Recently, we reached out to seniors to get their thoughts on variable annuities. We wanted to know their thoughts on the products, but something else emerged from the discussion: They really don't know much about them.
"I've heard the term before but to tell you the truth I don't really know anything about them. I have a financial advisor who brought them up to me one time but they seemed so dang complicated. I asked him to slow down and then I asked him to go on to the next investment option. I have my money tied up in real estate mostly, and for now I'm going to keep it there because I don't want to put it in a bank these days either.
Larry, 66
Dallas
"Too risky for me. I had money tied to the stock market in 2008 and lost my shirt. I don't know very much about variable annuities but I do know enough to know there's too much risk involved. I don't have a ton of money to throw around in the first place. I'm disabled from my job and personally I worry a whole lot more these days about health care and how I'm going to pay for the care I'm going to need. I'm scared to death about the health care situation right now."
Jason, 62
Brooklyn, N.Y.
"I don't know much about them. My advisor is more about ETFs. We talked about variable annuities during our annual visit. He looked at my accounts and showed me a diagram about what would happen with my money in the stock market versus a regular annuity versus a variable annuity. At the end of the day I liked where my money would go in the regular annuity."
