Annuities For Dummies [Paperback]

Kerry Pechter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 3, 2008

Why look into annuities? If you’re a Baby Boomer with little or no pension and most of your money in low-interest savings accounts, an annuity may be the key to a secure and comfortable retirement. How can you find out whether an annuity is right for you? Read Annuities For Dummies, 3^rd Edition.

This completely revised and updated, plain-English guide is packed with the latest information on choosing the best annuity for your retirement needs. You’ll find out exactly what annuities are, whether they’re the right financial vehicle for you, and which of the many annuity options might have your name on it. You’ll learn the ins and outs of using annuities to fund your retirement years, figure out whether to stress investments with insurance or insurance with investments, and find out how the right combination of annuities can help you squeeze more income out of your savings that any other financial tool. Discover how to:

• Identify the main types of annuities
• Weigh the pros and cons of annuities for yourself
• Minimize the complexity and cost of your annuity investment
• Figure out how much money to commit
• Avoid common annuity pitfalls
• Create an income you can’t outlive

The time to start securing your financial future is now. Annuities For Dummies, 3^rd Edition, gives you knowledge, insider tips, and expert advice you need to make your money do its best for you.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Use annuities to build your own pension

Will annuities work for you? Get the nitty-gritty on these financial tools

Are you a baby boomer who's about to retire? Are you concerned about your financial future? Relax. This plain-English guide will walk you through the ins and outs of using annuities to fund your retirement years. Find out what annuities are, whether they're the right financial vehicle for you, and which of the many options might have your name on it.

Discover how to:

• Make sense of annuities

• Weigh all the pros and cons

• Figure out how much money to commit

• Create an income you can't outlive

• Avoid common annuity pitfalls

About the Author

Kerry Pechter is the senior editor of Annuity Market News. As a reporter who writes about annuities and the annuity industry full-time and as a former marketing writer who specialized in annuities at The Vanguard Group, he brings both an outsider’s and an insider’s perspective to the writing of this book.
A financial journalist for many years, Kerry has written for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and many other national and regional publications. His previous books include two career guides, A Big Splash in a Small Pond: How to Get a Job in a Small Company (Fireside) and An Engineer’s Guide to Lifelong Employability (IEEE). He is a graduate of Kenyon College.

Product Details

• Paperback: 364 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (January 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470178892
• ISBN-13: 978-0470178898
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.8 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58,080 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Helping Make Sense of Annuities, February 8, 2008

By 

T. L. Jones (Michigan) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Annuities For Dummies (Paperback)

Annuities For Dummies by Kerry Pechter is a very readable guide to annuities that makes sense of a very complicated insurance product (and what insurance products are NOT complicated?) Pechter guides the reader through a brief history of annuities to a broad view of how they work, and on to specific facts about the various kinds of annuities available. The only slight criticism is that his presentation is a bit overly favorable toward annuities, bolstered by selective statistical examples, like the one on p. 21. Hypothetical retiree "Smith" was over-invested in bonds and cash, which do not provide protection against inflation. That is partly why hypothetical retiree "Jones" with his annuity and stocks did better. Was it the annuity or the stocks that made the difference? The logic behind the example is undoubtedly that without an annuity, Smith would want very secure investments, hence, bonds and cash. All in all, the book will help any reader make better choices regarding annuities. And it's a fun read!

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A first-rate and understandable overview of a very complex subject, July 30, 2009

By 

John L. Olsen "John L. Olsen, CLU, ChFC, AEP" (Kirkwood, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Annuities For Dummies (Paperback)

"Annuities For Dummies", by Kerry Pechter, is a wonderful book! Annuities can be wickedly complicated (and are often far more complicated than they ought to be), but Pechter's explanation is uniformly clear and understandable. That, alone, would make his book unusually valuable. But it's also accurate and fair, which makes it darned near unique among writings about insurance products by financial journalists.

I'm an annuity expert (co-author of "The Annuity Advisor" and author of numerous articles, in various journals, about annuities), and I found this book informative. (I wish I'd made certain points as clearly as Kerry does). I've recommended it to insurance agents and consumers and will continue to do so.

- John L. Olsen, CLU, ChFC, AEP

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Annuities for Dummies, September 5, 2008

By 

Carol Smith - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Annuities For Dummies (Paperback)

This book is a no nonsense break through on understanding the mind boggling world of annuities of all kinds. The book is timely since this topic is now going to be of high interest given aging baby boomers. The book is well organized and an easy read. There is an unfortunate typo problem on the critical titling rules chart that left me searching elsewhere for the necessary answers. I recommend this chart be fixed before the book is republished.