Annuity

An annuity comes in many forms, but a simple definition is that an annuity is a contract that converts a sum of money into a series of periodic payments for an agreed upon period of time. An annuity can be thought of as a financial vehicle that converts a pool of money into a stream of income. Annuities are most useful in addressing the financial planning needs of people in or approaching retirement. Annuities are unique in the financial world because they can provide protection against the risk or outliving one’s assets (longevity risk) by guaranteeing income payments in perpetuity or any other selected amount of time. Annuities can be viewed as a type of personal pension plan. Social Security is similar to an annuity in that money contributed over the course of one’s working years is converted into a series of periodic payments that provide income during retirement.

Retirement Planning with TIPS and Longevity Annuities

Gowri Shankar of the University of Washington has published an article on the use of Treasury Inflation -Protected Securities ( TIPS ) and longevity annuities. Shankar suggests that a combination of TIPS and longevity insurance provides an optimal strategy when the objective is guaranteed retirement income . Shankar demonstrates that the combination affords the ability to sustain relatively high withdrawal rates while minimizing the probability of financial ruin in retirement. The strategy also...

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Advanced Life Deferred Annuity

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Probability of Financial Ruin

Read more about Retirement Planning with TIPS and Longevity Annuities
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Key Phrases:

Glossary:

Advanced Life Deferred Annuity

Key Phrases:

Probability of Financial Ruin

Tax Free Exchange of Annuities for Long-Term Care Policies Allowed Starting in 2010

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 created tax incentives for the creation of hybrid long-term care insurance policies. The Act also provides the basis for a tax free exchange of a life insurance or annuity contract for a long-term care policy. The exchange would be conducted through a Section 1035 exchange . Consumers and their financial advisors will be able to conduct such exchanges beginning in 2010. The details are complicated, but there is a good, in-depth article referenced below that...

Glossary:

Annuity

Insurance

Long Term Care Insurance

Pension

Section 1035 Exchange

1035 Exchange

Life Insurance

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Incentives

Read more about Tax Free Exchange of Annuities for Long-Term Care Policies Allowed Starting in 2010
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Key Phrases:

Glossary:

Annuity

Insurance

Long Term Care Insurance

Pension

Section 1035 Exchange

1035 Exchange

Life Insurance

Key Phrases:

Incentives

Putnam CEO Sees Market for Annuities and Other Retirement Income Products Reaching $5.5 Trillion by 2020

Putnam Investments President and CEO Robert Reynolds has been a consistently vocal advocate of retirement reform. Reynolds believes that the retirement planning landscape requires revamping so that annuities and other sources of guaranteed retirement income play a more prominent role. During a recent industry conference, Reynolds discussed the notion of a "product allocation" in the context of retirement finances: A crucial part of the reform effort is helping to protect workers` savings as...

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The Top Reasons to Consider an Annuity

Annuities are complex, largely misunderstood, and often misrepresented in popular financial media.

The reality, though, is that these financial products are becoming an increasingly important part of the financial plans of millions of people around the world. In fact, annuities are a vital component of the...