401k Rollover, CD Protection & Annuities | Paradise Assured
Serving NY, FL, NJ, CT, AZ, TN, IN, DE & WV
Most people spend decades accumulating retirement savings — and far too little time protecting what they have built.
At Paradise Assured Insurance Agency, Andrew M. Lax helps individuals and families across New York, Florida, New Jersey, Connecticut, Arizona, Tennessee, Indiana, Delaware, and West Virginia protect their retirement savings from market risk, unnecessary taxation, probate exposure, and the very real risk of outliving their money.
Two of the most common — and most misunderstood — retirement savings vehicles are Certificates of Deposit (CD’s) and 401 (k) accounts. Both are familiar. Both feel safe. And both carry hidden risks that most people never discover until it is too late to address them.
Annuities — when properly structured and appropriately selected — are among the most powerful and misunderstood tools in retirement planning. They have been unfairly maligned by competing financial interests who profit when clients choose market-based alternatives instead. The purpose of this page is to cut through the noise and give you clear, honest, education-based information about what annuities are, how they work, and whether they deserve a place in your retirement plan.
As retirement income expert and author “Tom Hegna” states in his landmark book “Paychecks and Playchecks” — the goal of retirement planning is not simply to accumulate assets but to convert those assets into guaranteed income streams you cannot outlive. Annuities are the only financial instrument specifically designed to do exactly that.
Paradise Assured Insurance Agency charges no direct fee for annuity and retirement income consultations. Our compensation is provided by the insurance carrier upon the successful placement of a policy and payment of the premium. Annuity products described on this page are insurance products — not securities. All guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Paradise Assured Insurance Agency recommends consulting with a qualified tax advisor or CPA regarding the tax implications of any annuity or retirement account strategy.
Why CDs May Not Be the Safe Haven You Think
Certificates of Deposit are one of the most familiar savings vehicles in America. They feel safe — and for principal protection, they are. But CD’s carry a set of hidden risks and costs that most CD holders never fully consider until a better alternative is presented.
THE TAX PROBLEM
Every year your CD earns interest, that interest is reported as taxable income — whether you need the money or not. You pay ordinary income tax on growth that is locked inside the CD and inaccessible without penalty. Unlike tax-deferred alternatives, you are giving the IRS a portion of your earnings every single year, regardless of your financial needs or tax situation in that year.
Over a 5 or 10-year CD holding period, the cumulative tax drag on your returns can be significant — quietly eroding the real growth of your savings.
THE LOCK-UP PENALTY PROBLEM
CD’s have fixed terms — typically 6 months to 5 years or longer. If you need access to your money before the CD matures, you face early withdrawal penalties that can eliminate a significant portion — sometimes all — of the interest you have earned. Life does not always align with CD maturity dates. A medical emergency, a family need, or an unexpected expense can force you to break a CD at exactly the wrong time.
THE REINVESTMENT RISK PROBLEM
When your CD matures, you face reinvestment risk — you must accept whatever interest rates are available at that moment. If rates have fallen since you purchased your CD, you are forced to lock in a lower rate for your next term with no ability to participate in any future rate improvements until your next maturity date.
THE INFLATION PROBLEM
In periods of elevated inflation, a CD earning a fixed rate may produce a real return that is zero or even negative after accounting for both taxes and inflation. Your nominal balance grows while your actual purchasing power erodes.
THE PROBATE PROBLEM
This is the risk that surprises people most. CD’s are typically held as individual assets and are subject to probate upon the death of the owner. This means your CD balance must pass through the court system before your beneficiaries can access it — creating delay that can last months or years, legal and court costs that reduce what your heirs receive, and public exposure of your estate since probate is a matter of public record.
NO GROWTH POTENTIAL BEYOND THE FIXED RATE
A CD earns exactly what the fixed rate promises — nothing more. In a rising market environment, your CD sits on the sideline earning a predetermined rate while other instruments participate in growth. CD’s offer no mechanism to capture upside beyond their contracted rate.
