A rollover of a participant's qualified-plan balance to an IRA without the participant's authorization. This usually occurs for involuntary cash-outs of balances between $1,000 to $5,000. The plan administrator is responsible for establishing the IRA on the participant's behalf.
A person who is authorized to perform business-related transactions on behalf of someone else (the principal). In order to become someone's attorney in fact, a person must have the principal sign a power of attorney document. This document designates the person as an agent, allowing him or her to perform actions on the principal's behalf. The extent of the power of attorney document determines the amount of responsibility that the attorney in fact possesses. Attorneys in fact operate under general power of attorneys, meaning that they are not restricted and can represent their principals in any transaction. In the case of a special power of attorney, the attorney in fact has restricted powers and can represent the principal in specific situations.
An accumulation unit for which the annuitant has annuitized their contract. This is a sub-account of the retiree's total accumulated annuity. These units represent a fixed share of ownership of the insurer's accounts portfolio. When an insured person changes from accumulating wealth to spending their savings, they begin to draw on their saved money to finance their retirement. While saving, the insured party has made periodic payments to their life insurance company to purchase shares of ownership of a very large portfolio managed by the insurer. When the insured wants to start taking money out, they convert their total accumulated savings to start paying them their income. In order to accomplish this, the insured party purchases annuity units with the money that was formerly being saved as accumulation units.
An investment strategy for retirees or near-retirees that entails the purchase of immediate annuities over a period of years to provide guaranteed income while minimizing interest-rate risk. Annuity ladders allow retirees to maintain a portion of their investments in equities and bonds while periodically using a portion to purchase annuities. Purchasing annuities from a variety of insurance companies minimizes the potential for losses if an insurer goes under. When interest rates are low, it doesn't make sense to lock in that interest rate for a long time. Since no one can predict where interest rates will go, purchasing annuities over a period of years allows an investor to minimize the risk of low returns. An annuity ladder can also generate tax-free income by using a Roth IRA conversion strategy.
A calculation method to determine the amount of eligible withdrawals that an investor can make from their IRA without incurring penalties. The calculation uses life-expectancy data; however, it utilizes different data than is used in the amortization method. Using the annuity factor method, a retirement-account holder would divide the current IRA account balance by an “annuity factor.” The annuity factor is calculated based on average mortality rates (using the mortality table in Appendix B of IRS Revenue Ruling 2002-62) and “reasonable” interest rates – up to 120% of the Mid-Term Applicable Federal Rate. Using the annuity factor method, an investor can ensure that he or she does not lose account value to potentially costly penalties. It can also help an account holder determine how much money he or she may need to raise through other means (such as by securing a loan) in addition to withdrawing money from their retirement savings account to meet their current financial needs. Withdrawing money from a retirement plan should be a careful decision as it gives the account holder less time to recoup value and earn interest on plan assets.
The written agreement between an insurance company and a customer outlining each party's obligations in an annuity coverage agreement. This document will include the specific details of the contract, such as the structure of the annuity (variable or fixed), any penalties for early withdrawal, spousal provisions such as a survivor clause and rate of spousal coverage, and more. Watch: What is An Annuity An annuity contract is one of the three accounts that can exist under a 403(b) plan. These 403(b) annuity contract plans are also known as "tax-sheltered annuities" or "tax-deferred annuities". An annuity contract is beneficial to the individual investor in the sense that it legally binds the insurance company to provide a guaranteed periodic payment to the annuitant once the annuitant reaches retirement and requests commencement of payments. Essentially, it guarantees risk-free retirement income.
The process of converting an annuity investment into a series of periodic income payments. Annuities may be annuitized regularly, over a long or short time period, or in some cases, in one single payment. After an annuity has been through the process of annuitization, the investment is said to have been annuitized. Annuitized investments are not necessarily paid out completely to the beneficiaries. Depending on the terms of the annuity policy, some of the money could go to the person's estate, to a trust or to the insurance company, for example.
The period when the annuitant starts to receive payments from the annuity. This period is after the accumulation phase where money is invested into the annuity. When one retires they often rely on their savings as a source of income, after retirement annuities are rolled over from the accumulation phase to the annuitization phase, providing income for retirees. The more that was originally invested into the annuity, the more that will be received when the annuity is paid out.