2013 ANNUITY RATES & RATINGS
4.7% to 12.9% ANNUAL PAYOUT – OR
PRE-ISSUED ANNUITIES ™ 4% to 8% APY
Compare Annuity Rates & Make the Best Choice
- View Three Best Annuity Options in each category hybrid, fixed, variable or immediate.
- Pre-Issued Annuities ™ safe A+ payment stream or lump sum with a higher yield.
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Retirement Annuity Resources
| Annuities have come to the forefront as an asset allocation of choice for securing retirements during these turbulent financial times. While there are numerous investment choices, they do not fully answer these fundamental retirement questions: |
Learn how an annuity can answer each of the following questions; How can I…
- know that no matter how long I live, I will never run out of money?
- have certainty that no matter how bad the economy is, I will never run out of money?
- be certain that if I predecease my spouse, he or she will never run out of money?
- set up my own self-directed pension that I control and own?
- protect my principal with no loss through a financial crisis?
- grow my nest egg to keep up with or beat inflation?
- have safety and beat what banks offer by earning higher interest?
- benefit during an up stock market and suffer no loss in a down stock market?
- keep my money growing without paying tax as it grows?
- reposition my IRA, 401K, 403B, 457, etc. for safety, growth and income?
- avoid probate and get any unused portion of my nest egg directly to my heirs?
- give my heirs a tax-advantaged or tax-free income stream for their retirement?
Retirement Planning
It is no accident that annuities are now in the mainstream of foundational conservative retirement planning. However, it is also no secret that bias and half truths are rampant in the financial industry. For many years, they have been pushed to the side by the investment industry promoting diversification through a multitude of securities that are risk-oriented investments.
| Now that most investors have experienced the 2008-2009 Great Recession/crisis first-hand, the fallacy of relying on diversified market risk during or near retirement proved to be foolhardy. Currently with the prospect of a volatile and potentially down or flat economy for the next decade or two, the advantages of annuities are all too obvious. Hindsight, as we say, is always 20/20! |
This site has detailed answers to all of the questions above and detailed annuity information. After you have completed your research make certain that you use current annuity rates when deciding which one is best. Eventually, when you are informed and ready to allocate a portion of your assets into an annuity, you will need to work with a state-licensed planner or insurance agent. This is the only way you can legally allocate your money into this type of financial instrument.
We do highly recommend that you work face to face with an independent licensed retirement planner. One who agrees to adhere to a strict code of ethics and standards monitored by a third party. We also recommend as part of the third party validation process that a licensed financial professional to go through a seven-year background check with the National Ethics Association for your protection.
More information on retirement planning:
Today’s Annuity Rates & Ratings
- View hundreds of published Current Annuity Rates
- Annuity Reviews, by Dick and Eric to help with your decisions.
- Current blogs and Articles, on retirement concerns

- Access to concise Annuity Educational Videos. Watch Now
- Retirement Calculators to help your research on annuities.
Calculators
Retirement Calculators can assist you in your research towards a very secure, tax deferred portfolio allocations. They can help with calculations on guaranteed minimum interest rates or projected higher potential earnings. These calculations show no tax due on any earnings until they are withdrawn from the account. Use these calculators such as the fixed annuity calculator, variable annuity calculator, or immediate annuity calculator to help you determine how these financial instruments might fit into your retirement plan. Also take advantage of the retirement planning calculator and the retirement shortfall calculator.
Rates are Important For Income or Wealth Transfer
Case Study: In November of 2007, Jan and Steve, a couple concerned about the security of their investments and retirement savings, made a call to Ed, a family friend who was also their financial professional. After a brief conversation, they agreed to meet a few days later and discuss their portfolio.
Upon meeting with the couple, Ed reluctantly agreed with them that they were not risk-takers, and yet he had a majority of their assets wrapped up in the stock market against their better judgment. Awkward as it was, Jan and Steve severed their business relationship with Ed causing some friction with the relatives.
In an initial consultation with a new advisor they were carefully examining their investment options and looking at alternatives such as CDs, bonds, and REITs, Steve and Jan also discussed that they had read some negative reviews about annuities. The sources they were quoting said they were risky and associated with high fees and surrender charges.
The articles they had gathered their information from were strongly biased. Additionally, these articles had placed all emphasis on the variable annuity (VA) category. Unfortunately, it is not at all uncommon for financial writers to demonstrate bias by spinning an incomplete or simply inaccurate tale. Although the VA, when used under correct circumstances, can make perfect sense, they are distinctly different from fixed annuities, which are no or low fee, low or no risk and far more conservative.
Once they understood the differences between variable and fixed, they wanted to learn more about the benefits of using a fixed annuity for a portion of their retirement nest egg. 
This couple eventually chose to leave the stock market and allocated a reasonable portion of their retirement savings into fixed annuities with income riders. Their cash value has increased as planned, and they are now comfortable knowing their retirement income foundation is predictable and secure. Best of all, they did not lose any of their money during the Great Recession of 2007-2009.
Unfortunately, not all misinformed individuals have such a happy ending.
Annuities – Are they Safe?

