I'm currently trying to save for retirement and sales people are always trying to push annuities. Why is that?
Pros vs. Cons
2007-04-08 06:24:32 · 6 answers · asked by grnidbryn 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Insurance
Annuities tend to be a long term commitment with a high long term commission to the seller. They are a bad deal for the investor unless you have exhausted all other investment vehicles. Dont get confused with fixed or variable annuities. Both are a bad deal. Another type of annuitiy is the one time investment where you receive a payment for life. (Also a bad deal).
A fixed annuity is usually invested in bonds, a variable annuity is invested in mutual funds. You not only pay the management fee of the investment vehicle, you also pay the management fee for the insurance company. Why pay double fees? Also, you give up the advantage of taking capital gains as all income is taxable in an annuity. Another negative is that if you pass away your heirs inherit the taxable gains of the annuity and you give up the advantage for your heirs of a new stepped up basis. I can see no advantage to you of investing in an annuity. If your financial adviser suggested an annuity, get a new adviser.
2007-04-08 06:40:28 · answer #1 · answered by s e 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I work for an insurance company and one of the main things we sell is annuities. They're thought for people that have a low risk tolerance in regards to their investment as they guarantee a minimum interest rate but there is no maximum interest. We have annuities based on the S&P 500, if it does better than the guaranteed rate than people get the higher interest. You cannot lose with an annuity as the insurance company assumes the risk.
CD's are not necessarily better as you tie your money up as well and have to pay taxes every year. Annuities are tax deferred, so taxes are due when you start taking out money not every year. So the money you would pay for taxes on CD's will still grow with an annuity.
As for the commission, it is one of the reasons people might push it on you. But really the commission is not deducted from the money invested (I would worry if it was).
And if it is a single premium annuity they will only get it only once (my company pays 4% commission on those). It's not renewable like with life insurance (where agents get around 50%).
But you do have to be careful with annuities. Some agents might sell you a high interest annuity. Most likely you are tying up your money for a very long time with those and have to pay penalties to take it out earlier (surrender charges). There is annuities that are immediate or you can annuitize (take money out) it in less than 10 years.
Like I said it is better for older folks (close to retirement) who need money sooner or people that don't feel comfortable with risk in the stock market as they could lose all their money.
Hope I could help :)
2007-04-08 09:16:57 · answer #2 · answered by binemaeuschen22 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Non-fiduciaries push annuities. Find a fee-only registered investment adviser and they will not push commission based products like annuities. If you are a conservative investor, such as a senior, there are better options. Forbes magazine recommends an age-appropriate allocation to bond / stocks, both of which can be purchased with ETF's. Simple.
2014-01-19 21:33:05 · answer #3 · answered by Pete R 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sales persons push annuities because of the high and continuing commissions they will earn. Annuities have high expenses, restrictions on investments and withdrawals and the stock options offered generally under perform investments you can make yourself.
The only good thing about an annuity is that if it is properly set it it will guarantee income for the rest of your life.
2007-04-08 06:42:33 · answer #4 · answered by Elle 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I guess annuities are OK, but a lot of times they are more interested in the commissions.
Really the most important issues are rate of return, risk, and costs.
2007-04-08 06:35:38 · answer #5 · answered by Gatsby216 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Nice, high commissions.
It's not as good for the client as a well-diversified mutual fund and stock portfolio - it doesn't earn as much.
The ONLY plus is, you're "guaranteed" a return. I don't even know what they're guaranteeing these days - 3%? 5%? But it's about 25% of what the INSURANCE company makes, investing your money. They keep the other 75%.
The problem is, you can do BETTER in a certificate of deposit, AND you don't pay commissions for it.
I'm not a fan. Sorry.
2007-04-08 06:35:55 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