Most retirement products are sold, not bought, and the seller is usually paid by the product. Published industry averages put agent commission at 6.26% of premium on indexed annuities versus 2.29% on multi-year guaranteed annuities (Wink, first quarter 2018, see our commissions research). That is legal. It is also why the fine print matters.
Before you buy an annuity
Annuities are insurance contracts. Some fit some people well. Many are sold to people who would be better served by something simpler. Start here.
Are Annuities a Good Investment? What the Sales Pitch Leaves Out
Are annuities a good investment? Americans bought $464.1 billion of annuities in 2025 (LIMRA). Who they fit, who they do not, and the costs to check first.
Should I Put My IRA in an Annuity? The Tax Deferral Is Already There
Should you put your IRA in an annuity? The SEC says an annuity adds no extra tax advantage inside an IRA. What it does add, what it costs, and RMDs in 2026.
Questions to Ask Before Buying an Annuity: A Plain Checklist
Free nonprofit checklist: 24 questions on fees, surrender charges, caps and riders. Under the NAIC 2020 best interest model, sellers must disclose their pay.
Annuity Scams and Pressure Sales: The Red Flags Regulators Warn About
A September 2007 SEC, NASAA and FINRA review of 110 free lunch seminar firms found 57% used misleading ads. Learn the red flags and how to report a bad sale.
The Annuity Free Look Period: How to Cancel a New Annuity and Get Your Money Back
Many states give 10 to 30 days to return a new annuity. California requires 30 days for buyers 60 and older (Insurance Code 10127.10). How to cancel in writing.
Are Annuities Safe? What Stands Behind Your Money, and Where It Stops
Annuities are not FDIC insured (FDIC, May 12, 2026). Most states back them only up to $250,000 per insurer if the company fails. Here is what protects you.
Annuity features, fees and fine print
The features with the friendliest names often carry the costs that are hardest to see.
Annuity Fees: Every Charge, by Type of Annuity
Annuity fees by type. The SEC says variable annuity M&E charges typically run about 1.25% a year before fund and rider costs. What fixed contracts cost.
Fixed Index Annuity Pros and Cons: What the First-Year Cap Does Not Tell You
Fixed index annuity pros and cons in plain words. In an October 4, 2026 count of 99 contracts, 86 let the insurer cut the cap to 1% or less at renewal.
The Bonus Annuity Catch: Who Really Pays for the Bonus
A bonus annuity adds money up front, then often takes it back in costs. In the SEC's own example, a 4% bonus contract ended $158 behind a no-bonus one.
Income Rider Fees: What the "Guaranteed Growth" Really Grows
An income rider's "7% growth" applies to an income base you cannot withdraw. One 2026 SEC-filed prospectus charges 1.50% of that base a year, up to 2.00%.
What Is a Market Value Adjustment? The Second Charge on Early Annuity Withdrawals
A market value adjustment can shrink or add to an early annuity withdrawal. The common formula lets insurers add up to 0.25 points to the rate (IIPRC, 2024)
Cash-value life insurance
Indexed universal life and whole life are often pitched as retirement savings. Here is what the illustration and the policy actually say.
Is IUL a Scam? What Indexed Universal Life Illustrations Do Not Show
Indexed universal life is legal, regulated insurance. Since December 14, 2020, NAIC rules limit illustrated rates. Here are the costs, loans and lapse risk.
How to Read an IUL Illustration: Red Flags and Stress Tests
How to read an IUL illustration: guaranteed vs illustrated columns, the NAIC rate limit in force since December 14, 2020, loan math and stress tests.
Is Whole Life Insurance Worth It? What the Sales Pitch Leaves Out
Whole life costs more than term for the same death benefit, and 57% of permanent policies lapse within 10 years (AER, 2021). When it can still make sense.
Should You Cash Out Whole Life Insurance? Eight Options and the Tax on Each
Cashing out whole life is taxed as ordinary income on the gain over premiums paid (IRS Pub. 525, 2025). Compare loans, paid-up, 1035 and sale options first.
