Everything You Need to Know Before You Buy an Annuity
The complete guide to advanced tax-advantaged growth, guaranteed lifetime income, and generational wealth preservation—designed for high-income earners who refuse to leave their retirement to chance.
The Rules of Money Have Changed
If you are a high-income earner approaching or already in retirement, the financial playbook that served you well for decades no longer applies. The strategies that built your wealth are not the same ones that will protect and grow it for generations.
During Your Working Years
The goal was accumulation. You wanted maximum growth and could ride out market volatility.
In Retirement
The goal shifts to preservation, distribution, and tax efficiency. Market crashes and forced RMDs become direct threats to your lifestyle and legacy.
The Biggest Threat to Your Retirement
It isn't a market crash. It isn't inflation. For most retirees with substantial assets, the single greatest fear is far more personal—and far more paralyzing.
The fear of running out of money.
A recent Allianz Life study revealed a striking truth about the modern retiree mindset. Americans are no longer just worried about how long they'll live—they're worried about whether their wealth will last as long as they do.
This anxiety has real consequences. Many retirees become so focused on avoiding depletion that they never give themselves permission to enjoy the life they worked decades to build. They have the assets, but they don't have the confidence to spend them with clarity.
A Fear More Powerful Than Death
Fear of Outliving Savings
Of Americans worry more about running out of money than about death.
Underspending
Portfolio-only retirees often spend just 2% of their savings each year—living far below their means out of fear.
Sequence of Returns Risk
The mathematical reason behind this fear has a name: Sequence of Returns Risk. It’s the danger that the stock market drops right as you begin withdrawing money for retirement. For high-income households, the timing of returns—not just the average—can determine whether wealth is preserved or quietly depleted.
Both retirees started with $1,000,000 and planned to withdraw $40,000 a year. Person A could run out of money 10 years earlier than Person B—simply because of bad timing. You cannot control the sequence of market returns, but you can protect yourself from it.
The Same Withdrawal, Two Very Different Outcomes
Person A — Unlucky Start
Retires the year before a 20% market crash.
- Account drops from $1M to $800,000
- Withdraws $40,000 to live on
- Now sits at $760,000 in year one
- Account drained from both ends
Person B — Fortunate Timing
Retires the year after the crash, during a bull market.
- Withdrawals taken from a rising balance
- Portfolio recovers and grows
- Money lasts dramatically longer
- Better outcome on identical decisions
The "0% Floor" Strategy
In 2024, a record-breaking $434.1 billion was placed into annuities across the United States. High-income families are looking for more than growth—they want certainty, tax-efficient income, and a plan built for stability.
Record Inflows
Placed into annuities in the U.S. in 2024 alone.
Your Floor
The maximum you can lose to a market crash.
Harris Assurance Group is a premium, no-fee advisory firm helping affluent clients build durable retirement strategies with greater confidence and less downside exposure.
How a Fixed Indexed Annuity Works
A Fixed Indexed Annuity (FIA) offers a distinctive balance for affluent households: market upside with a 0% floor. You gain access to growth potential without exposing your principal to market loss.
When the Market Goes Up
Your account is credited with a portion of those gains, based on a participation rate or cap that helps preserve the strategy's efficiency.
When the Market Goes Down
Your account stays exactly where it is. You lose nothing, and your principal remains protected.
Zero is your hero. For high-income earners, this approach reduces sequence risk while supporting a more confident retirement plan.
Harris Assurance Group provides no-fee advisory guidance for clients who want a premium, disciplined retirement strategy designed for long-term stability and peace of mind.
The Tax Timebomb
If your money sits in a tax-deferred account like a Traditional IRA or 401(k), the IRS has a silent partnership in your account. You haven't paid taxes on that money yet—and they fully intend to collect their cut.
Harris Assurance Group helps high-income earners navigate tax-advantaged strategies, including Roth conversions and other advanced planning techniques, to legally reduce their tax burden and protect more of what they’ve earned.
Two Hidden Tax Traps
Social Security Taxation
Many retirees are surprised to learn that, depending on their provisional income, up to 85% of Social Security benefits can be subject to federal income taxes.
Required Minimum Distributions
The IRS eventually forces withdrawals from tax-deferred accounts through RMDs. Miss one, and you could face a steep 25% excise tax penalty.
Social Security Taxed
The portion of benefits that can be subject to federal tax.
RMD Penalty
The excise tax for missing a required minimum distribution.
For high-income earners, Harris Assurance Group helps create a more tax-efficient retirement with Roth conversions and advanced planning strategies designed to reduce lifetime taxes and protect more of what you’ve built.
