Most retirees have never heard of sequence-of-returns risk. That is the problem. A market crash in the first 5 years of retirement, while you are still drawing income from your portfolio, can permanently deplete savings that would have lasted decades under any other timing. An annuity solves this with a guarantee the market cannot touch: a paycheck that continues every month for as long as you live, no matter what the indexes do. This is what Demetrice Etheridge specializes in finding for you.
The Risk Nobody Warns You About
You spent decades building a nest egg. But the moment you retire and start withdrawing from it, you enter a window of vulnerability that your financial advisor may never have named for you. Here is the mechanism, explained plainly.
Longevity risk is the danger of outliving your money. If you retire at 65 and live to 90, your savings must last 25 years. Every year you live beyond your projected timeline, the math works against you. Most savings strategies were never designed to survive that long without a guaranteed floor.
Market timing risk means a major downturn in the early years of retirement can permanently damage your portfolio, even if the market eventually recovers. Because you are forced to sell shares at depressed prices to fund living expenses, you eliminate the shares that would have recovered. The damage is locked in.
Sequence-of-returns risk is the specific, named mechanism behind this danger. Two retirees with identical savings and identical long-term average returns can end up with dramatically different outcomes, based entirely on the order in which gains and losses occur. Bad years early in retirement, while withdrawals are active, can wipe out a portfolio that bad years late in retirement would have left intact. Most people retire without ever being warned this exists.
Your Options
Not all annuities are built the same, and the wrong one is worse than none at all. Demetrice shops multiple A-rated carriers to match you with the structure that fits your income goals, retirement timeline, and tolerance for market exposure.
A fixed annuity earns a contractually guaranteed interest rate for a set period, typically 3 to 10 years. Your principal is fully protected from day one. Your growth is predictable and does not depend on what the S&P 500 does next week. The carrier assumes all investment risk. Think of it as a high-yield alternative to a CD, backed by the insurance company's reserves and growing tax-deferred until you need the income.
A fixed indexed annuity links your interest credits to the performance of a market index, such as the S&P 500, while guaranteeing your principal can never lose value due to market downturns. You participate in a portion of the upside. In a down year, your credited rate is zero, not negative. Your principal is never at risk. Many fixed indexed annuities also include optional income riders that lock in a guaranteed lifetime income stream you can activate at any point in retirement.
A Single Premium Immediate Annuity converts a lump sum into a guaranteed income stream that begins within 30 days and continues for life, or for a defined period you choose. You know the exact dollar amount you will receive each month before you sign the contract. The payments continue regardless of how long you live, regardless of what happens in financial markets, and regardless of interest rate changes. It is the closest private equivalent to a pension.
Is This You?
Annuities are not the right answer for everyone. But for people in these situations, they may be the single most powerful income tool available in retirement planning.
Ages 55 to 75You are at or approaching the window when sequence-of-returns risk is most dangerous. Guaranteed income removes that risk from the equation entirely.
$250,000 or More in Investable AssetsYou have worked decades to accumulate savings you cannot afford to lose to a poorly timed market correction. A protected floor means the worst-case scenario is no longer catastrophic.
You Want a Guaranteed Monthly Income StreamYou want a predictable deposit in your account every month, not a portfolio you have to actively monitor, manage, and hope survives the next decade.
Market Volatility Keeps You Up at NightIf market swings cause you genuine anxiety, that anxiety has a cost: it leads to panic selling at lows and missed recoveries. Guaranteed income eliminates the emotional variable from retirement planning.
You Need to Supplement Social SecuritySocial Security replaces approximately 40% of pre-retirement income for average earners. The gap between that and what you actually need to live comfortably is where a guaranteed annuity income stream does its most important work.
You Want Income Protection for Your SpouseJoint-life income options guarantee that your spouse continues receiving monthly income even after you pass. This one feature can be the difference between a surviving spouse living with dignity and living in financial hardship.
