Category: Annuities

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Insurance Agents and the Fiduciary Rule Putting You First The Department of Labor’s (DOL) long-awaited “fiduciary rule” recently took effect and ushers in significant changes to the annuity and life insurance industry. The fiduciary rule holds advisors and insurance agents to a higher standard of conduct in recommendations […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER What to Expect From Your Financial Advisor Rules Governing Investment Recommendations Every day financial advisors recommend all kinds of investments to American consumers. Recommendations come from stock brokers, insurance agents, bankers, financial planners, and investment advisors. Different government, industry and company rules govern these recommendations. Generally, one of […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Understanding Death Benefit Riders The Death Benefit Sales Pitch Chances are, if an agent has pitched you on an annuity, he or she touted its “death benefit” as a major selling point. According to the sales pitch, death benefits guarantee your heirs a return of your annuity premium […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER IOVAs: Investment Only Variable Annuities What are IOVAs and How Do They Work? Tax deferral is the key to successful retirement savings. IRAs, 401(k)s, SEPs and the like offer deferral but annual contribution limits are relatively low for high earners. Annuity carriers offer another possibility. Investment Only Variable […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Beware Annuity Scams Agents Target Seniors Salesmen masquerading as “advisors” or “planners” run annuity scams every day in this country. Their favorite targets are seniors. Seniors make up 30 percent of fraud victims, according to consumer advocacy groups and we suspect the percentage would be much higher if […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Why You Should Think Twice About Annuities Annuities Annuities are a hot topic these days as one of our largest generations ages into retirement. The big question that they seem to have is: how do I ensure that I will not outlive my money? That is, how do […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Big Commissions on Unsuitable Annuity Exchanges FINRA Cracking Down Annuity salesman love to promote annuity exchanges, urging clients to swap one annuity for another. Big commissions incentivize salesmen for deals unsuitable to clients. For years, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has warned investors about the risks of […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER The Insatiable Appetite for Commissions Broker Stops At Nothing For Commission Dollars Sales commissions in the life insurance/annuity business are big. Typically, annuity commissions hover at 10% and whole life commissions much higher, at least in the first year of premium payments. In a recent case, a broker […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Annuity Sales Commissions: A Closer Look Broker Dealers Cracking Down Annuity sales generate large commissions, often around 10% or more of premium. And the size of the commission is only part of the story. The well-kept secret (among salespeople) is that the longer the surrender charge period (i.e., […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER The Terrible Truth of Annuities Annuities A lot of people are talked into annuities as a way to save for retirement. Please think twice (or three times) before you are sold an annuity. As more and more people, seniors particularly, end up with annuities, it becomes clear that […]