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Old 04-30-2016, 03:36 PM
 
8,218 posts, read 4,289,260 times
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@mathjak107- again, I don't have any variable annuities, at least not from the US companies. All of them are fixed. Different fixed deferred annuities keep getting added later (which accounts for gradual increases in monthly income), and not all of them are life annuities. They are not aimed at maximizing income but at (a) spending everything by age 79, when longevity insurance from NYL kicks in, and (b) not thinking any more about money once I did hit 50. Any other kind of investment would force me to think about money, and I'd rather think about other topics.

@DaveinMtAiry- I have no heirs (although I do have a beneficiary in case of my death for all annuities except for longevity insurance), so my aim is to spend my last cent on my last day of life. The problem is that I don't know when my last day of life is scheduled to happen. So I decided that my last day of running-around life is going to be my 80th birthday, which gives me freedom to spend everything by that date... because the (cheap) longevity insurance annuity starts on that date, and it will support me if I am still alive, or it goes to NYL if I am dead (which does not bother me, since I like NYL more than I like my various nieces and nephews twice removed, for whom I do not feel obliged to save anything). The purpose of a product that does not start until 80 is freedom - financial freedom before 80 because I can spend everything else, and after 80 because I'll still have the life insurance annuity. I don't know, this makes a perfect sense to me.

To me it does not seem that I will lose out if I don't get all the money I possibly can, but that I will lose out if I don't go everywhere and do everything. I had to check off Mt Rainier, Mt Whitney, Mt Blanc, Mt Everest, not to check off any particular financial goals, except to have enough $ to climb mountains and travel in general (which I always knew how to do cheaply; in fact it is far more fun to do it cheaply).
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Old 04-30-2016, 03:38 PM
 
105,972 posts, read 107,921,072 times
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i wasn't referring to your holdings when i mentioned that about variable annuity's . it was just a comment in general . as you can tell i am not thrilled with them . i much prefer spia's for current income .
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Old 04-30-2016, 03:40 PM
 
8,218 posts, read 4,289,260 times
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@mic111 - it is an easy mindset to acquire the first time you visit any amazing place with a bunch of amazing people.
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Old 04-30-2016, 04:26 PM
 
37,315 posts, read 59,580,095 times
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FWIW--one reason to commit to a low cost annuity is that you are doing just that--
Buying a certain peace of mind. There are companies like Vanguard and TIAA-CREF that do offer annuities at lower fee schedule than other companies...and both of those companies would be considered viable, long-term risks...

Basically you are buying a form of pension--a monthly payout that works with SS and does not react to what is going on with the market (good or bad)--
you just have to avoid second-guessing yourself...

If you have an IRA is it possible to buy a life annuity w/o considering that as a distribution and thus a taxable event on the lump sum---just on the monthly amount?
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Old 04-30-2016, 04:34 PM
 
37,315 posts, read 59,580,095 times
Reputation: 25335
Quote:
Originally Posted by mic111 View Post
I to am curious if the OP decided for or against. I took a long time deciding to take mine out but the peace of mind is wonderful. I plan to start taking payments on mine at 65. I really like elnrgby's attitude to live and not worry about money. I would love to work on my own mindset to be more like his/hers.
I would say that one reason elnrgby's attitude seems unworried is because she has a very adequate amount of resources to sustain herself in retirement...more that most people likely have...
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Old 04-30-2016, 04:37 PM
 
Location: Ponte Vedra Beach FL
14,617 posts, read 21,403,765 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elnrgby View Post
@loves2read- Thanks much for complimenting my English, but I still do say weird things, and you should just hear the accent :-). Anyway, Swiss annuities. Actually, I wasn't really accurate when I mentioned. the rate; I think it has been 4.5% all along, but it compounds from year to year, so it ends up being progressively a little more money every year...
Aren't Swiss annuities denominated/payable in Swiss francs? That adds an additional layer of complexity - currency speculation - risk for US investors. Note that the Swiss Franc has been down versus the US dollar 3.8% year over year - and down versus the US dollar 9.7% over the last 24 months. I don't think most average US investors know enough about currency risk to deal with it/hedge against it intelligently.

