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251: Annuities: An Intoduction to the Types and Uses of Annuities

Radical Personal Finance
Radical Personal Finance
Episode • Oct 20, 2015 • 1h 21m

Let's put our work boots on today and dig into some of the science of financial planning. We've been doing a lot of fluffy, motivational-type stuff on Radical Personal Finance recently. That stuff is really valuable but it needs to be tempered with some serious knowledge.

Today, let's talk about annuities.

Annuities get a bad rap in the financial marketplace. And rightly so. They've been shamefully misrepresented, oversold, and abused by many insurance agents.

But do they have a place? Can they be an incredibly useful tool in the toolbelt of a good financial planner?

I believe so.

In today's show I work to share with you some background and structure about annuities. This will help you to understand the words involved and the different product structures available.

We talk about:

  • The number of lives covered (single life vs joint life vs joint-and-survivor annuities)
  • When the payments start (immediate vs. deferred)
  • Methods of premium payment (lump sums vs. periodic payments)
  • Pure/straight life vs. refund annuities 
  • Fixed vs. variable vs. indexed annuities
  • And tons more!

Enjoy the show!

Joshua

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