Vanguard Enters the Guaranteed Lifetime Income Space
Lots of insurance companies sell variable annuities. Because the fees are high, they make a lot of money in the process. Baby boomers who are approaching retirement are a huge market for annuity companies. However, a lot of us have been (finally) educated about the negative aspects of variable annuities and have resisted buying. Then came the Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefit (GLWB) rider. This changed the annuity landscape.
Two Sides of the Fixed Annuity Story
Annuities in general are difficult for the average baby boomer to fully understand. It doesn’t help that different stakeholders in the annuity industry have different stories to tell about the features, benefits, and costs. Read more
Objective Analysis of Life Income Annuity Investing for Retirement
If you are considering a lump investing strategy when you retire, a life income annuity is surely on your list of options. I’ll bet every baby boomer without a pension and with money saved is considering annuities. There is so much to know and read about the costs, risks and benefits of annuities. Insurance companies are scrambling to introduce new annuity products with new and different features. Salesmen are being trained to explain them to confused retirees. Whom do you trust to know whether you should buy an annuity with a lump sum investment?
Annuities with Long Term Care Benefits
March 30, 2010 by MJP
Filed under Annuities, Long Term Care
A frequent objection to the purchase of long term care insurance is that years of premiums may be wasted if long term care is never needed. Similarly, many prospective retirees are reluctant to invest in an immediate annuity because of a concern that they will die long before receiving a meaningful amount of annuity income. Insurance companies are now introducing products that are designed to address these purchaser concerns. One of the products is called a hybrid annuity with a long term care benefit or rider. Similar products are called long term care annuities. Read more
Taxes on Annuity Income to Increase
Many boomers are considering buying immediate annuities to provide a supplemental retirement income stream that is guaranteed to last for life, assuming that the insurance company remains solvent. Unfortunately for some annuity purchasers, taxation of annuity income is going to increase. Read more
Are Annuities the New Pension?
I have thought and written extensively about the benefits, costs, and risks of immediate and variable annuities for retirement. Now even the White House is suggesting that more boomers consider using annuities to provide lifetime retirement income. Read more
New Types of Variable Annuities for Retirement
There is a transformation of sorts occurring in the annuity market. Some of the large sellers of annuities to baby boomers and retirees are introducing new annuity products that are simplified and/or that offer new features. Let’s look briefly at a couple of these new types of annuities. Read more
Boomer and Retirement Weekly Reader – Variable Annuity Edition
October 18, 2009 by MJP
Filed under Annuities, Boomer Reading
Baby boomers are understandably fearful of another market meltdown. They continue their search for investments that will provide retirement income security with preservation of capital. That’s hard to achieve in a single package. Read more
Variable Annuities with Living Benefits
Annuities of all kinds are popular with baby boomers who have turned gun-shy about the stock market. Annuity products make a lot of money in fees and commissions for the insurance companies that sell them. This means that there are a lot of marketing and advertising resources devoted to attracting baby boomers who are eager to put their dwindling retirement funds into something perceived as safe. Read more
Retirement Income from an Inflation Indexed Annuity
Inflation is the great killer of long-term retirement dreams. Inflation is also a great unknown. When it will hit, how hard, and for how long is difficult to predict. This can add significant complexity to retirement planning. Many of us want to simplify, not add complexity and cost. Read more
