Annuities & Longevity Insurance

[Onward]

This week's episode of Consuelo Mack's WEALTHTRACK is about securing retirement income, and annuities and longevity insurance in particular.

There's definitely a pro-annuity bias, but they do mention some drawbacks.

WealthTrack Video on Demand

 

[chinaco]

Thanks.

It provides a nice summary of the issues.

 

[obgyn65]

Thanks to discussions on this website I have been reconsidering the use of annuities in later years.

 

[rescueme]

It was a very good discussion IMHO, and outlined quite well the idea of an income annuity as a longevity income planning tool, rather than just an option for investments.

In retirement, cash flow is everything. For those that have guaranteed sources (e.g. defined benefit, SS, etc.) that meet their income needs from the first day of retirement, supplemented by their savings/portfolio, these types of products may not be attractive.

However for us that retired without a defined benefit (e.g. pension) and are years away from our planned SS, they do provide an option beyond our portfolio drawdown for income, and the impact of variance in returns depending on the "mood" of the market.