However, having the government sell annuities could make sense if you believe Canadians need to
ensure against longevity risk (point 7) but the fees that insurance companies charge for these products are too high (point 6).
However, having the government sell annuities could make sense if you believe Canadians need to
ensure against longevity risk (point 7) but the fees that insurance companies charge for these products are too high (point 6).
Benefits of annuities include guaranteed income, protection
against longevity risk and upside participation with downside protection.
Protection
against longevity risk.
The primary function that these annuities served — and the reason why an insurance company was the one issuing them — was to protect
against longevity risk, or the possibility of running out of money late in life.
If you want an even safer alternative, splitting your retirement savings between an annuity and a low - cost balanced portfolio, such as the MoneySense Global Couch Potato strategy, can increase your protection
against longevity risk.
If your health is below average, and you're less concerned about protecting
against longevity risk, an annuity purchase may not make sense for you
Self - insurance in retirement is the idea that people are insuring
against longevity risk themselves, that is, the risk that of living longer than expected and not having the savings to support it.
We've outlined a few tools below to help you protect
yourself against longevity risk.
Read on to learn more about different types of annuities and other tools to protect
against longevity risk.
Unlike long - term deferral period annuities that are meant to provide late - life income primarily to protect
against longevity risk, a shorter deferral period annuity (hereafter called a short deferral annuity) is purchased to provide a steady income to fund retirement spending over the entire retirement life cycle.