THE BETTER ALTERNATIVE
For clients who value principal protection, predictable growth, and capital preservation — the same goals that attract people to CD’s — there are insurance-based alternatives that address every one of these limitations while preserving what CD holders value most.
The Hidden Risks of Leaving Your 401k Where It Is
A 401 (k) account is one of the most powerful retirement savings tools available — during the accumulation phase. But when you retire or change jobs, the rules of the game change significantly. Leaving your money in a former employer's 401 (k) plan — or failing to address your existing 401 (k) as you approach or enter retirement — exposes your savings to risks that most people never fully consider.
THE MARKET VOLATILITY PROBLEM
During your working years, market downturns are manageable — you have time and continued contributions to recover from losses. In retirement, that recovery mechanism disappears. A significant market decline early in retirement — what financial planners call ‘Sequence of Returns Risk’ — can permanently impair your ability to generate sustainable income from your savings even if the market eventually recovers.
When you are withdrawing from a portfolio during a downturn, you are selling assets at depressed prices to fund your living expenses — locking in losses and reducing the number of shares available to participate in any subsequent recovery.
THE ORPHANED 401(k) PROBLEM
When you change jobs, your former employer's 401 (k) does not automatically follow you. In many cases, you cannot roll it into your new employer's plan. That money sits — sometimes for years or decades — exposed to market forces, subject to the investment options and fee structure of a plan you no longer actively manage, and often simply forgotten as life moves forward.
Orphaned 401 (k) accounts are one of the most common and costly retirement planning mistakes in America. The money does not disappear — but it frequently underperforms, accumulates unnecessary fees, and sits outside any coherent retirement income strategy.
THE REQUIRED MINIMUM DISTRIBUTION PROBLEM
Once you reach age 73, the IRS requires you to take Required Minimum Distributions — RMD’s — from your traditional 401 (k) and IRA accounts, regardless of whether you need the income. RMDs are calculated based on your account balance and life expectancy tables — and they increase as a percentage of your account each year.
RMDs create several planning challenges:
You pay ordinary income tax on every dollar of RMD received — even if you do not need the income and would prefer to let the money continue growing tax-deferred.
Large RMDs can push you into a higher tax bracket — triggering additional taxes on Social Security benefits and increasing Medicare IRMAA surcharges on your Part B and Part D premiums.
If your 401k or IRA balance grows faster than your RMD’s, your annual required distributions increase — potentially creating a compounding tax problem over time.
THE PROBATE PROBLEM
Like CD’s, a 401 (k) account that does not have properly designated beneficiaries — or that names the estate as beneficiary — is subject to probate upon the account owner's death. Even accounts with named beneficiaries can face complications if beneficiary designations are outdated or improperly structured.
THE LIMITED INVESTMENT OPTIONS PROBLEM
Former employer 401 (k) plans typically offer a limited menu of investment options chosen by the plan administrator — not by you. You are restricted to whatever funds the plan offers, with no ability to access the broader universe of retirement income strategies available outside the plan.
THE OPPORTUNITY
Rolling over a former employer's 401 (k) into an Individual Retirement Account — IRA — opens access to the full range of retirement income strategies, including insurance-based solutions that can protect your principal, provide guaranteed lifetime income, address probate concerns, and give you significantly more control over your retirement income strategy than a former employer's plan ever could.
What Is an Annuity — And Why Does It Get Such a Bad Rap?
An annuity is a contract between you and an insurance company. You provide a premium — either a lump sum or a series of payments — and the insurance company provides specific guarantees in return. Depending on the type of annuity those guarantees may include principal protection, tax-deferred growth, a guaranteed fixed interest rate, participation in market index gains without market loss, or guaranteed income for life regardless of how long you live.
Annuities are insurance products — not securities. They are regulated by state insurance departments. Fixed and Fixed Indexed Annuities do not participate in the stock market directly and are not subject to securities regulations.
