Best Annuities
Most professionals don’t see annuities as direct investments. Instead, they consider it as more of a life insurance policy. So, how does it work exactly? Once you buy an annuity, you pay a particular company or group of businesses a set amount of money. And every month, for the rest of your life, you receive a guaranteed lump sum of cash.
Most investors prefer this because they do not lose cash in the process. With this in mind, here are the best annuities you can put your money to this 2020.
Annuity Gator
What Is Annuity Gator?
Annuity Gator aims to help Americans to prepare for their financial needs during retirement. They offer lessons on what the proper use of annuities is and the various income planning strategies the clients can go into.
What’s good about Annuity Gator is that they have a simplified approach. They do not spend a lot of time on the complicated aspects of annuities so that their clients can come up with the best-informed decisions for their retirement. They do not produce slick company brochures, high-pressured sales tactics, and overwhelming annuity whitepapers.
Overall, their mission is to provide you with honest guidance, better annuities, and personalized for you.
What Are Its Features?
Investor Education
Annuity Gator does not only focus on landing clients. The business wants to ensure that a lot of individuals are provided with the proper education with regards to annuities before they engage themselves with the process. With this in mind, they offer the best investor education program that one can ask for.
For one, they provide in-depth annuity reviews from different companies. From here, you will be able to learn about the pros and cons of investing annuity, and how you can go forward with the said services. They also provide you with a series of online quizzes so you’ll have a brief idea of what type of annuities are fit for your personality and goals. Lastly, they are open to education inquiries about the topic. You can ask questions by submitting an online form, and they will most likely get back to you within 24 hours.
Annuity Consultations
If you need guidance on an annuity, retirement planning, or in-depth information about investing, then Annuity Gator is the right place for you. They have a set of financial professionals where you can consult anytime and anywhere. You can expect them to discuss the following on the said meeting:
- Go over the minimum and maximum rate of return for each type of annuity
- Provide insight on the financial decisions by the client
- Highlight the best annuities that will fit your goal and financial capability
- Demonstrate the importance of not putting all the eggs in one basket
- Discuss the consequences of choosing the wrong annuities
Take note that you don’t have to worry about leaving the comforts of your own home. All consultations happen over the phone.
Solid Partnerships
Although annuities vary from life insurance, it is usually backed up by insurance companies. You may find several offerings and reviews of annuities on their websites. With this in mind, Annuity Gator makes sure that to be able to diversify their services and offerings, they have to provide the best partnerships to their clients. These companies that they currently have a business relationship with include AIG, Securion, Thrivent Financial, TIAA, New York Life, and Northwestern Mutual.
Blueprint Income
What Is Blueprint Income?
Blueprint Income is a marketplace and educator online which offers retirement income products from the best high-quality insurers.
It also sells all kinds of annuities – fixed, longevity, immediate, and many more. One of the best game-changing offers that they have is the Blueprint Income Personal Pension. What’s unique about it is that it provides a service that lets its customers customize their annuity starting 20 years old. It allows them to diversify their annuities through multiple insurers. Take note that you don’t have to worry about its high payment since its initial payment requirement is lower than the other one-sided annuities. This product will be discussed further below.
What Are Its Features?
Annuity Calculators
If you’re still uncomfortable with seeking the help of financial advisors, then you can do your financial computation of your own. Just use the Annuity Calculators that can be found on Blueprint Income’s website. Although they present you with all kinds of calculators for every type of annuity, the most popular one is the “Can I Retire” calculator.
The “Can I Retire” calculator determines which age are you fit to retire and live a comfortable life. It lets you know how much income you will be expecting based on several factors – your monthly income, monthly expenses, other investment accounts, age, etc. You can even change the variables in the said calculator so you’ll familiarize yourself with its impact on the retirement fund.
Insurance Company Partnerships
The annuities that this company provides are backed up by the best insurance companies out there. Some examples of them include USAA, MassMutual, Guardian, and others. As an investor, you have to be wary of the financial strengths of these partners, since the FDIC does not insure annuities.
Income Annuities Offerings
There are three types of income annuities that Blueprint Income offers. Keep in mind that income annuities guarantee a stable income for the rest of your life. Here are the different types you can engage in.
- Qualified Longevity Annuity Contracts (QLACs): You can buy this type of income annuity using the funds from your traditional IRA. The catch with this, however, is that you have to buy it after you turn 70 ½ years old and before you reach the age of 85. A lot of people go for this to defer the required minimum distribution from traditional IRA plans and 401(k).
- Immediate Annuity: This provides income for you starting within the 12 months of application. These kinds of accounts are perfect for those who are on their way to retirement or who have already retired. The Immediate Annuity is also referred to as the Single Premium Income Annuity (SPIA).
