In a financial plan, annuities are intended to be a long-term element alongside other sources of retirement income. It is essential to understand your financial goals to choose the best type of annuity for your situation.

Annuities are made to give people a consistent cash flow during their retirement years and to relieve their concerns about outliving their resources.

What is an annuity, and how does it work?

Annuities are insurance company contracts. The premiums you pay and tax-deferred earnings on those premiums are designed to be a source of retirement income, either in the future if you choose a deferred annuity or right away with an immediate annuity. You can buy an annuity with a single premium or make payments on a regular or discretionary schedule over time.

You delay paying tax on your profits when you purchase an annuity until you start receiving payments under the contract. The same rate of taxation that you pay on your ordinary income must then be applied to all or part of each payment.

If you participate in a retirement savings plan where you work, you may find that your employer includes a fixed or variable annuity in the menu of plan choices. When annuity contracts are offered through a qualified plan, such as a 401(k), they are considered qualified annuities. In this case, qualified means subject to the federal rules governing the plans’ operations. Among these rules are limits on the amount you can defer to your account annually.

Participating reduces your current taxable salary while allowing you to accumulate tax-deferred earnings on your account balance. But, as with other qualified plans, you must begin taking distributions when you turn 70½ and take at least the required minimum each year.

What are the types of annuities?

The many forms of annuities can be categorized in various ways. With a deferred annuity, the principal and earnings accumulate in the build-up period. With an immediate annuity, the lifetime income you receive is based on several factors, including the amount of your purchase, your age, and the interest rate. Immediate annuities are typically single premium purchases, while payments for a deferred annuity may be made over time. You can see when your annuity payments start by looking at the immediate and deferred classes.

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Fixed annuities provide regular periodic payments to the annuitant.  In the case of a variable annuity, your lifetime income, which may increase over time, depends on the investment performance of the subaccounts, or investment funds, you select from among those offered in the contract as well as the company’s ability to pay claims.

When annuity contracts are offered through a qualified plan, they are considered qualified annuities. The contract is a nonqualified annuity when you buy an annuity that’s not offered through a qualified plan. If you’re part of a plan that makes matching contributions in company stock, you might select a fixed annuity for the regular income it promises to provide. Or, if your defined benefit plan will pay you a fixed amount after you retire, you might choose a variable annuity or a fixed index annuity to take advantage of an opportunity for your annuity gains to outpace inflation.

One approach to using annuities in this way is to invest the maximum allowed in your employer’s plan before contributing to a nonqualified annuity. This may make sense because the annuity premiums you pay are never deductible, so the amount you save doesn’t reduce your current taxable income. Payouts from annuities are frequently used as a longevity risk defense. The guaranteed lifelong income from annuities can help you avoid outliving your retirement funds.

What are nonqualified annuities?

Suppose your employer plan doesn’t offer an annuity. In that case, you’re not enrolled in a plan, or you want to save more than you can with a qualified plan, you can buy what’s known as a nonqualified annuity from the insurance company that issues the contract, a brokerage firm, or a financial adviser.

Among the key ways that nonqualified annuities differ from their qualified siblings are that you pay the premiums with after-tax income, save more than the federal limit for qualified plans, and postpone taking income until much later in your life if you wish. In addition, while you must purchase qualified annuities with earned income, you can use income from any source to buy nonqualified annuities. Despite these differences, qualified and nonqualified annuities function similarly — accumulating earnings that can be converted to income.

Because nonqualified annuity contracts may offer greater flexibility than investments offered in some employer plans, using them may allow you to add diversification to your overall portfolio.

For example, if you’re part of a plan that makes matching contributions in company stock, you might select a fixed annuity for the regular income it promises to provide. Or, if your defined benefit plan will pay you a fixed amount after you retire, you might choose a variable annuity or a fixed index annuity to take advantage of an opportunity for your annuity gains to outpace inflation.

One approach to using annuities in this way is to invest the maximum allowed in your employer’s plan before contributing to a nonqualified annuity. This may make sense because the annuity premiums you pay are never deductible, so the amount you save doesn’t reduce your current taxable income.

What is the difference between nonqualified and qualified annuities?

