1. Power of Indexing
Indexing allows your retirement to participate and lock-in the upside market gains, but never in the downside market losses. The hypothetical example above shows how when a market index (such as the S&P 500) increases, the FIA participates and locks in the gains, but when the market index declines, the FIA does not lose value. With Indexing, your retirement is always safe and your principal and gains will never be lost due to market downturns.
2. Safety and Security
We represent only those financial institutions that carry an “A” rating or higher with the major financial rating institutions (Moody’s, AM Best, Fitch, S&P). This means that they have excellent financial outlooks to secure your funds.
Furthermore, all companies are registered as Legal Reserve entities in the State you reside, so they have to prove each year that they have at least one (1) dollar of liquid reserves for each one (1) dollar of liability. Lastly, each State also carries a guarantee fund which the annuity companies pay into to provide an additional layer of security and guarantees.
3. Tax Deferred Growth
FIAs allow your funds to grow tax deferred. This results in Triple-Compounding Interest. You earn interest, you earn interest on your interest, and you earn interest on the money that you would have normally paid in taxes. Assuming a 25% tax bracket and a 5% annual gain, a $100,000 FIA would have 12% more after 10 years when compared to a non-tax deferred investment, such as a bank CD.
4. Eliminate Fees
We can’t control the market, but we can control the fees we pay. Many of us are unaware what fees we are being charged and how it is eroding our nest-egg. FIAs can eliminate the fees seen in traditional equity investments, such as load fees, expense fees and 12b-1 fees. According to the Investment Company Institute, the average annual fees (expense ratio & 12b-1) for equity mutual funds were 1.50% per year. These fees, which offer no guarantee, can erode a substantial amount of your retirement over time.
The graph shows amount lost to fees of 1.50% over 20 years on a $100,000 investment earning 5%
5. Eliminate Market Risk
A very real and dangerous risk in retirement is Sequence of Returns Risk. This risk involves the order in which your investment returns occur. An investment portfolio, over time, might have a very favorable average annual return, but if a retiree experiences too many negative returns in a short period of time, while withdrawing funds to live off of, they could actually run out of money in retirement.
The graphic above shows actual market returns for different periods of time in U.S. history. Notice how the portfolio with the higher average annual returns results in depletion of the account by age 84 because of Sequence of Returns Risk.
6. Guaranteed Lifetime Income
Only annuities can offer guaranteed lifetime income. Traditional investments can pay a retiree principle and investment returns, but annuities offer a third dimension called Mortality Credits, which are unique to annuities (FIAs). These Mortality Credits can provide higher withdrawal rates in retirement when compared to SAFEMAX rates and can guarantee a paycheck for life, even if the money has been depleted.
