The Great Annuity Rip-Off

[SkyPilot]

Mr. Spicuzza's universe

http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/mb/thetrustgroup

Intentions and agendas revealed and illuminated

 

[Miss_Piggy]

Mr. Spicuzza's universe
http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/mb/thetrustgroup
Intentions and agendas revealed and illuminated

Oh you are evil SkyPilot!

 

[GarySpicuzza]

Hmmmm, where should I start?

Do you want to have an intelligent discussion on annuites or NOT?

Do you actually want to know the differrence between a Traditional Fixed Annuity, a Fixed Indexed Annuity, an Immediate Annuity or a Variable Annuity and who sells what or NOT?

This site has a forum titled Retirement Planning and under that there is a sub-forum titled Annuities. It's my guess that's where postings on annuities should placed.

Okay, where was I?

SkyPilot wrote:

This link provides a list of companies that sell Variable Annuities, most of them being insurance companies :nuts:

SkyPilot ONLY an INSURANCE COMPANY and a Licensed Insurance Agent can sell ANY annuity. PERIOD. END of STORY.

A specific type of annuity known as a VARIABLE annuity are SOLD by stock brokers who HAD to get an insurance license to be able to sell the infamous bloated pig with lip stick known as a VARIABLE annuity.

INSURANCE AGENTS DO NOT SELL VARIABLE ANNUITIES. VARIABLE ANNUITIES ARE SOLD BY STOCK BROKERS.

The first thing that has to be understood here is that VARIABLE annuities and FIXED annuities ARE TWO COMPLETELY SEPARATE PRODUCTS LINES and they are sold independently by competing financial services sectors.

SkyPilot wrote:

Most fees and expenses of a fixed annuity are factored into the stated annual percentage rate the investor is quoted. The rate quoted is the rate paid. Fixed annuity fees and expenses generally cover the insurance company's administrative expenses, the cost of offering the annuitization guarantee and profits to the insurance company and sales agent. Some fixed annuities may assess an annual contract fee, typically around $30.

In "other" words traditional FIXED annuities pay a FIXED interest rate declared by the issuing company each and every contract year and that rate is guaranteed for that contract year.

There are no "Fees and Expenses" in a FIXED annuity charged against the client's cash value. Would you like me to post a typical annual statement to prove this?

I'll say it AGAIN, FIXED annuities ARE NOT Variable annuites.

SkyPilot wrote:

And if you transfer your money to a different type of investment or keep the cash, and you’re younger than 59½, you will probably have to pay a 10% premature withdrawal penalty on the amount of taxable earnings you surrender, plus whatever taxes are due on your earnings. If you withdraw only part of the accumulated contract value, the federal government considers that you take earnings first, leaving the principal in the contract. That means you could pay tax on the entire withdrawal amount.

The above paragraph is True and False.
Partly correct and partly wrong.
And if taken as a whole it's absurd and really has NOTHING TO WITH ANNUITIES IN PARTICULAR.

The 10% penalty prior to age 59 1/2 is an IRS penalty that's accessed on ALL qualified and non-qualified pension plans. You can however by way of what's known as a 1035 exchange transfer your money from/to any other annuity TAX FREE.

Annuities are taxed LIFO, Last IN (interest) First OUT (interest)

Now since the vast majority of FIXED annuity premium is invested by Seniors typically over the age of 70 withdrawals prior to age 59 1/2 is absurd.

SkyPilot wrote:

Intentions and agendas revealed and illuminated

Really?

On post #2 of this thread SkyPilot asked:

Bet you sell these things, huh? :nuts:

I answered him on post #3 of this thread:

Yes, I have been selling Fixed Annuities, Life Insurance, Disability Income, Medical Insurance and Long Term Care Insurance since 1985 along with comprehensive Estate Planning and the funding of Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts with Second-to-Die policies.

Thank you for asking.

Did you have a question regarding something written in THIS article you would like for me to answer?

By the way, click HERE to read exactly correct information from Charles Schwab.

ChemEng wrote:

Quote:
Originally Posted by GarySpicuzza
There is ZERO costs in a FIXED ANNUITY.
In dollars and cents that would be written $0.00.

This is, at best, an attempt to deceive and, at worst, a flat out lie.

ChemEng please post who's the insurance company and the product name of a FIXED annuity that charges annual fees and expenses against a client cash value each and every year.

There are ZERO, NADA, NIL, NONE.

Traditional FIXED annuities and FIXED Indexed annuities ARE NOT Variable Annuities.

