A fixed annuity is a well-liked method of securing an income for retirement. Its principal benefit is that it provides a fixed income guarantee. While some fixed annuities may provide income for the rest of your life, others might only provide income for a specific time frame.
What you need to know about fixed annuities, their disadvantages, and who should think about purchasing one is provided here.
How fixed annuities function
It’s crucial to initially comprehend what an annuity is because a fixed annuity is merely one form of annuity.
An annuity is a contract, usually with an insurance company, that guarantees to provide a specific income over time in return for an up-front payment. Depending on how the annuity is set up, the payout will occur over a period of time, say 20 years, or until the client passes away.
The annuity’s attraction lies in the income’s comparatively high level of safety. The guaranteed return on investment or minimum payout value of the annuity could be promised. It may also include other features, such as a death benefit that acts as life insurance in the event that the customer passes away.
The way the payouts are set up is what distinguishes an annuity as a fixed annuity. In this scenario, a fixed annuity guarantees a set monthly distribution on the account, providing clients with a predictable income.
Customers can make contributions to a fixed annuity over the course of their working lives or all at once. They can either take their payments right away, as in the case of an instant payment annuity, or they can take them later, as in the case of a deferred annuity.
There are yet further annuity types, including variable and indexed annuities, each of which has advantages and disadvantages.
Customers should fully understand the type of annuity they are acquiring and how it is structured because the potential risks and returns on all annuities might differ.
Positive aspects of a fixed annuity
While a fixed annuity offers numerous advantages that are common to all annuities, it also provides advantages that are unique to fixed annuities. These benefits consist of:
- Gains that can be accumulated tax-deferred — Just like other annuities, a fixed annuity can help you accumulate wealth. Earnings are not taxed until they’re withdrawn from the annuity, and if you contribute with after-tax money, then any payments to the account likewise come out without any taxes.
- Limitless contributions – Annuities also provide unlimited contributions, which can be a big benefit for higher-income households because it allows them to maximize their tax-deferred growth. The relatively low yearly maximum contribution limit of a traditional 401(k) or traditional IRA, both of which provide comparable tax-deferral advantages, is not a restriction for annuities.
- Variety of benefits – Annuities may be designed to provide a variety of insurance-like benefits. Among these are provisions for the buyer’s needs, guaranteed minimum payouts, survivor’s benefits, and death benefits. They’re all factored into the price of the annuity.
- In addition to these benefits, a fixed annuity provides the assurance of a monthly income for a predetermined period of time, maybe until death. When they are unable to work, retirees can breathe a little easier thanks to the guaranteed income.
According to Chad Hamilton, CFP, senior vice president of practice management at Mariner Wealth Advisors in Tulsa, “As life expectancies rise, it is more and more attractive to have income that will remain for as long as you live.”
Problems with a fixed annuity
Despite the advantages of a fixed annuity, it also poses a number of negatives to investors, including:
- Complexity – Annuity contracts can be dozens of pages long and contain many key aspects that are difficult to understand because they are written in legalese. It’s crucial that you comprehend your rights and obligations under the contract because annuities might have a wide variety of conditions and perks.
- High fees – Fees, such as sales commissions, which can reach high single digits in percentage, can be added to your contract. You might also be charged additional yearly fees. Examine your contract thoroughly.
- Illiquid – It may be difficult or even impossible to withdraw your money after signing an annuity contract. To get out, you could have to pay a surrender fee.
- penalties for withdrawing too soon – If you withdraw your funds from the annuity contract before the age of 59 1/2, you may be subject to early withdrawal fees, lose the annuity’s tax-deferral benefits, and potentially be subject to gains taxes.
- Any annuity exposes you to counterparty risk since your annuity contract is only as good as the company you sign it with. To guarantee that you receive the cash stream you agreed to, you need partner with a reliable insurance provider.
- Exposure to inflation: If inflation picks up significantly over the next 10, 15, or even 20 years, a fixed annuity’s guaranteed income stream may not be as valuable as you had thought. Any money that is still available at the conclusion of the annuity will also be worth less. The disadvantage of a fixed income is that it cannot keep up with inflation, hence Hamilton advises having additional investments with growth potential to supplement this kind of annuity.
Another disadvantage mentioned by Hamilton is that annuity payments are not included in your estate.
For instance, if you invest $250,000 into a fixed instant annuity, that amount is no longer available for you to leave to your heirs as an asset, according to him. “It has been transformed into a revenue stream that will (typically) come to an end after your demise. The only exception is if the income benefit is “period definite,” which ensures that it will be paid for a minimum amount of time, or if it has a joint life benefit, which provides money to a spouse who survives you.
Who ought to think about a fixed annuity?
Although annuities can be advantageous, not everyone should purchase one, therefore potential purchasers should carefully weigh the advantages and disadvantages of a fixed annuity.
Fixed annuities might be a wise choice for retirees seeking a guaranteed income, particularly if they are in good health, anticipate living a long life owing to family history, and require the security of a steady income.
Hamilton adds, “It might also be a smart approach to generate an amount of income that is not dependent on the markets or interest rates if you don’t have a monthly pension or any other income source.
Retirees may be able to guarantee they’ll have a steady base of income by combining a sizeable fixed annuity with Social Security, which guarantees regular but increasing payouts. They must, of course, carefully plan based on the amount of money they can anticipate from Social Security.
However, you should probably avoid investing all of your money in a fixed annuity because your portfolio needs to grow, especially if you anticipate a protracted retirement. You’ll probably have a higher chance of growing in coming years by keeping at least some assets in a diverse stock portfolio, which will help you preserve your purchasing power.
Different annuities versus fixed annuities
The safety of a guaranteed income is combined with a fixed payout over a predetermined period of time in a fixed annuity. However, some of the drawbacks of a fixed annuity may be addressed by a few other annuity kinds.
Fixed versus variable annuities
A variable annuity allows policyholders to accrue bigger benefits over time as opposed to the fixed payouts of a fixed annuity. A variable annuity, as its name suggests, pays out according to how well the investments made in the annuity perform. Typically, insurance company-run sub-accounts are where policyholders invest, and the annuity’s monthly payout is based on the performance of the investments made there.
The benefit of a variable annuity is that, depending on how aggressive the variable annuity is and the performance of the market during your hold term, you may receive significantly more income than you would with a fixed annuity. The drawback is that nothing might be promised to you.
Fixed versus index annuities
An index annuity allows the policyholder to accrue a bigger payoff over time as opposed to the fixed annuity’s fixed payouts. A Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index, which is made up of hundreds of the best firms in America, is tracked by an index annuity, which then pays out a certain proportion of the success of the index. There can also be a minimum return on an index annuity.
Because your money is linked to investments with higher growth potential, like equities, an index annuity has the advantage of potentially providing you with a lot more income than a fixed annuity. The annuity might provide a minimum return, minimizing your downside even if the index performs poorly.
To sum up
Because of the relative security and certainty of the income they can provide later in life, fixed annuities continue to be a popular type of annuity. However, fixed annuities, like all annuities, do have some significant limitations, so you must think about whether or not they match your needs.
