Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Sell Your Annuities Right

Times of problems and desperations come once or twice in a person’s life. Although it is known when it would come, it is inevitable and we have to be prepared for it. This is why people are always in search of security in their lives. Security in love, with marriages and pre-nuptial agreements. Security in their homes, with locks and alarms. Security in jobs, with those that are stable and guaranteed income.

Security in finance, with life and accidental insurances, pensions and annuities. Security of more money, with selling properties and investments such as annuity.

People always want to secure their future and rightly so because we don’t know until when are we able to support for ourselves. You may be young and strong right now but you never know for sure that you are not going to meet an accident that would turn your life upside down. So as humans, we try to be prepared. We seek to have a guaranteed income stream until we are old. As humans, it is inherent that we ambition to have more than a stable income and also have a guaranteed rate of return from our investments.

We even desire for a better and much more rate of return, that’s why we take risk in investments for a non-guaranteed but possibly higher rate of return. That is human nature. So it is understandable to want to sell your annuity for a higher rate of return or simply for a solution to your liquidity problem.

But of course, we always want to maximize the value of our investment so we should be very careful in making such huge decisions involving huge amount of money. We should do our assignment and research before taking step one of the sale process. Selling annuity investment right requires careful and diligent planning.

First and foremost, you should remember that selling your annuity would not provide you with immediate cash on hand. The process of selling annuities takes time, maybe around two months at the least. So if your liquidity problem is kind of urgent, selling your annuity may not be the best solution.

Second, study the market performance and trends. Is it an opportune time to sell you annuity? Do you stand to gain or lose if you sell it? You should learn and do your math. Calculate your rate of return and ask yourself if you are will to sell it at such a price. It would be best if you consult an expert on insurances, annuities and tax so you would be sure you are getting your money’s worth.

Third consideration is the buyer of your annuity plan. There are deceitful, if not totally fake, companies, who are out there to get unsuspecting and trusting investors. The secret? Never trust any of them. Always be cautious and wary of their proposals. These companies would come to you like a lover courting a girl with sweet promises and packages. They would not tell you the whole truth about the process.

All they are after is to get you as far into the selling process as they could until you are already deep in it and you could no longer back out. So again, do your research to find a reputable company that would not sabotage your financial future. Always remember that your sale should be first and foremost judicially approved. Seek legal assistance to prevent being a victim of unlawful transactions.

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