WHY ANNUITIES HAVE A BAD REPUTATION
The answer to this question is simpler than most people realize — and more revealing about the financial services industry than most advisors will admit.
Fee-based investment managers and financial media personalities who manage money in the stock market have a direct financial incentive to steer clients away from annuities. Every dollar a client moves into an annuity is a dollar that leaves a fee-based investment portfolio — and stops generating annual management fees for the advisor.
When someone with a large financial management business tells you annuities are bad for you, it is worth asking — bad for whom?
The reality is that fixed and fixed indexed annuities — the types Paradise Assured Insurance Agency works with — do not charge annual management fees, do not expose your principal to market loss, and provide guarantees that no market-based product can match.
THE MORTALITY CREDITS CONCEPT
Retirement income expert and author “Tom Hegna” — whose landmark book “Paychecks and Playchecks” has helped thousands of Americans understand the science of retirement income — explains annuities through the concept of mortality credits.
When you purchase a lifetime income annuity, you pool your longevity risk with thousands of other policyholders. The insurance company uses actuarial science to calculate how long the pool of policyholders will collectively live — and distributes the assets of those who die earlier to fund the income of those who live longer.
This pooling mechanism — mortality credits — generates returns that no individual investment portfolio can replicate. The longer you live, the greater the benefit of mortality credits. And the risk of outliving your money — which is the single greatest financial risk in retirement — is permanently transferred to the insurance company.
No fee-based investment manager can offer mortality credits. No stock portfolio can guarantee you will never run out of money. Only an annuity — structured as a lifetime income contract — can make that guarantee.
As “Tom Hegna” states, “you can mathematically solve the retirement income problem. Annuities are a central part of that solution.”
The Four Types of Annuities — Which One Is Right for You?
Paradise Assured Insurance Agency works with four primary types of annuities — each designed to address a specific retirement planning need. Understanding how each type works is the first step toward determining which — if any — belongs in your retirement plan.
MULTI-YEAR GUARANTEED ANNUITY — MYGA
A Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuity is the most direct alternative to a Certificate of Deposit. Like a CD a MYGA provides a guaranteed fixed interest rate for a specified term — typically 2 to 10 years. Unlike a CD a MYGA offers several important advantages:
Tax deferral — MYGA growth accumulates on a tax-deferred basis. You pay no income tax on interest earned until you take distributions — unlike a CD, where interest is taxable every year, whether you access it or not. Over a multi-year holding period, this tax deferral can meaningfully increase your net accumulation.
Probate-friendly — A MYGA passes directly to your named beneficiaries outside of probate — no court process, no delay, no legal fees, no public record. This is a fundamental advantage over a CD, which is typically subject to probate.
Competitive rates — MYGA rates are frequently competitive with or superior to CD rates for comparable terms — and the tax deferral advantage makes the after-tax comparison even more favorable.
Liquidity provisions — Most MYGAs include annual free withdrawal provisions — typically 10% of the account value per year — providing access to funds without surrender charges for those who need partial liquidity.
A MYGA is an excellent option for CD holders seeking a tax-efficient, probate-friendly alternative with similar principal protection and predictable growth.
FIXED INDEXED ANNUITY — FIA
A Fixed Indexed Annuity is one of the most powerful and misunderstood retirement savings tools available. It provides the growth potential of a market index — such as the S&P 500 — without the risk of market loss.
How it works — Your premium earns interest credits linked to the performance of a chosen market index. When the index rises, you receive a portion of that gain subject to a cap rate or participation rate. When the index falls, you receive zero — not a negative return. Your principal and previously credited gains are protected from market loss.
Lock-in on gains — Each year, your credited gains are locked in and added to your accumulation value. They become part of your new protected floor and cannot be lost due to subsequent market downturns. Your floor only moves up — never down.
Tax deferral — Like a MYGA FIA, growth accumulates on a tax-deferred basis — no annual tax on credited interest until distributions are taken.
