I am Paul A. Bullock CLU ChFC GBA RPA FLMI CEBS and I created Annuity Coaches to help consumers make some of the most important financial decisions of their lives. What do all those designations mean, they signify that numerous professional organizations, in conjunction with Bryn Mar College and Wharton Business School, have certified that I know a little about retirement planning and financial design.
For forty years I have watched consumers buy the wrong insurance products and forfeit money that could have been used to increase their retirement nest egg. Insurance industry propaganda dominates the public information sources on retirement planning and there is no consistent voice that is advocating for the consumer. The kinds of competition based services that have made car insurance and home mortgages more competitive, have not penetrated to insured retirement products.
In the latter part of the 20th century the Federal government changed the insurance tax laws and the great mutual carriers that had been the back bone of America’s life insurance industry all sold themselves to wall street. The mutual carrier system had a few minor flaws, but they were policyholder owned institutions and they acted as a nurturing ground to train true financial professionals. Modern insurance carriers are stock companies answerable to holding companies, not policyholders. Further, in the name of cost cutting, they have abrogated their training responsibility. Today’s agents are independent contractors who are primarily educated by marketing organizations, who’s profit is highly dependent on focusing production with a few select carriers that provide them with substantial incentive bonuses. As a result, consumers are frequently left dealing with poorly trained agents, who offer a limited number of products, but who might legitimately feel that they are doing the right thing.
Consumer’s make poor policy choices because they seldom see their full range of options. Most agents have pre-selected what they want to sell before their first meeting with the buyer. With interest rates low, budgets tight and high paying jobs hard to find, it is essential that consumers make smart financial decisions. I designed Annuity Coaches so that insurance buyers could see all of their life contingency and retirement options and have the comparison tools to make informed choices about their financial future.
The loss of retirement income is an especially insidious thing, because you never now it is gone. You get talked into buying the wrong product and never know that you forfeited an extra $50,000 in retirement resources. These are the kinds of mistakes one should take great pains to avoid.
Annuities and other insurance policies are financial instruments, but most potential purchasers never compare their policy choices quantitatively. This site contains links to the most flexible financial and retirement calculators available. They were designed to provide consumers the tools to compare financial alternatives. Please use them. They will save your money.
My door is always open. I welcome your business or your comments. Tell me how I can best serve you.
email me at Paul Bullock CLU ChFC GBA RPA FLMI CEBS