Annuity FYI Blog

Variable annuity assets increased by the largest margin in 17 years in the second quarter of 2009, according to Andrew Frye of Bloomberg.com.  His article “Variable Annuity Assets Advance Most in 17 Years,” lists the main reasons as a stock market rise and an increase in the amount that savers are investing.  The total variable annuity assets reached $1.19 trillion to end the second quarter.  This was a big help to the largest two life insurers, MetLife Inc. and Prudential Financial Inc.  A 15% jump in the S&P 500 Index helped the funds backing these variable annuities remain strong.

The Insured Retirement Institute’s Cathy Weatherford believes that consumers will remain careful with their investments, even as the economy stabilizes.  She thinks that 401k annuity rollovers and other annuity purchases will remain high as people continue to save and want to ensure their money is safe.  With government money helping to stabilize the economic and housing markets, the home price index showed its first increase since 2006.  The top provider of variable annuities, MetLife, had a 27% sales increase and Prudential had a 23% increase.  Variable annuity sales are surging as markets increase and consumers seek good investments.  See if they are right for you by contacting an expert.

The Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America has been selling annuities, life and long-term care insurance since its inception in 1896, according to company press release “Allianz Life Ratings Reaffirmed and Record Earnings Reported.”  Allianz Life is based in Minneapolis; their parent company is Allianz SE, a global financial services group.  Both their Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s ratings were reaffirmed this year.  Moody’s rates Allianz Life A2 (Good) and their S & P rating is AA (Very Strong).

The second quarter of 2009 was record setting for the company’s profits, which were up 77% from last year.  Their capital position also improved significantly with help from their parent company.  Allianz Life’s President and CEO is grateful to have such a strong parent company during difficult economic times.  They also believe that they have benefited from their conservative investment portfolio.  Using a 401k annuity to ensure guaranteed income for life is becoming more popular as people live longer.  Allianz Life has new variable annuity rider options that it will introduce next week to keep up with consumer demand for annuities.

It looks like there are some questionable practices going on with the financial strength rating institutions, according to “CalPERS Gives Rating Agencies an FFF” by Kerry Pechter in the Retirement Income Journal. Investors and advisers alike have historically put a lot of faith in the ratings from Fitch, Standard & Poor’s, and Moody’s.  The companies rate the financial strength of annuities, bonds, and bond funds through a letter value system.  Unfortunately, a lawsuit filed by California’s state employee pension fund (CalPERS) alleges that the companies have been biased in their ratings process by using an “issuer pay” model.  This model basically blurs the lines between the rating and the compensation received by the rating institutions.  They stand to receive a higher financial payout with better ratings since they are paid by the debt issuers that they rate.

CalPERS lost close to $1 billion by investing in Structured Investment Vehicles (SIVs) that had the highest long-term debt ratings at the time.  They believe that these ratings institutions negligently misrepresented the SIVs because of the issuer pay model pressuring them to give high ratings so they would get large returns.  All three ratings companies have promised to look into the issues and make changes if necessary, but also believe that the losses can be attributed to a difficult economic environment and “natural actions.”  The possibility exists that although the system used by these institutions may have been unethical, it may very well still be legal which would negate any lawsuit.  This makes it more important than ever to do your research in order to find the best annuities, bonds, and stocks for your portfolio.

“A Summer Crop of Variable Annuities” in the Retirement Income Journal summarized this summer’s spectrum of variable annuity products.  Author Kerry Pechter stated that insurance companies are either reducing the cost of the product and making it much more simple or keeping the elaborate benefits and increasing the cost.  John Hancock and MetLife introduced simplified versions while Allianz Life and Genworth Financial’s new products are similar to traditional variable annuities.  As equity markets have rallied this summer from a DJIA of 6,700 points in March to 9,100 this week, this may be the time for some new products.

John Hancock Life’s AnnuityNote is one of the more straightforward products on the market.  There are one investment and one income option and only one inclusive cost.  With an S&P rating of AA+, John Hancock is aiming this product to the advisers that don’t normally recommend annuities, marketing AnnuityNote like “a mutual fund with a true guarantee.”  The Simple Solutions variable annuity from MetLife is also meant to be easily understood and lower cost than traditional VAs, while still offering good benefits.  It has a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit (GLWB), one income option, four options for investments, and a short application that is only three pages.  The annuity rates of payout vary with age and investors have a choice of how they annuitize.

On the other side of the spectrum, the Vision variable annuity from Allianz Life has a complex prospectus and fees can be around 4%.  An Investment Protector and and Income Protector are the main riders offered with this product.  As you grow closer to receiving the income payments, the investments become more conservative, no matter which investments are chosen.  Their Vice President stresses that this new offering communicates what the company has learned in a tough market about product offerings and cost.  RetireReady One from Genworth also offers an Income Protector for its GLWB rider.  Speak with an expert about the details regarding any of these variable annuities.

It is crucial to choose insurance companies wisely when purchasing annuities.  Your annuity is only as sound as the insurance company that is backing it up.  Sometimes it can be beneficial to split your money into annuities at different insurance companies for even more security.  Kathy Kristoff of the LA Times further explained in “Check out what’s backing your life insurance policy”.

Variable annuities are usually managed by separate investment companies, so in the event of an insurance company failure, your investment would be returned to you.  With fixed annuities, guarantees come on a state level.  All state funds are different, but $100,000 of a fixed annuity’s current value is often covered.

You shouldn’t have to worry about any of that if you choose a sound insurance company though.  An expert can help you with this choice; you can also do some research on your own.  A.M. Best, Moody’s, and Standard & Poor’s are companies that issue ratings to all insurance companies.  The better the ratings, the better the insurance company.  There are also many websites that list the ratings, including this one.