Anton Hendler |
May 1, 2014 |
Index Annuities, Inflation
It wasn’t that long ago, that inflation was the topic of choice but, after a protracted period of next-to-no inflation, and perhaps a touch of deflation, not much has been heard about this inevitable fact of our lives for quite some time now. The latest annual inflation rate for the United States is 1.1% through the 12 months ended February 2014* and the average annual inflation for the past 100 years or so has been about 3.2%. Effectively this means that if you are not...
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Anton Hendler |
April 14, 2014 |
Index Annuities
Not that long ago, many corporate and government employees had the safety of a defined benefit pension plan which was funded by the employer and would provide a steady stream of “guaranteed” retirement income for the rest of their life. Sadly, this type of pension plan is a disappearing commodity and, with them, goes the security of an income stream to support one throughout retirement. So, given the inevitability of the current trend to alternative vehicles, what can a retiree or future retiree do to...
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Anton Hendler |
March 21, 2014 |
Fixed Annuities, Index Annuities
Given the current market uncertainty we thought it a good time to revisit the question of Fixed Index Annuities (FIAs) and whether one can, in fact, gain without losing. The short answer is, of course, yes. But there are a few points that need to be made to properly explain what is meant by gaining and losing. Certainly with a FIA you will never share in any market losses. Your gains, if there is a gain, are ‘locked in’ on a set basis (usually every...
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