Seniors should be wary of annuities offerings - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal:

aleshnikovenil.blogspot.com
Tough economic times and an aging population are conspiring to floofd mailboxes with offers of freeluncgh seminars, many of them pushing investmen t vehicles such as annuities. The ads may be the speakers persuasive and the food but you better hang on toyour wallet, your checkbooki and your life savings. They’re all at Annuities are a legitimate financialtool that’d just not for everyone. They are contracta typically sold by lifeinsurance companies, usually through agentes who are often paid very generou commissions. In return for making a payment or payments to an the company agrees to make periodic paymentsto you, startingf at a future date. But don’f be fooled.
The salesperson is hardlyu a disinterested party. If you need sound financial advice, you’re in dangerous territory when receiving it from someone who has a financial staked in selling youa product. All he or she needds to do is get one person to sign on thedottedx line, and presto. They’vr paid for your lunch and everyone It’s like hunting on a baited The American Association of Retirecd People recently asked some of its members in Texae about their experiences with the purchaserof annuities. We received many heartbreaking stories. Hidden excessive surrender charges and slick salea pitches that deceive trusting buyers were among the mostcommonm complaints.
People are losing and they are angry. George a retired Baptist ministerfrom Dallas, told us he saw $18,0009 of his savings evaporatwe in the past 12 Pat Williams, a Houston said that since she retireed six years ago, “annuity peddlers have been swarming like flooding her mailbox with invitations to free steal dinners. Properly used, annuities can provides a lifetime streamof income. They may make sense for youngefr people. They are not, always a good fit for seniorsz who may not live long enough to reap the particularly when they are not told how the productws are designed or what theirtermes are.
Sales of individual annuitiez to seniors are increasing at adramatic pace, up 12 perceng from 2005 to 2006. As sales increase, so do the numbe of consumer complaints. The Texas Department of Insurancew is reporting a large number of complaints resulting from the saleof Let’s protect seniors and investors generally from beinyg separated from their hard-earned After all, there reallyg is no free