Why It Pays to Delay Social Security |
July 16, 2012 |
Retirement Planning, Your Retirement
With interest rates at a historical low, many retirees question the most effective use of their funds for maximizing overall value. If you are one of those people, then you should read up on a report published by National Bureau of Economic Research. In it, their team has calculated that waiting until 70 is often the best choice when interest rates are as low as they are now. This report has determined that delaying Social Security is “actuarially advantageous for a very large subset of...
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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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The Baby Boomer And Retirement Income Specialist Matching Service Goes Active In Iowa |
July 6, 2012 |
Press Releases
The first free online matching service designed to help baby boomers find retirement income specialists in their local communities is now active Iowa. Annuity123, the online retirement income educational portal, has opened their Annuity Harmony matching service for the benefit of all residents in Iowa who are in need of retirement income planning guidance. This innovative online matching service is aimed to link retirees with retirement income specialists whose practice is in their local area. Over 30 years ago, Americans were forced by their employers...
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Study Reveals Need for Summary Prospectus for Variable Annuities |
July 5, 2012 |
Variable Annuities
A recent survey commissioned by the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) reveals that investors rarely even read a Variable Annuity’s full prospectus. Only 17% of individuals report reading any part of a policy’s 150-300 page prospectus in 2012. Among the small percentage the do actually review the prospectus, only 7% – 16% of the document is actually read. According to IRI’s President and CEO, Cathy Weatherford, “rather than provide consumers with relevant investment information, the sheer length of the full prospectus has created a barrier to...
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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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Study Reveals That Most Advisors Favor Annuities For Their Clients |
June 28, 2012 |
Annuity Basics, Retirement Planning
A new study published by LIMRA shows that 55% of advisors believe that annuities should be included in their clients’ portfolios when they have less than $500,000 in investable assets. Given this retirement amount needs to address their clients’ needs for the remainder of their lives, the greatest risk to these clients is outliving their assets. Statistically, they simply do not have enough cushion to self-insure against longevity risk. Also, this study found that 42% of advisors with high-end clients say that guaranteed income products...
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