
Annuities are the only financial products – other than Social Security and defined benefit pension plans – that can guarantee you a stream of income throughout your retirement. Yet many investors are still wary of them. The fact is, annuities have been around for a long time and are likely to be here for some time to come. Here’s a brief history of annuities.
1759: The first U.S. annuity is offered by a Pennsylvania company to Presbyterian ministers and their families.
1912: The first U.S. annuity is offered to the general public by the Pennsylvania Company for Insurance on Lives and Granting Annuities.
1930: Programs under the New Deal begin encouraging individuals to save for their own retirement, increasing interest in annuities.
1980: The guaranteed minimum death benefit – a minimum amount payable on death, provided all premiums have been paid – is introduced.
1982: Annuities are allowed to keep their valuable tax-deferred status under the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act.
1995: Annuity sales exceed $100 billion.
1997: In response to skyrocketing annuity sales, annuity assets exceed $1 trillion.
2006: Annuities are allowed to include long-term care riders under the Pension Protection Act of 2006.
2010: In just a little over 10 years, annuity assets double, exceeding $2 trillion.
2012: Annuity sales exceed levels seen before the financial crisis.
Maybe some of your portfolio should include an annuity... something that has survived every possible financial condition must be at the least somewhat good. It's the only safe money out there!