Nonqualified annuities

Qualified annuities

POST TAX-$ PRETAX-$
Post-tax, or after-tax, dollars are what’s left of your earnings after taxes are taken out. Contributions to nonqualified retirement plans are made with after-tax dollars. When you eventually take money out of nonqualified plans, you don’t owe tax on the portion of the withdrawal that’s considered return of principal. It has already been paid. Pretax dollars are what you earn before federal and state taxes are deducted. When contributions to qualified retirement plans are made with pretax dollars, it reduces the current income tax you owe because your taxable income is reduced by the amount you invest. Eventually, though, you owe taxes both on the investment and the earnings when you take money out of the plan.
Tax-deferred earnings Tax-deferred earnings
Early withdrawal penalty Early withdrawal penalty
Invest after-tax dollar Invest pretax dollars
No contribution limits Contribution limits
Income from any sour Earned income only
Flexible withdrawal ruIes Required withdrawal rules

How to change annuities?

If you want to exchange your nonqualified annuity for another annuity with a different insurance company, you can do that with a tax-free transfer, known as a 1035 exchange. The new contract may offer features that you find attractive, including new investment options and different ways to access lifetime income. Some annuity providers may also offer contracts that are less expensive than the one you currently own or provide a more generous death benefit.

You don’t owe tax on any account earnings at the transfer time, but you may owe surrender charges on the contract you’re leaving if you’re still in the surrender period. You may also be subject to a new surrender period under the new contract. There are other factors to consider, which is why you may be required to sign a form acknowledging that you understand the differences in features and cost between the two contracts and are clear about how the transfer will benefit you. It may be the case that features you’ll be giving up in the transfer are more valuable overall than the ones you’ll be gaining.

With a qualified variable annuity, you can generally change the way you have allocated the money you’ve deferred to your account at least once a year without charge and, in some contracts, more frequently. Again, there’s no tax on earnings you transfer among investment funds, but there may be fees for moves you want to make, especially from a fixed-income fund. Surrender charges may apply; however, if you wish to move plan assets you hold in an annuity contract to non-annuity investment options within the plan.

What are Other Annuity Choices?

In addition to the annuities available through employer plans and those you can purchase directly from their providers, you can buy an annuity within an individual retirement account (IRA) you hold at a bank, brokerage firm or investment company. Or, you can open an IRA with an annuity provider. In that case, IRA stands for individual retirement annuity, and the annual contribution limit that applies to all IRAs applies to the annuity. You must purchase it with earned income. In addition, you must begin to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) at 70½ unless you have selected a Roth IRA, from which distributions are not required.

There are potential limitations to using annuities in an IRA. You are adding a layer of additional fees to your account. That could make it harder to achieve the same return as you realize if you allocated your account similarly using low-cost mutual funds. On the other hand, some of the fees pay for a guaranteed death benefit, the option of a guaranteed lifetime income, and locked-in minimum earnings.

What should you know while choosing an annuity?

Any annuity has advantages and disadvantages. It would help if you thought about which elements of various annuity types will benefit your present financial condition and which will assist you in achieving your long-term financial objectives. You must be aware of the minimum guaranteed return because it is a return that is guaranteed to be made regardless of the circumstances. The minimum guaranteed return for fixed annuities is clear.

The second matter is how much the insurance company is charged upfront and annually. There may be annual fees that must be paid to the business in some circumstances, as well as possible upfront charges. Avoid paying huge fees because they will significantly limit your benefit. Pay attention to the surrender period, during which an investor cannot withdraw money without incurring fees. You will incur a surrender fee payment if you take your money out early.

Make sure the business is well-positioned to meet its obligations. In addition to other evolving aspects, you may also take into account rising inflation and falling interest rates. Last but not least is a death benefit, which is given to your beneficiaries in the situation if you pass away.

What is the downside of an annuity?

Your retirement funds can grow significantly if you invest in an annuity. They provide a guaranteed income stream that can assist you in meeting your retirement expenses. Annuities do, of course, have some drawbacks. Variable annuities can have additional expenses, and if you need your money before retirement, it might be difficult to withdraw it. Additionally, your beneficiaries could not receive the full value of your investment if you pass away before retirement age (immediate annuities).

Because some annuities demand that you give up ownership of the money in exchange for an income stream, you won’t be able to control your investment. Only a small amount of liquidity may be made available annually by an annuity free of charge or penalties. Some annuities provide no liquidity. All annuities provide a lifetime income, but not all do so with inflation adjustment. Therefore, starting your lifetime income too soon could result in you not being able to keep up with the expense of living and not having enough money for later in life.

Choosing The Best Annuity. Complete Guide by Inna Rosputnia

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