Annuity123 is dedicated to providing Americans with unbiased information about retirement, answering the tough questions you want to know.

With hundreds of articles on every retirement planning topic you can think of, peace of mind is just a click away.

Income For Life

How to Get the Most Income Out of an Annuity

Tim Fitzwilliams

As a consumer planning for the future, it’s important to understand what an annuity is, how it works, and how much income you’ll receive for the rest of your life. An annuity is a vehicle that is designed to provide income for the rest of your life. The three most common types of annuities used when planning an income include: fixed, variable and indexed. To keep things very simple: Fixed = A set interest rate. Variable = Based on the stock market and has market...

View Article

A Look Inside Wall Street

Erick Jon Arnett

So consider this source: I am an independent advisor, and I have been in the industry for 15 years. I have worked for big banks, small banks, a retail brokerage, fledgling hedge fund managers, registered investment advisory firms, and now I am completely independent and objective. I have seen it all and have had exposure to almost every tool or investment product that exists out there. I don’t say this to brag by any means. There are probably far smarter and better experts (as they...

View Article

Don’t Run out of Runway!

Pat Kerfoot

“Doc” was a friend of my father. He had been a P-51 pilot serving in Europe during the Second World War.  One day I asked “Doc” what his greatest worry had been as a pilot.  He looked off in the distance and then sighed: “Son, you never want to run out of runway!” “Doc’s” words have come back to me many times over the years; especially when talking to clients about their retirement planning!  How many time I have met with retirees and pre-retirees who...

View Article

Protect What’s Yours

Pat Kerfoot

Written By: Nina Avery, CFP®, in Orlando, FL Annuities are a great way to safeguard your hard earned money. They also offer several options, any of which can be tailored to your individual needs with regard to immediate income, fixed rates like CDs, upside potential without market risk, guaranteed lifetime income and spousal benefits. If you are looking for safety of principal, guaranteed returns and guaranteed lifetime income; educating yourself about annuities is definitely worth your time.  Here is a brief discussion of two of...

View Article

Protect The Ones You Love And Create A Secure Retirement At The Same Time

Pat Kerfoot

Written By: Nina Avery, CFP® | Avery Safe Money Solutions A week before my dad died he asked me to create a plan for him that would protect my mother.  My folks had the standard term policies when they were younger to protect each other, the house and us girls.  But when those ran out, as term policies ALWAYS do, there was no more insurance.  When the idea came back around that life insurance was the best way for my dad to protect and take...

View Article

What Are The Best Ways to Get a Lifetime Income Stream from an Annuity?

Stan The Annuity Man

Question: Stan, what are the best ways to get a lifetime income stream from an annuity?  Larry from Maryland Answer: Good question Larry.  Annuities are pure transfer of risk strategies, and the only product that guarantees income for life regardless of how long you live. There are really 2 ways to solve for lifetime income using annuities, Income Now or Income Later.  You either need income to start immediately or sometime down the road.  Let’s look at the best ways to achieve both. Income Now...

View Article

Future Income IRA: Income You Cannot Outlive

Stan The Annuity Man

Written By: Barry Goldwater | Goldwater Financial Group It use to be that you got a job with a U.S. company, worked for that company most of your life and then retired with a company pension and social security. This double annuity income was usually enough for a comfortable retirement. Then in the 1970’s companies started shifting retirement planning responsibility to the employee in the form of 401k plans, IRA’s, profit sharing plans. The company defined benefit plans, conservative annuity payouts which were usually comprised...

View Article

Solving Your Retirement Concerns

Stan The Annuity Man

Written by: Charles Garber | Garber Financial Services People approaching or at the actual stage of retirement, have several concerns that we need to address.  Concerns that cannot be dismissed and must be resolved for their peace of mind.  These concerns are as follows: 1)  Not having enough income for the rest of their life 2)  Inflation 3)  Stock Market Volatility and Losses 4)  Unexpected Bills 5)  Health and Long-Term Confinement At first glance, each one of these concerns requires 3-4 different types of financial...

View Article

Upgrade an Older Annuity with a 1035 Exchange

Carl Ostenson

Is it possible to upgrade your older annuity into a new one that has more benefits? The short answer is, YES. But the real answer is that it depends, and you need to do a little homework to be sure you are making your situation better, not worse. First let’s go through some common reasons why people might want to switch from one annuity to another. 1)  Fees: This would apply mainly to Variable Annuities. The total fees can range from 2% to over 5%...

View Article

Apple Lesson: The Retiree’s Real Advantage – How to Take an Even Bigger Bite!

Carl Ostenson

Written By: Alan Schuh | Heritage Retirement Income Planners There is a great article today on MarketWatch.com by Larry Stein (click here for the full article). “In September 2012, Apple traded above $700 per share. Analysts were jumping over each other to predict that Apple would soon trade at $1,000 per share.  Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was THE company, an unstoppable juggernaut with innovation that no company could touch. Just six months later, Apple traded at $420 per share, down 40% from its previous high. If you...

View Article