• North American's New Annuity Rider
  North American’s new Income Pay is a guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefit that offers bonus credit with an enhancement.
• North American’s NEW Paramount Choice Ten Index Annuity
  This product not only guarantees your clients’ premiums, but could enhance their growth potential too!

In this volatile equities market, the sale of fixed annuities had their best quarter in several years. According to Beacon Research, second quarter sales rose to $24.6 billion, resulting in a 54.1% jump from the same period in 2007. This occurred in a quarter in which the Dow Jones dropped 10.4%. Further analysis also revealed that the Dow Jones dipped an additional 4.7% during the third quarter of 2008. This marked the fourth consecutive quarter with a downward trend for the market.

Jeremy Alexander, president and CEO of Beacon, stated that due to a steep yield curve in April, “the sales indicate a strong demand for conservative, interest-bearing investments”. This suggests that as people continue looking for safer investments, products that offer guaranteed rates of return or principal guarantees could be highly beneficial and sought after.

With this in mind, talk with your clients about the benefits of investing in fixed or fixed indexed annuities during these tough economic times!

Companies with the highest sales: New York Life with $2.2 billion in sales, followed by AIG Annuity Insurance Co, Aviva USA, Aegon Transamerica and Allianz Life
Insurance Company of North America.

For more information regarding annuity products and sales ideas to help offset downward markets,
give us a call today!

If you’re looking for ideal annuitization prospects, it helps to know what they look like. Finding the right FIT for your annuity products can be summed up in three steps:

Step 1: Find the prospects
Typically, annuity contract holders are 65 years of age or older, possess $100,000 in
investable assets, are well educated (with a college or postgraduate degree) and earn higher than average incomes. Most remain married (with approximately 25% being widowed) and the majority are retired. Additionally, this class states that their main source of income is
social security, followed by defined benefit plans, annuities and personal savings/investments.

Step 2: Inquire about attitudes
There are three main reasons for purchasing an annuity: 1) To guarantee income during retirement; 2) To ensure specific expenses are covered during retirement; 3) To avoid placing financial hardship on one’s children. With this in mind, it is important that clients feel confident that their current plan will meet their future financial needs.

Step 3: Take action
It is a good idea to use annuitization as an asset-gathering strategy. Generally, annuitization buyers are often very satisfied with their annuities, with two out of three buying additional products. It is also a good practice to look for deferred contracts to annuitize and to discuss annuitization for qualified funds with clients 65 and younger. Finally, it is always important to clarify what an annuity can and cannot do for your client.

What is the greatest fear that most seniors have today? Being confined to a nursing home and living without dignity. In 2005, it was projected that 35% of Americans would receive nursing home care in their life time, 18% would remain in a nursing home facility for at least one year and 5% would stay for at least five years. Additionally, women with longer life expectancies and higher rates of disability or widowhood would be more likely to need nursing home care, especially for an extended period of time.2

How much can one expect to pay for nursing home care? A: According to the 2008, Genworth Cost of Care Survey, the national average daily rate for a private room is $209, which is approximately $76,460 annually. In 2004, the average annual rate was $65,185.3

How can this fear be alleviated? A: Many recent annuity contracts offer a provision that allows the client to access most of his/her funds should the need for a nursing home occur. This benefit is available if the individual has been placed into a nursing home typically for a six month period and meets other criteria confirmed by a physician. Standards will vary by carrier. There is no extra charge for this benefit, as it is built into the pricing and crediting rate of the annuity!

For more information regarding nursing home waivers and which carriers offer them,
call us today!