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“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, so the saying goes. So it is that with an article of this nature, it depends on who is writing it and that persons perspective as no two people will share the same opinion. So let us nail our colors firmly to the mast, so to speak, and share with you that we promote Fixed Index Annuities (FIAs) to our clients and are firm believers in their place in any Retirement strategy. Now that we have our...
View ArticleAccording to The Index Compendium, Jan 2014, “Although a few annuities ended the year crediting 5% to 6 % interest – and a couple product methods credited over 20% – the reality is most Index Annuities purchased December 2012 credited 2% to 3% in December 2013.” So why the huge discrepancy in credits? Jack Marrion, editor of Index Compendium, believes it is simply that the low bond yields a year ago did not allow carriers to buy much upside with their index link. But the...
View ArticleQuestion: Inflation is something that worries me going forward. Can fixed annuities actually account for inflation? Is that possible? Eddie M. from Casper, Wyoming Answer: Great question Eddie, and I agree with you that the real possibility of future inflation is the financial gorilla in the room. I think everyone is concerned about it. Let me start by saying there is not an annuity on the planet that is the perfect solution to combat inflation, and no strategy anywhere can address hyperinflation. However, income annuities...
View ArticleRecently I found myself trying desperately to catch my connecting flight on the way home from a business trip, just to find out that I had just missed the flight by only about 15 minutes. Being in the airport for about a six hour layover I saw a picture of a magazine cover with Dr. Oz on it. It was titled “The Good Life”. It brought to my mind the title of a book I had recently been reading entitled “Stress Free Retirement”. Throughout my...
View ArticleAre you considering investing Non-Qualified (non-IRA) money in the Total Value Annuity, American Equity Bonus Gold, Allianz Core Income Benefit, Athene Choice 10, Security Benefit’s Secure Income Annuity, or any other deferred annuity? It may be a good investment for the savings and income portion of your money, but then again it may not. This article is intended to provide you with tax information that will help you make more informed decisions when deciding which investments will work best for you near or in retirement....
View ArticleAnnuities, by far, are the most misunderstood and in some cases, misused, financial vehicles in the marketplace. Planning for retirement can be an extremely daunting task and when you add in the confusion of what products to use, who to trust, how to invest…some people choose to do nothing. I want to take a moment to put to rest some concerns as well as provide clarity around the use of Fixed Index Annuities (FIA). Once you become familiar and comfortable with their proper use, reality...
View ArticleOne of the features of a Fixed Index Annuity (FIA) is that it grows tax deferred on a compounding basis. Essentially what this means is that your interest earned every year is not taxed but is left in the annuity to continue to grow each year and is only taxed when taken as income at some point in the future. This can be more significant than one would, at first, imagine. Let us take a simple example to illustrate the point. Let us assume that...
View ArticleYou don’t get what you don’t ask for! The other way to say the exact same thing is, “You get what you ask for.” Recently, my freshman daughter was trying out for the high school volleyball team. In my opinion, she has the ability to be playing, or at least competing, with the junior varsity team, but she tried out for the freshman team. I told her, “If you want to play on the junior varsity team, you need to ask. What is the worst...
View ArticleThe idea of having a savings vehicle that can take advantage of the market upside while protecting your money from market downside sounds extremely promising. This is the usual description of a Fixed Index Annuity. But how do you choose which Fixed Index Annuity? Annuities have now many different options built into them and it make them harder to compare. To answer that question accurately, you first need to ask “What is the primary purpose of the money?” For example, many of my clients are...
View ArticleWith a multitude of factors involved, indexed-annuity products can be rather complex for many people. While many specialists offer great advice, they rarely tell them about the pitfalls they can face with indexed-annuity products. That is why I intend to educate you with information about the top 5 pitfalls you may face when selecting indexed-annuity products. 1 – Investing in a Single Index As the name suggests, indexed annuity products allow you to link your account to a particular index. More often than not, many...
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