Probate-friendly — A FIA passes directly to named beneficiaries outside of probate.
Guaranteed lifetime income option — Most FIAs offer an optional income rider that converts your accumulated value into a guaranteed lifetime income stream when you are ready to take income — providing the paycheck you cannot outlive that Tom Hegna describes in Paychecks and Playchecks.
A FIA is an excellent option for 401 (k) rollover assets and IRA funds where the goal is to protect principal, participate in market upside, lock in gains, defer taxes, and create a future guaranteed income stream.
SINGLE PREMIUM IMMEDIATE ANNUITY — SPIA
A Single Premium Immediate Annuity is the purest expression of the mortality credits concept. You provide a single lump-sum premium, and income begins immediately — typically within 30 days. The insurance company guarantees that income for life — regardless of how long you live.
A SPIA is the closest modern equivalent to a traditional pension. It converts your accumulated assets into a guaranteed paycheck for life — eliminating the sequence of returns risk, the market volatility risk, and the longevity risk that threaten retirement security simultaneously.
Income options — A SPIA can be structured to pay income for your lifetime only, joint lifetime covering both you and a spouse, a specified period certain ensuring payments continue to beneficiaries if you die early, or a cash refund option ensuring your heirs receive at least the original premium if you die before recovering your full investment.
Important note — A SPIA is generally irrevocable. Once purchased, the premium is exchanged for the income guarantee and cannot be returned as a lump sum. This irrevocability is precisely what enables the insurance company to provide the mortality credits that generate the guaranteed lifetime income. Paradise Assured Insurance Agency will ensure you fully understand the commitment before any SPIA is purchased.
A SPIA is an excellent option for retirees who need income now and want to replicate the security of a pension they no longer have.
DEFERRED INCOME ANNUITY — DIA
A Deferred Income Annuity — also called a longevity annuity — is retirement insurance for your future self. You fund it today with a lump-sum premium, and income begins at a future date you choose — often age 80, 85, or later.
Because the income is deferred for many years, the insurance company can apply the full benefit of mortality credits to your contract — resulting in a monthly income payment when it begins that is dramatically higher than what the same premium would generate in a SPIA today.
A DIA solves a specific and often overlooked retirement problem — what happens if you live to 90 or 95 or beyond and exhaust all your other retirement assets? A DIA funded today at age 65 or 70 provides the financial certainty that no matter how long you live, a guaranteed income will be waiting for you.
QLAC — Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract — A DIA purchased inside a qualified retirement account, such as a traditional IRA or 401 (k) rollover IRA, is called a Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract or QLAC.Renowned IRA expert “Ed Slott” has discussed QLAC strategies as a legitimate retirement planning tool worth exploring. A QLAC may offer certain tax planning advantages related to Required Minimum Distributions for those who qualify — potentially reducing RMD obligations on the portion of assets allocated to the QLAC until income begins. Paradise Assured Insurance Agency recommends consulting with a qualified tax advisor or CPA to determine whether a QLAC strategy is appropriate for your specific retirement and tax situation.
A DIA is an excellent option for healthy retirees with a family history of longevity who want to insure against the risk of outliving all other income sources.
How a 401k Rollover Works — And Why Timing Matters
A 401k rollover is the process of moving assets from a former employer's 401k plan — or from an existing 401k as you approach retirement — into an Individual Retirement Account or IRA. When done correctly a rollover is a non-taxable event — no income tax is triggered, and no penalties apply.
THE DIRECT ROLLOVER
The safest and most common rollover method is a direct rollover — also called a trustee-to-trustee transfer. Your former employer's plan administrator sends the funds directly to the new IRA custodian without the money ever passing through your hands. No tax is withheld, and no 60-day deadline applies.
