Annuities
Annuities – what they are, how they work and how to choose the best type of Annuity
Found 148 Articles.
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How to Get Paid for Giving – Charitable Gift Annuities
A way to combine two tax benefits and receive a stream of income for life is the charitable gift annuity. Once an obscure vehicle, gift annuities are becoming more popular as the Baby Boomers age and charities become more sophisticated. The charitable gift annuity is a simple concept. An individual transfers wealth to a charity. […]
Are the New Life Insurance Annuities Worth the Cost?
Insurers want you to buy more annuities. They expect that as the Baby Boomers age they will need dependable sources of lifetime income, and annuities will provide a large portion of that income. The sticking point is that many people do not want to buy annuities, because the annuity payments last only for life. If […]
How to Ensure Inflation Protected Lifetime Income with Annuities
As the Baby Boomers age, financial services firms are interested in meeting their needs. One need is for guaranteed lifetime income that replaces old-style defined benefit plans. Another need is for that income to retain its purchasing power over the years. Some investment advisors used to say that owning stocks for the long term met […]
How Annuities Can Extend a Portfolio
Annuities received a bad name over the last few decades, with some help from this newsletter. But there are different types of annuities, and they are not all bad investments. For example, the greatest fear of most retirees is outliving their portfolios. The right kind of annuity can reduce the probability of running out of […]
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How to Build Your Own Equity-Indexed Annuity
Equity-indexed annuities and other “structured products” have been hot sellers the last few years. Unfortunately, few people who buy or sell them really understand these investments. The investors are surprised that the returns are not as high as expected. The basic pitch of structured investments is a guaranteed return of at least the initial investment […]
Private Annuity Trusts: New Rules
Just as last month’s discussion of private annuity trusts was mailed, the government issued proposed regulations restricting the strategy. Though intended to stop transactions considered by the IRS to be abusive of the tax law, the regulations go further and make private annuity trusts generally unattractive. Recall from last month’s discussion that a private annuity […]
Annuities – How Not to Run Out of Income in Retirement
Running out of income is the biggest fear of most retirees. Annuities often are the best way to avoiding running out of income. Yet, few people take advantage of this opportunity, and many who do buy annuities make the wrong decisions. That is because annuities are complicated, and commissions can give sales people the wrong […]
Inflation-Protected Never-Ending Lifetime Income with Annuities
Retirement planning boils down to solving two problems: providing an income for life, and ensuring that income retains its purchasing power. Running out of money and watching the purchasing power of one’s income erode are two of the greatest retirement fears. Financial services companies constantly are developing products and strategies to alleviate these fears. As […]
