Understanding Annuities

What Is an Annuity?

An annuity is an insurance product designed to provide consumers with guaranteed income for life.

More specifically, an annuity contract is a legally binding, written agreement between you and the insurance company that issues the contract. This contract transfers your longevity risk — the risk of you outliving your savings — to the insurance company. In exchange, you pay premiums as outlined in the contract.

How Do Annuities Work?

Annuities work by converting a lump-sum premium into a stream of income that a person can’t outlive. Many retirees need more than Social Security and investment savings to provide for their daily needs.

Annuities are designed to supply this income through a process of accumulation and annuitization or, in the case of immediate annuities, lifetime payments guaranteed by the insurance company that begin within a month of purchase — no accumulation phase necessary.

In essence, when you buy a deferred annuity, you pay a premium to the insurance company. That initial investment will grow tax-deferred throughout the accumulation phase, typically anywhere from ten to 30 years, based on the terms of your contract. Once the annuitization, or distribution, phase begins — again, based on the terms of your contract — you will start receiving regular payments.

Annuity contracts transfer all the risk of a down market to the insurance company. This means you, the annuity owner, are protected from market risk and longevity risk, that is, the risk of outliving your money.

To offset this risk, insurance companies charge fees for investment management, contract riders, and other administrative services. In addition, most annuity contracts include surrender periods during which the contract holder cannot withdraw money from the annuity without incurring a surrender charge.

Furthermore, insurance companies generally impose caps, spreads and participation rates on indexed annuities, each of which can reduce your return.

Reasons to Buy an Annuity

People buy annuities to create long-term income. While most often considered financial solutions for older people who are close to retirement, annuities can benefit investors of any age with a variety of financial goals.

Reasons to buy an annuity include:

• Long-term security
• Tax-deferred growth
• Principal protection
• Probate-free estate distribution
• Inflation adjustments
• Death benefits for heirs

Income annuities are generally suitable for people who are within a year of retirement and want the security of guaranteed income. Remember, single premium immediate annuities (SPIAs) begin paying out within a year of purchase. This means there is no accumulation period as there is with deferred annuities.

For this reason, SPIAs are also beneficial for younger people who have inherited a large sum of money and wish to protect the windfall from poor financial management.

In contrast, deferred annuities are generally not recommended for people who have short-term financial needs or younger people with more aggressive investment strategies.

Annuity Benefits

Speak with us today about your retirement planning and how an annuity could change your retirement income for the better!