Note: This content is for educational and information use only. AIP Marketing Alliance, an Integrity Company, is sharing this third-party content but it should not be interpreted as a solicitation to buy a financial product.

Most of the subscribers to AIP Marketing Alliance’s #linkedinnewsletter are assumed to be licensed insurance agents, advisors, or other financial professionals who want to stay informed about selling annuities, life insurance, and other retirement planning products. This philosophy of a holistic approach to helping consumers plan their “golden years” strategy is becoming more prevalent vs. staying in “one lane” by selling only one specific product.

Whether the sale involves life insurance or an annuity, the industry recognizes many subject matter experts in our world that put together compliant, informational pieces that may be useful to educate your clients and prospects as 2026 winds down. Dr. Wade D. Pfau and Michael Finke are two recognized resources within our industry.

AIPMA will start off with a whitepaper, Protection as an Asset Class, from LIMRA Retirement Income Institute Fellow Wade D. Pfau, Ph.D., CFA, RICP®. The LIMRA Retirement Income Institute is committed to independent, objective research and analysis. Contributions from institute fellows are developed free from commercial influence and are for educational purposes only.

Dr. Pfau shares how consumers could use a fixed indexed annuity to protect their principal and caps market upside. Per the whitepaper, there are many structured annuity designs that provide different trade-offs between downside risk and upside potential that also could have been included to expand this analysis.

“The (FIA) appeal to retirees is based on the combination of downside protection, upside growth potential through their link to a market index, and liquidity of the underlying assets, while also offering the potential for tax-deferral,” Dr. Pfau states. “Retirees can see their contract values, they can continue to make choices about how their funds are invested, and they can access their funds.”

His message also resonates throughout the study as annuities may provide two different avenues for contributing to better financial outcomes for household financial planning.

• In a modern portfolio theory investing framework, structured annuities create the potential to produce a more attractive range of investment returns and can be treated as asset classes available for the asset allocation decision.
• For retirement income, the overlay of a lifetime income benefit on the annuity provides a more efficient means for meeting a lifetime spending goal while also preserving assets for legacy.

Dr. Pfau wraps things up in Protection as an Asset Class by reminding consumers about annuity benefits of tax deferral, “the ability to better manage downside risk to help owners avoid panic during market downturns, and how annuities provide principal protection and a less risky investment experience than bonds (which could face risk of loss when interest rates rise).” You can download the LIMRA Protection as an Asset Class PDF by clicking here.

At this point, AIP Marketing Alliance wants to segue into another Retirement Income Institute resource from Dr. David Blanchett and Professor Michael Finke released by the Alliance for Lifetime Income. This whitepaper, Guaranteed Income: A License to Spend, explores how the composition of retirement wealth is related to retirement spending and finds that retirees who hold a higher percentage in annuitized income spend more than retirees with an equal amount of non-annuitized wealth.

Per the whitepaper, consumers deciding how much to spend each year in retirement from investments is complicated when both the length of retirement and returns on assets are not known. Unknown longevity presents a tradeoff in which a retiree can either spend generously and risk outliving savings, or spend conservatively and live a less enjoyable retirement. A retiree who prefers not to accept the risk of outliving savings will spend less.

For those reasons, Dr. Blanchett and Professor Finke state retirees may not spend nearly as much as they could from their investments as most consumers may not like the idea of their “nest egg shrinking” even if it leads to a reduction in desired lifestyle. These “rational and behavioral factors” may contribute to lower spending among retirees who must fund a lifestyle with less guaranteed income.

“We find that retirees who hold a higher percentage of their wealth in guaranteed income spend more than retirees whose wealth consists primarily of non-annuitized assets. Survey data confirm that most respondents would spend more on non-essential expenses from a lifetime income than from an equivalent amount of non-annuitized wealth,” they state in the whitepaper. “Our results are consistent with previous studies which find that retirees aren’t spending as much as they potentially could. These results suggest that even though guaranteed income appears to close part of the gap, a gap still persists.”

You can download the Alliance for Lifetime Income Guaranteed Income: A License to Spend whitepaper by clicking here.

Prudential also released an update to their 2026 Retirement Pulse survey, which showed that many retirees need guidance, clear withdrawal strategies, and guaranteed lifetime income to feel they have a “license to spend” on things they enjoy. You can click here to read the update.

