Planning with Annuities 

Plan for Your Retirement and Your Estate

When it comes to annuities, our client’s goals dictate our approach.  An annuity is a flexible contract with an insurance company where you invest your money and they provide you with certain guaranteed benefits. Depending on the type of annuity, it can meet needs for protected life income, uncapped tax deferred growth, guarantees of interest, guarantees of death benefits, protection from market losses, coverage for long term care needs, and still give you access to your money.

With all of these benefits, there has got to be a catch. What is the downside? What does it say in the fine print?

The reality is, buying an annuity is like buying a new home. You decide what attributes and features are most important to you, and what you are willing to invest to gain those particular benefits. In most cases, once our clients understand what their choices are, they can easily determine what type of contract they want.

There are several priorities to consider.  For example, in retirement planning, some clients are most concerned with not outliving their income.  Others prioritize maintaining their current lifestyle. Clients whose focus is on estate planning are most concerned with market volatility, protecting their life’s work, and leaving a legacy for their family.  In either case, clients are interested in the best return on their investments. After the crashes of 2008 and 2020, nobody wants to participate in the next one. Whatever the reason to consider an annuity, it is important to understand what annuities are, and what they are not. We believe education is the key.

There is so much information on the internet about annuities, it can be a daunting task to find what information pertains to you personally. Even a comprehensive overview leaves gaping holes that can only be filled by a conversation identifying what is truly relevant and important to you. From our point of view, it is important to eliminate the myths and misinformation that is propagated by individuals who are financially motivated to dissuade using annuities, regardless of their benefits. Annuities can be an integral part of both retirement and estate planning.