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Annuities guides
1035 exchanges: swapping policies without taxSection 1035 lets you swap a life policy for another policy or an annuity without taxing the gain. What qualifies, what you can lose and how to do one right.Annuity beneficiaries and inherited annuity optionsWhat a beneficiary can do with an inherited annuity: lump sum, spousal continuation, 5-year or stretch payouts for non-qualified, 10-year rule for qualified.Best interest rules for annuity salesWhat the NAIC annuity best interest model (#275) requires of agents and insurers, how states adopted it, how Reg BI and New York differ, and what to ask.What happens to an annuity when you dieHow death benefits work before and after payouts begin, what beneficiaries receive, how the money is taxed, and which payout options leave nothing behind.Annuity fees, explainedThe charges inside annuities: M&E, admin, fund and rider fees, surrender charges, commissions, and costs built into fixed rates.Should you put an annuity in an IRA?An IRA already defers tax, so an annuity inside one adds guarantees, not tax savings. When it can make sense, what it costs, and how RMDs and QLACs work.Building an annuity ladderHow laddering MYGAs or income annuities spreads interest-rate and longevity risk across staggered maturities, with a hypothetical example and the trade-offs.Annuity sales abuses targeting seniorsHow misleading annuity sales to older buyers work, the warning signs, what best interest rules require, and what to do if you were sold the wrong one.Why annuity sales hit recordsU.S. annuity sales topped $461 billion in 2025 per LIMRA. What drove the run of records, which products grew, and what record sales mean for buyers.Annuity surrender charges and free withdrawalsHow annuity surrender charges work, the free-withdrawal allowance, market value adjustments, waivers, and what it costs to leave a contract early.Are annuities a good idea?The honest case for and against annuities: guaranteed income versus fees, lost liquidity and inflation. Who they suit and who should pass.Life insurance in nonqualified deferred compensationHow employers use company-owned life insurance to informally fund nonqualified deferred compensation, with IRC 409A, 101(j) and 264 rules and creditor risks.Deferred income annuities (DIAs): longevity insurance explainedA DIA is bought now and pays guaranteed income starting years later. How pricing, payout options and QLACs work, the risks, and who it suits and doesn't.The DOL fiduciary rule and annuity sales: where it stands in 2026The 2024 Retirement Security Rule never took effect and was removed from the federal rulebook in 2026. What that means for annuity and rollover advice today.Fixed annuities: how they work, what they cost, who they suitA fixed annuity pays a declared interest rate set by the insurer. How rates, surrender charges and guarantees work, and when a CD or Treasury may do the job.Fixed indexed annuities: caps, participation rates and trade-offsA fixed indexed annuity credits interest tied to an index with a zero floor. How caps, participation rates and spreads work, the real costs, and who it suits.Guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit ridersA GLWB rider promises withdrawals for life from an annuity even if the account runs out. How the benefit base, withdrawal percentage, roll-ups and fees work.How annuities are taxedAnnuity earnings grow tax-deferred and are taxed as ordinary income at payout; rules differ for qualified, non-qualified, early and inherited annuities.How annuity rates are set and why they moveAnnuity rates come from an insurer's bond earnings minus costs and profit, plus mortality for income annuities. Why they move with bond yields and competition.Hybrid life and long-term care policiesHow hybrid life and long-term care policies pay for care or a death benefit, the 2026 $430-a-day tax limit, the costs and trade-offs, and who they suit.IUL vs 401(k): why the comparison misleadsIUL and a 401(k) do different jobs. Compare 2026 contribution limits, taxes, costs, access and risk before shifting money from one to the other.IUL vs Roth IRA for tax-free retirement incomeBoth are marketed as tax-free retirement income. Compare 2026 Roth IRA limits and income phase-outs with IUL loans, costs, access rules and risks.Life insurance in retirement: keep, cut or cash outWhat to do with life insurance after you stop working: keep, reduce, convert, sell or surrender it, and the tax and income traps on each path.Using life insurance for retirement incomeHow policy loans and withdrawals can supply retirement income, the tax and MEC rules, lapse risk and costs, and who this strategy suits and who should skip it.Life insurance vs annuities: opposite tools for opposite risksLife insurance protects your family if you die too soon; an annuity protects your income if you live too long. How they differ on risk, tax and who each suits.Multi-year guaranteed annuities (MYGAs): how they workA MYGA locks one interest rate for a set number of years. How the rate, surrender charges and end-of-term choices work, and how it compares with CDs.Pension risk transfer: when your pension becomes an annuityHow employers hand pension obligations to insurers, what ERISA and DOL IB 95-1 require, and what retirees lose or keep when PBGC coverage ends.Qualified longevity annuity contracts (QLACs)A QLAC moves IRA or 401(k) money into a deferred income annuity that starts by age 85 and is excluded from RMDs. The 2026 premium limit is $210,000.Registered index-linked annuities (RILAs): buffers, caps and riskA RILA links returns to an index with caps and buffers or floors, but you can lose money. How the downside protection works, the SEC rules and who it suits.Single premium immediate annuities (SPIAs): how they workA SPIA turns a lump sum into income that starts within a year. How payout options, pricing, inflation and taxes work, and who a SPIA suits and doesn't.Structured settlements and selling future paymentsHow structured settlement annuities work, why selling payments costs so much, and what IRC section 5891 and state court-approval laws require.Variable annuities: how they work, what they cost, who they suitA variable annuity invests in subaccounts, so its value rises and falls with markets. Fees, riders, surrender charges, SEC and FINRA rules, who should skip it.What is an annuity and how does it work?An annuity is an insurance contract that trades a sum of money for income, now or later. How the types work, what they cost, and who they suit and don't.