Monday 29 October 2012

How Ric Flair Can Use an Immediate Annuity

By Rob Sutter


In the world of professional wrestling, it's hard not to feel badly for those whose lives have fallen so far. A man might be a champion at one moment but then down on his luck the next. I believe this story best fits Ric Flair, who is thought of as one of the greatest men in the industry. With sixteen world titles to his name, it's sad to see that he can't win a match with his own earnings. Maybe the Nature Boy would be smart to think of an immediate annuity.

One wouldn't think that the man who had everything going for him at one place in time would have fallen so far. Flair was once riding in limousines as he surrounded himself with gorgeous women. These days, however, he's become nothing short of the perpetually sad grandparent who drives a beat-up station wagon as he recounts the good old days. He's without a secure form of income and in his old age, it's unlikely that he'll ever wrestle full-time again. It's an instance where Flair, in essence, shot himself in the foot.

I think the best example I can give in regard to Flair's fall in life has to be in how he has, essentially, sold out. He once made it clear that he would be taking payments for his services as he would appear at birthday parties in total ring gear, robe and all. If this wasn't a sad enough case already, he would go on to auction off one of his old robes along with a championship replica belt that originated from his heyday in the wrestling business. No one should have to sell off their belongings to make a living, so what should have Flair done instead?

Creating an immediate annuity early in a person's golden years could have done well for Flair. For those of you not familiar with an immediate annuity, it is simply a life insurance policy but changed a bit. Instead of the insurer giving a lump sum payment after you die, this will offer a lump sum payment to the insurer in question, with constant income payments being given in return. Savings2Income, amongst other retirement authorities, will stress how important the knowledge is and since this is a commonly used policy, why didn't Flair put it to use?

Where I feel like Flair's problems originate from is in the idea that he's prideful. He doesn't appear to be entirely worried about money, which is another issue. His whole focus seems to be on the wrestling business as a whole, making certain that he lives and dies within it. He has the attitude that landed him in trouble to begin with and my only hope is that even in the professional world and all of its unpredictability, he finds a stable foundation for himself again.




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