The 2026 survey suggests an identity shift: Lifetime savers must learn to become thoughtful spenders while navigating worries about Social Security, inflation, healthcare costs, market risk, and longevity, according to the Prudential article. While lifetime savers worry about running out of money, they have an equally powerful concern: running out of time. Retirement plans and guaranteed income create confidence, but those most comfortable spending adopt a mindset that values experiences and making the most of the future. The findings suggest that true retirement confidence comes not only from financial preparation but from giving oneself permission to enjoy the future those savings were meant to support.

Even with the dates on these two studies and latest update, annuities continue to make an impact in today’s marketplace as more consumers are purchasing annuities during the last couple of years per LIMRA statistics. This trend continues as people seek alternatives not impacted as much by fluctuating market conditions.

By combining these resources into one informational piece, AIPMA wants you to inform clients about the benefits of annuities and how guaranteed income products could lead to the ability to spend more during their retirement years or earmark funds for potential long-term care or healthcare expenses. Of course, annuities are based on the claims-paying ability of the carrier.

However, AIP Marketing Alliance feels these whitepapers could start conversations in Q4 with clients – especially during an appointment paired with an illustration that aligns with the best interests of their retirement strategy. We hope you find these resources helpful, educational, and useful in October and beyond.

AIP Marketing Alliance, an Integrity Company, does not work directly with consumers, but we support independent agencies, wholesalers, and agents throughout the United States in selling annuity products. We are contracted with more than 80 insurance carriers nationwide and have #TheRightMIXin26 to support annuity sales including in-house training resources, an on-demand video training, an eContracting platform, and quote tools to help you select products for your clients and prospects.

Contact our team at (800) 783-5206 Press #2 or marketing@aipma.com. You also can visit our website at AIPMA.com. Come see why #thedifferenceispersonal with AIPMA!

About the authors mentioned above:

• Wade D. Pfau, Ph.D., CFA, RICP®, is the founder of Retirement Researcher, an educational resource for individuals and financial advisors on topics related to retirement income planning. He is a co-founder of the Retirement Income Style Awareness tool and a co-host of the Retire with Style podcast. He also serves as a principal and the director of retirement research for McLean Asset Management. He is a professor of practice at the American College of Financial Services and past director of the Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®) designation program. Dr. Pfau is a Fellow with the LIMRA Retirement Income Institute. He holds a doctorate in economics from Princeton University and has published more than 60 peer-reviewed research articles in a wide variety of academic and practitioner journals. Wade’s newest book is Retirement Planning Guidebook: Navigating the Important Decisions for Retirement Success, now in its third edition.
• David Blanchett, Ph.D., CFA, CFP®, is Managing Director, Portfolio Manager and Head of Retirement Research, for PGIM DC Solutions, the global investment management business of Prudential Financial, Inc. He is also a Research Fellow with the Alliance’s Retirement Income Institute and an Adjunct Professor of Wealth Management at The American College of Financial Services.
• Michael Finke is professor of wealth management, WMCP program director, director of the Granum Center for Financial Security, and Frank M. Engle Chair of Economic Security at the American College of Financial Services.

We are #TheRightMIXin26 for independent insurance wholesalers and agents. For more than 40 years, AIP Marketing Alliance (AIPMA), an Integrity Company, serves as a premier life insurance and annuity distribution partner to provide full-service support to independent wholesalers, brokerages and agents from our Troy, Michigan office. NOT AFFILIATED WITH OR ENDORSED BY THE GOVERNMENT OR THE MEDICARE PROGRAM.

AIP Marketing Alliance is committed to supporting our independent insurance wholesalers and agents. Visit our blog on aipma.com to stay informed on these upcoming launches and learn why wholesalers nationwide choose AIPMA as their distributor for selling life insurance, annuities, long-term care insurance, final expense, and much more. Ask about lead programs, access to IntegrityCONNECT’s technology, myAIP CRM platform with customizable recruiter portal, and online tools/resources designed to grow your business. The difference is personal.

AIP Marketing Alliance, an Integrity Company, has developed this electronic communication for informational and educational use only. Be advised, AIP Marketing Alliance, Inc., does not provide legal advice, tax advice, or guidance on issues involving securities laws, insurance laws nor securities or insurance regulations. This material should not be relied on as providing any such advice or guidance to either agents or retail consumers. Within this communication, AIPMA shares links for usage as information only. This content should not be interpreted as solicitation to purchase life insurance, annuities, or other products or as advice designed to meet your clients’ specific needs. Content involving fiduciary, tax, or legal advice should be directed to your legal, tax, and financial professionals for specific advice or product recommendations. AIPMA will not accept any legal liability resulting from any use of 3rd party material(s).