What is a Fixed Index Annuity?

I get asked this question regularly, "What is a Fixed Index Annuity"?  

The main reason I get this question, is that sales of Fixed Index Annuities (FIA's) are jumping off the charts right now.  Why? Because baby boomers are starting to realize that their 401(k) investments are not going to be enough to cover their income needs.  

So what are FIA's?  Here is some information from Allianz (leading Annuity Provider) that will be a good primer to start with:

Fixed index annuities

Fixed index annuities provide the guarantees of fixed annuities, combined with the opportunity to earn interest based on changes in an external market index. But because you're not actually participating in the market, the money in your annuity (your "principal") is not at risk.

A fixed index annuity may be a good choice if you want the opportunity for accumulation, but don't want to risk losing money in the market.

Fixed index annuities can offer:

• Principal protection
• Tax-deferred growth
• One or more index allocation options
• A choice of crediting methods
• Income options, including income for life
• Death benefit options
• Optional benefits that may help protect your retirement assets and income (available at an additional cost)

How do fixed index annuities work?

1. You give the insurance company money in one or more payments.
2. The insurance company then invests it on behalf of all annuity owners.
3. During the accumulation phase, your annuity will earn a fixed rate of interest that is guaranteed by the insurance company.
4. You defer paying taxes on your contract’s interest until you receive money from the contract. Tax-deferred interest means the money in your contract can grow faster.
5. After a period of time specified by your contract, you may then receive the amount allowed by your contract in a lump sum, over a set period of time, or as income for the rest of your life. This is known as the distribution phase.

Want to learn more about Fixed Index Annuities?  Visit our site today at:  Morey Insurance Group, or contact us here:  Contact Morey Insurance Group  

Don't Buy Term Life Insurance!!

By far the most popular topic I have written on so far has been Term Insurance With Living Benefits, so I thought I would follow up on this concept and highlight some of the benefits.

To make sure everyone is caught up, Term Life Insurance is just that... Life Insurance that lasts for a specified length of time, or "term".  Most commonly, this is used to cover a specific need for a period of time.  Here are some examples:

1. A young family buys a house and has a mortgage on that house.  Let's say they are 35 years old and they have a 30 year mortgage on their new house for $300,000.  The main breadwinner in the family wants to make sure that if something should happen to him / her, then the spouse would have enough money to pay off this mortgage.  So, they purchase a 30 year Term Life Insurance policy for $300,000.

2. Another good example for Term Life Insurance, is a young family with dependent children still in the house.  Term Life Insurance is often purchased to make sure there is enough money for the surviving spouse to care for the children and maybe even their college educations in the event that one of the parents dies.  For this purpose, the couple should consider several factors, such as the number of children and their respective ages, which will tell them first, the "term" that they need to cover their family, assuming the children are self sufficient at some point in the future.  Next, they would determine the amount of money needed to provide the lifestyle and education the family wants to provide should one of the parents die.   Some things this couple should consider would be, mortgage / rent, living expenses, transportation, education, etc...  The amount of the insurance policy (face amount) and term of the policy, will be unique to each family, based on the couples specific requirements and goals.

The reason for my post titled "Don't Buy Term Life Insurance" is because insurance companies have recently started bundling Living Benefits into their Term Life Insurance products.  For the same reasons you would buy Term Life Insurance (loss of income due to a death), you should consider Term Life Insurance with living benefits to cover you in the event of the following conditions:

1. Chronic Illness
2. Critical Illness
3. Terminal Illness

Any of these three conditions listed above can seriously affect your family, should you find yourself in this situation for 6-12 months and are not able to generate the income that your family counts on to pay living expenses.

Term Life Insurance with Living Benefits allows you to use the money from your life insurance policy to help cover costs associated with Chronic, Critical and /or Terminal Illness, at a time when you need the help vs. just the traditional benefit of simple Term Life Insurance that only pays a benefit when you die.

One nice surprise about Term Life Insurance with Living Benefits is that you will find the monthly payments (premiums) to be just slightly higher than traditional term insurance, but in my opinion, worth every penny for the added benefits.

