Letters

In response to: "Top 5 Annuity Trends to Watch for in 2012 and 2013" on LifeHealthPro.com
Fine article showing good home work. Annuities are the ultimate products in providing peace and happiness in old age. Any discussion on annuities should be a discussion on: 1) How to achieve peace and happiness in the family so that old people are supported by the family. Insurers should take the lead in such an education, which requires continuous writing and talking on family cohesiveness and moral education; 2) Insurance companies, if the law of their country permits, should invest some funds in Asian countries like India where the prevailing interest rates are many times that in Western countries; therefore, annuity funds will accumulate at a higher rate; and 3) Committed individuals and voluntary organizations should educate people on annuities much earlier in life so that the accumulation period for funds will be much longer.
V.N.S. Pillai

As the market is changing at the speed of light and commissions are being cut back, the agent needs all the help he or she can get to stay abreast of what is happening. He or she needs to have some encouraging news in order to stay in their profession. How many of us have helped people for 10, 20, 30 or more years just to see it end so drastically. We all need up-to-date news on how to help our clients and ourselves.
A. Dennis Majewski

In response to: "Contingent Deferred Annuities: An Ideal Annuity Product?" on LifeHealthPro.com
Thank you for this update. Please continue to cover this product as the situation develops. I know a whole bunch of "Greatest Generation" babies in their mid-90s plus one who's a lively 102. This product should have legs as good as hers!
Livin_Large

In response to Daniel D. Williams' blog: "Variable Annuities and Seniors: A Good Mix?"
I have been in this business going on 26 years and began my career on Wall Street with Smith Barney. I have seen, heard, read and experienced/encountered thousands of clients who have owned myriad investments. Without owning something in their portfolio that will appreciate over time, as has the stock market and more importantly its dividends, the investor will lose value to inflation and possibly run out of money during their lifetime.
Caveat: The advisor must know an incredible amount of product information, riders and options available to best meet the client needs. Blindly buying or recommending a variable annuity without fully understanding how it is best used would be akin to placing a loaded handgun into the hands of a toddler.

Michael Ham

In response to: "Can Life Insurance Have Value as An Investment?" on LifeHealthPro.com
I actually do use either VUL or IUL when utilizing cash-value insurance as a tax-advantaged investment vehicle. Either can work well since they can provide the desired yield to get the cash value escalated and reduce the amount at risk (thereby controlling M&E expenses). I just think term insurance is a better protection vehicle, and cash-value policies have limited purposes, one of them being as a Roth substitute when a Roth is unavailable. But for the cash-value policy to be as meaningful to its purpose as possible as a tax-advantaged investment, it is important to reduce M&E expenses as much as possible. The only way to reduce M&E as we age is to reduce the amount at risk, and the only way to do that is to grow the cash value with a level death benefit.
David Schlossberg (the author of the article)

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