Annuities

If you’ve ever worried about outliving your retirement savings, you’re not alone.

A recent study found that 67 percent of Americans indicated they would be willing to give up smaller pay increases in exchange for steady and reliable income in retirement. In the same study, 78 percent said the disappearance of pensions has made it harder to achieve the American dream.¹

With pension offerings on the decline, you may want to consider a fixed income component to your financial strategy. In short, adding an annuity may be an opportunity to help ensure a portion of your retirement income will be guaranteed.

What is an annuity?

An annuity is a contract you purchase from an insurance company. For the premium you pay, you receive certain fixed and/or variable interest crediting options able to compound tax deferred until withdrawn. When you are ready to receive income distributions, this vehicle offers a variety of guaranteed payout options — some even for life.

Although annuities are a great solution in retirement for providing guaranteed lifetime income, you can also use annuities during the accumulation period, as they offer many secure investment strategies that have the potential of outperforming the market without the risk and exposure that you find in most investments. You can fund annuity contracts with a single premium or make flexible premium contributions. Annuities can be either qualified or nonqualified contracts, meaning you can use annuities inside of your IRA or 401k or you can use them in your individual investment accounts. No matter the annuity type, your annuity contract will remain tax deferred until you start taking distributions.

¹ The National Institute on Retirement Security. “Retirement Security 2015: Roadmap for Policy Makers – Americans’ Views of the Retirement Crisis.” March 2015.