Define Annuity

Define Annuity

Why look into annuities? If you’re a Baby Boomer with little or no pension and most of your cash in low-interest savings accounts, an annuity may be the key to a secure and comfortable retirement. How may you find out whether an annuity is right for you? Read Annuities For Dummies, 3^rd Edition.

This exclusively revised and updated, plain-English guide is packed with the latest data on choosing the best annuity for your retirement needs. You’ll find out incisively what annuities are, whether they’re the right financial vehicle for you, and which of the galore annuity choices might have your name on it. You’ll learn the ins and outs of using annuities to fund your retirement years, figure out whether to stress investments with insurance or insurance with investments, and find out how the right combining of annuities may support you squeeze more income out of your savings that any other financial tool. Discover how to:

• Identify the main types of annuities
• Weigh the pros and cons of annuities for yourself
• Minimize the complexity and cost of your annuity investment
• Figure out how much cash to commit
• Avoid mutual annuity pitfalls
• Create an income you can’t outlive

The time to commence securing your financial future is now. Annuities For Dummies, 3^rd Edition, gives you knowledge, insider tips, and expert counsel you need to make your cash do it is best for you.

From the Back CoverUse annuities to build your own pension

Will annuities work for you? Get the nitty-gritty on these financial tools

Are you a baby boomer who’s when it comes to to retire? Are you concerned in regards to your financial future? Relax. This plain-English guide will walk you through the ins and outs of using annuities to fund your retirement years. Find out what annuities are, whether they’re the right financial vehicle for you, and which of the galore choices might have your name on it.

Discover how to:

• Make sense of annuities

• Weigh all the masters and cons

• Figure out how much cash to commit

• Create an income you can’t outlive

• Avoid mutual annuity pitfalls

About the AuthorKerry Pechter is the senior editor of Annuity Market News. As a reporter who writes regarding annuities and the annuity industry full-time and as a former syndication writer who specialized in annuities at The Vanguard Group, he brings both an outsider’s and an insider’s perspective to the writing of this book.
A financial journalist for numerous years, Kerry has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and a lot of other national and territorial publications. His former books include two career guides, A Big Splash in a Small Pond: How to Get a Job in a Small Company (Fireside) and An Engineer’s Guide to Lifelong Employability (IEEE). He is a graduate of Kenyon College.

Most helpful client reviews

27 of 27 persons found the following review helpful.
Helping Make Sense of Annuities
By Chaplain T. L. Jones
Annuities For Dummies by Kerry Pechter is a very readable guide to annuities that makes sense of a very elaborated insurance product (and what insurance merchandise are NOT complicated?) Pechter guides the reader through a brief history of annuities to a wide view of how they work, and on to specific facts regarding the respective kinds of annuities available. The only slight criticism is that his activity of formally presenting something is a bit overly favorable toward annuities, bolstered by selective statistical examples, like the one on p. 21. Hypothetical retired person “Smith” was over-invested in bonds and cash, which do not provide shelter versus inflation. That is partly why hypothetical retired person “Jones” with his annuity and stocks did better. Was it the annuity or the stocks that made the difference? The logic behind the example is undoubtedly that without an annuity, Smith would want very secure investments, hence, bonds and cash. All in all, the book will aid any reader make better selections regarding annuities. And it’s a fun read!

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful.
A first-rate and understandable overview of a very complex subject
By John L. Olsen
“Annuities For Dummies”, by Kerry Pechter, is a terrifi book! Annuities may be wickedly perplexed (and are oftentimes far more elaborated than they ought to be), but Pechter’s comprehensible statement is uniformly clear and understandable. That, alone, would make his book unusually valuable. But it’s likewise precise and fair, which makes it darned near distinguishable amid writings when it comes to insurance merchandise by financial journalists.

I’m an annuity expert (co-author of “The Annuity Advisor” and author of galore articles, in respective journals, regarding annuities), and I found this book informative. (I wish I’d made sure points as distinctly as Kerry does). I’ve commended it to insurance agents and buyers and will carry on to do so.

- John L. Olsen, CLU, ChFC, AEP

6 of 6 persons found the following review helpful.
Annuities for Dummies
By Carol Smith
This book is a no nonsensicality break through on understanding the mind boggling world of annuities of all kinds. The book is timely since this topic is now going to be of high interest given aging baby boomers. The book is well coordinated and an easy read. There is an adverse typo problem on the critical titling rules chart that left me searching elsewhere for the necessary answers. I commend this chart be fixed before the book is republished.

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