Annuities

1. Questioner: Linda

   Question: I am 58 years old and retiring after 35 years as an educator. I have money in a 403b and need to put it somewhere at my retirement time. I am not interested in making money, I just want to keep it safe. I would consider a CD with a fixed interest rate, even if it is minimal. I have lost money in my Roth IRA account so I am concerned. My financial advisor suggested an index annunity. He says it is like a CD, I will have a fixed interest rate but acquire no loss as the market changes. Is this sound advice? Will I be paying a large amount up front for these services. CD's cost me nothing. View Answer

2. Questioner: Don

   Question: I have an indexed annuity with CO. A, I funded it with an IRA account transfer from a CD with CO. B. Might it still be insured by A? Thanks View Answer

3. Questioner: Steve

   Question: Hi, Is there such a thing as a lifetime annuity based on a mutual fund of municipal bonds (i.e., no federal tax on the income payments)? Many thanks View Answer

4. Questioner: Steve

   Question: Just out of curiosity. Is the following correct? *All other things being equal*, a lifetime annuity will generate higher monthly payments than living on the interest of an index fund (with the same amount of money as would be annuatized). The reason why the monthly payments are larger is that the annuity provider keeps the money when you die and, obviously, must reward you for this fact. I realize that ther are other considerations with an annuity (inflation-protection, etc.), but let's ignore these her. Many thanks, Steve View Answer

5. Questioner: Frankie

   Question: From what I understand, and EIA (Equity Index Annuity) is an annuity that credits interest based upon a variety of factors including ofcourse, the movement of a stock index it's linked to, and is protected from any lose. What my question is, is how does an EIA protect your principal investment? Is your principal protected by the insurance company, or is there some way they invest it so that the risk is covered? View Answer

6. Questioner: Martin

   Question: I have a fixed annuity that has a six year term. My wife and I put
   CD money in it for the interest. I would like to know if there is any way it could be withdrawn without the penalty before the term has expired. I have heard about the companies that are buying annuities. I would like to know if there is a reasonable course of action in case we need the money. View Answer

7. Questioner: Fred

   Question: I have been laid off from my employer. I have a retirement annuity with a past employer that has a balance of 71K. Is it possible to make a hardship withdrawal on this annuity due to my being unemployed? View Answer

8. Questioner: Jackie Reeves

   Question: I am 58...I have a substantial amount of nonqualified money in a variable annunity earning 7% for a life pay. I did not fully understand the terms when I purchased not realizing that I could never take the 7% earning except in a percentage of a life pay, and also that my benificary amount would be depleted by withdrawals from the accumulation value not the increased life pay value. Therefore I want to take the money out and start enjoying the income and the ability to save for the unexpected. What would be the best investment for this purpose. Thank you for any advice! View Answer

9. Questioner: Gina

   Question: I am going to retire at age 56, If I withdraw my annuity in lump sum, will the penalty be only 20% or the extra 10% because of my age? What options might I have? Thank you. View Answer

10. Questioner: lee

    Question: I invested in a five year fixed annuity 3 years ago. It only allowed me to contribute to it the first year, so I can't add any more for another 2 years when it's out of the surrender period. If I want to put more into a fixed annuity before then, would it be unusual to buy a 2nd one, either with the same place or another place? Do people ever have more than one fixed annuity at the same time? Thanks View Answer
    
    

11. Questioner: Steve

    Question: I am 62 years old, my wife is 60. Here is my retirement plan: I retire this year and collect SS(1400 mo.) my wife will change to Part-time this year and continue to work until 62 (PT income of 1100 mo.). She will then retire and take her SS (800 mo.) We have 420,000 in 401ks and plan to buy 4 separate immediate annuities for a total of 2000 mo.in income for the rest of our lives. Our total retirement gross income will be 4200.00 mo.   Our house is paid off, cars are paid off and we owe nothing on credit cards.  We live comfortably today on 2100.00 mo.   My plan is to take the 2100 mo. extra that we will have  and put it into an IRA until we have 150,000(6 yrs) and then buy another annuity if needed due to inflation or just continue to save it if inflation stays low. Am I thinking clearly or is this a big mistake?  Also How do you validate the integrity of a financial planner that you might hire and what is a normal fee for service I should expect? Thank you in advance, Steve
    View Answer

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