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What is the best type of annuity? That’s a good question. But in the annuity world, there are no perfect answers, just bad sales pitches. The best type of annuity is the one that provides the highest contractual guarantee for your specific situation and the exact goal you are trying to achieve. It’s really that simple.

Every single American citizen already owns the best inflation income annuity on the planet. Yes, even all those “annuity haters” have an annuity in their portfolio. It’s called Social Security. Depending on when you start the income stream, Social Security functions like a Single Premium Immediate Annuity (SPIA) or Deferred Income Annuity (DIA).

When it comes to retirement planning and making sure that you have enough retirement income in place, most people are relying too much on their Social Security payments. For all of you “annuity haters” out there, Social Security is the best inflation annuity on the planet...and every American owns one.

Deferred Income Annuities (DIAs) are continuing to grow in popularity because they are a personal pension plan with you determining when the payments start.

Or are they? It's common and required for all of us to have car insurance, health insurance, and homeowner's insurance. You can't drive a car or own a home without that type of coverage, and we pay these premiums without hesitation.

I was recently speaking with one of the top financial journalists in the country about annuities and the current environment with the COVID-19 situation. This person writes a syndicated column, appears on TV regularly, and is the author of many best-selling books on personal finance.

I was hoping that I wouldn’t have to write this article, but I’m starting to receive “fear selling” email messages from some of the carriers, distributors, and many agents promoting annuities during these Coronavirus times. I’m sure the TV ads, radio ads, and direct mailers aren’t far behind.

Annuity sales continue to rise every quarter in the United States, and a lot of the credit for driving this consumer popularity is the Annuity Income Rider. So how do Annuity Income Riders work? Riders are separate benefits that you attach at the time of application.

One of my favorite sayings is “There are NO perfect annuity answers...just bad sales pitches.”

Unless you work for the government or are a select union member, there’s a good chance that you do not have a pension waiting on you on that last day of work.

Two of the most frequently asked question that I receive are “How does longevity insurance work?” and “How much does longevity insurance cost?” Solving for longevity risk is making sure that you will never be running out of money and that you have a sufficient lifetime income stream hitting your bank account regardless of how long you live.

It’s kind of sad that the annuity category is experiencing somewhat of a renaissance during this Coronavirus crisis. It kind of makes sense that contractual guarantees become a little more attractive when the future is a tad hazy and unpredictable. In addition, stock market volatility always makes people reassess the overall risk in their portfolio.

In my opinion, annuities should not be looked at as investments. They are contracts issued by life insurance companies. Don’t believe me, then buy one and you will receive a contract (i.e. policy) in the mail.

Many investors are familiar with bond ladders or CD ladders, and might already have these types of strategies in their retirement plan. Laddering annuity contracts is a new concept to most people, but you should definitely be aware of these unique strategies for both lifetime income and principal protection.

The hottest “sounds too good to be true” and “best thing since sliced bread” product to hit the financial world in the past few years is the Fixed Index Annuity (FIA). Regardless of your specific financial goals, some agent or financial advisor will most likely pitch you this product…