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Annuity Definition

How do I protect my retirement?

Granger Hughes

Many people today are faced with the harsh reality that they may wake up one day and their 401(k), or other retirement plan, may be cut in half. We put our lifetime and hard-earned savings onto the proverbial blackjack table. In reality, many people who play blackjack wouldn’t dare take their entire stack of chips and bet it on one hand; however, we do it every day with our retirement. Is this because we don’t know better, or have we been hardwired to think this...

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Annuities 101

Steven Aul

I cannot count the times that I have sat down with a couple and asked what they would like to have in their retirement portfolio, and they tell me they want to have guaranteed income they cannot outlive, maintain their principal with little or no risk, and be able to participate in the market when it increases. They get excited when I reveal that there are tools that meet these requests, but when I mention the word “annuity,” they grow horns. I believe this negative...

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What Is The True Value Of An Immediate Annuity?

Stan The Annuity Man

Question: I need an additional income stream for me and my wife and am looking at a Single Premium Immediate Annuity as a possible solution.  How do I figure out the return?  What is the true value? Fred from San Antonio, Texas Answer: Thanks for the question Fred.  This is a topic that is becoming more and more prominent of an issue as baby boomers retire and need more guaranteed income.  As a short history lesson, Immediate Annuities (also called – Single Premium Immediate Annuities)...

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What Are The Different Kinds Of Annuities?

John L. Olsen

If you’re like most people, you find the subject of annuities confusing. Just the terminology would befuddle anyone – “exclusion ratio”, “annuitization”, “indexed”, “cap rate”, “participation rate”, etc. As if that weren’t enough, the terms are not applied uniformly. Some writers about annuities refer to the kind that produces an income immediately after purchase as an “immediate annuity”; others call it a “payout annuity”. “Equity index annuity” and “fixed indexed annuity” are used almost interchangeably to refer to the same type of contract. And some...

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Annuity Acronyms Explained (GLWB, GMAB, GMDB, and GMIB)

Rob Brinkman

Annuity Acronyms! How can you understand them all? GLWB, GMAB, GMDB, GMIB – what do they all stand for? This video will teach you exactly what each annuity acronym means and how it affects you. To begin, usually an acronym on an annuity refers to some type of annuity rider. And usually (like 99% of the time) a rider costs money. Meaning there is an annual fee to have the rider. So if you aren’t 100% sure you need the rider, don’t add it to...

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What Is A Secondary Market Annuity?

Stan The Annuity Man

Question: What is a secondary market annuity?  Also, where and how can I buy them if I’m interested? from Jess in Brookfield, Wisconsin Answer: Excellent question about a very small (but growing) niche market within the annuity world.  As you know, there’s a secondary market for just about every product on the planet, and that includes annuities.  If you are shopping for higher yield and higher payments, then this might be a product type that you want to explore because yields can be 2% higher...

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What Is The Difference Between A Traditional Fixed Annuity & A “MYGA”?

Stan The Annuity Man

Question: I’ve been trying to do some research on fixed rate products, and want to know the difference between a Traditional Fixed Annuity and a MYGA annuity.  What is the difference, if any? from Robert in Chicago, Illinois Answer: Good question Robert, and yes there are distinct differences between Traditional Fixed Annuities and MYGA (Multi Year Guarantee Annuities) annuities or sometimes called fixed rate annuities.  Let take a closer look at both from an excerpt from my book, The Annuity Stanifesto. Traditional Fixed Annuity Traditional...

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Annuity Realityville Is A Place Far Away From Wall Street

Stan The Annuity Man

Annuities are the curse word of the financial industry.  Because of decades of bad selling practices, annuities have earned their bad reputation as “too good go be true” products that aren’t what they were pitched to be by the typically aggressive annuity agent. This negative stigma is unfortunate because annuities have their appropriate place in a lot of portfolios if you fully understand how they work, and how they should be allocated to compliment your current holdings.  The past is the past, so let’s take...

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Pros and Cons of Annuities – By Annuity Type

Rob Brinkman

Have you been sold or “pitched” an annuity and you have no idea if it is the right kind of annuity for your specific needs?  As you hopefully know, there are numerous types of annuities that are designed to address a specific risk or groups of risks that many retirees face.   A set of pros and cons for one annuity type is often completely different when analyzing benefits and features of other types. Education is key, and the video below does a great job in...

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What Is The Purpose Of An Immediate Annuity?

Stan The Annuity Man

Question: Why would anyone buy an immediate annuity?  What’s the purpose of it?  Isn’t it just getting your money back? from Taylor G. in Los Gatos, California Answer: Interesting questions Taylor, but very good ones.  An immediate annuity is formally called a Single Premium Immediate Annuity, and also known as an income annuity.  It is the original annuity product and was first introduced in Roman times. People buy immediate annuities because they are looking for a pension type income stream.  They want to make sure...

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