Get a Free Second Opinion on Your Annuity
By Hans Goldstein, Independent Licensed Insurance Producer · NPN 20602398Independent, multi-carrier, California based. Last updated 2026-09-18
A second opinion is an independent read of the annuity you own or were just pitched: the surrender schedule, rider fees, renewal-rate history, and whether the illustration matches how the contract actually works. It is free, takes about 20 minutes, and you get a written summary. No product is required to get one.
Send me the contract or the quote. I will send back a written second opinion.
Your email is enough to start. I will reply within one business day with what the contract actually does, what the surrender schedule may cost you, and whether other carriers pay more for the same term. If it is already a good fit, I will tell you that.
Email only, no phone needed, and I won’t call or text you unless you give me a number. Hans Goldstein · NPN 20602398.
What does an annuity second opinion cover?
I read the contract, not the brochure. That means the surrender charge schedule year by year, any market value adjustment, the rider fees and how they compound against your account value, and the carrier's renewal-rate history on the same product line. If you were shown an illustration, I compare the assumed rate to what the carrier has actually credited. For an indexed annuity, I check the cap, participation rate and spread, and how often the carrier may reset them. Then I write it up in plain English: what the contract does well, where the potential costs sit, and whether two or three other carriers may pay more for the same term. You keep the written summary either way.
Should I get a second opinion before buying an annuity?
If the money going in is more than you could afford to lock up for the full surrender period, yes. Most annuities are sold in a single meeting, and the surrender schedule is the part buyers rarely read. A second opinion before you sign costs nothing and may save you from a 10 to 15 year commitment on money you need in six. It is also the only way to know whether the quoted rate is competitive, since one agent usually shows one or two carriers. I work with many carriers and none of them pays me to be recommended. If the product you were shown is a good fit, I will say so, and you can sign with confidence.
Can you review an annuity I already own?
Yes. Owning an annuity is where most of the questions actually come from: a renewal rate that dropped, a rider fee you did not notice, a maturity letter with a 30 day election window, or a new agent telling you to swap into something else. I check whether the contract still does what you bought it for, what an exit would cost today, and whether a 1035 exchange to a different carrier may improve things without a tax event. Sometimes the right answer is to hold the contract to maturity. Sometimes it is a partial withdrawal that stays under the free amount. I lay out the options and the numbers; the decision stays yours.
What do you need from me?
For a contract you own: the annual statement or the policy PDF, and roughly when you bought it. For a quote: the illustration, or the product name, the carrier and the amount. Your email is enough to start. A phone number is optional, and I will not call or text unless you give me one. Turnaround is usually one business day, and the written summary runs one to two pages. There is no fee and no obligation. If you would rather talk it through, I do 15 minute calls at 213-414-2808.
Who is Hans Goldstein?
I am an independent licensed insurance producer, NPN 20602398, based in California with more than 30 years in the business. Independent means I am not captive to any one carrier, so a second opinion is not a setup for a different sale. I write the annuity reviews on this site, more than 450 of them, and every one is built from the contract and the carrier's own rate history rather than the sales brochure. Anything I tell you in a second opinion is educational and specific to the contract in front of us; it is not a recommendation to buy or surrender anything.
Ready when you are: the full second opinion form
Use this version if you want a call back, or want to include the quote amount.
Owning a contract or holding an illustration, either works. Tell me the product and the amount if you know them; if not, the email alone is fine and I will ask for the rest.
Within one business day you get a written independent review and, where it applies, a side by side against two alternatives.
📞 Hans Goldstein · 213-414-2808 · NPN 20602398, independent licensed insurance producer
A second opinion is educational and specific to the contract you share. It is not a recommendation to buy, replace or surrender any annuity. Annuity guarantees are subject to the claims paying ability of the issuing insurer, and rates, caps and fees may change. Hans Goldstein, NPN 20602398.