Annuities
Annuities – what they are, how they work and how to choose the best type of Annuity
Found 137 Articles.
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IRS Approves Longevity Annuities in 401(k)s, IRAs
Longevity annuities, also known as deferred income annuities, are fairly new. In them, you pay a lump sum to an insurer, usually when you are in your 50s or 60s. The insurer promises that at age 80 or 85 it will begin paying you a predetermined amount every year for the rest of your life, […]
Income Investing When Rates Rise
Cash is trash, but many investors are afraid of bonds. You have alternatives. Other vehicles offer higher yields than cash (and many bonds) and provide diversification and safety of principal. Even better, they won’t lose value when interest rates rise. Cash is trash these days because yields are too low. You lose purchasing power after […]
Kind Words About Variable Annuities
I’ve been among those critical of variable annuities over the years. Many of them have high fees and expenses, plus they convert tax-favored capital gains and dividends into ordinary income. But there’s something different about many variable annuities sold in recent years. After the stock market crash following 1999, insurers have to sell something more […]
Finding Safe, Guaranteed Income
Money is pouring into index annuities at a rapid rate. They’re the annuities with the highest sales for most recent years. It’s not surprising. An index annuity is a good place for some investment dollars. You have the potential to earn a higher return than traditional safe investments but are guaranteed both a minimum return […]
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More on the Annuity Puzzle
Economists think everyone should convert most of their retirement nest eggs into annuities and receive a stream of income that’s guaranteed for life. Very few people actually do that. They want to keep control and have the hope of achieving a higher return, even when they don’t invest aggressively or have a good investment track […]
A Break for Inherited Annuities
Inherited annuities usually offer beneficiaries few options. They can cash out the annuities (and pay all the income taxes) or stay with the same annuities they inherited. A new IRS ruling, however, opens more possibilities. The beneficiary inherited a series of fixed and variable annuities. She wanted other annuities that better fit her needs and […]
Guaranteed Returns, Lifetime Income
Most of those approaching retirement or in its early years share several goals. They want to avoid the volatility and periodic steep losses of the stock indexes. They want higher yields than can be earned in the safest investments, but they don’t want their principal to decline if interest rates rise. Down the road they’d […]
Updating the Annuity Puzzle
Economists and many financial advisers believe that most people should annuitize a portion of their nest eggs. That is, once they enter retirement they should buy an immediate annuity paying a fixed amount annually no matter how long they live. (Or you can buy an inflation-indexed annuity so the annual payment increases with inflation, but […]