The Solution: RMD-Friendly by Design
Modern annuities can be structured to align seamlessly with the retirement tax rules you face.
- Carriers calculate the required distribution amount and distribute it automatically
- No surrender penalties on your required distributions
- Used within a comprehensive strategy to support tax-deferred growth—and, in some cases, tax-free income streams
Harris Assurance Group helps clients integrate these solutions into a more refined retirement strategy designed to reduce unnecessary taxes and preserve more of what they’ve built.
Your Questions, Answered
Before you make any decisions, you deserve complete clarity. Here are the most common questions we answer for our clients—starting with the one we hear most often.
Fees, Pay & Bonuses
Do annuities have high fees?
Harris Assurance Group is a proud no-fee advisory firm—we do not charge clients fees for strategies, consultations, or plan implementation. For annuity products themselves, some can carry internal costs, while many modern FIAs have zero internal fees. An optional income rider usually costs under 1%.
How does my broker get paid?
Independent brokers are paid a commission directly by the insurance carrier. You pay nothing out of pocket, and nothing comes out of your principal. Every dollar goes to work for you on day one.
Are there premium bonuses?
Yes. Many carriers offer bonuses of 5% to 20% on day one. A 10% bonus on $500,000 gives you $550,000 working for you immediately.
Access, Safety & Your Legacy
Aren't annuities locked up?
Not with the modern strategies Harris Assurance Group designs for affluent households. Most annuities allow penalty-free access to up to 10% of your account value each year, starting in year one, with additional waivers available for nursing home care or terminal illness. You keep meaningful liquidity while preserving long-term growth.
Does the company keep my money when I die?
No. Harris Assurance Group prioritizes legacy planning, and modern annuities can include a full death benefit—so whatever remains passes directly to your named beneficiaries, typically outside probate. That means your assets stay aligned with your family’s future.
How do I know the carrier will pay me?
Annuities are issued by heavily regulated carriers that are required by law to hold dollar-for-dollar reserves. Harris Assurance Group works only with highly rated, A-rated (AM Best) carriers with long-standing histories of financial strength and reliability.
Why Annuities, and Why Now
Why an annuity instead of the stock market?
The market can be effective for accumulation, but it can be far less forgiving when income matters most. An indexed annuity can create a dependable floor, helping high-income households reduce sequence-of-returns risk and avoid selling assets at the wrong time.
How is this different from my financial advisor?
Harris Assurance Group complements your existing advisor with advanced strategies designed for affluent families. Alongside indexed annuities, we help coordinate IUL, Roth conversions, tax-efficient income planning, and legacy-oriented solutions that many traditional advisors are not licensed or positioned to implement.
Is now a good time to move my money?
For high earners, timing the market is rarely the real issue—the real issue is protecting principal before the next correction. If you want to preserve optionality, reduce downside exposure, and build a more durable retirement plan, now is the time to review your strategy with Harris Assurance Group.
What's Different About Today's Annuities
If you had a disappointing experience with an older annuity, you're not alone. Earlier products were often variable, with market exposure that many affluent households found difficult to justify.
Today's FIAs offer a more refined approach: growth linked to market indexes while principal stays protected when markets decline. The result is a more sophisticated balance of upside potential, downside protection, and access features designed for clients who expect more from their retirement strategy.
Who This Is—and Isn't—For
If You Already Own an Annuity
Many people already have an annuity—and that’s perfectly fine. Harris Assurance Group offers a premium, no-pressure review of your current contract at no cost.
- If your current contract is already working well, we’ll tell you to keep it
- If a modern product offers better growth caps or income riders, we’ll show you the numbers
- We look for ways annuities may help reduce taxation on Social Security and overall provisional income
What Happens in a Strategy Session
It is a working session, not a pitch. As a done-for-you practice, we handle the heavy lifting from start to finish.
We review your current trajectory, identify income and tax gaps, and look at objective math to build a custom strategy. To prepare, simply accept the calendar invite, gather your recent statements, and write down your top concerns about income, market crashes, or taxes.
The Done-For-You Approach to Advanced Financial Planning
Information you don't apply is useless. Reading this guide is the first step—but executing a thoughtful strategy is what actually helps protect and grow your retirement.
As an independent, no-fee advisory firm, Harris Assurance Group is not tied to any single carrier. We shop the entire market to find the best solution for each client and align the strategy to your specific goals. Our full suite includes IUL, Roth conversions, indexed annuities, estate planning, and generational wealth strategies.
Your next step: schedule a discovery call.
Let's look at the objective math behind your specific situation—and build a retirement plan designed to support the future you want.
HARRIS ASSURANCE GROUP