Paul Pent & Associates - Retirement Advice Blog

We talked about this chart on the radio show this week and last. It speaks for itself. Fixed Indexed annuities won the war of return of investment plus there was no market risk involved.

also included is the performance of some "high performing" mutual funds I run into quite a bit because they have been grossly over promoted over the last 20 years. Basically, they have returned about 0% for the last decade.

This is a bitter sweat moment for me. Up to this point, Smart Money magazine has done nothing but feed the public with false information about fixed and fixed indexed annuities. Now, they seem to be coming around and I'll be sad if they stop providing us with so much fodder for our radio show. Of course this is purley selfish so I must say, "Welcome to the club, Smart Money." Annuities are a great way to save for retirement. If only they had figured it out a little earlier, so many that listened to their advice wouldn't have lost so much money for their clients.

Here's the link to the article we've been talking about  for the last couple of weeks...Smart Money

Retirement models we've seen in tha past from brokerage houses and mutual fund companies have failed due to two reasons. The earnings aren't what they hoped and people are living longer than what was expected. This only demonstrates once again how important it is to have guaranteed forms of income, even if you live to be 107. Think it's not possible? Check this article out I just found on Bankrate.com...

Have you ever heard that annuities are too expensive to use for retirment planning? Me too, and you know what? Some are. That's why it's wise to shop around when considering annuities for retirement. If shopped properly, annuities can be the least expensive way to retirement plan. A good article on this subject can be found at annuity digest called, Breaking-Down the Annuity Expense Criticism. Check it out...

Increase or decrease in the surrender charge of the life insurance policy or annuity contract depending on the current financial markets. The Cash Value is adjusted upward if the policy interest rate is greater than the current interest rate on new money and thus, if interest rates decline after the insurance policy or annuity contract purchase date, the surrender charge becomes less than that exhibited. Conversely, the cash value is adjusted downward if the policy interest rate is less than the current interest rate on new money and thus, if interest rates rise after the insurance policy or annuity contract purchase date, the surrender charge becomes greater than that exhibited.

You may like him and you may not. Most people don't have an opinion of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, but guess what? He takes some of our advice. Ben Bernanke has between $500,000 and $1,000,000 dollars in fixed annuities.

Anybody can get sued for negligence and lose even when they may not have made a mistake. One mistake with no excuse...having retirement assets parked in an account that is attacheable by creditors or exposed to judgements. In the state of Florida fixed indexed annuities with surrender penalties fall under the same protection as homestead exemption.