Annuity Buzz

Clients who have taxable investments may be losing money every year to taxes, which decreases their after-tax returns. For example, if the federal tax rate is 24 percent and they earn 2.5 percent in a taxable investment, then their after-tax earnings would be only 1.9 percent.

Many clients count on receiving funds on specific dates so they can pay bills and meet day-to-day living costs. If they're not already using Electronic Funds Transfer, talk to them about setting this up. EFT is the best way to ensure that they receive funds on time, every time.

March is a good time to talk with your clients about the advantages of fixed annuities. While taxes are top of mind, use our sales idea below to help show clients the benefits a fixed annuity can offer.

Rich Lane
Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Individual Annuities

By Chris Conklin, Vice President of Individual Annuities. Reprinted with permission from AdvisorToday.

Share the insights in this article to get your clients out of their comfort zone so they can realize the opportunity an annuity can provide for growing their money.

The annual income taxes on a Certificate of Deposit (CD) can take a big bite out of your hard-earned savings. If your clients use CDs to regularly access money, consider a tax-deferred alternative.

Have you been caught here? You work with a client to complete a distribution form to withdraw funds. You submit the form and request a rush in processing. Soon after, you receive a phone call from The Standard requesting a Substitute IRS Form W-4P & W-9 (Form 5031) prior to disbursement.

As insurance insiders, we’re fluent in the language used to describe annuities. But our clients may sometimes think we’re speaking another language. The Standard has great tools to help your clients understand important details.

Rich Lane
Second Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Individual Annuities

By Rich Lane, Second Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Reprinted with permission from ThinkAdvisor.

A new year brings both potential challenges and opportunities. Now is the perfect time to reflect on both the successes of, and the setbacks for, your annuity sales strategy.

We believe healthy environments create strong, vibrant communities. Our sustainable practices hold fast to this vision. These practices help ensure a better future for everyone, and we’ll keep seeking ways to reduce our ecological footprint.

Your clients have many investment choices, all with various features and results. Does an annuity have the right combination of guarantees, features and results to meet their financial goals? Let's compare many of the common features of annuities and other types of investments.