What to look for in Variable Annuity
- 50/50 Test: We suggest that you look for a Sponsoring Insurance Company which is
at least 50 years old with over 50 billion in total assets and highly rated.
- Portfolio Options: The sponsoring plan must have a minimum of 15 or more
portfolios and a minimum of 10 separate fund families available.
- Low Expense Ratio: VA fees can get abnormally high if you don't look closely. We
suggest that you don't pay more than 1% for the annual mortality and expense risks. And by
no means should you ever pay an upfront load or extra fees for ongoing advice from your
annuity broker.
- Unlimited, Free Telephone Transfers: This is a key feature. Some companies limit
the number of times you can reallocate your accounts. AVOID these companies. Secondly,
make sure you can make these reallocations by phone or Internet access.
- Free Asset Rebalancing: Asset Rebalancing assures that you'll maintain an
asset mix that's compatible with your stated investment objectives and risk tolerances.
FAR systematically reviews your contract and re-directs your assets automatically to fit
your mix. FAR will automatically rebalance on a quarterly, semi-annually or annual basis.
Lastly, there should be NO charge for this service.
- Automatic Payroll or Bank Draft Deduction Services: This is often times a
convenient method for investors to make ongoing contributions without manually writing out
a check each time a new deposit is to be made. Again, there should be no charge for this
option.
- Free Annual Withdrawal Allowances: A 10-15% free annual withdrawal allowance
should be sufficient for periodic income needs.
- Low Surrender Period: Your VA program should not have a surrender period more
than 10 years, preferable 5-7 years maximum.
- Death Benefit Guarantees and Long Term Care (LTC) Waivers: An often over-looked,
yet important all-around feature in VA investing is the guaranteed death benefits
(optional or inclusive) which protects the investor's heirs during "down
markets." There are several variations of this feature, so be sure to ask your
Fielder Financial Annuity Specialist. Secondly, some VA plans offer LTC or terminal
illness riders, which allow the contract owner to withdrawal the full amount of their
policy with incurring surrender charges. You may have to pay an extra .5-.10% for this
feature. Of course, these features are based on the claims-paying ability of the issuer.
- Independent, Unbiased Analysis: Because this is an important decision in your
financial planning process, we believe investors can be better served working with an
Independent Annuity Specialist a distribution company that has no ties or obligation to
sell a particular company or product such as a firm like ours.
At Fielder Financial, we have specialized in providing our nationwide clientele with
independent advice for 30 years. Our motto is "we match the customer to the
annuity -- not the annuity to the customer."
Action to Take
If you would like to learn more about Tax Deferred Variable Annuity Investing,
please click HERE to request further information.
FOR FASTER, PERSONALIZED SERVICE CALL 1-800-480-7526
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