Written by Ted Byrer, Certified Annuity Specialist® · September 2026 · 6 min
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.
Ted Byrer built Byrer Wealth Management, LLC around a simple question: how does this household keep the life it already chose? The answer, in this practice, is insurance — a paycheck from an insurer, a death benefit, a care rider — not a market bet.
That is why the first conversation is not a product list. It is the floor. What has to be paid if the market is rude, if someone dies too soon, if a long care event lasts years. Social Security, any pension, and then whether an insurance contract should fill the gap. The step-by-step version is on the page about guaranteed retirement income in Westfield and Hamilton County.
Ted Byrer is a Certified Annuity Specialist®, Retirement Income Specialist, and Independent Insurance Agent in Westfield, Indiana. The specialization is the point: insurance only.
What this practice will design
- Fixed indexed annuities, fixed multi-year guaranteed annuities, and income annuities — insurance contracts, not securities.
- Fixed life insurance, including indexed universal life, when a known amount has to show up at a known time — subject to underwriting and policy terms.
- Long-term care, including hybrid riders, so a care event does not become a fire sale.
- Disability, accident, and property & casualty where the household or the business still needs them.
What this practice will not do
Ted Byrer is not securities licensed. He does not manage investment accounts, pick stocks, or run a model portfolio. If the job is brokerage, this is the wrong door — and you will hear that in the first hour.
Independence means the contract can come from more than one carrier. The recommendation is allowed to fit the bills, the time horizon, and the people who depend on you — not a quota. If a paycheck floor is the job, here is how Ted approaches retirement income annuities in Westfield. Fixed indexed annuities are not invested directly in the market, interest credits are limited by caps, participation rates, or spreads, surrender charges apply, and any guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company.
If you want that conversation — no-cost, no-obligation — it is by phone, video, or at your home, by appointment. The Westfield address is a mailing address only.
This is education, not personalized insurance, tax, or investment advice. Ted Byrer is a licensed insurance professional, not a registered investment adviser. Guarantees depend on the issuing insurer. Availability varies by state and carrier.
Ready to talk this through?
A no-cost, no-obligation conversation with Ted Byrer.
Start a conversationKeep reading
Per Stirpes vs. Pro Rata on Annuities, by Ted Byrer, CAS®
Per stirpes (“by the branch”) passes a deceased beneficiary’s share to their descendants. Pro rata (“in proportion”) divides that share among the surviving beneficiaries.
Annuities 101: a foundation for protected income
What an annuity is, in plain English — including what a MYGA is and what a fixed indexed annuity is. The paycheck, the limits, and the worries people usually bring up.
Irrevocable life insurance trusts: keeping a death benefit out of the taxable estate
A life insurance death benefit is generally income-tax-free. If you own the policy on your own life, it can still be counted in your taxable estate. An ILIT is one established way to separate that ownership — and an attorney has to draft it.
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.
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.
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.
Independent, on purpose
Leaving the securities world is a specialization, not a demotion. Here is what that choice is for.
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.