The “Shutdown” and Our Retirement Assets
So the latest ‘shutdown’ has happened and fortunately has finally gone away. What does mean to us and how will it or potential future shutdowns affect your investments and your retirement plan going forward? We have had calls from concerned clients wanting to know if their ‘money’ is safe.
The short answer, in our opinion, is that it depends on the following:
- Where your investments are held
- What you think will happen to the markets
Firstly, most of our clients are invested in Fixed Index Annuities or Indexed Universal Life (IULs) where they are protected from market forces in that they share in part of upside but are protected from any downside. Certainly they will not do as well as ‘unprotected’ investors when the market goes up, but this is a small price to pay for the security of knowing that any downward correction will not affect them. If you want to share in the market in its entirety without protection, then we would suggest that you decide how much money you could afford to lose (in a worst case scenario) and set it aside.
Secondly, if you are invested in the markets, then you will want to know where they are likely to go and that is (as always) anyone’s guess! Sure the markets did not completely panic during the recent shutdown, and experience has shown that we move past these things and get on with the business of business. So, I guess, it depends on whatever you think will happen next.
For those curious about Fixed Index Annuities or Indexed Universal Life (IULs), please bear in mind that these offerings are provided by insurance companies who are governed at State level (not Federal). Most importantly, there is very little instability risk in the insurance industry given the stringent reserve regulations that insurance carriers must follow (unlike the highly leveraged banking industry). In fact, during 2008, to the best of our knowledge, there was no instance of a failure of any A or B rated insurance company. Even in the event of a failure, the state reserve would step in and cover investors up to a point so there is very little need for concern.
Our clients sleep peacefully at night even in tumultuous times. Actually, so do we, as we have no concerns over our clients’ getting wiped out now or at any stage in the last 20 years.
Can you say the same for yourself?
To learn more from this annuity professional, simply click here (Anton Hendler).
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