Taxes can be a major burden for retirees and people saving for retirement, so choosing the right investment vehicle is essential. However, once you retire, one of the most important things to consider is how you will receive your income. Many people choose to annuitize their retirement savings, which can be a great way to…

Inflation can throw a wrench into retirement plans. That’s because, over the long term, inflation erodes your income’s purchasing power. So even if you save and invest, your wealth may buy less and less with time. Commercial annuities often pay a fixed monthly income. This fixed amount is susceptible to inflation. But if annuities are…

A tumbling stock market and higher interest rates are forcing consumers to buy annuities. According to LIMRA, a trade group for the insurance industry, annuity sales in the third quarter of 2022 approached $80 billion, just beating the $79.4 billion record set in Q2. It’s an impressive 27 percent increase over last year. As in…

By Sandra Block From Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Many employers that provide defined-benefit pensions offer employees the ability to take their pension as a lump sum instead of an annuity. Employers like this option because it gets the pension liability off their books, and some retirees prefer the flexibility a lump sum provides. If you’re considering…

As of November 2021, only 15 percent of private industry workers had access to a defined benefit pension from their employer. Why is that disheartening? A pension guarantees a steady income once you retire. Meanwhile, more options are being offered to workers to save for retirement. As of 2021, 81 percent of private-sector employees had…

There are certain things that I would never give up. I’m talking about things like a delicious In-N-Out burger or my Netflix subscription. Okay, maybe I would give up Netflix. I mean, something’s gotta be up with the streaming service if it lost almost a million subscribers in the second quarter of 2022. However, when…

Whether you know it or not, you’ve at least heard the word “annuity” thrown around. Unconvinced? You’ve probably encountered annuities in the following instances: Defined benefit pensions. Defined benefit pensions guarantee specific benefits upon retirement. Employers can administer pensions in the form of a lump sum or lifetime annuity. Due to the fact that these are deposits to banks, the…

No one likes to think about the end, but when it comes to money, it’s important to plan for retirement with a long-term mindset. Making your money last is something that all retirees and those planning for retirement have to think about. After all, no one wants to run out of money before they die….

Annuities can be complex instruments. They can come in all shapes and forms, from immediate to deferred, from fixed to variable, from single life to joint life and everything in between. However, no matter how complex and seemingly custom-tailored, no annuity is ever perfect. That said, you can make them as good as you want by adding…

There was a time when workers could depend on an employee pension plan and Social Security to cover their retirement expenses. ‌Nowadays, pensions are ‌scarce. And, the future of Social Security is murky at best. Maybe this is why one in four Americans haven’t saved anything for retirement. And, those that did, aren’t saving enough. But, it doesn’t have to be this…