Customer Reviews

Annuities For Dummies

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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!

"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

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.

I've read a number of books on retirement planning, and this one covers the annuities angle really well. If you are considering annuities this is a must read. There are a lot of various annuities, and you need to understand the pros and cons of all of them before making a decision. I will say that I am a little more skeptical on the variable annuities than the author, and I would like a little more info on the longevity annuities.

If you are considering adding an annuities to part of your retirement planning (and most people probably should) you really need to read this book so you have an idea what your planner is talking about when discussing this topic. This book helps you understand the risk, terminology, and profit incentives a sales rep has for the various annuities.

Here is a list of some of the books I have read in preparing for retirement, and a one-liner, and ranking for each. I will order them in the order I would read them:

1. The AARP Retirement Survival Guide: How to Make Smart Financial Decisions in Good Times and Bad (Julie Jason)
Rank: 5/5
Summary:Real good overview and introduction to the many considerations for retirement.

2. Buckets of Money: How to Retire in Comfort and Safety (Raymond Lucia)
Rank: 4/5
Summary: Interesting concept on planning for retirement. Although I'm not sure I will use the plan Raymond lays out here, I think the general concept is a real good idea on how to think about tapping your assets as you plan for retirement.

3. Annuities For Dummies (Kerry Pechter)
Rank: 4.5/5
Summary: Great details on the highly complex subject of annuities, a critical tool for your retirement planning to alleviate longevity and market risk.

If you read the books above, I don't think there is a need for reading the books listed below since either they don't have the depth, or have already been covered in sufficient detail in the books above.

The Bogleheads' Guide to Retirement Planning (Various Aurthors)
Rank: 3.5/5
Summary: I think this book tries to cover a little to much, and as a result has topics that I don't think are appropriate for the retirement planning. Since the book attempts to cover so many topics, it really doesn't give real good details on any one topic. I think of this book, more as an executive summary for the various topics it covers.

Can I Retire? How Much Money You Need to Retire and How to Manage Your Retirement Savings, Explained in 100 Pages or Less (Mike Piper)
Rank: 2.5/5
Summary: What do you expect for 100 pages? Although the author does seem to stay on-topic in this book, its just to broad to really give you any actionable information. Perhaps a decent book if you are just wading into the whole concept of retirement and don't want to put alot of thought into details(IE the big picture). This book does not answer the question it poses in the title.


Hope this helps
James

I recently purchased Annuities for Dummies and absolutely couldn't put it down. This book tells you everything you need to know regarding annuities. No need to rely on an insurance salesman telling you what you need and charging you a fortune (high fees)for the advice. I was surprised in the later chapters of the book at some of the detailed investment/income strategies involving annuities. His discussion of immediate annuity strategies was particularly useful to me.

I have heard a great deal about annuities and what they can do in helping a person towards retirement. So I purchased the book and started reading. As other reviewers have mentioned, the book helps break down a very complicated financial contract. After reading the book and discussing the many options that are available in annuity contracts with my wife. We came to the decision that we have no business getting involved in annuities. Thanks to this book we have avoided getting involved in a financial contract that would not have been in "our" best interest. I would say a MUST read for anybody trying to make an informed decision as to how to proceed towards saving and investing for their retirement.

This is a very informative, easy to understand, resource on annuities. Who wants to spend their free time reading about financial instruments?? But, in today's economy you need to know the details from an impartial source and this helped me to understand the basics. If you want to learn the basics on your own time and not in a sales brochure, this one is worth buying.

This Amazon purchase wises-up annuity "Dummies" quick and easy. Quickly provided a broad and fundamental understanding of annuities. Provides handy references to informative web sites. Answered all my questions inspiring even more ... the sum of which led to an important decision.

I had never been disappointed with any "For Dummies" books before, and wasn't disappointed with this one either. Good info without being overwhelming. You will have a working knowledge of most types of annuities after reading this book.

Great book - clears up a lot of the mystery of a lot of fine print you'll encounter when looking into annuities. Service from the seller was top-notch, book in perfect condition, shipped promptly, and lowest price. Couldn't be more pleased with the experience.