THE 60-DAY ROLLOVER
If you receive a distribution check directly, you have 60 days to deposit the full amount into a qualifying IRA or retirement account to avoid taxation. If your employer withheld 20% for taxes, you must deposit the full pre-withholding amount — including the withheld portion — to avoid tax on the withheld amount. Missing the 60-day deadline results in the entire distribution being treated as taxable income — potentially a significant and entirely avoidable tax event.
WHY ROLLING OVER INTO AN ANNUITY MAKES SENSE
Once your 401 (k) assets are in an IRA, you have access to the full range of insurance-based retirement income strategies that former employer plans cannot offer:
Protection from market loss — A Fixed Indexed Annuity inside an IRA protects your rollover assets from market downturns while allowing participation in market index gains.
Guaranteed lifetime income — An income rider on a FIA or a SPIA funded with rollover assets converts your accumulated savings into a guaranteed paycheck for life — the retirement income certainty that a former employer's 401k investment menu cannot provide.
Tax-deferred growth — Annuity growth inside an IRA continues to accumulate tax-deferred — consistent with the tax treatment of the IRA itself.
Probate-friendly beneficiary designations — An annuity inside an IRA allows you to name specific beneficiaries who receive the account value directly outside of probate — with significantly more flexibility than many employer plan beneficiary designation options.
RMD planning — Working with your tax advisor, a properly structured IRA annuity strategy can help you manage Required Minimum Distributions in a way that aligns with your overall tax and retirement income plan.
TIMING MATTERS
The best time to address a 401 (k) rollover is before a triggering event forces the issue. Market downturns do not wait for convenient timing. Job changes create immediate decisions. Health events can reduce your options. The sooner orphaned or at-risk 401k assets are evaluated and protected, the more options remain available.
Paradise Assured Insurance Agency recommends consulting with a qualified tax advisor or CPA before initiating any 401k rollover to ensure the rollover is structured correctly for your specific tax situation.
Our Complete Annuity & Retirement Income Services
Paradise Assured Insurance Agency offers a comprehensive range of annuity and retirement income planning services to individuals and families throughout all 9 states we serve:
Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuities — MYGA — We help clients evaluate MYGA options as a tax-deferred probate-friendly alternative to Certificates of Deposit — comparing rates, terms, and liquidity provisions across multiple carriers to find the most appropriate solution for your specific situation.
Fixed Indexed Annuities — FIA — We design FIA strategies that protect your retirement assets from market loss, lock in index-linked gains, accumulate growth on a tax-deferred basis, and create a foundation for guaranteed lifetime income through optional income rider strategies.
Single Premium Immediate Annuities — SPIA — We help clients who need income now convert accumulated assets into guaranteed lifetime income — replicating the security of a pension and eliminating the longevity risk that threatens retirement security.
Deferred Income Annuities — DIA — We help clients who want to insure against extreme longevity fund deferred income strategies that provide dramatically higher future income in exchange for a modest premium today.
QLAC Strategies — We introduce clients to the concept of Qualified Longevity Annuity Contracts and their potential interaction with Required Minimum Distribution planning — working alongside your qualified tax advisor or CPA to determine whether a QLAC strategy is appropriate for your situation.
401(k) Rollover Guidance — We help clients with orphaned or at-risk 401k accounts evaluate rollover options and implement insurance-based retirement income strategies that address market risk, probate exposure, and guaranteed income planning inside an IRA structure.
CD Replacement Strategies — We help CD holders evaluate whether a MYGA or FIA provides a more tax-efficient and probate-friendly alternative to their current CD holdings.
Paradise Assured Insurance Agency charges no direct fee for annuity and retirement income planning consultations. Our compensation is provided by the insurance carrier upon the successful placement of a policy and payment of premium. All annuity products are insurance products — not securities. Guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Paradise Assured Insurance Agency recommends consulting with a qualified tax advisor or CPA regarding the tax implications of any annuity or retirement account strategy.
