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Posts Tagged ‘LowCost’

Annuities: Equity-Linked Certificate Of Deposit: The Safer Low-Cost EIA Alternative

22 Jan

Equity-Linked Certificates of Deposit are a safer, low-cost alternative for those who must have an Equity-Indexed Annuity type of investment. These little-known investments allow you to participate in the growth of the market index while your principal is guaranteed by the Government. Read on to find out more.


Equity-Indexed Annuities are probably the most heavily promoted investment for seniors in today’s marketplace. The sales pitch is appealing and the payoff to the agent is very big–up to 13%. The enormous commissions have led to sales abuses which leave seniors holding the bag.


Readers of this column have wised up to the flaws of Equity-Indexed Annuities. But what are the alternatives?


The best alternative to Equity-Indexed Annuities is to use a diversified mix of investments and strategies that can provide an income stream between 6% and 10% while limiting any risk of significant loss. That’s what I do for my clients–without long-term time commitments or surrender penalties if they want access to their money.


Another alternative is called an Equity-Linked Certificate of Deposit. They provide virtually all the benefits that Equity-Indexed Annuities are designed to provide, without all the negative strings attached.


Equity-Linked Certificates of Deposit are offered by banks. They pay a return that is based on a stock market index, usually the S&P 500. Just like all Certificates of Deposit, they are federally insured by the FDIC up to $100,000 per individual. The minimum purchase for an Equity-Linked Certificate of Deposit is usually $25,000, but some can be found with $1000 minimums.


The return is based on the average performance of the S&P 500 over a set period of time. Just like Equity-Indexed Annuities, how the return is calculated depends on the issuer. The returns are all based on averaging the gains or losses of the index at set points over the life of your contract. Some Equity-Linked Certificates of Deposit guarantee a 3% return. Those doing so will limit the index return. Others provide 100% of the calculated index return.


The only way you can lose your principal with an Equity-Linked Certificate of Deposit is if you pull your money out before the end of the term. Most will have some form of a penalty, but since there wasn’t a big commission paid to an agent to sell it, the redemption penalties should be small. (Some don’t allow early redemption so investigate before you invest.) All allow early redemption without penalty if the account holder dies.


One of the major benefits Equity-Linked Certificates of Deposit have over Equity-Indexed Annuities is a short term commitment, FDIC insurance of principal, and much lower fees. They allows you much more control and flexibility.


For instance, let’s say you intend to invest $75,000 in Equity-Linked Certificates of Deposit. Instead of putting all the money in a single CD, divide that money between three–purchasing one each year for three years. Then as one comes due you can roll it into another 3-year term. This will reduce the negative effects in how the index returns are calculated while giving you access to $25,000 every year.


There are several disadvantages to Equity-Linked CDs. They don’t normally pay interest until maturity, so these investments are not a good choice of those looking for steady income. And like Equity-Indexed Annuities, you don’t really get 100% of the market gains because of the averaging used in calculating the rate of return.


You may be wondering why you haven’t heard of Equity-Linked Certificates of Deposit before. In fact, you should wonder why the advisor recommending you buy an Equity-Indexed Annuity hasn’t recommended them! The reason is they don’t pay a large commission so there isn’t a financial incentive for the advisor to do so.


Check with your local bank to see if they offer Equity-Linked CDs. Not all do, but they are becoming more widespread. Any broker or advisor that can sell bonds should also have access to Equity-Linked CDs.


I still believe there are better ways to invest your money than Equity-Linked CDs. But I’d much rather see someone invest in them than an Equity-Indexed Annuity. Don’t let advisors who stand to gain so much from your money pressure you into investing in an Equity-Indexed Annuity when an Equity-Linked CD is a much better alternative.

 
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Annuities: Are Low-Cost Annuities A Good Choice?

25 Sep

I’ve disliked variable annuities for many years because of their high fees and onerous surrender penalties. Now, low-cost variable annuities are available that slash fees and do away with the surrender penalties. Does this change my opinion on the use of variable annuities? Read on to find out.


There is $1.8 trillion dollars invested in annuities and a lot of that money is in variable annuities. To put this in perspective, there are $2.1 trillion in 401(k) assets. That’s right. There’s almost as much money in annuities as there is in 401(k) retirement programs!


As I’ve mentioned in previous articles on variable annuities, variable annuities are sold because of two main features–tax deferral and a death benefit guarantee.


Tax-deferral is emphasized if you are investing non-retirement money. Instead of having to pay taxes on dividends, interest and gains each year, those taxes are deferred until you withdraw the money from the annuity.


This used to be an attractive option, but not since capital gains and dividend tax rates have been lowered to a maximum of 15%. You see, earnings withdrawn from an annuity are taxed at higher ordinary income rates. These can be as high as 33%.


In years past there wasn’t much difference between ordinary income tax rates and those on dividends and capital gains. Now, there is a substantial penalty when earnings are taxed as ordinary income. As a result, it can take decades before you really see the benefit of tax-deferral.


The other main selling point of variable annuities is the death benefit guarantee. Investors like the peace of mind knowing that even if the market drops substantially, their heirs will get at least what they initially invested when they pass away. This is used to entice investors to choose an annuity for their IRA where the annuity’s tax-deferral feature is worthless.


Unfortunately, investors had to pay through the nose for those benefits–typically 1.4% of the value of your account each year. On a $200,000 account, you would be paying $2800 a year. Over ten years it is likely those benefits would cost over $30,000. That’s some of the most expensive insurance you will ever buy.


Now there are new, low-cost variable annuities available from companies like Fidelity and Vanguard that lower the costs of these benefits. For instance, Fidelity offers one that charges 1/4% in fees each year. That’s 1.15% less each year then the typical variable annuity. The Fidelity variable annuity still offers the much touted benefit of tax-deferral but it does not offer the death benefit guarantee.


If the death benefit is the main reason you want a variable annuity, you can achieve that goal with the Fidelity variable annuity by purchasing a separate term life insurance policy. Doing so would save a 60-year old non-smoking man almost $15,000 over ten years versus the typical variable annuity.


As investors age, these savings decrease. But even then, you have to realize that your ‘guarantee’ is actually much higher with a private life insurance policy than it is with the broker-sold variable annuity. In the broker-sold variable annuity, your either get the market value of the contract OR the death benefit, whichever is higher.


When you buy a low-cost variable annuity and a separate life insurance policy your heirs receive the market value of the annuity PLUS the death benefit of the life insurance policy. Even if the annuity loses half of its value, your heirs still end up with 50% more than the broker sold annuity. So even if it costs the same it is still more benefit. And you can keep the insurance policy even if you cash out your annuity.


The only situation I would recommend a low-cost, no surrender penalty variable annuity is if you currently have non-retirement money in a high-cost variable annuity and you have amassed a significant gain. Even if you have surrender charges, it may be worthwhile–see how many years it would take to make up the difference.


For everyone else, I still do not recommend it. If you have IRA money in an annuity, I suggest a non-annuity IRA when your surrender penalties end. You can achieve the same benefits for far less cost.

 
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