ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER
Understand The Inherent Risks In Annuities
Contracts Are Complicated And Expensive
Withdrawals And Surrenders Are Costly
Evans Law Firm, Inc. recommends against deferred annuities, including fixed indexed annuities, for older consumers based on what we have seen in our litigation experience: sales commissions and annual fees on these policies are high; the return on your money rarely meets expectations (we have seen contracts produce zero returns even in strong markets); and, by penalizing you for any withdrawal, deferred annuities effectively tie up your money for years. If you are over 60, and live in Sonoma, San Francisco or elsewhere in the Bay Area or anywhere in California and have experienced an economic loss as a result of the sale of an unsuitable annuity or other investment product, including a fixed indexed annuity, call us today at 415-441-8669 (or toll free at 1-888-50EVANS) for a free review of your policy.
The inherent risks in annuities include:
- Credit risk – the risk the insurer will become insolvent.
- Purchasing power risk – the risk that inflation will be higher than the annuity’s guaranteed rate.
- Liquidity risk – the risk that funds will be tied up for years with little ability to access them.
- Surrender risk– the risk that surrender penalties will create losses if funds are withdrawn early.
What Are the Disadvantages of an Annuity?
A significant disadvantage of annuities is that they are illiquid investments. Annuity contracts terminated during their surrender period can subject the holder to penalties and additional fees. There also may be a sizeable tax bill as withdrawals from annuities are taxed at ordinary income rates. Even if you do not surrender your annuity, you will continue to incur annual fees on your contract. Thus, annuities are more expensive than stocks or bonds. Annuities are insurance products and insurance comes at a cost, which can lower investment returns. An annuity’s underlying investments — also called subaccounts — often have higher fees than individual mutual funds. Finally, unlike CDs and other bank deposits, annuities are not insured investments so that the income payout is only as good as the carrier’s word.
Contact Us
If you are over 60 and live in Sonoma County, San Francisco or elsewhere in the Bay Area or throughout California and have lost money on a deferred annuity or indexed universal life insurance contact Ingrid M. Evans at Evans Law Firm, Inc. at (415) 441-8669, or by email at <a href=”mailto:info@evanslaw.com”>info@evanslaw.com</a>. Ingrid will pursue all remedies available to you against all parties responsible, including restitution (getting your money back), extra damages (to punish the fraudulent conduct) and awards of attorneys’ fees and costs to the senior forced to bring an action against the wrongdoers.
Some significant issuers and distributors of 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. 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.
