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, Marty’s mission is clear - to give you the tools and tactics to fortify your retirement. No jargon, no fluff, just unbiased insight and solid strategies from a guy who's been in the hot seat and came out cooler than ever.
Subscribe to the Atlas Annuity Podcast for a regular dose of insights that could change the way you think about protecting and growing your assets in retirement. Ready for more? Light the way to a secure future at www.atlasannuity.com and book your appointment with Marty Becker today.
Don't just retire, retire with confidence.
Retirement Withdrawal Rate Danger Zone: A $1.5 Million Case Study
A married couple came to Marty with $1.5 million saved for retirement. On paper, they looked like they were in great shape. But when Marty ran the numbers, they were on track to run out of money by their mid-80s.
In this episode, Marty breaks down a real case study of a 62 and 60-year-old couple needing $138,000 a year in income — a 9.2% withdrawal rate, more than double the standard 4% rule. Marty walks through four different strategies side by side: staying conservative, going aggressive in the market, a half-measure annuity approach, and the full Atlas Annuity Strategy that took them from running dry to having nearly $1 million left in their 90s, with over 90% of their income guaranteed for life and zero market risk.
You'll learn:
Why a safe withdrawal rate matters more than your total account balance
What really happens when your withdrawal rate creeps above 4%
Why "locking up" money in an annuity may actually free up more cash than staying invested
How guaranteed income can let you take more risk — and defer Social Security — safely
This episode is for educational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy, sell, or trade any securities. Please consult a licensed advisor before making any financial decisions.
Ready to see what your own withdrawal rate and guaranteed income strategy could look like? Book your free Income Clarity Call at atlasannuity.com.
25 Sept 2026
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Annuity Surrender Charges
Have you ever looked at an annuity illustration and seen a chart labeled "surrender schedule" and thought, wait... is my money trapped? In this episode, Marty Becker breaks down exactly what surrender charges are, why insurance companies build them into annuities, and why they're actually more forgiving than people assume.
Marty walks through real numbers showing how a surrender schedule works, why it's actually more flexible than a bank CD, and why every annuity discloses a Minimum Guaranteed Surrender Value (MGSV) — something stocks and bonds never tell you upfront. He also covers when surrender charges can become a real problem (hint: it's a planning issue, not a product flaw), plus the key exceptions that let you access your money penalty-free, including terminal illness, nursing home confinement, death benefits, and bailout provisions.
In this episode, you'll learn:
What a surrender schedule actually is and how the declining penalty works year by year
Why annuities are more forgiving than bank CDs when you need extra money
What the MGSV is and why no other investment discloses this in advance
The real reason surrender charges exist — and why it's not the annuity company keeping your money hostage
The industry rule of thumb for how much of your money should ever go into an annuity
The exceptions that let you access 100% of your funds penalty-free
This episode is for educational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy, sell, or transfer any security or insurance product. Please consult a licensed securities advisor before making any investment decisions, and a licensed tax professional for any tax-related strategies.
Ready to see if the Atlas Annuity Strategy is right for you? Book your free Income Clarity Call at atlasannuity.com or click the "Schedule a Call" button on any page of the website.
18 Sept 2026
Finding the Right Annuity Starts With Knowing Your Real Rate of Return
What if a portfolio that averaged almost 7.5% for over two decades still ran completely out of money by age 90? It's not a hypothetical — it's a real historical outcome, and in this episode, Marty Becker breaks down exactly why it happened.
Most advisors love to talk about "average returns," but almost none of them explain the difference between an average return and your actual return — and that gap could be the single biggest threat to your retirement plan.
In this episode, Marty covers:
Why a 25% "average return" can still leave you with $0 more than you started with
The real math behind a 60/40 portfolio from 2000–2025 that looked great on paper but ran dry by age 90
How to calculate the actual rate of return your money would need to match a guaranteed income annuity
A real-world example of a $538,000 allocation producing $40,000 a year in guaranteed lifetime income
How to protect against inflation without giving up your entire portfolio
Why guaranteed income can actually let you invest more aggressively with the rest of your money — in both worst-case and best-case market scenarios
If you've ever wondered whether your statement is telling you the whole truth about your money, this episode will change the way you look at every number on it.
Want to know your actual return — not just your average? Book a free Income Clarity call with Marty at atlasannuity.com.
Reach and audience
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YouTube views
65,423
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.3 / 5
3 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 54 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
66
Social presence
0
YouTube
76
Engagement
31
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