Jason Dannettel - Financial Representative with Mutual of Omaha

10/08/2026

Normally this is where you'd see a perfectly polished post about "securing your financial future," with a stock photo of a gray-haired couple laughing at a salad.

I'm not doing that today. I'll be honest, I don't spend a lot of time on this page, and you can probably tell.

So here's an actual question instead. October is National Retirement Security Month (I found out this morning, which tells you how closely I follow national months), and I've been talking about the different pieces of retirement income. Retirement income isn't one thing. It's more like a stool, and the more legs it has, the less it wobbles.

Which leg of your stool worries you most?

🔹 Social Security (when to claim, how much)
🔹 Pension (FERS or military retirement, and what happens to a spouse)
🔹 Savings (TSP, 401k, IRA)
🔹 VA disability (am I even using what I earned?)

Vote below, and if you want to explain your pick in the comments, I'll respond to every one. No sales pitch. Whatever gets the most votes is what I'll write about next.

10/08/2026

Many retirees ask the same question:
"If my RMD is higher than what I planned to withdraw, am I doing something wrong?"

Episode 92 of the Make It Personal podcast explores why Required Minimum Distributions and retirement spending are not the same thing, and how thoughtful planning can help retirees navigate these decisions with greater confidence.

🎧 Watch here: https://mutualofomaha.co/3WewQCV

10/07/2026

Fixed index annuities can sound complicated, but understanding the basics can make them easier to evaluate.

Learn how fixed index annuities work, along with potential benefits and important considerations to keep in mind.

Learn what a fixed index annuity is, how it works, how it compares with fixed annuities, 401(k)s and more, plus key trade-offs.

10/06/2026

A Traditional IRA isn’t just a retirement account; it’s a tool that can help protect your income as you move from working years into retirement. Understanding how it works and how it fits into your overall retirement strategy can help you protect your financial security as life evolves.

Check out this article for more information.

Understand how a traditional IRA works, when taxes apply, and how it supports retirement income planning. Learn the benefits, limits, and key considerations.

10/01/2026

What makes life insurance different from nearly every other financial product?

Before coverage is issued, both your health and your financial situation are considered.

Episode 91 of Make It Personal explores why qualifying matters and why proactive planning can help create more options for the future.

🎧 Watch here: https://mutualofomaha.co/4jxgTkW

09/24/2026

Quick question: what's your retirement plan right now?

If the honest answer is "I'll figure it out when I get closer" — you're not alone. But here's something worth thinking about while you've got time on your side.

I recently worked with a couple in their late 50s and early 60s who inherited a retirement account from a parent. On paper, that sounds like a win. In reality? It came with required withdrawals they didn't ask for, a tax bill that grew faster than the account did, and a chunk of "extra" money that got spent before it ever became a real plan. By the time they sat down to actually think about retirement, the runway was short and the options were limited.

Here's the part that matters for you: starting your own plan now — in your 20s, 30s, even 40s — costs you almost nothing compared to trying to fix things later. Time is doing the heavy lifting. Compound growth doesn't care how busy you are; it just needs years to work with. The version of you retiring on a plan you started early looks completely different from the version of you retiring on money you inherited late and never had time to grow.

Full disclosure — I'm still in that same age bracket I'm talking to. And my personal goal isn't just to retire comfortably. It's to bounce the last check — spend what I made during my working years, live the retirement I built — while leaving my kids something extra through a life insurance payout. Not money they had to inherit an account and a tax headache to get. Just a clean addition to whatever they're already building for themselves.

You don't need a windfall to retire well. You need a plan and time — and right now, you've got more of the second one than you'll ever have again.

If you don't have a plan yet, that's not a failure. It's just the starting point. Let's build one.

NOTE: Thanks Dad for all that you've done for me and taking time to take a selfie with me and thank you ChatGPT for making it a caricature that includes my dogs. 😄😄😄

09/24/2026

What if making more money didn't actually make you feel more secure?

Episode 90 of Make It Personal follows the story of a physician family earning over $3 million annually who still felt pressure from taxes, spending, retirement planning, college savings, and uncertainty about the future.

🎧 Watch here: https://mutualofomaha.co/4jmiCti

09/22/2026

Can we talk about the military's weird allergy to personally-owned life insurance? 😅

Not the mild kind either. Full-blown, where's-my-EpiPen anaphylaxis. Mention "buying your own life insurance policy" to most service members and you'd think you just handed them a peanut.

Instead, everybody just takes the $500k in SGLI and calls it a day. I did too. For basically my entire adult life, I paid $30 a month into it.

When I retired? I got nothing. Zero. It just... ends.

And honestly, I'm not even mad about it. Nobody ever sat me down and explained the alternative. If someone had told 1993 me "hey, here's what it's costing you to rent this instead of own it," I probably would've made the exact same choice anyway. None of us knew any better.

But looking back, I had chance after chance to set myself and my family up better. I just didn't know it at the time.

That's a big part of why I do what I do now — not to sell a policy, but so the next veteran doesn't hit my age and realize they paid for 30 years of nothing.

If you're a vet (or you love one 💙) and nobody's ever walked you through this — let's talk. No EpiPen required. 😉

09/17/2026

Many people spent years planning around reduced Social Security benefits.

Recent changes may have altered that equation.

Episode 89 of Make It Personal explores who may be impacted and why revisiting your retirement income plan could be important.

🎧 Watch here: https://mutualofomaha.co/4ABsUMD

09/14/2026

"Do you believe in whole life insurance?" "Should I just buy term and invest the difference?"

I get asked some version of this question all the time, especially this month. And my honest answer is always the same: it depends.

There's no single "best" type of life insurance. The right amount, the right type, and the right premium all depend on your income, your family, your goals, any benefits you already have, and your budget.

For one family, term life is exactly right — it gives them real protection at a price they can comfortably afford.

For another, a permanent policy makes more sense because they want the extra growth and future income it can provide.

And for a lot of folks, the right answer is a mix of both.

My job isn't to talk you into one type of policy or push an agenda. My job is to get to know your situation — what you actually want and what fits your budget — and help you build a plan around that.

The worst time to find out you have the wrong coverage, or not enough, is when your family needs it most.

If you're not sure what you have, how it works, or whether it's enough, let's take a look together. This isn't a "you need 10x your salary" conversation — it's a plan centered around you.

👉 Send me a message this week and let's talk it through. Even if I'm not licensed to write business in your state, I'm happy to help you know what questions to ask.