- Longevity Annuity: Longevity Annuity provides a stable source of income stream beyond the 1st year of application. Professionals also call them Deferred Income Annuities (DIA).
Blueprint Income Personal Pension
As mentioned above, the Blueprint Income Personal Pension is the company’s flagship product. It provides you with a monthly paycheck once you retire in an amount that never changes. Therefore, you still get the same amount even if the stock market crashes, or there are changes in the business landscape. You can customize it in the following aspects:
- The consistent day of the month when you will make your contributions
- Monthly or quarterly contribution amount
- The starting date of your contribution payment
- Insurers that will back your personal pension plan
- People who to cover on your pension
Take note, however, that you can only pay for your personal pension for not more than 40 years. Hence, if you are in your 20s and you do not plan on retiring until you are 70 years old, then do not avail of this service yet. Wait until you are in your 30s to apply for this annuity.
Facet Wealth
What Is Facet Wealth?
Facet Wealth is a financial planning firm based in Baltimore, Maryland. Their goal is to assist their clients using their certified financial planners (CFP) when it comes to growing their savings, retirement, and investment accounts. One edge of the company is its ability to charge lower than the industry’s average because of the presence of their CFPs. It only opened in 2016, but it is now considered one of the most successful financial companies in the world.
The only downside with Facet Wealth is that they only work with accounts holding $100,000 to $1,000,000 in assets. If your portfolio goes outside this range, the financial managers will pass your account to other businesses that offer the same services.
What Are Its Features?
Facet Wealth vs. Robo-Advisors
In the present, more and more insurance companies are applying the presence of Robo-advisors on their services. These Robo-advisors use data in their digital platform to make the best investment decisions for their plan retirement funding and other annuities. The only problem with this approach is that they fail to react fluidly with situations that suddenly come in life. This ranges from sudden inheritance, job promotions, details in divorce agreements, or income tax situations.
With this in mind, Facet Wealth offers a more flexible approach to financial decisions. They include human discernment to the data they get from their platform. So, what are the roles of their CFPs?
At the start, these CFPs provide a free 30-minute introductory call to you to lay out some general financial information to you. This initial consultation will help you come up with your goals and strategies. At this stage, they also let you answer an online form that will give them a brief idea of where you stand in life. You provide them with information on your current income and assets, life goals, and investment risk tolerance. From here, they will give you several proposals on how to grow your money.
Facet Wealth Services
FWS offers various comprehensive financial planning services that you can add to your portfolio. These are as follows:
- Education Planning: This is to ensure that you will be able to provide for your child or your grandchild’s education
- Retirement Planning: They give you a step-by-step plan on saving and preparing for your retirement
- Asset Management: Guides you to create a diversified portfolio based on your financial needs and goals
- Life Planning: Designing a proper financial plan that lets you plan on buying a house, pursuing further education, or taking a dream vacation
- Insurance Planning: Insurance planning helps you maximize and protect your current and future wealth
AgeUp Annuities
What Is AgeUp Annuities?
AgeUp has a different approach compared to the other three mentioned above. This company is an innovative deferred income annuity dedicated to assisting and helping those individuals over the age of 90 to live comfortably. This type of annuity is easy and straightforward to buy but provides a more stable income stream for the benefit of your loved ones. They come up with budget-friendly and safe ways for them to help their relatives in the latter part of their retirement.
What Are Its Features?
Annuity Payout Age
AgeUp Annuity has a strict payout age. They don’t release your funds until you reach the set payout age – from 91 to 100 years old. The more you delay the payout of your annuity, the higher the monthly payouts will be. Take note, however, that you are not allowed to change the payout age once you sign the annuity contract.
Death Benefit Choices
AgeUp Annuity has two options for its clients. It’s either they avail of the death benefit protection or a higher monthly payout. Make sure to choose wisely since this can’t be reversed upon the finalization of the contract. So, what’s the difference between these two selections?
The death benefit protection refers to the service where the company pays the purchaser all the paid premiums should the annuitant die prior to the set payout age. There is a different scenario, however, if the purchaser dies before the annuitant. Should this happen, the purchaser’s estate gets all the premiums.
The higher payout option, on the other hand, provides a more consistent and higher income stream. The only downside with this is that if either the purchaser or the annuitant dies before the payout date, they will forfeit all your premiums.
Last Words
Putting your money in annuities may really sound tempting. You get to receive a reasonable amount of money, after all. However, make sure that you’re ready before you invest in these kinds of services. Do your homework, research about the technicalities of the process, seek guidance from professions, and ask questions. This is to ensure that you understand how an annuity works overall.
Annuities do not fall under a “one size fits all” approach. You need a tailored investment plan for both you and your family to maximize the benefit that may come your way.
If you want to know more about annuities, try reading The Truth About Buying Annuities by Steve Weisman.