Annuity for retirement simply refers to a unique insurance policy that pays out a certain amount of income for retirement purposes. It’s one of the best investments you can make in order to ensure steady supply of income when you retire from active service.
Annuity for retirement does not work in isolation. There are necessary steps you must take in order to actualize it. You begin by making a certain amount of investment in the annuity. This will then make payments to your account on future series of dates. The money you make in the process can be paid to you on monthly basis. It can also be paid on quarterly or annual basis in order to secure you retirement period.
When it comes to annuity for retirement, the size of the payment you receive is determined by certain factors. The same thing applies to the length of the payment period. It’s possible to decide to receive the payments for some years or for the entire period of your life. The amount of money you’ll receive is highly dependent on the kind of annuity you choose.
Before you decide to go for annuity for retirement, it’s important you make wide consultations. Sure, you can gain a lot from the policy if you know how best to go about it. However, you may even mess things up especially if you’re the type that spends money as you wish. It’s important you know a lot about annuity and what are the necessary demands involved in order to gain more from it.
Basically, annuity is of two types namely immediate and deferred annuities. If you opt for deferred annuity, the money you drop down is invested for a certain period of time until you’re ready to start making withdrawals from it when you retire. On the other hand, immediate annuity allows you to start receiving payments after you make the very first investment even before you retire. This means that, immediate annuity pays out quickly while deferred annuity allows the money to accumulate. It’s your duty to choose the right option that can suit your purpose.
Apart from the two basic types of annuity described above, annuity can equally be categorized into two forms namely, fixed and variable annuities. These options depend on the kind of investment option you choose. Each category comes with its pros and cons.
The Pros of Annuities
The major advantage of annuities of whatever type is that they can help you to save enough money for your retirement. They also help in deferring the payment of taxes. The saved money will also be working for you in one way or the other. If for any reason, your run out of cash, you can decide to withdraw some cash from your investment. Annuity for retirement also compliments other sources of retirement incomes like pension plan and social security. You’ll always secure your retirement through such sources.
The Cons
There may be some hidden fees in some annuity plans. You need to be very careful with the insurance company you’re dealing with. There may also be commission charges, surrender charges, annual fees, and so on. However, these are limited to the insurance company you’re dealing with. You have to make proper inquiries before choosing any of the insurance companies that offer annuities.
In all, annuity for retirement is a wise investment to engage in. you can secure your future retirement properly when you engage it. You’ll get better results when you locate a reliable insurance company that offers the best annuity plans.