Some Of The Nuances to Consider When Choosing The Right Fixed Annuity

If you think you get the same return or features on every fixed annuity then you’re in for a surprise. When you take a few minutes to get annuity quotes you’ll find they often vary dramatically. That’s because some annuities are better for certain situations than others are. It all depends on how you use it and an annuity quote helps find the one best for you.

Each annuity offers something different for the consumer. Rate of return is often the most interesting for many but that too depends on how you use the product. Checking the rates of several companies for the way you use the annuity simply makes sense. The easiest method is to use an annuity quote site that offers annuity quotes from several companies at one time.

They use the annuity as a deferred annuity and need a different type of program than the person that takes periodic payments or wants only the growth from the annuity. An annuity quote helps to narrow the playing field to your specific needs.

The owners of deferred annuities can annuitize, request systematic payments, later but many people simply use them to avoid immediate taxation of growth. When you look for an annuity quote of this kind you need to pay close attention not only to the immediate interest rate, but also to the guaranteed interest rate.

Using a website that offers annuity quotes helps to find the best rates without sitting through a long series of interviews with different reps. The annuity quotes sites often offer the consumer the ability to speak to a live representative if there’s any questions they have.

Surrender fees schedules are important to check when purchasing a fixed deferred annuity. The surrender fee is a percentage of the lump sum invested based on the number of years you hold the annuity. The length of time varies but some companies always have a surrender fee unless you annuitize, turn the policy into systematic payments.

Just because you’re within the period of surrender fees, it doesn’t mean that the money is unavailable if you have an emergency. Like a CD, you can remove all your interest without penalties on most contracts. Unlike a CD, however, most companies allow at least a ten percent penalty free withdrawal once a year or at least once in the contracts lifetime. Look for the penalty free withdrawal ability on the annuity quotes. It means you don’t have to keep a lot of emergency money in a low interest taxed savings account.

Even if you don’t have a penalty for taking funds from the company, you might find the IRS has one for you. If you’re younger than 59 and remove funds from an annuity, you pay a ten percent penalty on the growth plus any taxes, just as you would with a Roth IRA. If you have an annuity and suddenly need funds, you avoid the penalty by taking substantially equal periodic payments either for five years or until 591/2, which ever is longest.

For those that want an immediate payment, the best method to find the highest payout is through securing annuity quotes. Just because the product offers the highest rate of return for deferred money, doesn’t mean it offers the highest payment. That’s a different interest rate. An annuity quote gives you the exact amount of money you’ll receive. The difference could be thousands of dollars over the lifetime of payments.

John C. Ryan dedicates his writing towards informing investors of their annuity insurance options. Annuity insurance can be an intelligent part of retirement investment strategy. Click on the links to receive more information, or to receive a great annuity quote from an experienced professional.

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Posted by John C. Ryan on Nov 14th, 2009 and filed under Insurance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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