Definition immediate annuity, how to choosing an immediate annuity plan for your retirement savings, the North Coast Life Immediate annuity, how to purchase an immediate annuity, immediate annuities and immediate annuity quotes and rates .

Immediate Annuity

Planning for a secure retirement involves not only accumulating assets but also knowing when and how to convert those assets into regular income. A retirement income annuity program, or Immediate Annuity, gives you the flexibility to receive a stream of income in the amount and for the length of time you choose. Available with either a fixed or variable annuity, Immediate Annuities are a great way to invest a lump sum from a retirement or severance package, and have the income paid out a little at a time—monthly, quarterly, semiannual, or annual—while the bulk of your assets remain invested tax-deferred.

Annuity Payout Options:

• Lump-sum—the entire annuity contract value is paid to you at one time.
• Systematic Withdrawals—you can start and stop withdrawals at any time, vary the amount, or receive a steady stream of income at regular intervals until all assets are paid out .
• Annuitization—Annuity is converted into a guaranteed income stream for life or a specified period of time.

Benefits of an Immediate Annuity

• Variety of income options, including lifetime, joint, and survivor (payments continue to a named beneficiary), or period certain (a period of time specified by you).
• Choice of contract types: Fixed Immediate Annuities provide dependable and guaranteed payments regardless of market conditions, while Variable Immediate Annuities provide a fluctuating income stream that reflects the performance of the equity markets in which they are invested.
• No management or set-up fees (Fixed only).
• Income payments can be deferred for a year, or begin as soon as 30 days after you buy the policy.
• Payments of principal are received income tax free. Only the interest is taxable (provided the initial funding came from nonqualified assets).
• Ability to modify payments to accommodate inflation through a cost of living adjustment. (May not be available in all products.)
• Regular income can be used to pay utilities and other bills directly.

All guarantees are made by the issuing insurance company and are based on the insurer's claims-paying ability. All products contained within this Web site may not be offered at a Wachovia Financial Center.

Why An Immediate Annuity From North Coast Life?

Determine if you and your spouse will need to supplement your Social Security and pension benefits with a steady stream of income, if so, North Coast Life's Single Premium Immediate Annuity (SPA-2000) was designed for you.

Retirees often purchase single-premium immediate annuities with funds received from bank or brokerage firm CDs or IRAs, an employer-sponsored retirement plan, the proceeds from a savings account, the cash value or death proceeds of a life insurance policy, or the proceeds from the sale of a home. IRAs, 401(k)s and other qualified retirement plans require minimum distribution of the funds starting at age 70 ?in order to avoid immediate taxation. North Coast Life's Single Premium Immediate Annuity (SPA-2000) is an excellent choice for meeting these distribution requirements and was created to be one of the most secure lifetime income plans on the market today, with a variety of flexible guaranteed payout options for you and yours.

You cannot outlive your annuity payment income. You can't predict how long your retirement will be so it's nice to know with North Coast Life's Single Premium Immediate Annuity (SPA-2000) you receive income for the rest of your life. It continues to pay an income as long as you live, so you cannot outlive your annuity payments.

Payout options with guaranteed number of payments for you and yours. When lifetime income payments are calculated on your life (single life basis) and you should die within the chosen guaranteed payment period of 5, 10, 15 or 20 years, your spouse or other designated beneficiary will continue receiving the expected income payments for the balance of the guarantee period.

When lifetime income payments are calculated on the average age of you and your spouse or other designated beneficiary (joint life basis) the annuity payments are paid to you as long as you live, and after your death, to your spouse, or other designated beneficiary as long as he or she lives. Flexible payment options include a greater payment amount on two lives that reduces upon the first death, giving an increased income for you and your spouse when the income needs for two are greater than one.

You can choose the benefit your survivor will receive upon your death. However, the option you choose for your beneficiary will affect the payout amount you receive. If your spouse or other designated beneficiary dies within the chosen guaranteed payment period, your next designated beneficiary will continue receiving the expected income payments until the end of the guarantee period.

With these features, North Coast Life has designed a product to help you and yours have a steady, guaranteed income in retirement that you cannot outlive. For more information about immediate annuity, please visit North Coast Life.

Choosing an immediate annuity plan

Reduced to its simplest form, an immediate annuity is a single lump payment (single payment annuity) that begins distribution within a time frame no longer than a single calendar year. (The standard time between purchase of an immediate annuity and distribution of said annuity tends to be within the 1-2 month range) With a deferred annuity, you are forced to wait a while before distribution begins (generally allowing annuity to gain money) as opposed to the almost immediate distribution of the latter annuity type. (Hence the title) In both cases, you are given the option of choosing a fixed or variable annuity plan, dependent on your unique financial situation and long term goals. One of the benefits of choosing an immediate variable annuity is that it can help keep pace with inflation as the years roll by.

An immediate annuity provides an excellent source of income for those who are about to retire, or those who have recently retired. By taking a relatively large sum of your savings and putting it into an immediate annuity, you can help pace your retirement spending and ensure a constant income for the rest of your life. For those people who feel that the designated payments aren't enough to live on for said period of time, it is recommended that you keep some form of liquid account such as a savings or money market account where you have ready access to your funds whenever necessary.

What are some of the benefits to choosing an immediate annuity plan?

• Immediate annuities can provide steady income for the duration of your life.
• You set the annuity pay periods; be it weekly, monthly or yearly.
• Pay income taxes only when you receive annuity payments; be it weekly, monthly or yearly.

For more resources with annuity and immediate annuity, please visit Annuity Leads Online.

Why worry about outliving your retirement savings?