How It Works
No jargon. No pressure. A straightforward process built around your goals, not around a product Demetrice wants to sell you.
Demetrice listens before he recommends anything. He asks about your retirement income goals, your timeline, your health, what you have saved, and what keeps you up at night financially. No pitch, no product presentation. Just a thorough conversation designed to understand your actual situation.
Demetrice compares multiple A-rated carriers to identify the annuity structure that fits your goals. He evaluates guaranteed rates, income rider mechanics, surrender schedules, liquidity provisions, and the financial strength ratings of each carrier. You are not limited to one company's product shelf.
You receive a clear, side-by-side illustration showing your projected guaranteed income, growth scenarios, and outcomes under different conditions. These are real contractual numbers, not estimates or projections. You will see exactly what the income looks like before committing to anything.
There is no pressure and no deadline Demetrice will invent to rush your decision. He will answer every question honestly, including whether an annuity is not the right fit for your situation. This is your retirement. The decision is yours, made with complete information and without obligation.
Common Questions
Straight, honest answers to the questions Demetrice hears most often from clients exploring guaranteed income for the first time.
Annuities are issued by insurance companies, not banks, so they are not FDIC insured. The mechanism of protection is different but meaningful: insurance companies are regulated at the state level and required by law to maintain reserves that back their contractual obligations. Demetrice works exclusively with carriers that hold strong financial strength ratings from AM Best, Moody's, or Standard and Poor's, typically A-rated or better. The guarantees in your annuity contract are backed by the financial strength of the issuing carrier. That is precisely why the carrier you choose matters as much as the product itself.
Not entirely, though annuities do include surrender periods, typically 3 to 10 years, during which early withdrawals beyond a stated amount may incur a surrender charge. The reason this provision exists is that the carrier needs time to invest your premium and earn the returns that fund your guarantees. Most annuities allow penalty-free withdrawals of up to 10% of the account value per year during the surrender period. After the surrender period ends, you have full access. Demetrice always matches the surrender schedule to your specific liquidity needs before recommending any product. If the timeline does not fit your situation, he will tell you.
Fixed annuities and fixed indexed annuities typically carry no explicit annual fees. The carrier earns a spread between the return on its investment portfolio and the rate credited to your account, similar to how a bank operates. If you elect optional income riders or living benefit riders, those typically carry annual charges ranging from 0.50% to 1.5% of the account value per year. Those charges are disclosed clearly before you sign anything. Variable annuities, which Demetrice does not specialize in, tend to carry meaningfully higher fee structures. Demetrice will disclose every cost, explain how each fee affects your outcome, and let you decide whether the benefit justifies the charge.
Annuities grow tax-deferred, meaning you pay no taxes on gains each year while the money compounds inside the contract. When you take distributions, the tax treatment depends on how you funded the annuity. If you funded it with pre-tax dollars through an IRA or 401(k) rollover, all distributions are taxed as ordinary income. If you funded it with after-tax dollars outside of a retirement account, only the earnings portion of each distribution is taxable. Annuities held inside a Roth IRA can distribute income completely tax-free. Your tax advisor can walk you through the implications specific to your situation and funding source.
Yes, and this is one of the most common ways Demetrice's clients fund annuities. A direct rollover from an IRA or 401(k) into an annuity creates no taxable event and no early withdrawal penalty, because the money moves from one qualified account to another without passing through your hands. Rolling a qualified retirement account into a fixed indexed annuity is a strategy that converts volatile market-exposed savings into guaranteed principal protection with the potential for guaranteed lifetime income. Demetrice will walk you through the rollover process step by step and coordinate the paperwork with your current custodian to ensure it is executed correctly.
Free Analysis
Share a few details about your situation and Demetrice will compare multiple A-rated carriers to show you a personalized guaranteed income illustration. No cost, no obligation, and no sales pressure attached.
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All annuity features, rates, and guarantees are subject to carrier terms and rider elections. Products not available in all states.