|
|
Article: Beware of VAs' Rusty Nails; Most variable annuity benefits involve a claw-back or restriction. Here's a guide to rooting out the usual suspects.(Retirement Edge)
- Article from:
- Bank Investment Consultant
- Article date:
- May 1, 2009
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 SourceMedia, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Byline: Kerry Pechter
Many advisors distrust variable annuities, and not without reason. Prospectuses for these products tend to be long, dense and convoluted. Even securities lawyers lose all sense of jurisprudence after reading too many contracts in one sitting.
And it's not as if variable annuity benefits are getting sweeter. Thanks to the bear market, countless variable annuity contracts with living benefits are "out of the money," i.e., a losing proposition for the life insurance companies that issue them. To limit their exposure, insurers are raising prices and reducing guarantees.
On the other side of the trade, the consumer side, these ...