You can get out by surrendering the contract, selling payments to a factoring company, or exercising a free-look cancellation if you're within the initial window - but most exits trigger...
Annuities are categorized first by when payments start (immediate vs. deferred) and then by how the money grows during the accumulation phase (fixed, variable, or fixed-indexed). Immediate vs. deferred types...
Beyond the stated management fee, the real costs are the mortality and expense (M&E) risk charge (often 1.25%), steep surrender charges that lock you in for up to a decade,...
The fate of your annuity depends entirely on the payout option you chose: life-only payments typically stop immediately upon death, whereas period-certain or refund options continue paying your beneficiary. How...
An annuity is a contract with an insurance company where you pay a lump sum now in exchange for a guaranteed stream of income payments later, turning your savings into...
An income rider is an optional contract add-on that guarantees a lifetime withdrawal amount from your annuity regardless of how the underlying investments perform, but it comes at an annual...
Pension basics and fundamentals To grasp pension basics, you first need to understand the difference between defined benefit plans and defined contribution plans, which dictates who bears the investment risk....
Is my pension fund status safe right now Understanding your pension fund status is critical when a plan sponsor issues a warning about funding, because the numbers behind that notice...
401k account management fundamentals: terms and eligibility Effective 401k account management starts with understanding that an elective deferral 401k is simply the portion of your own salary you decide to...
First, understand the pension basics you're actually working with Before you make any moves, it pays to get the pension basics & providers straight, because the rules that govern your...
Setting up and adjusting your 401k contribution limits Before you decide how much 401k can i contribute, check the current 401k contribution limits, because the answer depends on your age...
Getting money into the plan with a 401(k) contribution strategy A reliable 401(k) contribution strategy starts with a decision you make through your employer's payroll system, not through a brokerage...