Annuity & Retirement Income Planning — States We Serve
Paradise Assured Insurance Agency provides annuity and retirement income planning services to individuals and families throughout:
New York — Serving New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, Syracuse, Albany, White Plains, Long Island, Westchester County, Hudson Valley, and all of New York State.
Florida — Serving Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Naples, Sarasota, Fort Myers, and all of Florida.
New Jersey — Serving Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, Elizabeth, Edison, Toms River, Trenton, Cherry Hill, and all of New Jersey.
Connecticut — Serving Bridgeport, New Haven, Hartford, Stamford, Waterbury, Norwalk, Danbury, Greenwich, and all of Connecticut.
Arizona — Serving Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, Chandler, Scottsdale, Glendale, Gilbert, Tempe, Sun City, and all of Arizona.
Tennessee — Serving Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Murfreesboro, Franklin, and all of Tennessee.
Indiana — Serving Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Evansville, South Bend, Carmel, Fishers, Bloomington, and all of Indiana.
Delaware — Serving Wilmington, Dover, Newark, Middletown, Smyrna, and all of Delaware.
West Virginia — Serving Charleston, Huntington, Morgantown, Parkersburg, Wheeling, and all of West Virginia.
All annuity and retirement income consultations are available by phone or virtually at your convenience. No office visit is required.
Frequently Asked Questions — Annuities & Retirement Income
Q: Are annuities really as bad as some financial personalities claim?
A: This is one of the most important questions in retirement planning — and the answer requires understanding who is making the claim and why. Fee-based investment managers who charge annual percentages on assets under management have a direct financial incentive to keep client money in managed portfolios. Every dollar that moves into an annuity is a dollar that stops generating annual management fees. When someone with a large investment management business tells you annuities are bad, it is worth asking — bad for whom? Fixed and Fixed Indexed Annuities charge no annual management fees, expose no principal to market loss, and provide guarantees that no market-based product can offer. The academic and actuarial research supporting the role of guaranteed income annuities in retirement planning is extensive and well established. Retirement income expert Tom Hegna has dedicated his career to demonstrating mathematically why guaranteed income — including annuity income — is the foundation of a secure retirement.
Q: What is the difference between a MYGA and a CD?
A: Both provide a guaranteed fixed interest rate for a specified term and both protect your principal. The key differences are significant. A MYGA grows on a tax-deferred basis — you pay no income tax on interest until you take distributions. A CD generates taxable interest every year whether you access the money or not. A MYGA passes directly to named beneficiaries outside of probate. A CD is typically subject to probate. MYGA rates are frequently competitive with CD rates for comparable terms — and the tax deferral advantage makes the after-tax comparison significantly more favorable for the MYGA in most cases. Both have surrender charges for early withdrawal — though most MYGAs include annual free withdrawal provisions of typically 10% of account value.
Q: What happens to my money in a Fixed Indexed Annuity if the market crashes?
A: Your principal and previously credited gains are fully protected. A Fixed Indexed Annuity has a floor of zero — meaning in any year when the linked index performs negatively you receive zero interest credit for that year rather than a loss. Your accumulation value does not decrease due to market performance. Gains previously credited are locked in and become part of your new protected floor. This is one of the most powerful features of a FIA — you participate in market upside while being completely insulated from market downside.
Q: Can I access my money in an annuity?
A: Yes — with important qualifications depending on the type of annuity. Most deferred annuities — MYGA and FIA — include annual free withdrawal provisions that allow you to access typically 10% of your account value per year without surrender charges. Withdrawals beyond the free withdrawal amount during the surrender period are subject to surrender charges that decrease over time. Most annuities also include waiver provisions for nursing home confinement or terminal illness. A SPIA is generally irrevocable — the premium is exchanged for the lifetime income guarantee. Paradise Assured Insurance Agency reviews all liquidity provisions with you before any annuity is purchased.
Q: How do annuities interact with Required Minimum Distributions?
