How to Shop and Compare Annuities

We have many articles and videos diving into annuities but let's turn our attention to practical matters.

How to really shop and compare the options! There's so many of them. 100's of plans with dozens of different tweaks on top of that.

So...let's take some of the mystery out of comparing and shopping for the right type of annuity.

First, our credentials here:

This is what we'll cover:

• The three key questions to ask yourself before shopping for annuities
• Instant access to MYGA rates across dozens of carriers
• How to decide on the right Indexed Annuity for your situation
• Understanding the Golden Rule of Annuities
• Getting free and fast quotes for annuities

Let's get started!

The three key questions to ask yourself before shopping for annuities

We have a whole article on this but before shopping for annuities, you need to address these three questions.

• How much money
• When payments are needed
• Your risk tolerance

Quick takeaways...

How much money

Generally, 40-60% of LIQUID assets are appropriate for annuities. Generally, no more.

It's important to make sure you have funds for emergencies and never put all your eggs in one basket!

We can help figure out your financial situation with a 30-minute discussion here.

When are payments needed

Do you need income right now? Can the payments start later (at higher rates)?

The general rule with annuities is this:

The longer you wait to receive payments, the higher the rate you'll receive.

Also, how long will the income continue? 10 years? Lifetime? Lifetime of two spouses.

Some people don't need the income and are just growing assets which is fine. That is based on the duration you pick with a given plan and there are many options.

Let's get into actual rates.

Instant access to MYGA rates across dozens of carriers

You can quote the MYGA rates fast, free, and immediately here:

MYGA are very easy to compare since the rates are listed and guaranteed (the "G" in MYGA) for a given duration.

You can run your quote and then focus on the company rating. Pick the duration you want the money to be working for you.

Aim for A- or better in terms of carrier ratings to be safe.

Reach out to us and we'll help with the whole process. Let us know the plan you're interested in and we can send the full illustration and even online applications for many options.

To understand whether the MYGA is the right fit for you, check out our MYGA versus Indexed annuities.

Again, we're happy to help with any questions.

What about the other side of the coin...indexed annuities?

How to decide on the right Indexed Annuity for your situation

This gets a little more involved.

Quoting tools reflect past performance which is always tricky. The past is no guarantee of the future and in fact, there's an argument that we're in a very special time period right now (see video on Annuities Now).

This comes down to when you need the income and how comfortable you are with down years.

Fixed Indexed Annuities will pay zero generally in down years of the index (S&P for example).

Over a long enough period, that's not as big an issue but we're also at record highs in many of the indexes which statistically doesn't bode well for the next 10 years.

After all, Buffet has record high amounts in cash right now.

Let us put together different "packages" to address your needs based on the following:

• Hybrid annuities: a minimum guaranteed income with a share of indexes; whichever is higher
• LIC - Layered Income Cake: a series of mixed MYGA and Indexed annuities to cover all bases
• Straddles: � MYGAs or more conservative indexes and � more aggressive indexes

We really like the first two.

There's a new product that has a minimum of 4% and 55% share of the S&P. We expect new offerings like this now that the goldilocks era of more aggressive index annuities (Mag 7, Nasdaq, AI, etc) may be running long in the tooth.

We can quote this for you and send out the full illustration.

Call 800-320-6269
Email: help@calhealth.net
Pick a time to talk here
Chat online here

Understanding the Golden Rule of Annuities

We have a whole article on the Golden Rule but it's really quite simple and it will make your process of finding the best fit much easier.

Annuities are Commodities.

That may seem like a strange thing to say since there are literally over 700 different products from dozens of carriers on the market.

The main point is that insurance carriers are not going to offer you a much better rate or whistle without paying for it somewhere else.

Put another way...within a given type of product (Indexed annuity for example), if they're offering a bonus up front, they'll make up for it in the amount they pay later.

Getting free and fast quotes for annuities

So, we looked at how you can get MYGA quotes instantly here and pick the highest rate for your chosen duration with the best carrier ratings.

That's easy.

For Indexed Annuities or more complicated situations, complete this form and we'll send over the top 3 options to fit your needs including Hybrids, LICs, and more.

There's zero cost for our assistance. We quote all the major carriers to make sure you see the full market.

Never trust anyone who only has access to 1-2 carriers.

Pick a time to chat here and remember that no broker has "better" rates.

They are standardized and we can get access to any carrier/plan you want.

So...how can we help??

We just answer questions all day and if we're helpful, hope you work with us since there's no cost for our assistance.

Call 800-320-6269
Email: help@calhealth.net
Pick a time to talk here
Chat online here