The fixed annuity is designed to help you reach your retirement goals. Depending on your financial horizon, lifestyle, and investment expectations, this type of annuity might be the best investment vehicle for you. If your answer to the following questions is YES, you should probably apply for a fixed annuity as soon as possible.
1. Are you looking for an investment that guarantees a stable regular income after your retirement?
People who avail of a fixed annuity are looking for a safe investment in which they are guaranteed of a fixed interest rate and a steady stream of income after their retirement. The principal you have invested in your annuity is protected. Unlike other investments that are dependent on the present economy, it has a fixed interest rate, so you are assured that your annuity can provide you with a stable and regular income after your retirement.
2. Are you a conservative investor?
A conservative investor is one who needs to be certain that the money he/she invested will not be slashed off or torn to pieces that can be easily carried away by the wind and that might disappear in thin air. Fixed annuities are often considered to be very low-risk investments. Its annuity rates generally fall into the 1% to 4% range. This range of interest rate is way higher than the interest rate in money market accounts, which is generally less than 1%. Although this annuity rate is lower than the interest rate typically offered by mutual funds (which can be as high as 10%), there is no certainty that you will get your principal back in mutual funds. Thus, investing your money in a fixed annuity is still a better option if you want to prepare for your retirement and if you are a conservative investor who does not want to gamble his/her money in market conditions that tend to fluctuate.
3. Are you the kind of person who does not completely trust the conditions of the financial markets?
People who avail of this annuity want to invest their money into a venture that cannot be drastically affected by market downturns, economic crises, and periods of recession. To put it simply, even if the economic activity is reduced or even if the company’s investments in other ventures are unsuccessful, you will still receive the same rate of income because it is already fixed. Thus making sure that your principal investment will not vanish.
4. Do you want your investment to grow faster?
People who want their money to grow faster avail of this annuity because the income interest is not entitled to taxation before the appropriate period of its withdrawal. Because the tax is deferred, annuity owners are allowed to compound their earnings free of tax.
5. Do you want to save tax on your Social Security benefits?
If you are naturally practical and future-minded, investing in an annuity is the best option for you. Always keep in mind that fixed annuities are not considered as a taxable income. Therefore, you may save tax on your Social Security benefits by putting your taxable income into your fixed annuity. Thus, you can transform part of your taxable income to a non-taxable asset. If you keep your taxable income under the threshold that triggers taxation of your Social Security benefits, you may not have to pay any tax at all.
If the majority of your answer is YES, enter your ZIP at the top of this page & compare annuity rates free.