Archive for the Retirement Annuities Category

Annuity Guarantees and Trusting Insurance Companies

Hartford Financial is seeking ways to lower its exposure on some annuity contracts it sold. Stories like this make people wonder if they can trust insurance companies, and believe the annuity guarantees. I believe though, most insurance companies are very trustworthy, and the income guarantees are good, but consumers need to be careful. Insurance is… Read More »

Variable Annuity Guaranteed Income Benefit Risks

Interesting Article in the Wall Street Journal today about Variable Annuity’s Guaranteed Benefits. Variable annuities provide nice tax deferred growth, their rates of return aren’t bad if they have great sub-accounts, which are accounts similar to mutual funds. Variable annuities don’t guarantee rates of return, nor do they guarantee the principle unless the annuity holder chooses… Read More »

Structured Settlements Twist

A structured settlement is money that is owed to you in a monthly stream of income for many years, such as a lottery winning, large law suit or a payment from an annuity that has been annuitized. In exchange for the income, the owner of the structured settlement receives a lump sum amount of money. These… Read More »