International annuities help you to grow and manage your retirement income.  the  annuities, are the long term contract between you and an insurance company were you invest the money.  the insurance company pays you for investment  you have made in the company in return.

for example if you have saved into a defined contribution pension scheme during your working life, you’ll have to decide what to do with the pension fund you’ve built up when you approach retirement age. Checkout our top 100 US real estate agents

One option is to buy a lifetime annuity (often called just an annuity).

If you don’t feel like purchasing an purchasing annuity then you don’t have to do that instead You don’t have to purchase an annuity if you don’t want to.

Instead, if you have been a member of a defined contribution pension scheme, you have various options for your pension pot.

These other options may affect your decision about whether to buy an annuity, so consider them carefully.

How annuities works

An annuity is a long-term investment that is issued by an insurance company and is designed to help protect you from the risk of outliving your income.

Through annuitization, your purchase payments (what you contribute) are converted into periodic payments that can last for life.

you can choose any one that helps you to

• Invest a lump sum or invest over a period of time
• Start receiving payments immediately or at some later date
• Select a fixed, variable or indexed rate of return

Investing involves risk, and your investments may lose value.

All guarantees and protections are subject to the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company, but the guarantees do not apply to any variable accounts,

which are subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of principal.

Can you lose money with an annuity?

Annuities were created to prevent this situation (known as superannuation) by guaranteeing your investment and offering a lifetime income stream that you are guaranteed not to outlive.

In return for this, you promise to follow certain rules such as how long you have to wait to begin receiving payments, how much you take out per year, and whether and when you can withdraw your principal, free of penalties.

Annuities are not typically designed to be high growth investment products as much as insurance against running out of income.

The right time to start an annuity

you need an annuity when you are in the following situation:

1. You’re saving for retirement – If you’re already contributing the maximum to other retirement plans like an IRA or 401(k), a fixed index annuity is an attractive retirement planning option that grows tax-deferred.
2. You don’t need the money soon  If you don’t anticipate needing the money from a fixed index annuity prior to the time you turn 59 1/2 then a fixed index annuity may be a good option for you.
3. You’re worried you might outlive your savings Annuities can provide guaranteed income for the rest of your life, no matter whether you live to be 100 or even 120. With modern advances in health and medicine people are living longer than ever.

Types of annuities

The following are the various kind of annuities;

Fixed Annuities:

When you purchase in a fixed annuity, the insurance carries guarantees that you cannot lose either your principal (the money that you put into the annuity)

Or any interest that the annuity has accumulated.

Fixed Indexed Annuities:

When you purchase in a fixed indexed annuity, the insurance carries guarantees that you cannot lose your principal and in addition, each year,

on the purchase anniversary, your gains are locked in (known as an ANNUAL RESET), which then becomes the starting point for the next year.

Because the interest earned is “locked in” annually and the index value is “reset” at the end of each year, future decreases in the index the will not affect the interest you have already earned. you like to know about property insurance in UK 

Variable Annuities:

Variable annuities are very similar mutual funds, neither your principal nor investment gains are protected against market fluctuations.

When you invest in variable annuity, the carrier with put your money in investments such as mutual funds.

The value of your annuity changes based on the performance of those investments.

As these investments go up or down, the value of your variable annuity will also rise and fall.

This means that it is possible to lose money, including your principal with a variable annuity if the investments in your account don’t perform well.

Variable annuities also tend to have higher fees increasing the chances of losing money

Penalties for early withdrawal:

With any annuity, despite common misconceptions, you have the right to withdrawal your principal at any time.

However, as briefly mentioned above, when purchasing an annuity, you make certain pledges to the carrier with regards to withdrawing your funds.

If you need to cash out early, say, during the accumulation phase of your annuity, you may face surrender charges and/or IRS penalties.

What happens when you die on an annuity