How Safe Are Annuities? Safety of money is generally relative to comparing levels of risk between Government backed, insurance backed or individual securities investment risk. In regard to non-variable fixed annuities: State Regulation forces insurance companies to follow what is known as Statutory Accounting unlike generally acceptable accounting methods (GAAP) utilized by publicly owned corporations. Statutory accounting is a show me the money type of accounting whereby expenses … [Read More...]
PRE-ISSUED ANNUITIES ™
Pros and Cons of Pre-Issued Annuities ™ Pre-Owned Annuities, Structured Settlements, Secondary Market Annuities, Life Contingent Annuities, Inforce Annuities, & Lottery Annuities, Etc. Pre-Issued Annuities ™ have several positive attributes in common that make them currently in high demand: High Yields - typically 4.5 to 8.5 percent. Safety - payment streams are guaranteed by highly rated insurance companies Safety - Court order process protects both buyer and … [Read More...]
Hybrid Annuities

Hybrid Annuities or a Hybrid Income Annuity: Learn Hard Facts the Pros and Cons... Considering a Hybrid Annuity? Learn the facts first. Hybrid Annuities for retirees have surged in popularity. Demand since the Great Recession has grown faster than all other annuity types. Appeal is to safety, income, and growth. Hybrid annuity refers to a combination of several unique aspects of various annuities that have been combined to create a new type of annuity. What is being referred to … [Read More...]
Immediate Annuity Information
Immediate Annuity Calculator & Comparison Quotes What is an Immediate Annuity? This is the most fundamental, pure form of an annuity. It dates back a couple of thousand years and it is what we today call an immediate life annuity. Essentially, the way an immediate life annuity works is by paying a lump sum of money in exchange for an income stream based on a lifetime repetitive income stream. In essence, you are purchasing a guaranteed stream of income. [HTML1] With a lifetime … [Read More...]
Best Fixed Index Annuities
Best Fixed Index Annuities: Finding the Best FIA It is important to know that first and foremost, a fixed index annuity is essentially a fixed annuity with an optional or an extra feature. And, in addition to having a fixed interest rate choice, you may annually choose an optional interest crediting method that uses an external market index to determine interest to be applied after a specified term of typically one year. The best fixed index annuity is like finding the best car. It is … [Read More...]
Best Variable Annuities
Variable Annuities: The Best Variable Annuity Variable annuities are understood as the annuity class that has the highest potential for gain. Conversely, it is also the annuity class that has the greatest risk of loss. This has been painfully apparent with market returns over the last 10 or so years as a result of the bear market of 2000 through 2003 and the financial crisis of 2008 through 2010. As a result, variable annuities have generally lagged behind bank CDs, fixed annuities and fixed … [Read More...]
Fixed Index Annuity and Hybrid Annuity Links
Index or Hybrid Income Annuity; Learn the Pros and Cons: [Read More...]
Hybrid/Indexed Income Annuities & Hybrid Income Riders: [Read More...]
Are Hybrid/Index Annuities too Complicated? [Read More...]
Learn the Truth About Index/Hybrid Annuities: [Read More...]
What are the Disadvantages of Fixed Index/Hybrid Annuities? [Read More...]
- All annuity tools, videos or information visible on Annuity Rates Instantly website pages are for educational and conceptual purposes only.
- Annuity tools, videos or information are not to be considered investment advice, insurance recommendations, tax or legal advice.
- It is recommended that site visitors work with licensed professionals for individualized advice before making any important or final financial decisions on what is best for his or her situation.
- Annuities are not Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation--FDIC insured and their guarantees are based on the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance company.
- State Insurance Guarantee Association--SIGA vary in coverage with each state and are not to be confused with FDIC which has the backing of the federal government.
- * "Best” refers only to the opinion of the site author or the opinion of the Annuity Guys in videos and is not considered best for all individuals.
- Annuity Rate Watch supplies and updates all Annuity Rates, Features and Ratings this information is widely available in the public domain accuracy is strived for but not guaranteed.
- Dick or Eric help site visitors when requested by referring one of their colleagues with expertise in structuring annuities, either Dick or Eric may receive a flat referral fee as compensation for a client referral or participate in shared commission revenue as a referring licensed agent. This helps compensate Dick or Eric for time spent assisting site visitors and maintaining Dick's educational website.
- Dick or Eric are compensated by referral revenue, not by selling annuities to site visitors, which allows Dick or Eric to stay focused on providing educational annuity resources and vetting the expertise and integrity of retirement advisors they recommend to site visitors.
- Dick or Eric's recommendation of an advisor is one aspect of a due diligence process, each site visitor must accept full individual responsibility for choosing a licensed insurance agent/advisor.
- In the event that a recommended licensed advisor/agent is not considered satisfactory by a site visitor, Dick or Eric will make reasonable efforts to recommend other advisors one at a time in an attempt to satisfy site visitors planning needs.
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Do Annuities Create the Highest Income?
Which of these two statements about retirement income do you find more … [Read More...]