The Atlas Annuity Podcast
Welcome Atlas Annuity Podcast, where your host, Marty Becker, turns the heat up on retirement planning! As a career firefighter, Marty's journey from battling blazes to safeguarding nest eggs offers a different look at protecting retirement assets than you've seen from any other advisor. His pension got smoked, but he found a flame-resistant strategy: annuities. Each episode, Marty dives into riveting case studies, peels back the complex layers of annuities, and has candid chats about the power of annuities to shield your retirement from the unpredictability of the stock market. Whether you're approaching retirement, or have been retired for years...
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What's the Best Annuity? Is the Wrong Question
<p>Every week, Marty Becker gets asked the same question: "What's the best annuity out there?" His answer never changes — there isn't one, because it depends entirely on the person asking.</p> <p>In this episode, Marty Becker, owner and founder of Atlas Financial Strategies in St. Louis, Missouri, breaks down the exact five-step process he uses with nearly every client: the Atlas Annuity Strategy. Rather than leading with a product recommendation, Marty walks listeners through why the "one-size-fits-all" approach used at most dinner seminars is a mistake — and what a personalized, gap-focused strategy looks like instead.</p> <p>Listeners will...
6 Annuity Myths Your Advisor Won't Correct
<p>Most retirees have heard at least one of these myths about annuities. That agents are just chasing a commission. That annuities cap your growth. That your money gets locked up forever. But here's the truth — most of these myths come from a misunderstanding of how annuities actually work, and believing them can cause you to overlook a strategy that might genuinely fit your retirement.</p> <p>In this episode, Marty Becker breaks down the 6 biggest annuity myths, where they actually come from, and exactly why they're wrong.</p> <p>Here's what Marty covers:</p> <p>Why the "commission" objection al...
$1 Million Decision: Annuity vs Portfolio — Which Actually Pays More?
<p>Marty Becker goes head-to-head with the numbers: annuity vs portfolio, using a $1 million retirement as the test case. A 65-year-old couple needs $95,000/year in income, with Social Security covering $45,000 — leaving a $50,000 gap. This episode compares two ways to fill it: pulling the full gap from a traditional portfolio at a 5% withdrawal rate, or moving $400,000 into a guaranteed income annuity paying $29,750/year for life. The result is an honest, side-by-side look at what each path really means for a retiree's income and risk.</p> <p>This episode is for educational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or se...
Should You Buy a Rate-Lock Annuity? Watch This First
<p>Have you been offered a rate-lock annuity? Before you sign anything, you need to hear this.</p> <p>In this episode of the Atlas Annuity Podcast, Marty Becker — owner and founder of Atlas Financial Strategies in St. Louis, Missouri — breaks down exactly what a "rate lock" on a fixed indexed annuity really means, and why it's not automatically the better deal most people assume it is.</p> <p>Marty explains the basic FIA story: your money isn't directly invested in the market, so if the index falls, you don't lose value — but if the index rises, the insurance company credit...
The Retirement Risk Even Millionaires Can't Escape
<p>There's a popular belief that annuities are only for people who are afraid of the market or haven't saved enough. But what if an annuity could actually improve the retirement outcome of someone worth several million dollars — even when the market performs well?</p> <p>In this episode, Marty Becker, owner and founder of Atlas Financial Strategies, walks through a real case study of a client worth over $4 million in combined assets who still had a $172,000 per year income gap heading into retirement. Marty breaks down exactly where that gap came from, why more wealth doesn't automatically mean more re...
TIPS vs MYGAs: Why Most Retirees Choose the Wrong One
<p>Most retirees assume TIPS and MYGAs are basically the same thing. Both are conservative. Both preserve your principal. Both appeal to people who want stability in retirement. But here's the truth — they solve two completely different problems. And choosing the wrong one for the wrong job can quietly cost you.</p> <p>In this episode, Marty Becker breaks down exactly how TIPS and MYGAs work, what makes each one unique, and — most importantly — how to know which one is right for your situation.</p> <p>Here's what Marty covers:</p> What a MYGA is and why its predictability makes it one...
Annuity in a Trust: The Mistake That Could Cost You Everything
<p>Most people think putting their annuity in a trust is a smart move. Their attorney told them to do it. So they did it.</p> <p>But that one simple paperwork change could trigger a massive tax bill — and most attorneys don't even realize it.</p> <p>In this episode, Marty Becker breaks down the trust mistake that blindsides retirees every day. You'll learn the critical difference between a revocable and irrevocable trust, why it matters for your annuity, and how one wrong signature could make $150,000 in deferred gains immediately taxable.</p> <p>What you'll learn:</p> Why trusts ar...
Can You Really Buy Your Mortgage at a Discount With an Annuity
<p>In Episode 108 of the Atlas Annuity Podcast, Marty Becker, owner and founder of Atlas Financial Strategies in St. Louis, Missouri, explores one of the most creative retirement strategies he has come across in recent memory — using an annuity to pay your mortgage at a discount.</p> <p>It all started with an email from one of Marty's sharpest clients, Dave, who asked a simple but brilliant question: could an insurance company essentially take over his mortgage payments for the next five years, and do it for less than he actually owes?</p> <p>After running the numbers, Marty breaks do...
Record Highs Are Hiding a Dangerous Retirement Risk
<p>Record highs are hiding a massive retirement risk—and most people headed into retirement have no idea.</p> <p>In this episode, Marty Becker breaks down what is really happening beneath the surface of today's market and why the old retirement playbook may not work the way people expect.</p> <p>The stock market is at all-time highs. Tech stocks are booming and Wall Street is acting like the future is perfectly clear. But underneath that optimism, nearly half of major indexes are still technically in bear markets. Oil prices are surging. Inflation may not actually be under control. An...
AI Annuity Advice: Don't Make This Costly Mistake
<p>Artificial intelligence can write essays, analyze data, and answer almost any question you throw at it. So it's no surprise that people have started asking AI about their retirement money.</p> <p>But here's the truth — AI annuity advice can actually be very helpful. Or it can be a very expensive mistake. And knowing the difference could save your retirement.</p> <p>In this episode, Marty Becker shares a real client story that sparked this conversation — a client who came to him ready to buy a specific annuity because AI recommended it. The problem? That product wasn't even available in t...