What your CPA and estate attorney may not tell you
Most tax preparers are engaged and priced to file last year's return accurately. Planning ahead is a different service, and you usually have to ask for it. These pages show the gaps families fall into and the questions to ask.
Why Your CPA Tells You About the Tax After the Sale
A 1031 exchange needs its intermediary before closing, and a charitable trust gift must come before the sale is certain. Questions for your CPA (IRS, 2026).
Most CPAs Are Paid to File, Not to Plan: What to Ask For
A return looks back; planning looks ahead. In 2026 a joint return over $218,000 of MAGI raises Medicare premiums two years later (CMS). What to ask for.
Questions Your Tax Preparer Should Ask Before You Sell
The home sale exclusion is $250,000, or $500,000 married filing jointly (IRS Pub. 523). The questions your tax preparer should ask before you sign.
The 10-Year Inherited IRA Rule: The Call Most Families Never Get
Since 2025, many adult children must take yearly withdrawals from an inherited IRA, not just empty it by year 10 (final IRS rules, July 2024). What to do.
Does a Beneficiary Override a Will? What the Forms Decide
IRAs, life insurance and transfer on death accounts pass by form, not by will. In 2009 the Supreme Court upheld paying an ex-spouse still on a form.
Fear tactics and alphabet soup
Two of the oldest moves in retirement sales: scare you into acting fast, and impress you with letters after a name.
Social Security Is Running Out, So Claim Now? A Fear Tactic, Not a Strategy
The 2026 Trustees Report projects full benefits until 2034, then 83% payable. Claiming at 62 cuts a check up to 30% for life. Here is the math, plainly.
Financial Advisor Designations Decoded: Real Credentials vs Weekend Certificates
FINRA's database lists 264 designations, from degree-plus-exam credentials to short online courses. How to tell them apart and check anyone in minutes.
Fiduciary, Decoded: Who Has to Put You First, and When
Advisers owe a fiduciary duty of care and loyalty (SEC, June 5, 2019). Brokers and annuity agents follow other rules. See which one applies to you.
The research behind these pages
- Annuity commissions: what consumers should know
- Fixed index annuity guaranteed minimum caps
- Who owns your insurer, and who sets your renewal cap
- Living benefit riders and the words "up to"
- The cash value hockey stick
- The non-qualified annuity tax trap
How to check anyone who sells you anything
- Insurance license and complaints: look up the agent and the insurer with your state insurance department, and see complaint data on the NAIC Consumer Insurance Search.
- Securities license and record: search the person on FINRA BrokerCheck and the SEC adviser search. Variable annuities and other securities require a securities license.
- Ask how they are paid, in dollars, on the exact product, and on a simpler alternative.
- Get it in writing and take it home. A good recommendation survives a weekend.
- Use the free look. State law gives you a window to cancel a new annuity or life policy for a refund. See the free-look period.
How we write The Fine Print
We criticize product types and sales practices, not people. Legal products with trade-offs are covered as exactly that, and outright fraud lives in its own retirement scams section. Every number cites a regulator, a statute, a public filing or a named study, with the date we checked it. RLF sells nothing, earns no commissions and accepts no funding from financial companies. If you find an error, email hans@retirementliteracyfoundation.org and we will correct it.
Read This Before You Sign
A one-page checklist: the red flags in annuity and indexed universal life (IUL) sales, and the questions to ask before you sign anything. Use it at the kitchen table before any meeting about an annuity or a life policy. We’ll email it to you.
The Retirement Literacy Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 41-5062266). General education, not tax, legal or investment advice. Nothing is sold here. Unsubscribe any time.
The Retirement Literacy Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity. This page is general education, not tax, legal or investment advice. Nothing is sold here, no product is recommended, and RLF accepts no funding from financial companies. Rules and figures change; each one above shows its source and date. Check anything you plan to act on with your state insurance department or a qualified professional who is not paid on the product.