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What Are Annuity Policies?The Hyers & Associates team works with annuities of all kinds. We will help you understand how these policies are for retirement planning – or as an investment opportunity.

Many people want a safe and reliable way to invest their money while retired. An annuity is a smart option worth considering. Understanding their purposes will help you choose the best way to manage your money and enjoy a stable retirement.

 

What Is An Annuity Insurance Policy?

An annuity is a contract with an insurance company. The contractual agreement is that you will deposit an agreed upon amount of money with an insurance company, and in return, they will provide a known rate of return for growth, income or both.

If you want income, you can choose to receive your payments on a yearly, semi-annual, quarterly or monthly basis. Alternatively, you can defer your income for a later time if you wish to grow your principal for future needs. Some consumers withdrawal only their interest, while other receive both interest and principal. Annuities offer several ways to establish a present or future income stream.

If you don’t want income, you can defer your interest gains. There is really not limit to how long some investors defer growth. When their current term ends, they rollover or take advantage of non-qualified 1035 exchange transfer rules to being a new annuity. This will defer gains even longer.

These accounts accept both pre and post-tax funds. Policies are referred to as qualified and non-qualified annuities, respectively. You can deposit IRA, 401(k), 403(b) or extra funds at the bank into an annuity account.

The Pros Of Annuities

 

  • A great way to plan for lifetime income
  • Better interest rates than CD’s or other fixed-income investments
  • Growth can accumulate tax-deferred and reduce your taxable income
  • With the flexibility of a deferred annuity, you can determine your future income stream
  • You can provide lifetime payouts to just yourself – or also a spouse if desired

 

The Cons Of Annuities

 

  • Unplanned early withdrawals can decrease future payouts
  • Large early withdrawals may also incur surrender charges
  • Some payouts are fixed and don’t account for inflation
  • Long-term accounts may miss out on future rate increases

 

Is An Annuity The Right Investment For Me?

Guaranteed Investment GrowthIf you are in a high-income tax bracket and have maxed out other investment opportunities, an annuity may make good sense. You need to be willing to invest your money for a set term – usually 1-10 years. Before choosing an annuity, be sure you ask questions and make sure you understand the contract before agreeing to it.

If you need to withdraw your money early, surrender charges can apply. Most annuities offer the accumulated interest and 10% or the principal each year with no surrender penalties. If you’re choosing an immediate annuity with guaranteed payments, then there would be no surrender fees. Be sure to ask your agent about all of your withdrawal options.

 

What Happens If I Die?

It depends on your contract, but with almost all annuities your entire account value pays out to your named beneficiaries. There is a lot of misinformation about annuity policies; please know that the insurance company does not keep your accumulated funds at passing.

Typically your beneficiaries have several options available to them. A spouse can usually keep the contract inforce or surrender the contract and reinvest the account value somewhere else. Children and other named beneficiaries will usually need to surrender the contract, but can choose to receive payouts over 5 years to defer any accumulated income taxes.

That being said, there is one type of contract the ceases payments after the owner dies. They are called life only annuities with no period certain. We don’t see these purchased very often, but they make sense in some very specific cases. Someone might purchase this type of contract to maximize lifetime income, but s/he would be very aware that payments would cease upon passing.

 

Call Us With Your Questions

If you are considering buying an annuity and have questions, the Hyers and Associates insurance team works with annuities everyday. We are available to answer any questions or concerns you have. There are a lot of things to consider, and we’re here to help make the process easier, so contact us today!

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retirement annuitiesThere are several types of retirement annuity accounts offered from various insurance companies. The one that will work best for you will depend on your short and long term financial goals.

If you are closer to or at retirement, then a single premium immediate annuity account might be best. If you are saving toward retirement, then a deferred annuity with an income rider might be more appropriate.

Simply put, one size and type of annuity does not fit all situations. At Hyers and Associates, we work with a wide array of insurance companies in order to find the highest yielding annuities that best fit our client’s needs and goals.

Tax Deferred Retirement Annuity Accounts

Tax deferred annuities are best for those who are saving toward retirement and wish to accumulate funds that can later be used to generate a guaranteed income stream. Deferred annuity accounts accept both pre and post tax monies – either way the account will not be subject to income taxes until distributions are taken.

Non-qualified annuities (post-tax) are a common type of retirement annuity used for savings and accumulation. These accounts take advantage of compound growth and there are no requirements for when distributions must be taken. Owners can defer earnings and grow their retirement nest eggs for as long or as little as needed.

Fort those who have maxed out contributions to their retirement accounts, a non-qualified tax deferred retirement annuity can be a valuable investment. Contribution amounts are limitless, all funds compound on a tax-deferred basis and there are no distribution requirements.

Depending on your risk tolerance, a fixed, equity indexed, or variable annuity can be used to save toward retirement. In order to balance risk, some investors will use more than one type of account.

Lifetime Income With Certain Annuity Riders

Annuity Growth in RetirementWe have written extensively about annuity income riders as these products offer a valuable way to grow your investment in order to later create a lifetime stream of income.

Several insurance companies offer income riders and they can be attached to fixed, fixed-indexed and variable annuities depending on your risk tolerance.

Income riders offer a safe and reliable way to save toward retirement. In a nutshell, income riders create a sub-account that is guaranteed to increase by a known percentage each year (say 7%). The sub-account can be activated at desired future time to create a lifetime income stream.

The sub-account is typically not available for full withdrawal, rather it is used to create lifetime income for the owners. Theses riders usually have a yearly cost (say .70) to the walk-away value of the contract, but those costs are not deducted from the income sub-account.

In this way, there are always two values at work; the walk-away amount and the sub-account value. We can illustrate both for our clients so they can better understand what to expect from these types of retirement annuities.

It is also important to note that some lifetime income riders are also offering leveraged protection for long term care expenses, inflation protection, and in other cases full access to the sub-account value if it’s taken over a period of years. The bottom line is these riders offer known and dependable future lifetime income for their owners.

Learn more by visiting these pages:
https://www.ohioinsureplan.com/annuities/annuity-income-riders/
https://www.ohioinsureplan.com/annuities/deferred-income-annuity/

Immediate Income Annuities During Retirement

If you are at or very near retirement, then an immediate annuity might work best to create retirement income. Many consumers use these accounts to generate systematic payments for a set number of years – if not a lifetime.

The acronym used by insurance professionals is SPIA: Single Premium Immediate Annuity. SPIA accounts are usually funded with a lump sum investment in order to create a desired stream of income for one or two lives.

There are several ways to structure an immediate annuity to best fit the needs of the investor. Payments can be made for a set number of years (period certain), a lifetime, or a lifetime with period certain. Invested funds will earn interest before distribution and in some cases payments can be adjusted upwards for inflation each year.

We work with several SPIA providers in order to find the best payouts from the most highly rated insurance companies.

Contact Us For Annuity Information

Hyers and Associates is a full service, independent annuity agency. We offer fixed, indexed, immediate and income annuity riders from many, many carriers. We can help you compare and understand the policy(s) that may best fit your retirement needs.

Category: Annuities, Articles, Retirement Planning

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