A: Annuities held inside a traditional IRA or 401(k) rollover IRA are subject to the same RMD rules as any other IRA asset. The annuity contract value is included in your total IRA balance for RMD calculation purposes. If the annuity is in payout phase, the income payments may satisfy some or all of the RMD requirement for that contract. A QLAC — Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract — is a specific type of deferred income annuity that, when purchased inside a qualifying IRA, may allow you to defer RMDs on the QLAC premium amount until income begins — subject to IRS limits. Renowned IRA expert “Ed Slott”has discussed QLAC strategies as a legitimate planning tool. Paradise Assured Insurance Agency strongly recommends consulting with a qualified tax advisor or CPA regarding RMD planning and the interaction of annuities with your specific retirement account structure.
Q: What is a mortality credit, and why does it matter?
A: A mortality credit is the actuarial benefit you receive from pooling your longevity risk with thousands of other annuity policyholders. When you purchase a lifetime income annuity, the insurance company pools your premium with those of many other policyholders and uses actuarial tables to calculate how long the group will collectively live. The assets of those who die earlier than expected fund the income of those who live longer — generating a return on your income stream that no individual investment portfolio can replicate. Retirement income expert “Tom Hegna” explains in “Paychecks and Playchecks” that mortality credits are the foundational reason why guaranteed lifetime income from an annuity mathematically outperforms systematic withdrawals from an investment portfolio for those who live to average or above-average life expectancy. The longer you live, the greater the benefit of mortality credits — making a lifetime income annuity a uniquely powerful tool for insuring against longevity risk.
Q: Is a 401(k) rollover into an annuity taxable?
A: When done correctly as a direct rollover — trustee to trustee — a 401(k) rollover into an IRA annuity is not a taxable event. No income tax is triggered, and no early withdrawal penalties apply. The rollover simply moves your assets from one tax-deferred vehicle to another. Tax is only triggered when you subsequently take distributions from the IRA annuity — at which point ordinary income tax applies to the distributed amount. Paradise Assured Insurance Agency strongly recommends working with a qualified tax advisor or CPA before initiating any 401(k) rollover to ensure it is structured correctly.
Q: Who is “Tom Hegna”, and why does Paradise Assured reference his work?
A: “Tom Hegna” is one of the most respected and widely cited retirement income experts in the country. A former executive at a major life insurance company with decades of experience in retirement income planning, “Tom Hegna” has authored multiple books, including “Paychecks and Playchecks” — a landmark work on retirement income science that has helped thousands of Americans understand how to create guaranteed income they cannot outlive. His research and presentations draw on actuarial science, economic research, and real-world retirement planning experience to make the case — mathematically — for why guaranteed income, including annuity income, is the foundation of a secure retirement. Paradise Assured Insurance Agency's Andrew M. Lax has appeared on “Moving America Forward”, hosted by “Tom Hegna” — a program dedicated to helping Americans achieve greater financial security in retirement.
Ready to Protect Your Retirement From Risk, Taxes & Probate?
Whether you have money sitting in a CD that is quietly losing ground to taxes and inflation, an orphaned 401k from a former employer that needs a coherent strategy, retirement assets that are exposed to market risk you can no longer afford to take, or simply questions about whether annuities deserve a place in your retirement plan — Paradise Assured Insurance Agency is here to provide clear, honest, education-based guidance.
Andrew M. Lax and the Paradise Assured team work with multiple insurance carriers to compare annuity products and find the most appropriate solution for your specific retirement goals, timeline, and risk tolerance.
Our licensed advisors are available by phone or virtually at your convenience. No office visit is required.
Paradise Assured Insurance Agency charges no direct fee for annuity and retirement income planning consultations. Our compensation is provided by the insurance carrier upon the successful placement of a policy and payment of the premium. All annuity products are insurance products — not securities. Guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Please consult with a qualified tax advisor or CPA regarding the tax implications of any annuity or retirement account strategy.
Curious about how Paradise Assured works with clients? Visit our Process page to learn more about our discovery and planning approach.