Structured settlement | annuity funding

Annuity Funding Explained

When it comes to annuity funding and annuities in general many people are confused. The problem is often because there are so many different kinds. There’s single or flexible-payment, fixed or variable, and deferred or immediate.

Regardless the type of annuity funding you’re ultimately interested in, all annuities are financial contracts which have been created to provide you with a good source of income in your retirement years.

Because of the long term nature of annuity funding it’s important you understand your options and have all your questions answered by an expert in the field prior to investing any of your money in a fund. The first step is to find a financial company you can trust and then explore your options.

Annuity funding begins with deciding on what type of annuity best suits your needs.

You can choose from a number of annuity options which include a lifetime income, a guaranteed period income where your beneficiaries would receive any remaining payments, a joint and survivor option for couples as well as many other options that a financial advisor or insurance representative can tell you about.

In many cases, options can be mixed and matched to provide you with the best kind of annuity funding possible.

The money contributed to any annuity funding may be in post-tax dollars. The advantage to this is that you can contribute as much money as you would like. However before you put any after-tax savings into any kind of annuity funding, it’s often advisable for you to put the maximum pre-tax amount into a retirement plan.

When an annuity is used to fund a retirement plan, contribution limits usually apply. Federal tax laws also generally require that you begin taking minimum distributions by April 1 of the calendar year following the year in which you reach age 70.

Annuity funding earnings are taxed as ordinary income. It’s important to note that if your ordinary income rate at retirement is greater than the current capital gains rate for other investments, you would actually pay more in taxes.

The upside is you do receive a tax deferral on any earnings. Other investments you may have could be subject to ordinary income as well as capital gains taxes annually, even if you have not cashed in the investment.

Protect yourself and your money by exploring the pros and cons of all your annuity funding options prior to committing yourself to anything.

The bottom line is that since annuity funding is a long-term investment vehicle you'll want to make sure that any annuity company you select will be in business for the length of your fund.

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