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I recently read an article titled, "Annuities: The Dark Side," written by Walter F. Lineberger, III, CLU, ChFC. It served to remind me of certain egregious practices being foisted on an unsuspecting pubic. I tried to convince myself that someone else would address these proliferating problems. To date, I haven't seen anything in print on it. The Lineberger article goaded me into writing briefly about some of the problems I have encountered.
Several months ago, a tax attorney with whom I have done some work called me to request advice on several individual retirement account annuities owned by one of his clients. I agreed to review the annuity contracts and make recommendations as to the best choices for his client. Current value of the annuities was over $600,000.
Heavy Losses
As I read the policies, accompanying proposals, letters, and other bits of information, I became acutely aware that this IRA annuity owner had gotten himself into a convoluted mess, one that would result in heavy losses if he tried to extricate himself from his present life insurance company.