Things To Consider When Choosing the Best Fixed Annuities
4:00 AM
Fixed annuities work like a CD, but with additional benefits. If you use a fixed annuity as method of savings, you get some additional features you won't get with any CD. Some of the features of the fixed annuity are attractive but you need to understand the drawbacks too before you make a financial decision.
Fixed annuities are also called immediate or deferred annuities. The difference lies in how you use the product. A person that wants a deferred annuity uses it more like a CD. They don't take payments from it. The immediate annuity converts to payments over a specific number of years, for a specific amount or payments that you'll never outlive. Some people like a guarantee that their heirs get any unused principal. That's available too.
The tax-deferred interest is a real plus for those saving for retirement, but as with any benefit has negatives also. If you put the money into a deferred fixed annuity and suddenly realize that you need funds, you have a ten percent penalty to pay on the growth you remove if you're not yet 59 . The tax laws do allow you to take substantial periodic payments penalty-free. The payments must last until you're 59 or at least for 5 years.
Just like a CD, you have a penalty if you remove the money before a specified time. Like most CD's, fixed annuities allow you to take interest at any time but there's a percentage penalty if you take the initial deposit. The penalty is normally on a sliding scale that reduces as the contract gets older. It varies, but normally averages between four and or five percent. While the length of the surrender period varies, again the average is around seven years. Watch out for contracts that have a lifetime surrender charge unless you annuitize.
Today many companies offer exemptions from the surrender charge if you only want interest, just like a bank CD, but also allow you to invade the principal for amounts up to ten percent each year. This makes it superior to a CD. If you find yourself in an emergency, you'll have access to funds without any penalty. It allows you to keep less money in a passbook savings for emergency use.
Even though you may allow your CD to roll over, you still have to pay taxes on any interest you earned. This isn't true for an annuity. As long as you don't remove the money from the contract, you don't have to pay taxes on the interest. Even if you want to take some of the principal and leave the interest in the contract, the IRS looks differently at your distribution. Annuity tax laws use LIFO rules. That means, last in, first out. Interest is always the last thing into the contract so the IRS considers the initial money you take as interest until you reach the amount you originally invested.
Taxation of an immediate annuity is slightly different. The government considers some of your payment a return of principal so it's tax-free. Only part of the payment is taxable as interest and that amount remains level throughout the contract payout period. The tax law uses an exclusion ratio based on your life expectancy.
The calculation comes from your life expectancy and the amount you'll receive in payments over that lifetime. If you make an initial deposit of $100,000, with a life expectancy of 25 years and annual payment of $10,000, you'll make $250,000 (25 times $10,000) with $150,000 over your initial investment. Simply divide the initial investment of $100,000 by $250,000 and you'll get the exclusion rate of forty percent. That means you only pay taxes on $6,000 each year. If you've had the money in the fixed annuity and have big gains, it pays to spread it out over several years.
There are great reasons to select fixed annuities over bank CDs, but most financial planners suggest you use both types of investments and diversify your funds. This is the safest method of investing in the event of unforeseen disasters. Most people find that the annuity is a great method of establishing an income they'll never outlive or a way to achieve tax-deferred growth to pass on to their children.
Fixed annuities are also called immediate or deferred annuities. The difference lies in how you use the product. A person that wants a deferred annuity uses it more like a CD. They don't take payments from it. The immediate annuity converts to payments over a specific number of years, for a specific amount or payments that you'll never outlive. Some people like a guarantee that their heirs get any unused principal. That's available too.
The tax-deferred interest is a real plus for those saving for retirement, but as with any benefit has negatives also. If you put the money into a deferred fixed annuity and suddenly realize that you need funds, you have a ten percent penalty to pay on the growth you remove if you're not yet 59 . The tax laws do allow you to take substantial periodic payments penalty-free. The payments must last until you're 59 or at least for 5 years.
Just like a CD, you have a penalty if you remove the money before a specified time. Like most CD's, fixed annuities allow you to take interest at any time but there's a percentage penalty if you take the initial deposit. The penalty is normally on a sliding scale that reduces as the contract gets older. It varies, but normally averages between four and or five percent. While the length of the surrender period varies, again the average is around seven years. Watch out for contracts that have a lifetime surrender charge unless you annuitize.
Today many companies offer exemptions from the surrender charge if you only want interest, just like a bank CD, but also allow you to invade the principal for amounts up to ten percent each year. This makes it superior to a CD. If you find yourself in an emergency, you'll have access to funds without any penalty. It allows you to keep less money in a passbook savings for emergency use.
Even though you may allow your CD to roll over, you still have to pay taxes on any interest you earned. This isn't true for an annuity. As long as you don't remove the money from the contract, you don't have to pay taxes on the interest. Even if you want to take some of the principal and leave the interest in the contract, the IRS looks differently at your distribution. Annuity tax laws use LIFO rules. That means, last in, first out. Interest is always the last thing into the contract so the IRS considers the initial money you take as interest until you reach the amount you originally invested.
Taxation of an immediate annuity is slightly different. The government considers some of your payment a return of principal so it's tax-free. Only part of the payment is taxable as interest and that amount remains level throughout the contract payout period. The tax law uses an exclusion ratio based on your life expectancy.
The calculation comes from your life expectancy and the amount you'll receive in payments over that lifetime. If you make an initial deposit of $100,000, with a life expectancy of 25 years and annual payment of $10,000, you'll make $250,000 (25 times $10,000) with $150,000 over your initial investment. Simply divide the initial investment of $100,000 by $250,000 and you'll get the exclusion rate of forty percent. That means you only pay taxes on $6,000 each year. If you've had the money in the fixed annuity and have big gains, it pays to spread it out over several years.
There are great reasons to select fixed annuities over bank CDs, but most financial planners suggest you use both types of investments and diversify your funds. This is the safest method of investing in the event of unforeseen disasters. Most people find that the annuity is a great method of establishing an income they'll never outlive or a way to achieve tax-deferred growth to pass on to their children.
About the Author:
If you found this article helpful, by writer John C. Ryan, view more of his writings on fixed annuities . Here we are dedicated to providing you with the latest annuity insurance information, and the best fixed annuity quotes.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.