“Hegna Discovers The Real Fountain of Youth!” Summer came and went in the blink of an eye. Hard to believe but 2016 is almost over. Next year in 2017, the DOL ruling will make an impact, regardless of our opinions. More than ever, our clients need help. I’m sure a lot of what you are reading in the news is about the DOL, or the election (we covered that last month). NOT TODAY! Let’s take a break from the news cycle and let me tell you how I discovered the fountain of youth. No really! I promise that by the time you have finished reading this newsletter you will find out how to: (1) be happier in retirement, (2) live longer, and (3) take the #1 retirement risk OFF the table. I spend a lot of time traveling and always try to download some reading material before every flight. Recently, I was hopping on a plane to Chicago and browsing through the research and whitepapers that I had printed out for the long flight, when I had an “aHa” moment. Income, retirement happiness,and longevity are all linked. Let me explain how… 1. Towers Watson: Annuities and Retirement Happiness – “Among retirees with similar wealth and health characteristics, those with annuitized incomes are happiest.” “Annuities provide the biggest satisfaction boost to retirees with less wealth and those in poor health.” 2. Freakonomics:How to Live Longer – “People who buy annuities tend to live longer.” “That little extra incentive of the annuity payout that keeps people going.” 3. FRC Whitepaper: Income Annuities Improve Portfolio Outcomes in Retirement – “Income Annuities offer features others can’t – high cash flow, uncorrelated to market returns; retirement alpha in the form of mortality credits, which only life insurance companies can manufacture; longevity hedging and liquidity features.” “Far fewer investors holding these portfolios run out of money before they die, particularly at higher withdrawal rates. Just as importantly, when investors holding the income annuity-enhanced portfolios run out of assets, they don’t run out of income, as the income annuity keeps paying through the investor’s life time, thereby providing a longevity hedge.” The data definitively shows that income annuity-enhanced portfolios outperform conventional portfolios 4. Wade Pfau: Optimizing Retirement Income by Combining Actuarial Science and Investments– “For retirement income, we must step away from the notion that either investments or insurance alone will best serve retirees. More emphasis is needed on the basic forms of insurance products, and how they may behave as part of an integrated retirement income plan.” “Readers may be surprised that it is not at all a clear-cut case that the upside growth potential of investments will be sufficient to beat a more integrated approach using actuarial science and mortality credits. Actually, the odds are against investments.” 5. Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility – An American Classic written in 1811! “If you observe, people always live forever when there is an annuity to be paid to them…The annuity is a very serious business; it comes over and over every year, and there is no getting rid of it.” The evidence is overwhelming. Having a source of guaranteed income is the KEY to retirement happiness. Not just happiness in retirement, but also if you want to live longer! Now I can’t say that if you go out and buy an annuity, you are going to live longer. BUT,I’ve got to believe that there is something there about those checks coming in every single month, over and over and over…and over. The peace of mind it creates must help cultivate a more relaxing environment to enjoy your twilight years. Finish 2016 strong. Don’t let the holidays be a distraction to you and your business. This is a great time to network at holiday parties, get a small gift for your client, or help a young advisor build towards next year. See you out on the road! 

Tom Hegna