When contemplating an annuity, examine your alternatives and learn how they might help you achieve your financial objectives. After all, knowing how different tools function might help you narrow down your options.
While other investment vehicles should be considered while planning for retirement, annuity advantages should not be neglected. An annuity is a contract with an insurance company that offers tax-deferred interest as well as the possibility of a guaranteed stream of income. Buying one might help you feel financially secure in retirement.
However, there are also more advantages to consider. Here are six noteworthy annuity advantages.
- Income Security
Annuities have the advantage of providing guaranteed income for a specific number of years, or even for the rest of your life. This is true even if you live long enough to deplete the money you used to buy the annuity, known as your annuity premium. In fact, in these circumstances, you can consider an annuity to be insurance against outliving your savings.
- Tax Advantages
Another significant advantage provided by annuities? The funds you give grow tax-free. This means you don’t have to pay taxes on the interest until you start collecting it, which is usually after you start retirement. All qualified annuity payments are subject to ordinary income tax, with a 10% tax penalty if withdrawn before the age of 59.5.
- Unrestricted Contributions
Unlike other retirement choices, there are no IRS restrictions on how much money you may put into an annuity.
Each year, the IRS limits the amount you may contribute to an IRA or 401(k).
The IRS, on the other hand, does not place a cap on the amount you can pay into an annuity. If you want to save more for retirement after you’ve exhausted your 401(k) and IRA contribution limits, an annuity may be a suitable choice to explore.
- The ability to personalize
Annuities come in a variety of forms and sizes.
There are instant annuities and delayed annuities, for example. This means you may either acquire an annuity that pays you within a year of paying your premium or an annuity that pays you in the future, often at retirement.
There are also fixed-rate annuities and variable annuities, which grow based on the success of investments in a subaccount.
- Riders for Long-Term Care Insurance
Long-term care insurance can be costly or difficult to get for people with prior diseases or health issues. However, this is an area where annuity advantages may be advantageous to owners.
- Rate of Return Guaranteed
Fixed annuities ensure a rate of return for the time period stated in the annuity contract, so you don’t have to worry about your income stream being decreased if interest rates fall or investments underperform during that time period. However, keep in mind that payout amounts are often set, which might lead to an inflation risk.
Also, keep in mind that an annuity guarantee does not guarantee investment success. It is just a guaranteed amount of income that you will get when the annuity enters the payment phase, depending on the insurer’s capacity to pay claims.
