What is an Annuity?
An annuity is a life insurance product that pays you periodic income benefits for a set amount of time or over the course of your lifetime. Annuities can be used for receiving potential guaranteed income in retirement.
How Does an Annuity Work?
An annuity is a contract between you and an insurance company. You make an investment in the annuity, and it then makes payments to you on a future date or series of dates. The income you receive from an annuity can be doled out monthly, quarterly, annually or even in a lump sum payment. Like most tax-deferred investments, your annuity earnings compound over time, providing growth opportunities that taxable accounts lack.
Types of Annuities:
Deferred Annuities allow your assets to grow tax deferred over time before being converted to payments.
Immediate Annuities allow payments to begin within about a year of purchase.
How much you receive from the annuity depends on whether you opt for a guaranteed payout (fixed annuity) or a payout stream determined by the performance of your annuity’s investments (variable annuity).
Questions to Ask
Here are a few questions to consider when looking for an annuity:
- How much am I able to invest and what are the annual expenses?
- What are the guaranteed benefits of the annuity?
Annuities come in all shapes and sizes. Let your Elite Insurance Solutions agent find the right annuity for your investment needs.