

Getting ahead of retirement planning can help you achieve your goals sooner. Our retirement planning tips for millennials give quick and easy suggestions for people in their 20s and 30s. One thing to be most aware of: retirement is more complicated without a pension.


Retirement Planning Tips for Millennials

Higher life expectancies mean longer retirements. It’s important to consider these tools and strategies to ensure that you don’t outlive your retirement savings.

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Smart Planning for a Long Retirement

Social Security offers more than just guaranteed income. You may be eligible to receive disability, spousal, survivor, and medical benefits. 

Social Security Options and Their Requirements

Social Security is impacted by the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) which accounts for inflation changes. Because of concern of how adequate this adjustment is, there are possible alternatives for Social Security reflecting inflation increases. 


Cost of Living Adjustment for Social Security

A longevity annuity is like a pension you can buy for yourself from an insurance company using your pre-tax or post-tax retirement savings, generating a guaranteed income that lasts as long as you do. It’s a great way to diversify your portfolio, and make sure that all, or most, of your basic retirement expenses will be covered for as long as you live.

What's a Longevity Annuity?

Retirement today isn’t what it used to be. A new retirement landscape demands a fresh approach to thinking about and planning for retirement. 


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3 Retirement Questions You'll Need to Address

The 4% rule is a general rule of thumb to guide how much you can withdraw from your investments. Here’s how it works.

The 4% Rule

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

Customizing Your Immediate Annuity

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

Customize Your Longevity Annuity

A QLAC is not only financially valuable, but it offers something traditional investments cannot: peace of mind. We’ve laid out how to determine your financial return from a QLAC.

The Financial Value of a QLAC

The kind of savings used to purchase your immediate annuity will determine the taxes owed on the income payments you receive. We’ve broken down how you may be taxed. 

How Will My Immediate Annuity Be Taxed?

Unforeseen healthcare costs are commonly overlooked in retirement planning. Here’s how you can anticipate these expenses. 


Managing Healthcare Costs in Retirement

With Social Security playing an increasingly important role in retirement planning, it’s important to fully understand what you need to do during your working years to qualify for Social Security benefits.


Requirements for Social Security Benefits

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 by offering easy access to compare and purchase annuities.

How to Restore the Three-Legged Retirement Stool

Staying on track with your retirement goals is important. Here’s what you can do to make sure that you do so during your 40s.


Staying On Track for Retirement in Your 40s

Household spending generally drops at retirement and then continues to decline throughout retirement. Here’s how people’s spending changes the most and how it can effect your saving plan. 

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How Your Spending Changes in Retirement

People tend to think of technology as an exclusively millennial playing field. But don’t be fooled, there’s plenty of simple tech tools available to enhance how you manage your personal finances, particularly for retirement.

Saving

RETIREMENT PLANNING

Financial Products for Longevity: Social Security

RETIREMENT INCOME

The Good and Bad of Social Security

RETIREMENT INCOME

Should You Buy an Immediate Annuity?

RETIREMENT INCOME

Basics of Social Security

RETIREMENT INCOME

Tips When Buying a Longevity Annuity

ANNUITIES 101

Fixed and Income Annuities Overview

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