Longevity Insurance

One of the nation's top financial planners is bearish on the recent upsurge in immediate annuity sales. An advocate of maintaining options and flexibility with retirement planning , this financial advisor sees immediate annuities as too restrictive for many financial plans. In contrast to the views on immediate annuities, longevity insurance or longevity annuities are discussed in light of the income and asset allocation options they create for retirees: "Of all the products that are out there...

An in depth and very worthwhile article in the Wall Street Journal discusses annuities in the context of the financial crisis. Surging demand for annuities--particularly fixed--is a natural reaction to the volatility and pain experienced over the past couple of years. That said, would-be buyers need to inform themselves and consider the pros and cons associated with the entire landscape of options. Topics addressed in the article include: 1) The notion of creating a personal pension 2) Annuity...

A list of ten risks faced by retirees includes the obvious such as stock market risk , but also includes issues that may not be top-of-mind for many retirees such as inflation risk and interest rate risk . Longevity risk is at the top of the list. Immediate annuities and the longevity annuity are mentioned as a potential solutions to the risk of outliving one's assets: "Given that, what's the best way to manage that risk? Social Security , traditional pensions and payout annuities all promise...

One in three baby boomers is expected to live into their nineties. Longevity risk or the possibility of outliving one's assets is something that should be considered by all near and current retirees. Longevity insurance or a longevity annuity is one of the most efficient ways to hedge longevity risk. Relatively large amounts of guaranteed income later in life can provide peace-of-mind and financial flexibility earlier in retirement. "Because the insurance company has held your money for a long...