Now there are INCOME ACCOUNT riders that can be added on FIXED indexed annuities. The insurance company will then guaranteed the LIFETIME INCOME ACCOUNT to grow at 6% per year and then will base the payout on the the GREATER of the Actual Account Value or the INCOME ACCOUNT. The typical annual fee for that feature is 4/10 tenths of one percent AND IT'S RARELY ADDED.

 

[ChemEng]

Let me remind you what you said first:

There is ZERO costs in a FIXED ANNUITY.
In dollars and cents that would be written $0.00.

Now look at what you are claiming:

...that charges annual fees and expenses against a client cash value each and every year.

See how they arent the same (again)? More mindless salesperson double talk.

When you're in a hole, it's best to stop digging.

 

[GarySpicuzza]

ChemEng,

I understand the sometimes difficulty in communicating via Internet message boards. Since my written words must NOT be acceptable to you, I'll try math.

In a traditional FIXED annuity, if the insurance company declares 5% to be the interest rate they will pay on the traditional FIXED annuity and if a person paid $100,000 in premium at the end of a one year period the person would have an account value of $105,000.

There ARE NO fees, there ISN'T ANY expences, there ARE NOT any charges whatsoever. Did I make that clear enough?

A traditional FIXED annuity pays an absolutely known and FIXED interest rate declared by the company EACH and EVERY contract year.

A traditional Fixed annuity is NOT a Variable Annuity.

Ammended Second request:

ChemEng please post the insurance company and the product name of a FIXED annuity that charges annual/semi- annual/quarterly/monthly/daily fees and expenses against a client cash value.

BEFORE you waste your time attemping to find something that simply DOES NOT exist you may want to read THIS thread.

Fixed Annuities Don’t Have Fees

The way a fixed annuity credits interest may best be compared with the way a bank credits certificate of deposit interest. The bank says they will pay 4% interest on the CD. Okay, what are the bank’s fees and expenses on this CD? If your answer is you can’t tell and it doesn’t matter because all you really care about is the final rate you get on your money, the same logic applies to fixed annuities.

The insurance company doesn’t deduct a management fee and share a net return with the customer. Instead, just like the bank, the insurer pays a fixed return, and this may be stated as a fixed rate or as fixed participation in an index.

Might some banks have lower operating costs or higher revenues than another and thus offer a higher rate? Yes, and an insurer could spend less on office supplies than another insurer and thereby ultimately be able to pay a higher rate on fixed annuities. But I don’t know how you translate all of this into fees?

Do some annuities have fees? Yes. These are called variable annuities and they work a lot like mutual funds.

Best regards.

 

[ChemEng]

I understand the sometimes difficulty in communicating via Internet message boards.

Let us be perfectly clear--its your double talk that is making this discussion difficult. Nothing more, nothing less.

A quick google on "fixed annuity cost" showed the following on EdwardJones.com. And surprisingly, they say that there are fees and expenses--some are paid out of pocket and some are paid with a reduced annuity percentage.

Fees and Expenses
Most fees and expenses of a fixed annuity are factored into the stated annual percentage rate the investor is quoted. The rate quoted is the rate paid. Fixed annuity fees and expenses generally cover the insurance company's administrative expenses, the cost of offering the annuitization guarantee and profits to the insurance company and sales agent. Some fixed annuities may assess an annual contract fee, typically around $30.

 

[SkyPilot]

The truth is Mr. Spicuzza has been banned or addressed on any number of forums for exactly the nonsense he is participating in here. As it is clear he is not busy selling annuities, he has sufficient time to rant on this site.

He has the tenacity of a pyramid marketer selling mangosteen juice...

For more information just Google "Gary Spicuzza" and all will be made clear.

His avatar says it all....

 

[Jackbnimble]

This has been the most entertaining thread in quiet some time. The good news is that while Gary was busy typing away he was not out selling these things to our unsuspecting parents and grandparents. Since there are "NO FEES" he will have to find a new line of work unless he is just doing this out of the goodness of his heart, which I seriously doubt...

 

[ChemEng]

This has been the most entertaining thread in quiet some time. The good news is that while Gary was busy typing away he was not out selling these things to our unsuspecting parents and grandparents. Since there are "NO FEES" he will have to find a new line of work unless he is just doing this out of the goodness of his heart, which I seriously doubt...

Its exactly like saying payday loans have no fees because you dont pay them upfront! Insane.

 

[SkyPilot]

This has been the most entertaining thread in quiet some time. The good news is that while Gary was busy typing away he was not out selling these things to our unsuspecting parents and grandparents. Since there are "NO FEES" he will have to find a new line of work unless he is just doing this out of the goodness of his heart, which I seriously doubt...

Here, here!!!!

 

[Guest2]

Googled ! Yuk !

