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Your Retirement

Retiring on the Edge of the Fiscal Cliff

Retiring on the Edge of the Fiscal Cliff

Given our country’s massive debt and the impending decisions in Congress which could affect our taxes going forward, an article from Robert Powell with the above title caught my eye. In it, he gives some valuable advice for how to prepare for uncertainty in our future tax rates. Please click here to read his article. Given the uncertainly with our upcoming taxes and our overall economy, just be sure to take advantage of annuities for a portion of your assets to ensure that you have...

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American’s Shift Away from Pension Plans May Have Unintended Consequences

American’s Shift Away from Pension Plans May Have Unintended Consequences

As our society continues to move away from pension plans to defined contribution plans such as 401ks, 403bs, etc., an entire generation could be faced with not having built enough assets to fund their retirement years. A great article by Steve Vernon was recently published on this topic – click here. In it, he describes the need for our current and future workers to push corporations to revisit defined benefit plans to attract and maintain the employees. Given that an immediate change is unlikely, it...

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Survey Results: Annuities Considered Critical to Retirement Strategy by Investors in 2012

Survey Results: Annuities Considered Critical to Retirement Strategy by Investors in 2012

A recent survey has shown that a much greater percentage of investors consider annuities to be a critical part of a retirement strategy in 2012 compared to the same survey in 2011. This survey is titled “The Evolution of the Annuity Industry”, and it was produced by Cogent Research and Insured Retirement Institute with a core goal to examine the opinions and preferences of annuity producers and investors. In this most recent survey, 73% of the annuity owners stated that they are more likely than...

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401(k) In-Service Distributions to Protect Your Retirement Savings from Loss of Value

401(k) In-Service Distributions to Protect Your Retirement Savings from Loss of Value

Written By: Jeremy Smith | Amerishield If you’re currently saving for retirement in your companies 401(k) program you will soon, if not already, be informed of the fees you are paying to your plan sponsor to have the “privilege” of their services.  Until now, these fees may not have been disclosed to you.  Now Federal Department of Labor law requires your 401(k) plan sponsor to spell it out for you on your statements. Prior to this, the only deduction you may have seen were attributed...

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Survey Results: Retirement Planning on the Radar, but Action is Lagging

Survey Results: Retirement Planning on the Radar, but Action is Lagging

A recent survey reveals that more employees are inquiring about retirement planning topics, but these inquiries are not leading to directive action in many cases leaving many individuals at risk of missing out on their ideal retirement lifestyle. Financial Finesse, an independent educational company that counsels employees at more than 400 organizations about financial matters, posted their findings in a report titled “State of U.S. Employee Retirement Preparedness”. This report reveals good news given the increased inquires that individuals have made over the past year...

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Annuities: The Best Retirement Product No One Really Wants

Annuities: The Best Retirement Product No One Really Wants

Written By: Jeremy Smith | Amerishield According to Fred Vettese, chief actuary of Morneau Shepell, “Annuities are not sexy. You hand over your money to an insurance company who then puts you into a seemingly stingy allowance for the rest of your life.” The simple fact is that an annuity may be a great idea, but not as many people that can benefit from it buy one; even though statistics indicate that the majority of indexed annuity owners are happy with their purchase. If you’re...

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Why Fixed Indexed Annuity Owners Are Happy

Why Fixed Indexed Annuity Owners Are Happy

Written By: Jeremy Smith | Amerishield A happy fixed indexed annuity owner has been properly educated and appreciates its value.  If you look at statistics and numbers written on a piece of paper, some annuities aren’t as attractive as other investments might appear to be.  Appreciation of the value of a fixed indexed annuity is based upon the individual’s personal retirement goals. Low Risk vs. High Growth potential Many people looking at products for investment purposes seem to be very optimistic about how they want...

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Have You Fallen Victim to Retirement Osmosis?

Have You Fallen Victim to Retirement Osmosis?

Written By: Cal Burgess | Retirement Servicing Group Today the market just announced that manufacturing activity has contracted to a 3 year high. This means that US manufacturing activity has dropped to its lowest level in 3 years. However, investors remain optimistic. They realize that the worse the economy looks the more likely the Fed is to pump another round of Quantitative Easement. This in turn will cause the market to rally which will allow investors to temporarily offset short term losses. That is, until...

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Survey Results: Annuity Owners Have Highest Retirement Confidence

Survey Results: Annuity Owners Have Highest Retirement Confidence

Clear evidence of increased confidence in the retirement health of annuity owners was revealed in a recent survey. The survey, which was conducted by the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI), focused on Americans aged 50 to 66. Their findings show that 53% of baby boomers who own an annuity are extremely or very confident that they will have enough money for retirement compared to 31% who do not own an annuity. Further, their report shows that annuity owners are more likely to engage in positive retirement...

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Do Fixed Annuities Clash with Rising Interest Rates?

Do Fixed Annuities Clash with Rising Interest Rates?

As interest rates hover at all-time lows, demand for safe money options has been taking a hit. Proof of this can be seen in the recent LIMRA report which showed that fixed annuity sales dropped 14% in the second quarter of 2012 on a year-over-year analysis. This drop in demand is simply due to the belief that rates are much more likely increase than to decrease going forward. At the current level, it is hard not to have this belief. So what safe money options...

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