Anton Hendler |
July 11, 2014 |
Annuity Basics
The single biggest retirement concern facing seniors today is running out of money in retirement. A recent survey* questioning 1,000 Americans with $50,000 to $250,000 in investable assets—found that 55 percent of respondents were terrified of not having enough money to live out retirement. This beat fears of losing a job (35 percent), public speaking (25 percent), weight gain (24 percent) or going to the dentist (23 percent). If you are in retirement or still working and saving for retirement, take a few minutes to...
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Anton Hendler |
May 28, 2014 |
Income Riders, Index Annuities
As with so many annuity and other retirement decisions the answer is, “that depends”! This is not a ‘cop out’ on our part. It depends on where you are relative to retirement, where your funds are currently invested and what your plans are going forward. There are many rider options within Fixed Index Annuities (FIAs) and most of these carry an additional fee. So before you jump into one of these options you need to answer this question “do I need this?” The Income rider...
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Anton Hendler |
March 31, 2014 |
Annuity Caps, Index Annuities
One thing that is for certain in the Insurance Industry (or any service industry) is that the market will always react to demand for a product. It’s no different with Fixed Index Annuities (FIAs), and recently we have seen more and more ‘Uncapped Products’ offered in reaction to the markets demand for a greater share of upside gains. As with any FIA where you always only share in the market upside (but never in the downside) there are costs and limitations involved so provided you...
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Anton Hendler |
March 4, 2014 |
Annuity Basics
With the recent uncertainty around bitcoin in general and Mt.Gox (the biggest bitcoin exchange) in particular, we felt this was an apt time to reiterate a few of the points we have made in recent months regarding Fixed Index Annuities (FIAs). For those not familiar, bitcoin is a virtual currency that can be used as payment for certain transactions and is traded on various exchanges. According to their site bitcoin “uses peer-to-peer technology to operate with no central authority or banks; managing transactions and the...
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Anton Hendler |
February 22, 2014 |
Annuity Basics, Fixed Annuities, Index Annuities
“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...
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Anton Hendler |
February 4, 2014 |
Annual Reset, Annuity Basics, Fixed Annuities, Index Annuities
Of all the features of a Fixed Index Annuity (FIA), arguably the one with the greatest value is the annual reset. What this means is that every year on the anniversary of the policy, any gains in the market (based on the strategy which you have chosen and an index such as the S&P 500) will be credited to your policy and then ‘locked in’. So if the market goes down in the next year, not only will you not go down (you will stay...
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Anton Hendler |
January 27, 2014 |
Fixed Annuities, Index Annuities
Much has been written about FIAs (Fixed Index Annuities) but the point we would like to make in this article is that an annuity is, at the end of the day, an insurance product and one should look at it as insurance on your retirement. Because there is no down-side risk, the insurance company guarantees your investment but, not only that, in the case of a FIA, the company will allow you to share in the market growth subject to certain limitations. As with any...
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Anton Hendler |
January 16, 2014 |
Annuity Basics, Annuity123, Fixed Annuities, Index Annuities, Member Posts
As with any investment, one makes a call based on risk and reward. Fixed Index Annuities continue to offer one of the best trade-offs in the market. However, it is still important that one stays abreast of what is happening in the market and what products are being offered as these change on an ongoing basis in response to the market and what demand is driving the insurance companies to offer. For instance, as interest rates remain low, but the markets showed increases over the...
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Anton Hendler |
January 6, 2014 |
Annuity Basics, Annuity123, Fixed Annuities, Index Annuities, Member Posts
The next time you hear that the market has averaged 7% or 10% over the last so many years; you need to be wary about who is making the claim and how they are basing their assertion. An average rate of, say, 7% is only an average of the rates of the past so many years divided by the number of years. If you were to apply the formula to your actual money, you will find quite another result if the market has been in...
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Anton Hendler |
March 5, 2013 |
Press Releases
Annuity123 is honored to report that Leslie Knudsen has joined the network of retirement income advisors for the benefit of consumers in South Florida who are in need of obtaining personalized retirement planning guidance. Please see below for an overview of Leslie’s practice. Company Name: Leslie Knudsen Brief Business Description: Knudsen & Associates Inc. is a provider of comprehensive financial management solutions to individuals, business owners, medical providers, and clients with income needs. Our services include income planning, tax savings strategies, tax-free retirement solutions, comprehensive...
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