A sayings come to mind;
"Don't feed the animals"

The man has just enough knowledge to be dangerous.

I will not feed his need for attention, nor visit his thread again.
Should he come calling, he will be ignored, plain and simple.

This site is too good for such abuses, here's hoping he breaks a
rule and opens the door to banishment, couldn't happen soon enough.

CIAO

 

[SkyPilot]

Criminals who sell annuities...

http://www.fool.com/personal-financ...the-quotcriminalsquot-who-sell-annuities.aspx

He also makes home movies... http://www.ulead.com/userstory/vs/garyspicuzza.htm

 

[SkyPilot]

Oh you are evil SkyPilot!

Not the first time that has been said! :nuts:

Wow! I just went from TEAM TSP to CLUB TSP... Thanks for having me!!!

 

[ChemEng]

I am curious now if his "safe" fixed annuity is also inflation adjusted. If not it could be really bad news for those he sells to in their 60s...

 

[SkyPilot]

I am curious now if his "safe" fixed annuity is also inflation adjusted. If not it could be really bad news for those he sells to in their 60s...

Don't bother with those details... he is probably making home movies of himself wrestling... (Google that ) kinda creepy for a hobby.... Wrestling Highlight Videos

The "Countryside Wrestling Moves" video, to the right, is a collection of wrestling "techniques" ... Gary Spicuzza - P.O. Box 1960 - Palm Harbor, FL 34682 ...
www.wrestling-videos.net/ - 2k​

http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS265&q=gary+spicuzza+wrestling

Anyway, it is SAFE because he is a *Self Appointed Financial Expert... not because it doesn't figure in the cost of inflation (oops).

Usually one is "self appointed" because no one else will do it for them... The next step is "self annointed"...

here it comes...

wait for it...

wait for it...

 

[Jackbnimble]

Let's not make him mad, lest he put us in a headlock.

WWE was his first choice but selling "No Fee" Fixed "Not Variable" annuities was #2.

On that web page it has a link to the Florida High School "Wrastling" forum and the Estate & Fixed Annuities forum. Gary if only you knew that I was looking for those 2 together just last week.

Ok I am done.

 

[GarySpicuzza]

Well their is nothing quite like an intelligent, substantive discussion on an entire insurance product line known as annuites.

ChemEng I will ask you for the third (3rd) time:

Please post the name of the Insurance Company and the Product Name that is a traditional FIXED annuity that has any fees, costs or expenses that are deducted from a client's account value.

There is ONLY the surrender charge schedule and NOTHING else.

Fixed Annuities and Fixed Indexed Annuities are not designed for someone to put their money in and take it right back out like the day traders playing stocks like a flea market swap meet.

Please study the actual client statement below, do the math, then tell me if the client DOES NOT receive exactly the stated amount of interest.

Please point out to the less informed General Public EXACTLY where these mythical fees and expenses are deducted from a clients money? I simply can't find them but you insist they are there,....somewhere?

SHOW-ME.

Where are they?

Certainly in the vast wealth of information on the Internet there should be at least one (1) singular instance of a client statement posted by an annuity detractor that clearly supports your position.

 

[ChemEng]

Are you serious? Your 3% fixed annuities are about 25% lower than *todays* inflation rate... Right out of the gate your products are loosing value for your customer.

 

[GarySpicuzza]

ChemEng our point of contention was whether or not traditional FIXED annuities have any fees and/or expenses other than the surrender charge schedule.

THEY DO NOT.

The insurance company declares the FIXED interest rate for that contract year and that is EXACTLY what is paid.

Remember this thead and this topic is about THIS article written by Kimberly Lankford, *CCC from Kiplinger's.

Ms. Lankford's opening statement for her article was:

Unscrupulous agents take advantage of seniors with risky investments that cost too much.

Since we've learned FIXED annuities aren't risky nor do they have any fees EXCEPT for the surrender charge schedule, her opening statement to be journalistically accurate should read:

Unscrupulous stock brokers take advantage of seniors with risky VARIABLE annuity investments that cost too much.

And just so you know..... Stock Brokers SELL the vast majority of ALL annuities sold nationwide.

Moving on to the "OTHER" type of FIXED annuity known as a FIXED Indexed Annuity.

How is EXCESS interest credited?

A picture is worth a thousand words!

Kimberly Lankford, *CCC = Certified Clueless Clown

 

[ChemEng]

Since we've learned FIXED annuities aren't risky

Wrong. The graphic you posted here exposes your client heavily to inflationary risk. Repeating myself again, your 3% annuity is about 25% less than todays inflation rate. This means your client is loosing value right out of the gate.

Address this issue before your try to move the conversation forward with more non-sequitur comments.