F
Fixed Annuities
Provide interest based on contract terms, subject to insurer guarantees and surrender provisions.
Retirement planning · Annuity strategies
Understand the tradeoff between growth potential, guarantees, income and liquidity.
Annuities are insurance contracts designed for long-term objectives. We help you understand how fixed, indexed and income-focused designs differ before you consider a purchase or exchange.
Common designs
Annuities are not all the same.
I
Fixed Indexed Annuities
Interest may be linked in part to the performance of an external index, subject to contract crediting methods and limits.
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Income Annuities
Designed to convert premium into a stream of income, immediately or at a future date, depending on the contract.
Before buying or exchanging
Review the full contract—not just the illustrated income.
Surrender charges
Understand the surrender-charge schedule and free-withdrawal provisions.
Understand the surrender-charge schedule and free-withdrawal provisions.
Income riders
Separate the rider’s benefit base from actual cash value and understand rider fees.
Separate the rider’s benefit base from actual cash value and understand rider fees.
Tax treatment
Annuity taxation depends on account type, distributions and other circumstances.
Annuity taxation depends on account type, distributions and other circumstances.
Exchange analysis
A replacement may restart surrender periods or change guarantees, costs and benefits.
A replacement may restart surrender periods or change guarantees, costs and benefits.
Annuity review
Compare the contract to the goal.
Bring your current statement or illustration and we can help organize the questions to ask.
Important: Annuities are long-term insurance contracts and may involve surrender charges, rider fees, market-value adjustments or other restrictions. Guarantees are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurer. Tax treatment varies; consult a qualified tax professional. This site does not provide securities or investment advice.