Often times when speaking to a senior about their annuities, I ask them their biggest complaint. Time and time again they say that it is hard to find someone who can help them with their annuity without trying to sell them another one. It is not uncommon. The truth of the matter is, many annuity agents are not out to help the client, but to help themselves (I am sure you are not surprised). They want to make the "fast buck" without regards for the client's needs or investment objectives. The unfortunate part is that, this isn't going to change.
Honest help with an annuity is hard to find. Insurance agents don't get paid for their time, they usually only get paid for making a sale. So it's no wonder why they always recommend another annuity. I once visited someone who needed help with an annuity that an agent "talked him into." The problem was, in order to get into this annuity, the agent talked him into surrendering his old annuity and paying a $13,000 surrender charge to do so-AND THE ANNUITY HE PUT HIM INTO WAS WORSE THAN THE ANNUITY HE GOT HIM OUT OF...When I asked him why he called the other salesperson in the first place, he told me he just needed to make a small withdrawal from his annuity and didn't know how...And the agent tricked him into switching it into another annuity and paying a huge surrender charge which he could never recover due to his age...Fortunately it wasn't too late and we were able to reverse his transaction.
It's unfortunate but there are many people who have this kind of experience. The more you know, the easier it will be to avoid these kind of experiences. And the easier it will be to now taken advantage of. Many people are taken advantage of every day when it comes to their financial investments and their annuities more specifically.
The bottom line is this. If you need help with your annuity, you need to be vigilant. Many agents are out there for their own good and you must be aware of this. Utilize your resources and learn the right questions to ask your agent before making a decision. Sure, you may just give up and never get help but the worst decision is no decision. Help with your annuity is hard to find, but not impossible...Good luck and remember
