A life annuity makes a great addition to company benefits already in place. With this type of policy, you save during your work years and make regular payments to your annuity program out of current income. When the time comes to retire, the program pays you a regular monthly payment with which to retire.

There are many types of life annuity programs, so allow your employees options such as single life, joint life or period certain, which pays for a given period. This way, in the event of premature death, the beneficiaries receive all of the proceeds of the policy. Consider the following when obtaining life annuity information:

1. Locate a life annuity provider that will customize your annuity program.

2. Pick joint with survivor rights from the life annuity list.

3. Pick guaranteed income life annuity options for senior employees.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find life annuity policies that provide for your annuity needs

Many companies will customize your life annuity program so that individual employees can choose terms that will work with their current life situation.

I recommend: Great-West offers life annuity products. They will customize the product to fit your needs. Protective Life and Annuity Insurance Company offers life annuity policies. They offer a choice of plans, so choose the one that fits your needs. Immediate Annuities provides a free online calculator to assist you in finding the exact amount of money you need to invest to provide the income level you are looking for. You can also put in the amount of cash you have to see how much of a payment that will bring. This useful tool offers various scenarios.

Choose a life annuity provider that offers joint and survivor annuities

Most people will want annuities that allow them to provide for their spouse from within the program. These policies will cost more, but protect the family no matter which spouse dies first.

I recommend: New York Life offers several annuity programs with joint and survivor benefits and period certain options to protect your investment. ING offers many different plans and will tailor a plan for you. Choose survivor options and the payout terms that interest you.

Select guaranteed income from the life annuity list of options

Many times people forget to plan for retirement until it sneaks up on them. However, senior members of your force may be due generous bonuses, or they may have another nest egg coming due. Look into converting these benefits to a life annuity policy for guaranteed monthly income for the golden years.

I recommend: State Farm offers annuities that allow you to convert your large sum of money into a guaranteed payout for the rest of your life. You can also elect to receive this payout for a certain number of years in case of premature death. Met Life offers immediate annuities with several options. You can pick your lifetime or a period certain from among the terms they offer.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Before you invest, check the provider of the life annuity information. Make sure this is a reputable company and make sure the terms in the contract are the terms you want for your annuity.