January 27, 2014 2:13 pm
Published by alexhouse
Much has been written about FIAs (Fixed Index Annuities) but the point we would like to make in this article is that an annuity is, at the end of the day, an insurance product and one should look at it as insurance on your retirement. Because there is no down-side risk, the insurance company guarantees your investment but, not only that, in the case of a FIA, the company will allow you to share in the market growth subject to certain limitations. As with any...
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January 24, 2014 9:40 am
Published by alexhouse
That’s a great question people ask themselves all the time. What I’d like to do it re-phrase it into a question that I think gets to the core of the matter with a little more clarity. “Will your Social Security and/or Pension be enough retirement income to pay your bills and have a little fun… OR… will you need more income than that? Because, if Social Security and/or your pension is enough income, then you don’t really have to worry about how much money you...
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January 23, 2014 9:39 am
Published by alexhouse
Question: I’m looking to set up a guaranteed lifetime income stream to start sometime in the future. Which is better, longevity annuities or income riders? from Tom in Portland, Oregon Answer: Excellent “head scratcher” Tom, and this is one of the most important questions currently in the world of annuities. What you are talking about is target date or income later planning. You want to plan a lifetime income stream to turn on in the future, and would like to be able to know to...
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January 22, 2014 5:54 pm
Published by alexhouse
I have made the acquaintance of many educators over the years; both retired and still in service. I was fortunate enough to meet many of them while working with one of the 403(b) providers in the public school systems. Most of them had regularly contributed to their accounts as a way to supplement their pensions. What I’ve found is that the vast majority were not aware that there had been major changes made to 403(b)s over the last several years. First, let’s describe what a...
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January 22, 2014 12:46 pm
Published by alexhouse
I have no doubt that my wife will outlive me! Now nature may interfere with that but if I was a gambling man (I don’t) I would bet on her! 85% of all widows over age 85 are women compared to only 45% of men*. We are basically outlived 2 to 1! So that makes you wonder why health insurance cost was always higher for females instead of males. Well, it the fact that they actually go to the Doctor and get treated and we...
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January 17, 2014 2:47 pm
Published by alexhouse
You have heard the old saying “Don’t put all of your eggs into one basket” before right? Well the saying holds very true for annuities as well. No matter how safe an annuity is perceived to be, and no matter how much contractually guaranteed income that the annuity can spin off for you, there is no reason that anyone should put all (or even almost all) of their money into annuities. This video goes over the history of annuity suitability and also discusses who can...
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January 16, 2014 8:25 am
Published by alexhouse
As with any investment, one makes a call based on risk and reward. Fixed Index Annuities continue to offer one of the best trade-offs in the market. However, it is still important that one stays abreast of what is happening in the market and what products are being offered as these change on an ongoing basis in response to the market and what demand is driving the insurance companies to offer. For instance, as interest rates remain low, but the markets showed increases over the...
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January 15, 2014 3:02 pm
Published by alexhouse
We’ve all heard the expression ‘have your cake and eat it too’. It’s a pretty simple dilemma; if you have your cake and eat it… then it’s gone. If you don’t eat the cake, you still have it but don’t get to enjoy it. Wouldn’t it be nice to have it both ways? It’s like being rewarded without taking any risk or getting something nice without having to pay for it. So you’ve done some research about fixed indexed annuities and you find there are...
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January 14, 2014 7:13 am
Published by alexhouse
One great advantage of owning an annuity is the ability to, upon your death, have your money flow to your beneficiaries without having to go through probate. Beneficiary designations take precedent over wills. If you do not name a beneficiary your money flows to your estate. This may tie it up for an extended period of time and will subject it to court fees. On the other hand, an insurance company will distribute the balance of an annuity within a matter of a few weeks...
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January 10, 2014 11:00 am
Published by alexhouse
Question: What happens at the end of my annuity? Answer: Usually people that ask me this question are typically talking about either a fixed rate annuity or an indexed annuity. So I’ll answer the question with those in mind (ie. a 5 year fixed annuity or a 10 year indexed annuity). So let’s look at each type separately: Note: You will see that the big difference between the two types is Option #1. With indexed annuities you can usually stay with them as long as...
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