— Annuities and insurance —
Read the contract, then decide.
Fixed insurance products offered through licensed carriers, evaluated in the context of your overall income plan.
Fixed insurance products are one possible component of a retirement income plan, evaluated in the context of everything else you hold rather than considered on their own.
Where insurance fits, and where it does not.
Insurance and annuity contracts are tools with specific jobs. A fixed annuity is a contract with an insurance company. A life insurance policy is a contract with an insurance company. What each contract does, and does not do, is defined by the contract itself and by the financial strength and claims paying ability of the carrier that issues it.
They are not investments, and any reference to protection, safety, or lifetime income on this page refers to fixed insurance products, never to securities or investment products.
The useful question is not whether these products are good or bad in the abstract. It is whether a specific contract does something your plan needs done that nothing else you hold is doing, at a cost and with terms you understand.
— What it includes —
How we evaluate a contract.
- What job the contract would do inside your existing income plan
- Whether something you already hold does that job
- What the contract actually provides, read from the contract rather than a brochure
- Costs, riders, and what each rider is for
- Surrender terms and how long the money is committed
- The financial strength and claims paying ability of the issuing carrier
- How the contract is taxed and how it passes to beneficiaries
- A review of contracts you already own, including ones bought elsewhere
Investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal. Any references to protection, safety, or lifetime income generally refer to fixed insurance products, never securities or investments. Insurance guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims paying abilities of the issuing carrier. Our firm is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Government or any governmental agency. General information only; this is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions.
— Our approach —
Plan first. Product only if the plan calls for one.
Nothing is recommended in a Purpose Conversation. The first meeting is about understanding what you are trying to accomplish, and a product cannot be evaluated before that is clear.
When a contract does come up, we read it with you. What it provides, what it costs, how long the money is committed, and what happens if your circumstances change. If you already own a contract, we will read that one with you too, including ones purchased elsewhere.
Insurance guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims paying abilities of the issuing carrier, and we will not describe a contract as providing more than its terms provide.
— Why it matters —
These are long commitments, so the terms matter more than the pitch.
Insurance and annuity contracts often run for years and can carry surrender periods during which access to the money is limited or costly. That is not automatically a problem, but it is a fact that belongs in the decision rather than in the fine print.
Contracts also pass by beneficiary designation rather than by will, which links them directly to estate and legacy planning, and they have their own tax treatment, which links them to the withdrawal sequence.
Reading the contract before signing it is the whole discipline. Everything else follows from that.
— At a glance —
Two different categories, two different rules.
| Securities and investments | Fixed insurance products | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An investment subject to market risk | A contract with an insurance company |
| Principal | Can lose value, including principal | Terms are defined by the contract |
| Backed by | Not guaranteed | Financial strength and claims paying ability of the carrier |
| Passes to heirs by | Titling, will, or designation depending on the account | Beneficiary designation |
Investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal. Any references to protection, safety, or lifetime income generally refer to fixed insurance products, never securities or investments. Insurance guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims paying abilities of the issuing carrier. Our firm is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Government or any governmental agency. General information only; this is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions.
— Common questions —
Questions about annuities and insurance.
Is an annuity right for me?
Are annuities guaranteed?
Will you review a contract I already own?
What is a surrender period?
How are these products taxed?
— Related services —
Where contracts touch the plan.
— Start here —
Let's read the contract together.
There is no cost and no obligation for a first conversation, and nothing is recommended in it.
