Annuities | Equity | Indexed Annuities | Fixed Annuities

Human Resources Outsourcing | Employee Benefits | Retirement | Benefit Communication | Corporate Wellness Programs

Identify Exposure | Provide System | Implement Safe Process | Continuous Monitoring & Upgrading

Property Insurance | Liability Insurance | Directors & Officers Insurance | Employment Practices Insurance

Why Annuties?

An Annuity is a contract between you and an insurance company. In many instances you would make a single payment or a series of payments that would in return pay you a fixed series of payments to you beginning immediately at a future date. Annuities in most cases offer tax-deferred growth of earnings and may include a death benefit that will pay a beneficiary a guaranteed minimum amount, such as your total purchase of payments.

There are many types of annuity contracts. Fixed Annuity contracts will guarantees that you will earn a minimum rate of interest during the time that your account is growing. The insurance company also guarantees that the periodic payments will be a guaranteed amount per dollar in your account. These periodic payments may last for a definite period, such as 20 years, or an indefinite period, such as your lifetime or the lifetime of you and your spouse.

An Equity-Indexed Annuity is a special type of annuity. During the accumulation period when you make either a lump sum payment or a series of payments – the insurance company credits you with a return that is based on changes in an equity index, such as the S&P 500 Composite Stock Price Index. The insurance company typically guarantees a minimum return. Guaranteed minimum return rates vary. After the accumulation period, the insurance company will make periodic payments to you under the terms of your contract, unless you choose to receive your contract value in a lump sum.

In a Variable Annuity, by contrast, you can choose to invest your purchase payments from among a range of different investment options, typically mutual funds. The rate of return on your purchase payments, and the amount of the periodic payments you will eventually receive, will vary depending on the performance of the investment options you have selected.

Variable annuities are securities regulated by the SEC. Fixed annuities are not securities and are not regulated by the SEC. Equity-indexed annuities combine features of traditional insurance products (guaranteed minimum return) and traditional securities (return linked to equity markets). Depending on the mix of features, an equity-indexed annuity may or may not be a security. The typical equity-indexed annuity is not registered with the SEC.