Which of these banks represents your retirement savings?

Which one would you rather have?

These are important questions to ask. Your answer and what you do about it will determine what your future retirement will be like.

What we do is help you understand where you are now, determine where you would like to be when you retire, and develop a strategy to get you there. Since all of us are different and unique there is no "one way" to accomplish your goal. We would appreciate the opportunity to share some ideas that could help you plan for your future so you'll have the income necessary to enjoy your retirement.

The Red Flag Risks You Face In The Retirement Red Zone:

- LONGEVITY: outliving your retirement Income

- RISING COSTS: inflation, health care, taxes

- MARKET UNCERTAINTY: the impact of volatility

What's Your Game Plan?

Having a clear understanding of the risks you face is the first step in addressing them. With foresight and the right planning, you can help secure a more comfortable and rewarding retirement.

Investment Stages
Every fortune starts somewhere

Some are built, others are inherited. But what they all have in common is that someone, at some time, took the first step by getting started. So just because you don't have a fortune now doesn't mean you can't try to create one. It helps to have a plan, the right tools and enough time to build. An important part of your plan may be an investment like an annuity. It offers tax advantages, investment flexibility and insurance protection. Just remember, in order to get there you need to start somewhere - with a financial professional.

- Plan on funding a longer retirement

While conventional wisdom may encourage conservative investments during retirement, the reality is that today's retiree could spend as many as 30 years or more in retirement. What does this mean for you? Staying in the market may be critical to your long-term financial success. Equity exposure may provide the growth potential necessary to help your money last so considering an annuity that does this may be an option to consider.

- While your retirement assets are accumulating

Taxes can take a big bite out of your investment earnings. Generally, the longer you defer paying taxes, the better. Any growth in an annuity is tax-deferred until you start making withdrawals. That means any potential earnings grow free of taxes as long as they remain in your account. This valuable benefit can make a big difference in your savings over time.

- When the time comes to turn your investments into income

Considering the long retirement periods today's retirees can expect, and the effects of inflation over time, you may be concerned about the frequency and longevity of your future income sources. With so many investment choices available these days, it may be difficult to choose the right one for your particular situation. An annuity may be an excellent investment for a portion of your retirement assets since its payments are a guaranteed income source that you cannot outlive.

Locate a Financial Professional - Talk to a Financial Professional about your investment stages and financial needs today.

An annuity is a long-term investment designed to create lifetime income in retirement. In some annuities the investment returns will fluctuate and the principal value, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original investment. Withdrawals or surrenders may be subject to contingent deferred sales charges. Withdrawals and distributions of taxable amounts are subject to ordinary income tax and, if made prior to age 59 1/2, may be subject to an additional 10% federal income tax penalty. Withdrawals can reduce the living and death benefits and account value.

Annuity Basics

- What is a deferred annuity?

An annuity is a contract between you and an insurance company. You purchase an annuity contract by making either a single payment or a series of payments. A deferred annuity allows you to defer your income payments and to accumulate money on a tax-deferred basis for long-term goals such as retirement. When you are ready to receive income from your annuity, you can withdraw funds as needed, or you can set up a regular annuity income payment schedule that would last for life or over a given time period in the same manner as immediate annuities.

- The Accumulation Phase

Your payment into an annuity is called a Purchase Payment because you are buying an annuity contract. Once you've made the initial Purchase Payment, your annuity will have two phases: the accumulation phase, when your money has the potential of growing tax deferred, and the income or pay-out phase, when you withdraw your money according to a choice of payment options. During the accumulation phase, a fixed annuity will earn a guaranteed minimum interest rate for a certain period of time. In contrast, the value of other types of annuities will fluctuate according to the performance of the selected investment options or indexes.

- Withdrawing Your Money

Deferred annuity products offer varying degrees of liquidity. A Withdrawal Charge or Surrender Charge is a fee you will pay if you cancel your annuity contract within the specified contract period. The withdrawal charge or surrender charge is a descending fee that generally is reduced by some percentage each year as the contract approaches maturity. If you withdraw money during the early years of the contract (usually the first several years), the issuing company may keep a certain percentage of your withdrawals. Products with a shorter withdrawal charge or surrender charge will generally have higher surrender charges. If you need to access your money during the accumulation phase, some contracts allow you to take partial withdrawals without a contract surrender charge.

For tax purposes, withdrawals are considered as first coming from earnings, then from the return of investment. Earnings in your annuity contract are taxed as ordinary income, and if withdrawn prior to age 59 1/2, there may also be a 10% federal income tax penalty.

Want to Learn More?

• - Taking Money from an Annuity
• - Managing your Money: The Income or Pay-out Phase
• - Annuity features and options
• - Annuities and Taxation
• - Financial Strategies
• - More about the Retirement Red Zone

Please contact us today for additional information or for your own personal retirement analysis.

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