April 18, 2017 – Earlier this month during National Retirement Planning Week, the California Department of Insurance issued a Press Release urging Californians to “plan for retirement and carefully consider annuities.”

This statement serves as a timely reminder that annuities offer many benefits that simply cannot be matched by traditional retirement investing approaches and often go overlooked by those who continue to focus on asset accumulation in the years leading up to and during retirement.

The newsworthy announcement includes some excellent information and links, including cautions and warnings, designed to help people understand the law and to make the most informed decisions possible about their own financial futures.

Pensions, once a staple of retirement income security for the American workforce, have all but disappeared completely over the past few decades forcing workers to rely on their own skills to ensure they don’t run out of money once their working years come to an end.

Left to their own devices, most people fail to appreciate the statistical probability that any retirement funds they’re able to successfully accumulate during their working life could become fully depleted before they die leaving them dependent upon others for care.

Only annuities can provide guaranteed income for life.

Period!

Annuity guarantees are subject to the financial strength of the life company, naturally, but because life companies pool the mortality risk of large numbers of people, they’re able to help individuals achieve the goal of lifetime income in a fashion that somebody relying on traditional investing methods cannot.

Retirement income planning doesn’t happen by itself and it’s not a particularly fun exercise. But it’s a necessary step for those seeking to make the transition from working to the next phase of life and can be made much easier by dedicating some portion of their portfolio toward life income annuities.

And sooner is usually better than later.

Just like any purchase, consumers need to educate themselves on the pros and cons of ANY type of retirement income strategy and this California Department of Insurance press release is a good first stop.

We invite you to also check out the rest of our Retirement Income Blog for additional educational information and hope it helps you with your planning.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net