Top Fixed Index Annuity Benefits
From: www.american-equity.com
How a combination of powerful annuity benefits can keep you on track for retirement planning success. We look at five top index annuity benefits: principal protection, tax deferral, liquidity, guaranteed income and beneficiary payments.
n a relay race, the strength of the group is greater than the sum of the individual athletes’ abilities. For each leg of a relay race, one team member uses their particular strengths to help position the next for success. By utilizing one another’s skillsets, the group outperforms any individual. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this is why the world record for the 4×100-meter sprint relay is more than six seconds faster than the individual 400-meter dash.1
A sound retirement plan can resemble a relay. Each phase, or leg, has its own needs that demand their own strategy or product strengths to best build, sustain and deliver financial solutions. As part of a comprehensive plan, products like fixed index annuities offer a suite of unique benefits that work in concert to help you reach your retirement goals.
Below we highlight five key fixed index annuity benefits that they may fit your strategic approach.
1. Protection
A central benefit of fixed index annuities is a level of protection that underpins the product’s guarantees.
When you purchase a fixed index annuity, not only is your principal protected, so is any interest credited to your contract. No matter what the index does, your return will never be less than zero due to index volatility.
2. Tax Deferral
Throughout the accumulation phase, money can grow tax-deferred. This means, while your principal and any interest credited are protected from volatility, the tax-deferral benefit provides the opportunity for compounded growth over time—further bolstering your resources for when you choose to take an income.
3. Liquidity Options
A sound retirement plan accounts for both expected and unexpected expenses. As a component of a strategic income plan, a fixed index annuity provides added income flexibility through a variety of liquidity options.
Fixed index annuities offer liquidity features that give access to the contract value. Typically, 10 percent of the annuity’s value annually is available for free withdrawal during the surrender charge period. Many products also have increased or full access to the contract value for qualified care needs.