On my website (www.moreyinsurancegroup.com), I have more information that you can read and download on this topic.  Transamerica is the company that I recommend with most of my clients and you can find their brochures on my site as well, just follow this link: Term Life Insurance with Living Benefits

If you would like to talk with one of our experts, you can find our contact information on our website as well at:  Contact Us

Term Life Insurance with Living Benefits

Recent studies show that nearly half of all Americans suffer from at least one chronic illness, and many of these people have one or more daily activity limitations.

Chronic diseases—such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and arthritis—are among the most common and costly of all health problems in the U.S., and are also the leading causes of death and disability.

You may not have considered it until now, but more and more people are learning that certain types of life insurance can play an important role in protecting their family’s financial future when an unexpected chronic, critical or terminal illness happens.

Term life insurance is one of the most important things you can put in place to provide financial protection for your family if you were to pass away unexpectedly. But did you know that Term Life Insurance with Living Benefits gives you early access to policy benefits to help pay your bills should you become stricken with a chronic, critical or terminal illness—even if you already have health insurance or Medicare coverage?

One of the best products I offer for this type of coverage is the Trendsetter® LB term Life Insurance from Transamerica Life Insurance Company.  The monthly premiums are just slightly higher than traditional term life insurance and the added benefits are more than justified.

Before you jump at the lowest premium you can find for Term Life Insurance, take a closer look at Term Life Insurance with Living Benefits on our website at: www.moreyinsurancegroup.com

Researching Life Insurance Options??

Are you researching options for Life Insurance?

Have you heard the ads on the radio and TV suggesting low cost options for Term Life Insurance or Whole Life Insurance?

Are you confused with information you have read online, or worse, information you received from a friend?  Let's face it, researching Life Insurance options that fit your particular needs is a little challenging right?

When I grew up, I was always taught "Buy Term Insurance, and invest the rest".  The "rest" led to a discussion about putting your money into Mutual Funds.  I followed and preached that message for years, until I got my insurance license and started meeting with clients that followed that direction and I saw first hand how that strategy actually worked (or didn't!) for them.

What I saw was older clients (60+), that for 20+ years, had paid monthly premiums into term insurance policies that were now expiring or, they had been notified that their premiums that were doubling or tripling, and they could no longer afford them.  An eye opener for me was to see the harsh reality of  20+ years of paying into an insurance policy with nothing to show for it!  Not to mention those Mutual Funds that didn't exactly perform the way they were advertised...

What I discovered, is that Term Life Insurance doesn't work for a lot of people, particularly when working with the 55 and over market.  I realized that I needed to find other products that fit for my clients and what I found was that basic, low cost, term life insurance is really not a good product, regardless of the age of my clients.

My recommendation, before you jump to apply for a low cost Term Insurance quote, do yourself a favor and at least look at these options:

1. Term Insurance with Return of Premium (ROP).  If you are sold on term life insurance, at least look at a product that returns your premiums to you after 15-20 years.  Yes, all of your premiums!

2. Term Insurance with Living Benefits.  This is a product that provides an option for you to use the money in your life insurance policy to pay for critical or terminal illnesses that may arise.  Good option for you to have peace of mind that you have money available should you encounter this situation.

3. Universal Life Insurance.  These are permanent insurance policies that can not only provide a death benefit for your loved ones, but they can actually provide a college savings plan and/or a retirement income plan.  Want something to show for your monthly premiums after 15-20 years?  You will be amazed at the potential benefits of these products.

4. Whole Life Insurance.  These policies are permanent insurance policies that accumulate cash value that can be borrowed against for unexpected expenses down the road.

Want to learn more?  Visit my website at:  www.moreyinsurancegroup.com   Here, I have information, videos, free downloads and links for you to check out, no strings attached.

Once you have a chance to explore some options that might work for you, give us a call and let one of our licensed agents help you navigate your options through our network of insurance carriers.  You can contact us by following this link:  Contact Morey Insurance Group



 

Video: What is the Difference Between Term and Permanent Life Insurance?

