Your Annuity Options

Immediate annuities are an excellent way to invest a large amount of money just before you retire. Often, the funds accumulated from deferred annuities serve this purpose. Immediate annuities will ensure steady payments for your entire life (or predetermined period). 

Immediate annuities are purchases with onetime payments. In less than a month, distributions will begin paying out, and the annuity itself will be either fixed or variable. The amount you receive on a yearly basis are related to to the amount that you contributed and what the current interest rate levels are. Your returns from variable immediate annuities will change from month to month and year to year, depending upon these interest rate levels. The investments you make should generally seek to keep up with the rate of inflation, if not necessarily creating profits. 

There are different options for your benefits when it comes to your immediate annuity and income. If you want to receive benefits as long as you are alive, simply purchase a life option. Period Certain Annuities allow you to select a period of time during which you will receive benefits, with larger annual benefits for longer periods. Joint and Survivor Options allow income for a couple, even if one member has dided. 

More reasons to consider purchasing an immediate annuity:

• It is possible to receive benefits for your entire life.
  


• The frequency of your income payments is at your discretion. Payout plans can include quarterly, monthly, annually, or another increment.
  


• If you are concerned that you will not be able to manage your finances as well when you are older or that you will not be able to predict every expense and cost that far in the future, you can set up an annuity now to manage your finances when you are older. 


• Immediate annuities are tax-deferred and will not require payment until you withdraw money. The funds in your annuity that are principal are not taxed.