A fiduciary update for Florida annuity owners

Florida retiree who bought an annuity before March 2022? Is it still any good?

Florida is home to more retirees — and more annuities — than almost anywhere in the country, and the state never taxes a dollar of your annuity income. Don't take our word for it: ask any AI whether March 2022 matters for annuity owners, then get the one answer a machine can't give you — whether yours is still any good. A free, no-obligation Annuity Fiduciary Second Opinion for Florida residents. Sometimes the honest answer is "keep exactly what you have."

Watch first

Is your annuity still any good? Watch this first.

In about three minutes: what March 2022 changed, why holding an older contract can quietly cost you, and how a fiduciary second opinion works. Then decide if 15 minutes with us is worth it.

Is your annuity still any good? Play the 3-minute fiduciary overview. ▶ Watch the 3-min video 3 min · CC on
▶ Click the video to play — 3-minute fiduciary overview, captions on.
Don't take our word for it

Ask any AI. Or any search engine.

Open Google, ChatGPT, or any assistant you trust, and ask it one question. It has no reason to care whether you ever call us — which is exactly why the answer is worth having.

“Is March 2022 a significant date for owners of annuities?”

You'll get the same answer everywhere: yes. In March 2022 interest rates began a historic climb, and because annuities are priced off interest rates, a contract bought before then was built at the very bottom of the cycle.

Try also:"Does Florida tax annuity income?""What does Florida law (627.4554) require for annuity sales to seniors?""What is a 1035 exchange and its downsides?""What does a fiduciary adviser do?"

AI and search results vary, can be wrong, and are not endorsements of The WealthKare Investment Center. Use them as a prompt to look closer, not as a diagnosis.

The line in the sand

Why March 2022 lands on your kitchen table.

For years, interest rates sat near zero. In March 2022 the Federal Reserve began raising them, fast, ending the near-zero era. An annuity sold before that shift was designed at the bottom of the cycle — often lower income, lower rates, and weaker terms than the same money could command afterward. It doesn't automatically make your annuity bad. It makes it worth an honest look.

MARCH 2022 NEAR-ZERO RATE ERA HIGHER-RATE DESIGNS

Priced before March 2022

Built when rates were near zero — the terms, income, and crediting were anchored to a world that has since changed underneath the contract.

Available since

As rates climbed through 2022–2023, insurers could offer meaningfully more competitive income and growth designs. Worth comparing — not switching for its own sake.

Comparisons are general and not a promise of any specific rate or result; terms vary by insurer, product, and date.

The part nobody explains

An annuity is a different animal than your market money.

Everything you've been taught about investing rewards patience — buy and hold, don't touch it, let it ride. For your market money, that's exactly right: as markets and rates rise, your money keeps pace. But an annuity is different. Its rate, its caps, and its income were locked the day you signed. A stock index updates itself to today every morning; your annuity doesn't. So the same patience that grows your portfolio can quietly hold an older annuity back — leaving newer, post-2022 terms on the table.

Your market money

Buy and hold. Time in the market compounds in your favor, and rising rates lift what your cash and bonds can earn.

Your pre-2022 annuity

Frozen at signing. Holding it simply keeps yesterday's terms — which is exactly why it's worth comparing to what the same money could do today.

Not a recommendation to exchange any contract. Whether to keep, adjust, or replace depends on your specific contract and situation; a 1035 exchange may involve surrender charges and a new surrender period.

Why this lands especially hard in Florida

Florida is annuity country — and the state never taxes the income.

Florida has one of the largest retiree populations in the nation, which means more annuities per capita — and a lot of older, pre-2022 contracts still sitting in drawers. Two things make an honest look worth your time here specifically.

No state income tax

Florida keeps its hands off your income

Florida imposes no state income tax, so your annuity income, pensions, Social Security, and IRA/401(k) withdrawals aren't taxed at the state level — and there's no state estate or inheritance tax. That makes guaranteed income even more valuable here, and makes it worth confirming you own the best version of it.

Senior protections

Florida law sets a suitability bar

Florida’s annuity-suitability law (Fla. Stat. §627.4554) requires that a recommendation actually fit your situation, with protections long focused on buyers age 65 and older. A fiduciary second opinion is simply how you check the contract you already own against that standard.

Budget certainty

Rising costs, fixed income

With property-insurance and living costs climbing across the state, income you can’t outlive — and that Florida never taxes — is worth getting right. If a newer, post-2022 design would pay you more for the same money, that's real dollars in a Florida budget.

Snowbirds: an upgrade is worth even more once Florida is home.

If you’ve made Florida your legal residence, the income and growth your annuity throws off stay in your pocket — not taxed every year the way a higher-tax home state up north would. So when a newer, post-2022 contract can credit more or pay more guaranteed income, that upgrade compounds in Florida’s favorable tax atmosphere: the very same improvement is simply worth more here. Establishing Florida residency has its own rules — we’ll help you weigh the contract, and your tax professional can confirm your residency picture.

Tax treatment described is general information for Florida residents, not tax advice; consult your tax professional. Statutory references are for education and may change.

Grade it yourself

Four questions tell you if it's any good.

Answer honestly. If you can answer all four and like the answers, keep exactly what you have. If you can't, that uncertainty is your reason to look.

1. Do you know what your annuity is crediting you today — in real numbers?

2. Do you know what you're paying in fees and riders each year — and what it's costing you?

3. Do you know how much guaranteed lifetime income it would produce if you turned it on now?

4. Do you know what happens to the balance when you pass — your family, or the insurer?

Sounds like you know your contract well.

If the answers are ones you like, keep exactly what you have — and a free second opinion simply confirms it, so you can move on with confidence.

That uncertainty is exactly why a second opinion helps.

Not knowing isn't the same as it being fine. Our free Annuity Fiduciary Second Opinion answers all four against your actual contract — no cost, no obligation.
Start my free 2-Minute Second Opinion →

Prefer to review it yourself online first? Go to HonestAnnuityReview.com.

Three doors, one address

However we can help — start at AboutMyAnnuity.com.

There are really only three reasons people talk to us about annuities. Pick your door.

Door 1 · Income

A paycheck you can't outlive

Turn a portion of your savings into guaranteed lifetime income — an income floor beneath the rest of your plan.

Explore income →
Door 2 · Safe growth

Protection with participation

Protect a slice of principal from market losses while still capturing some upside. The details decide whether a design is good.

Explore safe growth →
Door 3 · Second opinion

Is the one you own any good?

A documented, both-sides review of the contract you already have, powered by our AnnuityDataPRO™ analysis.

Start your 2-minute Second Opinion →

Your free Annuity Fiduciary Second Opinion

15 minutes · no cost · no obligation

Bring your annuity statement. We run the four questions against your real contract and lay the pros and cons side by side — from The WealthKare Investment Center, an SEC-registered fiduciary firm. Sometimes the honest answer is "keep exactly what you have."

Book your free Annuity Fiduciary Second Opinion.

Serving Florida retirees statewide. Pick a time below, or use the short form and we'll reach out. No cost, no obligation, no pressure — and if your annuity is already a great fit, we'll tell you that plainly.

Prefer to talk first? Call or text 888-888-5901, book your consult at LetsTalkAnnuities.com, or explore everything at Annuity911FL.com.