Displaying items by tag: fixed index annuities

(New York)

The huge market volatility that accompanied COVID has laid the state of American retirement very bare. Not only are countless people under-capitalized for retirement, but many pulled money out in March, missed the big recovery and are now sitting with considerably smaller portfolios. This has led even the most ardent anti-Annuities advisors—mostly RIAs—to start recommending the products to some clients. Annuities can lock in income that is very hard to get elsewhere right now given ultra-low rates. Annuities ae complicated products and there are many different varieties, ranging from immediate income to variable annuities to fixed income annuities with income riders. For fixed index annuities, check out joint-life policies from Protective Life, Minnesota Life, and Delaware life. For variable annuities, look at Jackson National Life, Transamerica life, and Brighthouse Financial.

FINSUM: Annuities can be a good choice right now depending on the state of a client’s preparedness for retirement and the other assets in their portfolios. Just pay attention to the fact that most annuities providers have significantly cut payouts recently because of the Fed’s actions on rates.

(New York)

Advisors need to be careful of how they market and sell annuities to clients. The market is rife with annuities demand as the big losses and volatility of the last month have sent many looking for guaranteed retirement income. That said, advisors need to make sure they walk a fine line in selling annuities. In particular, be mindful of wording you use. Particularly, avoid fear-based selling tactics, and even the word “crisis”—though that could be appropriate in some circumstances. Also, don’t only focus on one aspect of the annuity you are selling, as that can easily be misconstrued as misleading selling.

FINSUM: Some selling techniques are always wrong, but in this scary environment, even the most disciplined advisors could accidentally overstep the line in their approach.

(New York)

Fixed index annuities, like other annuities, have developed somewhat of a bad reputation for poor sales practices over the years. Many agents sell fixed index annuities by saying things like “7% annual gains, no downside”, which in reality is a gross misrepresentation of how income riders work. So why should one buy annuities, and how in turn should they be sold responsibly? The reality is that fixed index annuities are best bought for what they guarantee, not what they might offer. That means CD-like returns with full principal protection. Any upside gains are a bonus, but should not be the core reason for buying the annuity, or the principal way they are pitched.

FINSUM: This will obviously be second nature to those experienced with annuities, but there are plenty of advisors whose clients are starting to ask them about the product (given the environment), so this is just a reminder for those dealing with unfamiliar inbound requests.

(New York)

The term “hybrid annuity” gets thrown around in casual conversation all the time, unfortunately including in sales pitches to clients. However, one would be better off calling it what it is—a fixed index annuity. “Hybrid annuity” gives a false sense of the product, lending the impression that there is full principal protection AND unlimited upside. The reality, of course is that while principal protection full exists, there is quite limited upside that is constrained by the annuity contract.

FINSUM: A contractually limited 4% max annual upside via an option contract on an index is not unlimited upside.

(New York)

Many people who are thinking about annuities don’t realize that many of them are sellable products—they don’t necessarily have to be held forever (even if that is often the best strategy). So which annuities are sellable and which aren’t? In general, SPIAs (single premium immediate annuities), DIAs (deferred income annuities), and QLACs (qualified longevity annuity contracts) are not sellable; VAs (variable annuities), FIAs (fixed index annuities), and MYGA (multi-year guarantee annuities) are usually sellable. Each of those latter products have surrender charge time periods in them, so it may cost something, but it does mean money is not locked in them forever.

FINSUM: Since selling would usually not be the best idea, this is more of a peace of mind factor than anything else, in our opinion.