Researchers warn the average American will live many more years in retirement than expected, won’t have saved enough and will face a financial shortfall long after they can’t do anything about it. It’s a bleak future, certainly, and one that many financial advisors spend their careers working diligently to change.
If only there were a financial product that could replace the pension’s gift of lifetime income, at a reasonable cost given the benefit and sit in a client’s portfolio alongside stocks and bonds. A product that a fee-only advisor, driven by fiduciary duty, could recommend as a neutral party and stand behind without bias.
“If annuities had always been commission-free, everybody would own one,” says David Lau, founder and CEO at DPL Financial Partners, a financial services firm specializing in the distribution of low-cost, commission-free insurance and annuity products. “But demand is crushed because of the commission and the controversy around commissions.”