Annuity Awareness Month officially ended on June 30. But the importance of annuities and their essential role in creating financial certainty cannot be confined to one month.
ACLI recorded three LinkedIn Live conversations in June where panelists discussed different aspects about annuities. Each conversation provides perspectives about how annuities can help Americans from all walks of life achieve financial security throughout retirement.
ACLI Senior Vice President, Federal Relations Kathleen Coulombe and Cyrus Bamji, Chief Strategy and Communications Officer for the Alliance of Lifetime Income, started us off on June 7. They discussed how 11,200 Americans will be turning 65 every day through the end of 2027. Most of them learned about the importance of saving for retirement through their 401(k) plans. But not enough of them have learned how to manage and spend down their nest egg throughout retirement.
“It’s like … dumping a bunch of car parts on somebody’s driveway and saying, ‘Go figure out how to put the car together yourself,’” Bamji said.
One answer is an annuity, which can provide reliable, steady cash flow to supplement Social Security.
LIMRA and LOMA President and CEO David Levenson echoed that message during the conversation on June 13, which also featured ACLI Senior Vice President, Life Insurance & Regulatory Policy Carrie Haughawout and Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready.
Levenson noted that 88% of middle-market Americans say that guaranteed lifetime income gives them peace of mind.
Mulready added: “Annuities provide restful sleep. That is what they ultimately do.”
On June 18, ACLI Executive Vice President, Chief Advocacy Officer Jill Kozeny and WISER President Cindy Hounsell homed in on the particular challenges facing women, particularly those from rural communities. Hounsell noted that annuities can provide women with stable cash flow to cover their basic ongoing expenses, allowing them accumulate emergency savings just for unexpected needs.
Each LinkedIn live panel took a deeper dive into their topics. But an overarching theme of financial certainty linked the three conversations. No matter what challenges they face, savers can find solace and certainty from the guaranteed lifetime income streams of an annuity.
Jessica Mancari is Senior Vice President, Public Affairs at ACLI. She leads communication initiatives and campaigns, and she oversees grassroots advocacy, web and digital programs, and CEO communications. Since joining ACLI in 2017, Mancari has designed communications programs to advance the industry’s mission of providing financial protection to all Americans.
