Remove uncertainty with guaranteed income for life

A lot can happen in a decade. You're ten years closer to retirement, but how has your retirement fund grown over those 10 years? If you're like many -- it hasn't. Not with the latest stock market meltdown. For years, investors were content to act as their own retirement managers. Some sought advice, but often from "generalist" financial advisors enamored with seemingly unending growth in the market. The reality of today proves that model to have been short sided. As it turns out, it's a rather complex task to build a nest egg that can weather uncertainty in the marketplace. And last a lifetime.

The National Institute of Aging says that 46 million Americans will retire in the next five years. Every one of those people will go through a major shift in financial priorities. They'll transition out of asset accumulation and into income management and wealth preservation. Of key importance: Removing today's uncertainty while acquiring predictable -- and sustainable -- cash flow. In brief, they want guaranteed income for life.

A recent study by Fidelity showed that an alarming 80% of investors could not identify a financial vehicle that would provide those benefits. And when investors were told of such an option -- annuities -- nearly half wrote them off. Why? They simply didn't know enough about annuities. And over a third indicated that they hadn't been recommended annuities by their financial advisor.

That's... disturbing.

Yes, some annuities can be complex and confusing. Those are variable products, where risks and high fees are often in the picture. But fixed annuities are very straightforward. Notice the word fixed in the name. That means the amount of interest and/or income you receive doesn't fluctuate with the market. It's fixed! We covered the confusion between fixed and variable annuities recently in our Annuity Watch section.

Fixed annuities combine safety, tax-deferral and the option for guaranteed lifetime income. If your approaching retirement and your financial advisor hasn't talked to you about fixed annuities... maybe you need a specialist?