ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Avoid The Hype on Fixed Index Annuities
Insurance Not Investment
Fixed index annuities (FIAs) are sold by agents as “safe” market return products. Don’t buy it. Our lawyers recommend avoiding annuities of any kind, including fixed index annuities, especially for seniors. Fixed index annuities, like all annuities, are life insurance products, not securities. The policies have complicated rules for calculating value and crediting interest. Sizeable surrender penalties make it expensive to get out once you’re in. If you’re over 60 and live in California and have suffered a loss due to cancellation, replacement, full or partial surrender, or high fees on any type of annuity, call the annuity attorneys at Evans Law Firm, Inc. today at 415-441-8669 (or toll free at 1-888-50EVANS) for a free review of your policy. A list of major carriers in California appears below.
Understanding FIA Values
The accumulation value of an FIA is based on a call option on a certain index (like the S&P 500). The option resets every year and there are limitations to the upside growth using industry terms like “caps” and “spread” and “participation rates.” FIAs are not investment in stocks or even in the index fund itself; you are not credited with the dividends paid on any stock including in the selected index. You will incur surrender penalties if you make withdrawals during the surrender period which under some policies may last ten or more years. You will also pay income tax on withdrawals at ordinary income tax rates.
Commissions, Fees and Penalties Erode Returns
Even if you leave all your money in, the returns may not ever come close to what you were promised based on how long you live. Large upfront commissions and administrative fees will erode any real return. If the agent sells you an “income rider” guaranteeing (theoretically) a future rate of income, the annual fee for that rider will further erode your return. You may never live to recoup anywhere near the annual costs. Finally, keep in mind that annuities are not insured investments like bank accounts and the insurance carrier’s promise to pay benefits is only as good as the carrier’s financial ability to do so.
Contact Us
If you or a loved one has suffered loss on a fixed index annuity or any other annuity in California, contact San Francisco and California annuity and financial elder abuse attorney Ingrid M. Evans and the other attorneys at Evans Law Firm at (415) 441-8669 (or toll free at 1-888-50EVANS) or by email at <ahref=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. Our attorneys have experience with complex financial contracts and large insurance companies. We can help guide your case through a jury trial or toward an equitable settlement. We handle cases involving physical and financial elder abuse, qui tam and whistleblower law, nursing home abuse, whole life insurance and universal life insurance, and indexed, variable, and fixed annuities.
Annuities and life insurance produce large sales commissions for brokers but are often inappropriate products for consumers, especially seniors. Leading providers and distributors of life insurance and fixed, variable and fixed indexed deferred annuities in California are listed below. We are not in any way suggesting that any of these carriers or distributors has done anything wrong. Rather, the list is provided solely as a reference for our readers.
AIG/American General Life Insurance Company
Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America
American Equity Investment Life Insurance Company
American General Life Insurance Company/AIG
American International Group, Inc. (AIG)
American National Life Insurance Company
Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company
Athene Annuity and Life Company
Athene USA
Aviva Life Insurance Company
AXA Equitable Financial Services, LLC
AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company/AXA US
AXA Advisors, LLC
Brighthouse Financial, Inc./MetLife
EquiTrust Life Insurance Company
Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company
Genworth Financial, Inc.
Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company
Genworth Life Insurance Company
Guggenheim Partners, LLC
Guggenheim Partners/Security Benefit Life Insurance Company
ING USA Annuity and Life Insurance Company
Jackson National Life Insurance Company
John Hancock Life Insurance Company
Lincoln Benefit Life Company
Lincoln Financial Group
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company
Metlife/Metropolitan Life Insurance Company/Brighthouse Financial, Inc.
Minnesota Life Insurance Company
Nationwide Investor Services Corporation (NISC)
Nationwide Life and Annuity Insurance Company
Nationwide Life Insurance Company
New York Life Insurance Company
Northwestern Mutual Investment Services, LLC
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company
Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company
Pacific Life & Annuity Company
Pacific Life Insurance Company
PacLife
Security Benefit Corporation
Security Benefit Group, Inc.
Security Benefit Life Insurance Company/Guggenheim Partners
Security Investors, LLC
Security of Denver Life Insurance Company/Voya
Transamerica Life Insurance Company
Voya Financial Advisors
Voya/Reliastar Life Insurance Company
World Financial Group Insurance Agency, Inc.
