17th
How safe is safe for annuities?
You already know that annuties are issued by insurance companies. You also know that insurance companies tend to be rock-solid financial institutions. Notice the word TEND in that sentance. Yes, it’s possible that insurance companies can fold. And there isn’t anything like FDIC protection.
But you also know that banks have their own share of problems. More so recently than before, it seems. And you also know that FDIC insurance is only good up to $100K. That’s fine for your smaller personal checking and savings account… but for your retirement nest egg?
The Dallas Morning News recently ran a story covering these risks. Their advice is that you should do your homework and make sure that the insurance company you are considering is financially sound. There are plenty of ways to evaluate the health of these companies, but they suggest your homework be from more than one source:
…the rating agencies disagree often enough that you should consider a company’s rating from two or more agencies before judging whether to buy a product from that insurer…
Solid advice. When we run at Vital Signs report for our clients, it pulls info from several organizations to make sure the best information is presented. Armed with that, your confidence of your decision goes up significantly.