If you're not 100% sure where your retirement income is going to come from, then it's time you looked into annuities. With an immediate annuity, one lump-sum premium payment generates a guaranteed income that will be paid to you monthly — regardless of what age you live to be. This income will always be there for you and is guaranteed by some of the largest and top-rated insurance companies in the world.

Annuities have other significant tax advantages. Because of IRS regulations, a significant portion of the guaranteed income you receive from an annuity is not subject to taxation (anywhere from 50 to 80% or more based on your age, premium and other factors).

For example, based on current rates a male, age 65, with a $100,000 deposit will generate a guaranteed income of approximately $621/month, about 60% of which is not subject to taxation.

Annuity rates and benefits vary according to your age, state of residence, tax situation and other factors. Fill out the form above to request a private, personalized consulation and free, no obligation quote from an agent licensed in your area (NOTE: all information that you provide will be kept confidential and only shared with a single agent in your area in order to provide an accurate quote). If you are a intelligent investors, if you want to get more annuity resource, please visit Annuity WEB.

Find an Immediate Annuity to suit your needs

An immediate annuity also called a Single Premium Immediate Annuity (SPIA), creates regular steady income that is purchased with a lump sum investment which begins immediately after the purchase. Immediate annuitiy are usually provided by life insurance companies for retirement purposes and are guaranteed to continue for the rest of your life or for a period that you select. The immediate annuity distributions must begin within a year of the issue date. As with deferred annuities, immediate annuities can be fixed or variable.

With an immediate annuity you can choose from a number of options. A life option guarantees specified income for the rest of your life. A period certain annuity guarantees income for a specified amount of time. Lastly, there is a joint and survivor option, this guarantees income for the life of a primary and secondary person.

A fixed annuity also called a a period-certain annuity, is a financial contract where a life insurance company pays an interest rate for a specific period at the time the annuity is purchased. Essentially, you are converting a lump sum of money into an income stream. Also your fixed annuity payment will not change, even to account for inflation. Many find this stability a security feature and prefer fixed annuities over variable annuities. Moreover, fixed annuities limit the investor's risk by providing a guaranteed return. It is said that fixed annuities are most appropriate for those of you that have a low tolerance for risk or for those who are looking for a guaranteed return and want to know exactly how much they will be receiving. Additionally, fixed annuities do allow you some access to your investment; you can typically choose to withdraw interest or up to 10% of the principal annually. Your fixed annuity may also have a range of hardship clauses that allow you to withdraw needed funds. For more information about immediate annuity please visit All Options Insurance.

Immediate Annuities and Immediate Annuity Quotes and Rates

With the increasing lifespan of our country’s population, the retirement years are stretching even further over the horizon than ever. Statistics now indicate that large numbers of the retired will live to be 90-100 years old, placing a greater burden on the present funding for retirement.

Couple this with the recent losses in the stock market over the last few years, and the growing trend among large companies to reduce pension benefits, retirees have begun to question whether they are adequately prepared for their retirement. Many have begun looking around for ways to ensure they don’t run out of money before they run out of time.

Some potential retirees are choosing to work longer in an attempt to build a bigger nest egg. Others are reducing the amount of income necessary by downsizing their home or paying off debt earlier. And in order to insure a lifetime of income, many are turning to single premium immediate annuities in tandem with the more traditional deferred annuity to insure their security in retirement.

How does it work? To begin with, the purchase of an immediate annuity offers the option of choosing a payout method. This can be for life, restricted to a certain time period, or a joint and survivor method, which will continue to pay after the death of the first spouse. The idea of a guaranteed income, no matter how long you should live, is a definite plus considering the uncertainty in other types of investments.

The purchase of a deferred annuity along with the immediate annuity provides the retiree a vehicle for long-term tax-deferred growth that would not be available from other investments such as savings accounts or CDs. Because of the increasing lifespan of retirees, many are able to take advantage of the compounded growth the tax-deferral offers, increasing their return and providing additional income down the road should it become necessary.

The combination of these two plans offers the retiree a sense of security that would be hard to duplicate with any other type of investment. The idea of a guaranteed income, coupled with long-term tax-deferred growth is the ideal scenario for most seniors. Coupled with the flexibility of structuring the payout to fit their needs, the combination of deferred and immediate annuities can provide a peace of mind that a major source of income will continue uninterrupted over the course of a lifetime.

Liquidated earnings are subject to ordinary income tax, may be subject to surrender charges and, if taken prior to age 59 1/2, may be subject to a 10% federal income tax penalty.

Guarantees and payment of lifetime income are contingent on the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance company. For more information about immediate annuity please visit Advantage One Insurance.

How to Purchase an Immediate Annuity

You can buy an annuity and start receiving payments from it immediately. Find out how immediate annuities, which are sold by insurance companies, work - and whether they will work for you.

1. Understand what an annuity is. Normally, an investor pays a sum of money to an insurance company for a contract saying that the investor will receive a stream of money in the future, usually at retirement.
2. Know that an immediate annuity provides the stream of money immediately or within the first year of the investment. Payments can be made at a fixed or variable interest rate.
3. Call or send e-mail to a variety of top insurance companies and ask for details about their immediate annuities.
4. Inquire about the payout options. Some insurers offer a monthly payment as long as the investor is alive. Others pay only for a set number of years. Others send payments to the investor and a beneficiary for life.
5. Learn whether the annuity pays a fixed or variable rate of interest and decide whether it suits your needs.
6. Know that in some cases, if the investor dies before the balance is exhausted, the insurer may keep the money. Know the rules before you buy.
7. Ask the insurer if you can get your money out - and under what terms - if you change your mind after making the investment.

Tips: Avoid annuities that charge fees exceeding 2 percent. For more information about buy immediate annuity please visit E How.