Annuities

A Fixed Index Annuity is an insurance contract between you (the potential annuity Owner & Annuitant) and an insurance company. In general, an Index Annuity provides tax deferred growth (i.e., "accumulation") and a selection of market indices (e.g., S&P 500, NASDAQ, Barclays, etc.) and depending on which annuity may be of interest to you, you could also receive a guaranteed, compounding interest rate and an initial "Premium Bonus."

While some, or all of the above listed features and benefits may be appealing to you, it is important to understand whether or not an annuity is the right investment related product for you!

Therefore, in order to objectively evaluate your need (or the lack thereof) for an annuity, you should ask yourself the following questions:

1. Do You Understand the Importance of Sequence of Returns?
2. Do I want or need a guarantee of lifetime income?
3. Do I need market related growth of my investments?
4. Do I want to avoid investment losses at all costs?
5. Can I upgrade my old annuity by replacing it with a new annuity that offers better features and benefits for income and accumulation (i.e., “growth”)?
6. How can I avoid incurring a Surrender Penalty if I were to cancel, replace or withdraw my money from my annuity?
7. How does the payout factor (interest rate) of an annuity compared to the payout rate of my pension?
8. Do I need, or want a premium bonus of 8% to 35% added to the "income benefit base" of my annuity, as a way to increase the annual compound growth rate of my investment?