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What Makes A Variable Annuity?

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There are a lot of financial products which receive some negative attention, such as gold and whole-life insurance, however if there was one investment product which consistently received bad news, it would have to be the variable annuity. We often hear about dishonest brokers who push people into high fee annuity plans without explanation. Should we avoid them at all times though? Are there any cases where an annuity makes sense? Let 's find out. First, let 's explain just what a variable annuity is. Essentially it 's a contract between you and an insurance company. In return for your lump sum of money, the insurance company will provide you a stream of income at some future date. Quite often newer annuity plans will also offer a death benefit and additional withdrawal options. When you withdraw money from annuity, you will have to pay your normal income tax rate, and if you are under age 59 and a half, you will have to pay another 10% penalty! Inside the annuity, the money is invested in some sort of investment, such as a mutual fund. If the mutual fund and the economy do well, they might increase the amount of money you get annually. So far annuities do not sound too desirable. Are there any advantages? It turns out there are a few. The biggest advantage is that you can invest money tax deferred with out yearly limits much in the way you can with 401k or IRAs. In all cases it makes sense to shelter your money with a 401k first or an IRA before you consider an annuity,

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