If you want to learn the difference between Term Life Insurance and Permanent Life Insurance (Whole Life or Universal Life Insurance), I have just posted a brief 3 minute video that will give you a good starting point to answering this question.

Check out the short video here:  Morey Insurance Group / Term Life Insurance

For more detailed information on options for term and permanent life insurance, be sure to visit our site at:  www.moreyinsurancegroup.com

Beginners Guide To Annuities

Just uploaded a great new document that you can download for free on my website.  This is an excellent guide for anyone looking to learn more about the various types of annuities that are available today.

Check out the document on my site at: http://www.moreyinsurancegroup.com/annuities/ 

Fixed Indexed Annuities are a great option when you consider all the options, but start by reading the guide and feel free to contact us if you would like to discuss your options for your retirement income.

You can contact us by visiting our site at:  www.moreyinsurancegroup.com

Whole Life Insurance Video Overview

I just added a new video on my site that talks about the benefits of a Whole Life Insurance policy.  Check it out below (click on the image):

Or, visit our site and check out the video here:  Benefits of Whole Life Insurance  

You can also visit our main site at:  www.moreyinsurancegroup.com  

What are Immediate Annuities?

Understanding Immediate Annuities

A Single Premium Immediate Annuity (sometimes referred to as an "SPIA") may be the right annuity for you if you are looking for payments that begin right away and continue for the rest of your life or for a specified period of time.

In return for your lump sum (premium), the insurance company promises to make regular payments to you (or to a payee you specify) for the chosen length of time – most commonly for the remainder of your life, however long that may be.

Depending on your requirements, immediate annuity payments start one month after you buy your annuity. When choosing an immediate annuity, you can choose how frequently you receive payments – often referred to as the “mode.” While annuity buyers typically choose to receive payments monthly, you may choose quarterly, or even yearly instead.

In exchange for the guarantee of payments, you give up the right to demand the return of your original premium. Unlike some forms of life insurance or other types of annuities, you are generally unable to revise or cash in the immediate annuity once the 10-day "free look" period has passed.

You can fund your immediate annuity in a number of ways, including cash from a maturing Certificate of Deposit (CD), exchanging monies accumulated in a Deferred Annuity account, proceeds from the sale of stocks, bonds, a home or a business, a lump sum distribution from a tax-qualified defined benefit or 401k, or an IRA account.

An immediate annuity comes with many important advantages. Here are just a few:

·         Security — The annuity provides stable lifetime income which can never be outlived, or which may be guaranteed for a specified period. This advantage is crucially important to annuitants who may have previously feared outliving their savings.

·         Simplicity — An annuity is pretty much “get it and forget it.” Once it is set, the only work you are required to do is collect your regular payments. With an immediate annuity, you do not need to watch markets or track interest rates and dividends.

·         Higher Returns — The interest rates used by insurance companies to calculate immediate annuity income are generally higher than CD or Treasury rates. Since part of the principal is returned with each payment, greater amounts are received than would be provided by interest alone.

·         Safety of Principal — Funds are guaranteed by assets of insurer and not subject to the fluctuations of financial markets.

·         No sales or administrative charges

When you shop for an immediate annuity, you will find that one of the key factors in pricing is your age and life expectancy. In a sense, purchasing an immediate annuity is like making a bet with an insurance company about how long you will live. Since the insurer will stop making payments when you die, it is betting that you won't live beyond your life expectancy. On the other hand, if you live longer than predicted, your return may be far greater than estimated.

Immediate annuity coverage can be increased by including a second person ("Joint and Survivor" annuity), by adding a guaranteed period of time ("Period Certain" annuity), or by guaranteeing that payments will continue at least until the original purchase amount has been paid out ("Refund" annuity). This added risk to the insurer is likely to reduce monthly payments by about 5% to 15%, depending on the age of the annuitants and the length of the guarantee period.

The way your annuity payments are taxed depends upon the source of the funds you use to purchase it.

