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Annuities Without The 'C' Word

Jennifer Lea Reed
March 01, 2025

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.”