[Captainpd]

Worst investment you can make

[Eg_cruz]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

You make some good points, and there is some misinformation about annuities. But, most of the misinformation is spread by the people who sell the annuities to make a huge commission. I think it is outrageous that an annuity contract is often more than 150 pages of complicated legalese, and the salesperson will not even provide you with a copy to review before you pay the money and agree to the contract. So, you are at the mercy of the salesperson to get information, which is often slanted, wrong, incomplete, and presented in a way to make the annuity sound like a great investment. Many people, if not most of them, are persuaded to buy an annuity without fully understanding what they are buying.

You can always call the company direct and ask for a sample policy……
I will agree I one thing annuities in The Villages from poster boy and the other are being missed sold and over sold at the clients cost with riders fees.
Get a simple no fee Fixed Index no more then 7 year schedule, no Riders and you will average 4-5% at not risk, for about 20-30% of your net worth (not including your home) for a safety shield from market lost.
Being all in anything make zero since. Fixed Index Annuities make a good foundation for you investments, again as long as your not putting those stupid Income Riders on it.

[Travelhunter123]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

And of course the guy who sells them.

We have been to several retirement dinners where they pitch annuities. They show a 20 year period where the market only went up 3-4% and see you can do better with our super duper annuities.

They never seem to like it when I ask them to start the 20 years a few years later. Wonder why?

After you asked that question did you have to pay for your dinner.

[Travelhunter123]

Originally Posted by donassaid

You have no idea what you are talking about. The commission NEVER comes off the principal. Try getting the facts before spouting off nonsense. Simple advice. If you don't like annuities, don't buy them. Just quit spreading misinformation.

Interesting. Where does the commission come from?

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by Travelhunter123

After you asked that question did you have to pay for your dinner.

No but they were not surprised when I did not agree to come to their office for the no obligation one on one meeting.

[Babubhat]

Just another version of car salesman. A product you don’t need at a terrible cost.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Eg_cruz

You can always call the company direct and ask for a sample policy……
I will agree I one thing annuities in The Villages from poster boy and the other are being missed sold and over sold at the clients cost with riders fees.
Get a simple no fee Fixed Index no more then 7 year schedule, no Riders and you will average 4-5% at not risk, for about 20-30% of your net worth (not including your home) for a safety shield from market lost.
Being all in anything make zero since. Fixed Index Annuities make a good foundation for you investments, again as long as your not putting those stupid Income Riders on it.

Not exactly. I have called several insurance companies in the past to ask for a policy document to advise friends on a specific annuity they were being sold. None of them would send me a sample policy. Two or them were very rude and actually hung up on me. As explained to me, their procedure is to provide a brochure and for the salesperson to answer any questions about the annuity. You must provide the invested money and sign an agreement to purchase the annuity. Then, the insurance company will send you the entire contract, which is typically more than 150 pages. If you don't like the contract, you have 30 days to revoke it and ask for a refund of your money. That was my experience in trying to obtain an annuity contract.

[Blackbird45]

Originally Posted by Michael G.

Run like hell.
They are a money maker for Insurance company's

This is only for the young and it might sound ghoulish, but someone I met told me they invest in insurance policies. A broker feeds him information on people who cannot afford insurance and are not the best in health and he pays them a fee up front or a percentage to their families. They in turn let him become the owner and beneficiary.
He showed me the figures I was shocked; he is now paying 50K a year in premiums and if he outlives all of them, he's good for 1.8 million. This guy already made over a million. Most of us here in the TV are too old for this. But if you have a son or daughter, and they know an agent and don't mind the optics of this, they should talk it over with them. He swore this was perfectly legal.

[Postreader]

Originally Posted by fcgiii

Has anyone dealt with ARS and bought their hybrid annuities?. The say they are fiduciaries and claim they can get you annuities that go up with the market and never lose money.

I am not knowledgeable of hybrid annuities or ARS.

I have a Allianz 222 annuity. it is a fixed annuity. It offers lifetime income after 10 years with no market losses. The "Protected Income Value" (PIV) is the basis for the lifetime income. The downside is I have experienced modest increases to my PIV mainly due to caps, spreads, participation rates. The upside is "guaranteed lifetime" and bonus increases for the PIV.

Here is information from their website.Allianz 222 offers you principal protection from market loss, potential indexed interest, and the potential for tax-deferred growth. It also gives you two ways to receive income increases, two ways to get a bonus,1 and two ways for your beneficiaries to get a death benefit.2 You can also start income payments after as few as 10 years.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Blackbird45

This is only for the young and it might sound ghoulish, but someone I met told me they invest in insurance policies. A broker feeds him information on people who cannot afford insurance and are not the best in health and he pays them a fee up front or a percentage to their families. They in turn let him become the owner and beneficiary.
He showed me the figures I was shocked; he is now paying 50K a year in premiums and if he outlives all of them, he's good for 1.8 million. This guy already made over a million. Most of us here in the TV are too old for this. But if you have a son or daughter, and they know an agent and don't mind the optics of this, they should talk it over with them. He swore this was perfectly legal.

It's not legal if the broker is concealing the health status of the clients from the insurance company. He is supposed to represent the company. Insurance companies aren't stupid. They require the health status to be revealed, a medical examine, or a waiting period before accepting the policy. It sounds like the broker may be defrauding his own company.

[gatorbill1]

If a broker sells enough annuities, they could have a polo team

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by gatorbill1

If a broker sells enough annuities, they could have a polo team

Or own his own MLB baseball team. Might sell at a discount right now.

[Blackbird45]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

It's not legal if the broker is concealing the health status of the clients from the insurance company. He is supposed to represent the company. Insurance companies aren't stupid. They require the health status to be revealed, a medical examine, or a waiting period before accepting the policy. It sounds like the broker may be defrauding his own company.

I assume the insurance companies know the health of the individual, since as he said he doesn't even know these people. He showed me one where he is paying less than 3 thousand in premiums a year for a 100K policy. The insured wife is supposed to get 1/3 of the benefits and it's already written into the policy, so the insurance company handles the distribution. Even with just 2/3 he's still good for 66K. Now that I think about it, I've been seeing advertisements on TV about selling your policies.

[srswans]

Originally Posted by jimbomaybe

You might consider a "Fee only " financial planer, they get their fee up front, no commission ( unless they steer you to somebody else) they can give you an overview of the many financial aspects that can affect your situation as well as specific advise

Yes, fee only is the way to go. You pay them up front for advice and avoid sales commissions. They work for you and not the investment institution. Annuities such as ARS may have a place in your portfolio, the fee only planner can work that out for you. (Ours told us not to do an annuity.)

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Blackbird45

I assume the insurance companies know the health of the individual, since as he said he doesn't even know these people. He showed me one where he is paying less than 3 thousand in premiums a year for a 100K policy. The insured wife is supposed to get 1/3 of the benefits and it's already written into the policy, so the insurance company handles the distribution. Even with just 2/3 he's still good for 66K. Now that I think about it, I've been seeing advertisements on TV about selling your policies.

Buying an existing policy and buying a new policy are two different things. People can sell an existing policy when they need cash, but the company that buys the policy gets a huge discount and makes a profit. But, if you expect to make money by buying a new policy, then you are trying to outsmart the insurance company. I don't think that would be a very predictable or successful way to make money. But, it's great for the broker who gets a commission for selling the policy. That may be the whole point.