Qualified Immediate Annuities

When applied to immediate annuities, the term qualified refers to the tax status of the source of funds used for purchasing the annuity. These are premium dollars which until now have "qualified" for IRS exemption from income taxes. The whole payment received each month from a qualified annuity is taxable as income (since income taxes have not yet been paid on these funds). Qualified annuities may either come from corporate-sponsored retirement plans (such as Defined Benefit or Defined Contribution Plans), Lump Sum distributions from such retirement plans, or from such individual retirement arrangements as IRAs, SEPs, and Section 403(b) tax-sheltered annuities, or Section 1035 annuity or life insurance exchanges.

Non-qualified Immediate Annuities

Non-qualified immediate annuities are purchased with monies which have not enjoyed any tax-sheltered status and for which taxes have already been paid. A part of each monthly payment is considered a return of previously taxed principal and therefore excluded from taxation. Non-qualified annuities may be purchased by employers for situations such as deferred compensation or supplemental income programs, or by individuals investing their after-tax savings accounts or money market accounts, CD's, proceeds from the sale of a house, business, mutual funds, other investments, or from an inheritance or proceeds from a life insurance settlement.

Want more information?  Contact us today, Call our office at 844-313-4752, or visit our website for more detailed information on which annuity is best suited for you.  

www.moreyinsurancegroup.com  

Using Annuities To Fund Life Insurance?

You may have used annuities as a savings vehicle as part of your financial plan.  However, now you may find that you no longer need the money in the annuity and you want to pass the money on to your heirs.

But, did you know that the gains on your annuity (the portion that exceeds your original investment), could be taxable income to your heirs?  In addition, the full value of your annuity is included in your taxable estate, which could result in a diminished inheritance.

To maximize your annuity dollars, one strategy is to purchase a single premium life insurance policy on your life with the annuity funds.  The beneficiaries of the policy would then be paid a generally tax-free death benefit and avoid the taxes associated with inheriting annuity funds.

If you are interested in learning more about this strategy, visit our annuity resource page today.  Click Here for more information:  Strategies for Fixed Indexed Annuities

Fixed Indexed Universal Life Insurance

Fixed Indexed universal life insurance (FIUL) is permanent life insurance that offers death benefit protection when death occurs.  Like other forms of permanent life insurance, your premium payments may earn interest and grow the cash value of your policy.

What differentiates IUL from other permanent life insurance is the way interest is credited to the policy. In addition to offering a traditional declared interest rate, FIUL also offers the ability to earn interest that is linked to the movement of a selected stock market index over a specific period of time.

The manner in which interest is credited to your FIUL policy gives you the potential for strong cash value accumulation. A key benefit to remember is that it offers protection in a poorly performing market.

With Fixed Indexed Universal Life Insurance, you don’t participate directly in the stock market and the credited interest rate is never less than zero percent, guaranteed.

Read more here:  Fixed Indexed Universal Life Insurance

Are Fixed Indexed Annuities right for you!

Are annuities right for you?  Have you researched how Fixed Indexed Annuities and whether they are right for your retirement strategy? 

Check out some of the articles on me website to get all the information you need to determine the suitability of this type of product in your plan.

Here is the link to get you started!  Fixed Indexed Annuities

Benefits of Fixed Indexed Universal Life Insurance

If you are not familiar with the benefits of Fixed Indexed Universal Life (FIUL) insurance, you owe it to yourself to review the short video on my website that will give you a brief overview of the product.

FIUL products are the hottest product on the insurance market and are gaining a lot of attention among financial experts.   Take a close look and see if this product should be part of your overall security and financial plan. 

View the video on my site at:  Morey Insurance Group - Fixed Indexed Universal Life Insurance

Just completed my new site;  www.moreyinsurancegroup.com 

Loaded with great information related to:

1. Indexed Universal Life Insurance
2. Fixed Indexed Annuities
3. Whole Life Insurance
4. Term Life Insurance

If you are looking for free downloads on the various life insurance products available in the market, check out our site today!