Annuities For Dummies

Looking for steady retirement income? Read this book!

Turning retirement savings into a steady income is a big step toward a worry-free retirement. This book introduces you to how to add annuities to your investment mix. It helps you evaluate how to select the best annuities for your needs and steer clear of the worst. You’ll learn how different types of annuities can help you turn your retirement savings into a monthly paycheck, protect your investments from market ups and downs, postpone taxes, stay in your home for the rest of your life, and even buy long-term care insurance for less..

Written by an annuity thought leader who is a frequent guest-expert on webcasts, podcasts and radio broadcasts as well as editor and publisher of Retirement Income Journal, the book offers the knowledge earned from interviews with hundreds of annuity industry insiders on their own turf. Get insight into which annuities do (or don’t) provide near-retirees and retirees with solid value.

• Stretch your savings into lifelong income
• Ask smarter questions when talking to an agent, broker or adviser
• Retire with less anxiety about the market
• Feel more in control of your financial life

Annuities For Dummies is the must-have guide for anyone making retirement plans or managing their retirement savings.

Introduction 1

Part 1: Making Sense of Annuities 5

Chapter 1: The ABCs of Annuities 7

Chapter 2: Taming the Big Retirement Risks 21

Chapter 3: Diving into Annuity Documents 33

Chapter 4: Weighing Annuity Pros and Cons 47

Chapter 5: Deciding Whether an Annuity Is Right for You 59

Part 2: Identifying the Major Annuities 73

Chapter 6: Earning Interest with Fixed Annuities 75

Chapter 7: Creating Retirement Paychecks with Income Annuities 91

Chapter 8: Gambling on Fixed Indexed Annuities 111

Chapter 9: Aiming Higher with Registered Index-Linked Annuities 129

Chapter 10: Tapping Variable Annuities for Tax Breaks and Income 143

Chapter 11: Aging Gracefully with Deferred Income Annuities and Qualified Longevity Annuity Contracts 161

Chapter 12: Tapping the Liquidity in Your Home 175

Part 3: Shopping in the Annuity Marketplace 189

Chapter 13: Issuing Annuities: It’s What Life Insurers Do 191

Chapter 14: Meeting the Annuity Salespeople 205

Chapter 15: Site-Seeing in the Annuity Web World 219

Chapter 16: Adding Annuities to 401(k)s 229

Part 4: Getting the Most out of Your Annuity 243

Chapter 17: Building Safe Retirement Income 245

Chapter 18: The Taxing Side of Annuities 259

Chapter 19: Recognizing Annuity Exit Ramps 269

Chapter 20: Structuring Your Annuity Correctly 277

Chapter 21: Avoiding Annuity Pitfalls 285

Part 5: The Part of Tens 295

Chapter 22: Ten Great Books about Annuities 297

Chapter 23: Ten Questions to Ask Before You Sign a Contract 303

Chapter 24: Ten Annuity Checkpoints on the Information Highway 311

Part 6: Appendixes 317

Appendix A: Glossary 319

Appendix B: State Guaranty Associations 329

Index 333

Kerry Pechter has been writing about annuities, the annuity business, and retirement planning for more than 25 years. The founder, editor, and publisher of Retirement Income Journal since 2009, he brings a grasp on how annuities are built, how they are sold, and how they fit in a retirement financial plan.

Reduce your financial risk in retirement

Annuities are one of the building blocks of a worry-free retirement. Part investment and part insurance, these financial contracts convert portions of your life savings into guaranteed income. This book is your cheat sheet for discovering how annuities work, which types are right for you, and where these predictable income generators fit into your portfolio. You’ll learn to ask the right questions as you talk to annuity sellers and manage your taxes when you’re in the game. Use annuities as part of your financial strategy for retiring with the help of this easy-to-use Dummies guide.

Inside…

• Understanding annuity types
• Discovering how annuities work
• Assessing retirement risks
• Managing taxes with annuities
• Creating guaranteed income
• Sizing up annuity sales pitches
• Avoiding annuity pitfalls