Posts Tagged ‘pensions’

A Pension Annuity to finance your retirement

Tuesday, June 26th, 2012

A pension annuity is often one of the first things that a person will consider looking at when they are thinking about planning their retirement. Regardless of your personal situation, the type of annuity that you select will help to provide you with a stable source of income for the remainder of your life and therefore it’s a big decision. If you are selecting a pension annuity then shopping around to find one which is directly matched to your needs is crucial and this can really save you money and give you a higher income return in the long run.

With the ability to choose between a wide range of pension annuity providers – mainly thanks to the introduction of the Open Market Option – more and more people are starting to move away from their existing pension providers and look at newer options in the annuity market, thus saving money by choosing annuity plans which are really tailored to their individual needs.

In turn, this Option has really revolutionised the way that a person is able to apply for an annuity – and the types of annuities that they are eligible to apply for, and in turn this has improved competition between different annuity providers to provide a better package for potential applicants. There are now a number of different features, benefits and options available on the market to anyone who is consider purchasing an annuity and this makes purchasing an annuity a far more profitable experience for many people.

Providing a larger amount of income to a person who may lead poor lifestyle habits or have a poor health record, enhanced annuities are another common option on the market and if you have existing health conditions then they could be a very real idea for you – especially if you are looking for a higher annuity income and believe it could be over a shorter period of time.

Before you make your final purchase, shopping around is something that you should do if you are looking to select a pension annuity. In turn this can save you money and help to keep down your annuity costs.

To find out more about a Pension Annuity, visit The Annuity Specialist online and choose the best annuity for your needs.

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Mutual Funds Investments

Saturday, April 21st, 2012

There are many different ways that you can spend the money that you have earned and investing in a mutual fund is one of the ways. The many different mutual funds have many interesting options for you to investigate. However, you need to look at the best mutual funds in order to find out which are suitable for you.

Currently, you will probably find that Janus, Fidelity Funds and the Vanguard Group are among the best mutual funds on the market. The first thing to do is look how the funds compare with each other. There are many reviews to provide you with the information you need for choosing the best mutual funds.

However, before you invest with a mutual fund, you ought to understand what a mutual fund is and how it will be of use to you. Basically, a mutual fund is an investment company and this investment company pools the money of its investors. It then uses this money to buy different sorts of stocks, shares and bonds.

Then every investor owns a percentage of the various stocks and bonds that are in the portfolio equal to the amount he invested. The professional fund managers in the corporation attempt to keep the clients’ portfolio growing by investing in rising stocks, shares and bonds. Although, I have put this is a simple way, I hope that it helps the novice to understand how a mutual fund works. If you want further information, you can get it from the Internet or from a trusted financial advisor.

The best way to look for the right mutual fund is to be methodical. There are so many mutual funds on the market, that it can be very difficult to know which are the best mutual funds to invest in. You can look at the columns in the Morningstar to see which of the mutual funds are performing well. This initial research will help you see the direction in which the mutual funds you are interested in are heading.

After you have chosen a few of the best mutual groups to investigate further, you should see what types of funds they offer. Since some of these funds have hidden charges, it pays to understand what these funds’ charges really are. You will find this information on the Internet, in the financial press or you can ask someone to explain the details for you.

Even though all of the mutual funds offer reasonably good investment possibilities, there are always risks that potential clients face. For this reason, you should give the matter of investing your money in mutual funds some serious consideration. The bottom line is that no matter how super the best mutual funds are performing right now, tomorrow is another story, so take your time and invest wisely.

If you are interested in Investing in Mutual Funds or saving in general, please visit our web site entitled Saving in Mutual Funds. Unique version for reprint here: Mutual Funds Investments.

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Annuity Guarantee

Monday, January 2nd, 2012

As one of the biggest decisions that you will potentially ever make, deciding which annuity is best for both you and your family can be a crucial choice. It’s important that you pick the right annuity to suit your situation as it is designed to be an income for the rest of your lives. When you come to realise that this is the final investment that you may ever make, it can put additional pressure on the situation.

Many people are concerned that they may take out an annuity and then die quite shortly afterwards, therefore losing much of the money that they had saved. To help appease the concerns of the annuity maker, most annuity companies offer what is known as an annuity guaranteed period, this helps to ensure that even if the maker was to die within the first few years of the annuity, the money would still be paid out to the next of kin.

There is a minimum amount of time over with your annuity will be paid and this is essentially your guarantee period. If you are alive throughout the period of your guarantee then it will be paid to you, if you die during the annuity guarantee period then it will be paid to your next of kin. So if you were to die unexpectedly after taking the annuity out then it would be guaranteed that you or your family would receive at least some of the annuity income.

In general five to ten years is a pretty standard time for an annuity guarantee period, but this is determined on an individual basis. Although it is more expensive to take out a ten year guarantee, more people tend to prefer the security that this type of guarantee gives to the annuitant and the longer period that it pays out over.

Although it may not seem like the cost of an annuity guarantee period is very much, in general it is about 1.7% of the total income amount, this is an amount that is paid on the entire annuity income and could be paid annually, which can add up over time, especially after the designated period has ended.

Find out more about annuities.

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What Is The Main Purpose Of Retirement Planning

Sunday, November 27th, 2011

Every person has certain goals that they would like to achieve during his retirement phase. Usually, there also exists an ideology about the kind of life that the person will lead. Retirement planning is about establishing these goals and ensuring that there is sufficient income to cover the lifestyle. When looking at investments, the planner makes sure that there is a good mix of tax-deferred and tax-free income. When examining insurance, she must ensure that all of the financial assets of the individual and his family are protected.

Social Security is one means by which the government seeks to help a person save for after he stops working and distributes part of their income on a monthly basis during this phase of his life. If a worker was employed for 10 years and paid the Social Security tax during this period, he will be fully eligible. However, the amount of monthly income due depends on the wages or salary earned while working.

Rarely is Social Security income enough to cover the full needs of the individual. Therefore, he should elect to also contribute to a retirement account either through his employer or on his own. Employer-sponsored programs such as the 401(k) or 403(b) are good options from which payroll deductions may be invested. Traditional and Roth Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) are also available at many banking or investment institutions.

Planning for a mix of tax-deferred versus tax-free income requires examining the accounts that a person will receive distributions from. Employer-sponsored plans, such as the 401(k) and 403(b), plus traditional IRAs generally produce income that is taxable during retirement because they are tax-deferred. The Roth IRA generates income that is tax-free. Another option for this is an annuity, whereby only the capital gains are taxed because the person invests with after-tax dollars.

Although a person begins to receive Medicare after they turn 65, it is often not sufficient to cover all of their medical needs or costs. Out-of-pocket payments for this government provision can often be quite high. There are other insurance needs to address as well, such as life insurance and long-term care possibilities. The first is particularly important when a person either has young dependents or debt.

During the later years, a plan should be created that enables the person to begin gifting away excess assets. The purpose is to avoid the estate tax, if applicable. However, they do not want to incur a gift tax either when they are giving it away. Therefore, planning is necessary.

A professional can help ensure that retirement planning is done correctly and that all of the appropriate bases are covered. The most important aspect is guaranteeing that income is available throughout the life of the retiree. However, there are also other considerations. Protection from asset depletion because of an unforeseen financial risk is also extremely important.

You should definitely learn more pertaining to self managed superannuation. We have some good information on SMSF that we would like to share pertaining to you right now.

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