Things To Consider When Choosing the Best Fixed Annuities
A fixed annuity may sound confusing at first but if you understand how a CD works at a bank, you have the basic knowledge for fixed annuities. Annuities have other features besides a rate guarantee that make it an interesting choice over a CD. There's a little more information to look at to see if this type of investment vehicle is right for you.
There are two different ways to used fixed annuities. The first is an immediate annuity. In this case, you take smaller equal payments over a set period. The time may be your lifetime, the lifetime of your spouse and yourself, a specific number of years or you can request a specific payment amount and let the company tell you how many payments it lasts. A deferred annuity does just as the name implies, defers the payment to a later date.
The tax-deferred interest is a real plus for those saving for retirement, but as with any benefit has negatives also. If you put the money into a deferred fixed annuity and suddenly realize that you need funds, you have a ten percent penalty to pay on the growth you remove if you're not yet 59 . The tax laws do allow you to take substantial periodic payments penalty-free. The payments must last until you're 59 or at least for 5 years.
Penalties for early removal of money don't stop with the IRS, insurance companies impose them too. Just like a CD, a fixed annuity has an early withdrawal penalty. It often ranges between four and seven percent. This normally gets smaller the longer you wait to take money and eventually disappears on most contracts. Some contracts, particularly those that pay a high rate, always have a surrender fee unless you annuitize. Occasionally they impose the same fee on beneficiaries. If you plan to take payments, it's not a problem.
There are exceptions to the surrender charge. Many contracts offer the ability to remove funds of as much as ten percent without penalty. This amount may be available each year or once for the life of the contract. Almost every annuity allows you to take the interest penalty free each year and some people use the annuities that way, just as they'd use a CD.
Annuity taxation occurs in two ways. If you remove the money from a fixed annuity in a lump sum as a withdrawal, the government taxes it with LIFO rules. This means, last in, first out. Since the last in is always interest, you pay taxes on the interest you withdraw. Unlike a CD, where even if you reinvest the money, you still pay taxes, you only have taxation of annuity interest once you remove it.
Taxation of an immediate annuity is slightly different. The government considers some of your payment a return of principal so it's tax-free. Only part of the payment is taxable as interest and that amount remains level throughout the contract payout period. The tax law uses an exclusion ratio based on your life expectancy.
The exclusion ratio, the amount you exclude from taxation on payments from fixed annuities, comes from multiplying the expected payment by your life expectancy and dividing the original premium by that number. A 62-year-old person's life expectancy is 22.5 years. If they receive an annual amount from a fixed annuity of $9000 and live the 22.5 years, they'll make $202,500 in payments. Simply divide the $100,000 invested by $202,500 to get an exclusion ratio of 49.4 percent. Therefore, you only pay tax on 50.6 percent of the payment.
There are great reasons to select fixed annuities over bank CDs, but most financial planners suggest you use both types of investments and diversify your funds. This is the safest method of investing in the event of unforeseen disasters. Most people find that the annuity is a great method of establishing an income they'll never outlive or a way to achieve tax-deferred growth to pass on to their children. - 23217
There are two different ways to used fixed annuities. The first is an immediate annuity. In this case, you take smaller equal payments over a set period. The time may be your lifetime, the lifetime of your spouse and yourself, a specific number of years or you can request a specific payment amount and let the company tell you how many payments it lasts. A deferred annuity does just as the name implies, defers the payment to a later date.
The tax-deferred interest is a real plus for those saving for retirement, but as with any benefit has negatives also. If you put the money into a deferred fixed annuity and suddenly realize that you need funds, you have a ten percent penalty to pay on the growth you remove if you're not yet 59 . The tax laws do allow you to take substantial periodic payments penalty-free. The payments must last until you're 59 or at least for 5 years.
Penalties for early removal of money don't stop with the IRS, insurance companies impose them too. Just like a CD, a fixed annuity has an early withdrawal penalty. It often ranges between four and seven percent. This normally gets smaller the longer you wait to take money and eventually disappears on most contracts. Some contracts, particularly those that pay a high rate, always have a surrender fee unless you annuitize. Occasionally they impose the same fee on beneficiaries. If you plan to take payments, it's not a problem.
There are exceptions to the surrender charge. Many contracts offer the ability to remove funds of as much as ten percent without penalty. This amount may be available each year or once for the life of the contract. Almost every annuity allows you to take the interest penalty free each year and some people use the annuities that way, just as they'd use a CD.
Annuity taxation occurs in two ways. If you remove the money from a fixed annuity in a lump sum as a withdrawal, the government taxes it with LIFO rules. This means, last in, first out. Since the last in is always interest, you pay taxes on the interest you withdraw. Unlike a CD, where even if you reinvest the money, you still pay taxes, you only have taxation of annuity interest once you remove it.
Taxation of an immediate annuity is slightly different. The government considers some of your payment a return of principal so it's tax-free. Only part of the payment is taxable as interest and that amount remains level throughout the contract payout period. The tax law uses an exclusion ratio based on your life expectancy.
The exclusion ratio, the amount you exclude from taxation on payments from fixed annuities, comes from multiplying the expected payment by your life expectancy and dividing the original premium by that number. A 62-year-old person's life expectancy is 22.5 years. If they receive an annual amount from a fixed annuity of $9000 and live the 22.5 years, they'll make $202,500 in payments. Simply divide the $100,000 invested by $202,500 to get an exclusion ratio of 49.4 percent. Therefore, you only pay tax on 50.6 percent of the payment.
There are great reasons to select fixed annuities over bank CDs, but most financial planners suggest you use both types of investments and diversify your funds. This is the safest method of investing in the event of unforeseen disasters. Most people find that the annuity is a great method of establishing an income they'll never outlive or a way to achieve tax-deferred growth to pass on to their children. - 23217
About the Author:
John C. Ryan authors about annuity insurance, and advises how to find the best annuity given your particular situation. Want to learn more?? Come see us, for more advice on fixed annuities .
posted by X - Men @ 8:41 AM
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