Variable Annuities

Variable Annuities
"More Than Meets The Eye With These Complex Vehicles"

Variable annuities are tricky vehicles. I'll even go further by saying that many people who purchased variable annuities probably made a horribly bad decision...take that one to the bank.

Why would anyone buy a variable annuity? Well, there are definitely some good reasons for buying one. Unfortunatetly, however, there are many more reasons NOT to buy one. While they offer the benefit of tax deferral, one has to question whether it's worth it or not. Long term capital gains have certainly come down to a much lower rate than in the past which makes buying and holding a capital asset more attractive as opposed to buying an asset that is tax deferred creating a huge tax time bomb at the end.

Well, what about the ability to move money from mutual fund to mutual fund without incurring the capital gains taxes---or even just to buy and hold mutual funds without incurring capital gains over time? Yes, that can be an advantage but did you ever consider the price at which this comes? I mean variable annuity fees can be as high as 4%. That is outrageous.

What about the death benefit? You used to be able to invest in any of the underlying investments and retain your initial investment as your death benefit no matter what happened. Well, the insurance companies figured out this could be a losing proposition for them so many of them changed that. They often limit what you can invest your money into in order to retain your initial principal as your death benefit.

And my favorite is the living benefit. You know....earn 6 or 7% over the life of the annuity no matter where the market goes. Oh, yes, believe that one and I'll sell you a p iece of the moon for a low low price.

My point is this---there is more than meets the eye with these complex vehicles. What is 'sold' to you as an advantage may be just illusionary. It may not be a benefit at all. If you are considering investing in a variable annuity, it makes sense to do MUCH homework prior to doing so. While there can be benefits, there are also SEVERAL disadvantages one has to be aware of and unfortunately, these things aren't always that obvious. In fact, sometimes they are so unobvious, even agents selling the products aren't aware of these issues.

AnnuityMD.com is the only objective consumer annuity protection firm designed to offer you the unbiased information you need to make the right decision when it comes to variable annities or any annuities for that matter. The Shocking Truths Book we offer is the only one of it's kind offered throughout the entire industry. You will learn EXACTLY what you need to know so you don't get fooled by these tricky investment vehicles.

To learn more about variable annuities, please go to AnnuityMD.com.

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