"To buy an annuity" means to make a financial investment where you give a lump sum of money to an insurance company, and in return, they promise to provide you with a regular income for a fixed period of time or for the rest of your life. It is a way to secure a steady stream of income in the future.
Full definition
* Before attaining 60 years of age, only 20 % of the contribution can be withdrawn while the rest 80 % has to be necessarily used for
buying annuity from a life insurer.
Why not
buy an annuity with half the money and then invest the remaining portion 100 % in equities?
You can
buy an annuity by spending a lump sum up front, then after a certain amount of time you'll receive a percentage of that money back each year, plus interest.
While there may be many financial reasons to
consider buying an annuity now, perhaps the best reason of all is that an annuity may make you happier.
I absolutely agree that it's important to check the financial strength of an insurance company
before buying an annuity from them.
In other words, the
person bought the annuity guarantees for a future lifetime income stream, but never seem to turn that switch on.
By
buying an annuity plan and paying the premiums every month, you can ensure a fixed monthly income in your retirement life.
Technically, an annuity represents a contract made between the insurance company and the person
who bought the annuity.
Investors should
only buy an annuity contract for the annuity's additional features, such as lifetime income payments, living benefits and / or death benefit protection.
They will
then buy an annuity, which is the investment vehicle that pays you the retirement income.
If your 401 (k) plan is one of the relatively small percentage of plans that offer an immediate annuity, you may be able to
buy the annuity within the plan.
One purchasing strategy is to
buy annuities over a period of years, to minimize «interest rate risk», but that's beyond the scope of this overview.
But that doesn't
mean buying an annuity was a lousy deal any more than buying homeowners insurance was a mistake because your house never burned down.
* The remaining part of the money should be used to
buy an annuity scheme that would offer you a monthly income in the form of your pension till your last breath.
Typically, for participants who turn down a lump sum, the plan
sponsor buys an annuity from an insurance company to replace the company pension.
In cases where the child needs regular treatments it may be more appropriate to
buy an annuity so that regular payments are available to meet anticipated expense.
Other people will purchase a policy with the intention of the
survivor buying an annuity with the proceeds, and the annuity can be used to supplement lost income from the deceased.
Beyond fees, the interest environment has a tremendous impact on the cost / benefit
of buying an annuity.
But if you're particularly keen to get the assurance of steady income for life,
buying annuities in your late 60s can still make sense.
Running the numbers, I found that a person would have been consistently better off
buying an annuity at retirement, even at earlier ages.
Be sure to obtain unbiased advice
before buying an annuity — in other words, advice from someone other than an agent or advisor who will earn a commission on the sale.