I cannot tell you what the stock market will do tomorrow. But I can tell you if you are age 50 today and put $100,000 into any number of fixed annuities offering guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefits (GLWBs), you will receive an annual lifetime payout at age 70 of at least $23,000 regardless of how the stock market or interest rates perform. If you and your spouse are age 65 today, I can tell you that $100,000 will produce at least a $10,000 annual income, beginning at age 75, for as long as either of you live, by choosing any one of several fixed annuities with GLWBs.
Fixed annuities have always been able to predict the future through minimum guarantees — this is why they are fixed annuities and not securities — but the future was minimal. If at age 50 you placed $100,000 in an annuity with a 3 percent interest guarantee (which is a strong rate today), the balance would grow to $155,797 by age 65.
A cursory look at current life annuitization rates says that balance would generate a lifelong income of around $13,000 a year, but you would lose control of the asset. Several fixed annuities with GLWBs would guarantee $15,000 in lifetime income under this scenario and you still keep control of the asset.