
Written by Ted Byrer, Certified Annuity Specialist® · July 2026 · 5 min
Independent, on purpose
Leaving the securities world is a specialization, not a demotion. Here is what that choice is for.
For a long stretch of his career, Ted worked in traditional wealth management. The work was real. So were the constraints: product shelves, compliance calendars built for securities, and a model that asked one person to be a market strategist, a tax philosopher, and an insurance agent at the same time.
Byrer Wealth Management, LLC is built differently. It is a practice in fixed indexed annuities, fixed multi-year guaranteed annuities, income annuities, and insurance. Independent — not tied to any single carrier. Not a registered investment adviser. Not a broker-dealer. The point of that sentence is not what is missing. It is what the time is now spent on.
What independence buys you
- A recommendation that is allowed to come from more than one manufacturer.
- A conversation that can start with your bills instead of a model portfolio.
- Contracts compared on the job they have to do: rate, rider, liquidity, and the insurer’s strength.
- No pressure to keep assets in a managed account to justify the relationship.
Insurance is not morally superior to investing. It is a different trade. If you need someone to manage a brokerage account, that is a different license and a different practice. If you need a paycheck that is not a bet, life insurance that actually pays, or a way to keep a care event from eating the plan, that is this practice.
Hoosier families do not need more noise about markets. They need someone who will sit still long enough to design the income and protection layer — and who can shop for the contract instead of defending the one on the house list.
Ted Byrer is a licensed insurance professional in Indiana, Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. He does not offer securities or investment advisory services.
Ready to talk this through?
A no-cost, no-obligation conversation with Ted Byrer.
Start a conversationKeep reading
Guaranteed income floor vs. systematic withdrawal: what happens when the market drops early in retirement
A retiring couple, $800,000, and a 40% decline in year one. The guaranteed income does not change. A matching withdrawal from a portfolio is gone by year 11. An illustration of sequence-of-returns risk — not a product quote.
Term life insurance: how it works, and whether it fits
Term life pays a death benefit if you die during the term. No cash value, no investment component. The work is choosing the amount, the length, and the contract terms before you buy.
Fixed indexed annuities with guaranteed lifetime income: a paycheck you can't outlive
A lifetime income rider on a fixed indexed annuity is built for one fear: running out of money before running out of life. The mechanics of turning a portion of savings into a paycheck that continues as long as you do.
Hybrid long-term care vs. traditional long-term care
Same need — a care month that can undo a household. Two insurance designs. Different cost, underwriting, and what is left if you never file a claim.
Hybrid long-term care using a fixed indexed annuity
A care rider on an FIA is still insurance — a way to fund help without emptying a spouse’s savings, and without turning the contract into a market bet.
Ted Byrer on a retirement paycheck you can count on
How this Westfield insurance practice starts with the bills that do not go away — not a model portfolio.
Hybrid long-term care rider options: life, annuity, and the terms that matter
A hybrid is not one product. It is a life policy or an annuity with a care rider — and the rider’s rules decide whether the design actually pays when a spouse needs help.
Fixed indexed annuity income riders: a paycheck, with the account still yours
A living-benefit rider can turn part of a fixed indexed annuity into lifetime income without forcing you to annuitize. The fee, the benefit base, and the withdrawal rate are the contract — not the brochure headline.
MYGA rates vs CDs for Westfield and Hamilton County savers
A five-year CD APY and a five-year MYGA rate look comparable. They are not the same promise, the same tax, or the same backstop. Here is how to line them up without a brochure in the way.
Fixed indexed annuities and CDs: different tools, different jobs
A CD is a bank deposit. A fixed indexed annuity is an insurance contract. Comparing them is useful — if you compare the actual features, not the sales slogan.
Social Security timing: why when you claim matters more than you think
The claiming age you choose locks in a benefit that can last decades. Treat it as a decision, not a default.
Retirement income strategies: a paycheck that lasts a lifetime
Accumulation and income are different jobs. Here are the approaches retirees actually use — and the tradeoffs of each.
A paycheck you cannot outlive
Retirement is not a balance. It is a monthly problem. Guaranteed income is how some households make that problem smaller.
Hybrid long-term care, without the folklore
Asset-based life and annuity designs that can pay for care — and still leave something if care is never used.
When a 1035 is actually worth it
A tax-free exchange of an existing annuity or life contract is a tool — not a reason to move money for its own sake.
