The Tortoise vs. the Hare |
August 12, 2012 |
Annuity Basics, Index Annuities, Jeremy Smith, Member Posts, Retirement Planning
Written By: Jeremy Smith at Amerishield I just finished reading a blogged article titled “What is the Right Age to Buy an Annuity?” In this article the author hypothesized that fixed or indexed annuities need to be held for the length of the contract in order to realize the full opportunity for growth. I strenuously disagree. He also explained that in many of the policies there is a penalty for withdrawing more than the allowed amount during the contract period. In some cases this can...
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What is the problem with annuities? |
August 11, 2012 |
Member Posts, Robert Zimmerman
Written By: Robert Zimmerman | H&R Advisory Service, LLC While annuities are great places to deposit your safe money, they are not tax free accounts, any more than IRA or 401k accounts. Yes they do offer higher interest rates on a guaranteed basis, and they have some attractive side benefits, they are still a ‘tax deferred’ account. Many people don’t realize that annuity values do not pass tax-free to heirs. All the interest gained through the years is taxable income to the heirs. Even if...
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You Don’t ‘Buy’ Annuities |
August 2, 2012 |
Annuity Basics, Member Posts, Robert Zimmerman, Your Retirement
Written By: Robert Zimmerman | H&R Advisory Service, LLC Most people are lead to believe that annuities are a purchase –same as buying a candy bar. Or an automobile! The problem is that you can immediately use your sense of touch to evaluate such a purchase. You cannot do this with a bunch of words on a piece of paper. Give up the notion of buying an annuity, and think of it in the same way as you think of having money in a checking...
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How will your Retirement Savings Perform if we have Another Lost Decade? |
July 30, 2012 |
Index Annuities, Jeremy Smith, Member Posts
Written By: Jeremy Smith at Amerishield Let’s say you believe that the next decade will be more volatile than the last decade. If you choose to stay the course and not educate yourself on other viable options, you could very well experience some of the same previous damaging effects of “just breaking even” over the last 10-12 years. Many people’s retirement savings have been lucky to break even over the last 12 years, and many believe that the end of the financial crisis is nowhere...
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Indexed Annuity Annual Reset Advantage |
July 20, 2012 |
Index Annuities, Jeremy Smith, Member Posts
Written By: Jeremy Smith at Amerishield One of the most powerful benefits of an indexed annuity is the annual reset feature. This is valuable whether the indexed market goes up or it goes down. If the index market goes up, the client’s account value receives the market linked growth as interest credited to their account value. If the indexed market goes down, the client receives zero interest that year. While this may appear to be a bad thing, the annuity client lost no money compared...
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Think Twice Before You Roll Over Your 401k to a New Employer |
July 12, 2012 |
401k and IRA Blogs, Cal Burgess, Member Posts
Written By: Cal Burgess, Retirement Servicing Group Today, with the amount of layoffs and the number of workers being forced to change career paths, the need to protect their 401k, 403b, or other employer sponsored plan (ESP) is taking a sideline to the need of finding another income source. Ironically, they could be bettering their retirement position by helping to secure an income stream for their future retirement needs. Many employees do not know all of the options that they have with respect to their...
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Understanding Annuity Living Benefit Riders |
July 10, 2012 |
Annuity Basics, Income For Life, Index Annuities, Jeremy Smith, Member Posts
WRITTEN BY: JEREMY SMITH, AMERISHIELD Over the last 15 years, there has been a tremendous change in the quantity and types of annuity riders you can choose during your purchase of an annuity for retirement savings. It is important that you understand how these may benefit you and the fees (if any) to you. Living Benefits Among the most common riders you must determine if you wish at the time of purchase is an Income Rider. There are many different names for these yet they...
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Income Planning For Rising Taxes |
July 9, 2012 |
Cal Burgess, Life Insurance, Member Posts
Written By: Cal Burgess, Retirement Servicing Group The Bush Tax cuts are set to expire in January of 2013, which will prove to be a major problem for many investors. This is especially true considering we have spent more money as a nation over the last 4 years than any other time in US history, bringing the debt toll to over $4.5 trillion since 2008. This drastic spike in spending is likely to be followed by a steady increase in Federal income taxes. It’s not...
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Avoid the Bear Trap |
July 2, 2012 |
Index Annuities, Jeremy Smith, Member Posts
Written By: Jeremy Smith at Amerishield You may have heard the term “Bear Market.” There are a few possible origins of this phrase, but the most plausible dates back to the late 1700s. Bear skin brokers, known as jobbers, would often sell bear skins they did not yet have. They would sell them at the current market price and promise a future delivery date. Their hopes were that the price of bear skins would drop during that time giving them a higher profit. Nowadays, the...
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A Paradigm Shift of Income Planning |
June 21, 2012 |
Cal Burgess, Member Posts, Retirement Planning, Your Retirement
Written By: Cal Burgess, Retirement Servicing Group PLLC The retirement crisis is likely to continue given the direction our pension plans are heading. It is no secret that the traditional pension plan is pretty much unheard of in the private sector. Today, your only real hopes of receiving a pension are through a government job. Even at that, state and federal governmental authorities are struggling to make the payments on a monthly basis. This is all the more reason why employees need to take their...
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