Just keep in mind that the US does not allow transfers of foreign retirement plan funds into a US retirement plan. So whatever you decide your residence may be, do not mix your monies.

I do about $10 million a year in annuity business and they are good for some situations and shitty for others. Like “paying the remaining to your heirs.”

Do you have any knowledge of the tax implications of dying with an annuity in your posession even with stepped up or increased death benefits? Look into this before someone suckers you into some shit product. If you are 45+ years from retirement, what the hell do you care about a monthly income. Find a good broker and swing for the fences to make as much as possible. Then consider an annuity for protection later in life perhaps. Lets do this….you buy your annuity and Ill take my SMA and lets see who has more in 20 years.

traditionally Annuities are more of an option and suggestion for a middle aged person so I wouldn’t consider one until you are a little older. And actually depending on what kind of annuity you chose the annuity may not be passed on to your heirs. For example a life annuity will pay you the most monthly but will not be passed on to your heirs. You should definitely wait for several years to consider an annuity until you see where you stand. You actually may find that you will be better in retirement by living off tax free interest of municipal bonds than an annuity.

If you want a fixed monthly income in retirement you could considere finding a job that has a pension benefit.

The insurance industry are very powerful and very good lobbiest in Washington. The only products out there that offer tax deferred and guarantee capabilities. If you want to be paid for life though(turn on the annuity feature) some annuities won’t pass the lump sum onto your heirs others will. Look for an annuity with annual payments for life and pass the money to heirs. Some have a feature that only allows 7-11% a year to be paid out.

Think of an annuity like a car, so many different features, some matter to you and some don’t, so make sure you are paying for what you want and nothing that you don’t. I think you need to talk to a financial professional.

Given your age and if you have maxed out your retirement savings (401k and ira) and you still want a tax deferred vehicle-the annuity is a good choice. Again, talk to a financial professional.

This book is very thorough and it will definitely take a while to read through even if you have quick questions. Most of the book concerns how to plan which IRA is the best for you and the benefits or lack of with each. There are a lot of tricky rules, about withdrawals, early withdrawals, taxes and/or penalties on different IRAs that are worth considering and understanding before investing.

This was very sobering look into the future and well worth the time and effort to plod through. There is a fair amount of math involved as it helps you calculate how much you will need to invest to live the style you would like. (The appendix at the end is filled with tax forms- yuck!) And frankly if you are not mathematically minded you may just want to give up even though they do give several examples.

In summary, I think this book does give you everything you need to know. For myself it helped me get an idea of what I wanted to do without feeling like a complete dummy. But a lot of the book involves more complicated stuff (taxes etc.) which are not so straightforward although the book tries to make it easier. If you are analytical or good mathematically I believe this will be great, probably a breeze but if you are challenged (like me) you might want to read it for the general info and then see a specialist to help you plan further.

Score: 4 / 5

“An Overview of Tax Rules” addresses normal withdrawal of your money for ages 59 1/2-70 1/2. It tells you what is taxed, when, what your options are for distributions and which are more advantageous, options if you receive the plan as part of a divorce settlement, mandatory withholding, and options for inherited plans, which are also discussed in more detail later. Subsequent chapters discuss early distributions (taxes, how to calculate, exceptions), with a chapter dedicated solely to calculating substantially equal periodic payments; required distributions (rules, penalties, calculating how much you need to withdraw, setting up beneficiaries); distributions to inheritors; and chapters dedicated to Roth IRAs (rollovers, conversions, taxes) and Roth 401(k)s.

Each chapter begins with a note about who needs to read the chapter, so you don’t have to read the whole book to find the information you want, and ends with a list of the tax code sections for the topic under discussion. For each withdrawal scenario, the authors explain the complex set of rules and how to minimize your taxes and penalties in as plain English as possible. Truthfully, the tax code is so arcane and the options so numerous that I don’t know how most retirees manage. For each distribution option or scenario, at least one example is given, so you can see how it works. The appendices contain examples of IRS forms, notices, and schedules, Life Expectancy Tables, and Uniform Lifetime Table, which you may need to make some calculations.

With a family member retiring soon on whose plans I am the beneficiary, I was interested in understanding the rules for normal, mandatory, and inherited distribution of every kind of plan except Roths. There are enough options and pitfalls to make my head spin, but generally you will want to make a beeline for the ones that apply to you. Sections within the chapters are clearly titled to help you do that. I am still fuzzy on a couple of points that probably don’t apply to me anyway, but “Taking Your Money Out” is very informative. I discovered options for early distribution that I wish my relative had known about sooner, so you may not want to wait until you retire to pick up this book. It’s essential to know what kind of plan you have, so be sure to confirm that if it’s not obvious.
Score: 5 / 5

I’m an annuity expert (co-author of “The Annuity Advisor” and author of numerous articles, in various journals, about annuities), and I found this book informative. (I wish I’d made certain points as clearly as Kerry does). I’ve recommended it to insurance agents and consumers and will continue to do so.

- John L. Olsen, CLU, ChFC, AEP
Score: 5 / 5

There are many companies out there in the business of buying structured settlements, it might be worth to shop around for a better deal – however, these companies know their demographic and in general it is a person that didn’t have great sums of money, wins a structured settlement (cha ching, dollar signs in their eyes), and they can pull off writing a little check now to get a bigger payday later. Excellent job that you can figure future value – you seem not the average type these companies pray on. Work it backwards with them . . they offer you 33M, come back with whatever you’ll take – like 66M and see what they say. Worst case scenario is no deal.

but, it will be ridiculously expensive and restrcitive so, like anything, for a certain outcome, you will pay dearly in significantly reduced benefits and obscenely high administration expenses.

I’d steer clear of annuities and fire any borker who is trying to hawk this product.

I agree with you, you will likely have a hard time finding a condo in the Miami area for that little money. There are certainly parts of the country where you could get a condo for $30,000. Keep in mind that the guy at the company trying to buy your annuity is likely to make a nice commission if he convinces you to sell, so he’ll tell you many things that may or may not be entirely true.

I hope that helps.

Max out your 401K and/or IRA’s. Invest in low cost mutual funds with good track records. I think you will find yourself better off than if you bought an annuity.

fv=0
i=3% (semiannual rate)
n=10 (six-month periods)
pmt=4000

solve for pv=$34,121