In 2010, Florida passed a first of its kind suitability law creating rigid parameters on who can own an annuity.  This law was designed around 65 and up residents of Florida.  Among other things, this law limited the length of contract, surrender charges, and policy features the insurance companies could sell in Florida.  It also [...]

Earlier this month we reported that Great American would be lowering their caps on May 21st.  Well, we are happy to say that because of a rebound in fixed maturity rates, the Safe Return decreases that were supposed to take place will be cancelled.  The decrease on the caps for the Safe Outlook, American Legend [...]

Forethought Financial Group Inc. has announced that on May 28th it will launch the Income 125+ product in Mississippi.  So that means after May 27th Forethought will no longer accept applications for the Secure Income 125.   Highlights of the new Income 125+ include a 25% income bonus and a guaranteed 5% annual accumulation on [...]

Athene Annuity announced earlier this month that there will be a rollup rate change effective June 1, 2013.  To receive the current rate, complete application packages must be signed and dated 5/31/13 or earlier and received in good order in Athenes service center by June 7, 2013.  The rollup rate changes are as followed:   [...]

One of the number one reasons individuals do not purchase income annuities is the concern of liquidity.  A recent study entitled “Features in Income Annuities: Immediate and Deferred Income Annuity Designs”, hopefully puts that concern to rest.  The survey conducted by LIMRA and CANNEX, found that a lot of the income annuities being sold today [...]

Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway has been downgraded from AA Plus down to AA by Standard & Poor’s Rating Services. Speculation is that the downgrade is partly due to the company’s focus on the insurance industry.

Earlier this week, insurance giant Nationwide launched a new variable annuity along with a guaranteed lifetime withdraw rider.  The Destination Architect 2.0 will offer over 100 investment options, and will not have any surrender charges.  According to Eric Henderson, senior vice president of life insurance and annuities for Nationwide, “this product will appeal to fee-based [...]

According to the Beacon Research Fixed Annuity Premium Study,  Index annuity sales were roughly $34.2 billion which is 3.7% increase from the year prior.  This is the 3rd straight year for growth for Fixed and Index Annuities!       

In today’s retirement world the old rules of thumb like the 4% rule, where you can withdraw up to 4% of your portfolio as income annually and avoid burning through your assets are out the window.  A recent article picked up by Yahoo Finance highlights this point.  The article talks about how since 2008 the [...]

At Annuity Think Tank, we read journalists, editorialists, bloggers, and many others who chime in on the virtues, pros and cons, sales practices, and industry updates about the annuity world.  Stan the Annuity Man has quickly become one of our favorites.  He offers accurate, thoughtful, unbiased opinions of the industry.  But more importantly, he leads [...]