Also - the most current rate on Swiss annuities that I saw was 2.5%. Although I don't think that will last for long (if it still exists) now that interest rates in Switzerland are mostly negative. Perhaps out to about 7-10 years.

Do state guaranty funds in the US insure Swiss annuities? Is there any outfit in Switzerland that insures them? If interest rates in Euroland stay negative for a reasonably long period of time - I am certain some of these Swiss annuity companies will go under. And what happens then? Robyn
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Old 04-30-2016, 04:45 PM
 
105,972 posts, read 107,921,072 times
Reputation: 79556
Quote:
Originally Posted by loves2read View Post
FWIW--one reason to commit to a low cost annuity is that you are doing just that--
Buying a certain peace of mind. There are companies like Vanguard and TIAA-CREF that do offer annuities at lower fee schedule than other companies...and both of those companies would be considered viable, long-term risks...

Basically you are buying a form of pension--a monthly payout that works with SS and does not react to what is going on with the market (good or bad)--
you just have to avoid second-guessing yourself...

If you have an IRA is it possible to buy a life annuity w/o considering that as a distribution and thus a taxable event on the lump sum---just on the monthly amount?
you can get a qlac in an ira but the amount you can put in is limited . you do not have to take rmd's until 85 but that also means odds of getting at least your dough back is slim
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Old 04-30-2016, 05:06 PM
 
37,315 posts, read 59,580,095 times
Reputation: 25335
Yes--q-lac's are fixed in proportion to IRA amount and think 125K might be most you can use...

Was searching in SCOTT Burn's archive and found many articles on annuities
This one
https://assetbuilder.com/knowledge-c...folio-survival

And this one more recent one re the fixed time vs life period payouts for a fixed rate annuity
https://assetbuilder.com/knowledge-c...your-own-money

Many of his recent articles are about using home equity for reversible mortgage income to provided a monthly income--which for some people might be better than an annuity--but is also about as controversial...
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Old 04-30-2016, 05:56 PM
 
8,218 posts, read 4,289,260 times
Reputation: 11830
@Robyn55- my Swiss annuities are in US$. Some companies offer them only in Fr, some also in US$ and €. Rates are lower than when I opened my accounts, but still better than bank accounts (and you can use them same as bank accounts because people older than 60 can withdraw from them any amount any time, free of either Swiss or US penalty). Not sure what makes you so certain that some Swiss annuity companies will go under, when no such company went under (or failed to make a single payment to a single client) in more than 150 years :-). La vieille Suisse is pretty well known for safety.
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Old 05-01-2016, 03:17 AM
 
Location: Los Angeles
2,914 posts, read 2,673,932 times
Reputation: 2450
Quote:
Originally Posted by mathjak107 View Post
stop with your nonsense . get educated on this stuff once and for all instead of posting the same worthless dribble where you parrot other mis-informed people every time you see an annuity discussion regardless of even what type is discussed .

stick to your usual buy agg and voo and don't bother adding to these conversations until you understand what is being said and why .

you have demonstrated your lack of understanding in the area of retirement planning over and over as you post charts that do not even apply to what is being discussed nor even understand the basics that those silly charts of average returns you keep posing in every discussion are just about meaningless when spending down . . .
Allow me to debunk your fluff with 2 videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozHzlJkY6Mk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDUbQeZvJ9g

Quote:
what you have to remember about annuity products is roi even at zero is irrelevant .

as an example an spia today at a 6% draw rate will provide 50% more income day 1 then you can safely draw yourself .
Zero ROI is irrelevant????? How comical. Now you are just out of material.
And you are so focused on the NOW that you have completely ignored the FUTURE -- -when the annuitant is living in poverty because the SPIA has been reduced to paying peanuts! Again, watch the videos and be debunked!
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