Recently, lots of people have been searching for annuities from companies like Oceanview Annuity. This is understandable, considering 2024 is nearly upon us and people are trying to figure out how to stretch their retirement income the furthest. But before making the jump into an annuity, check out some alternative options we outline below.
Brokerage Account vs. Oceanview Annuity
If you’re looking to invest in an Oceanview Annuity, it’s likely that you have enough of a lump sum to purchase one. If this is the case, you can also be well-served by opening a brokerage account at a reputable provider such as Fidelity, Vanguard, or Schwab.
By doing this, you can invest in low-cost mutual and index funds and build a retirement portfolio that can stand the test of time. If you’re worried about bear markets, I recommend holding 3-years of cash-equivalents during retirement years. This prevents you from being forced to withdraw stock market investments during bad markets. The 3-years of cash can be put in CD’s, high-yield savings, or if you’re really intent on safety, your checking account.
IRA/Roth IRA/401(k)
Again, assuming you have a decent sum of invested money, there is often no harm in leaving this in a Roth IRA or 401k instead of purchasing something like an Oceanview Annuity contract. As of a couple of years ago, law was passed by Congress that requires 401k providers to offer you an annuity option. This isn’t necessarily a good thing and you’ll often be better-served by keeping your current investments. 401k plans are often equipped with target date funds. These are great for “hands-off” investors that don’t want to learn about the stock market!
If you have an IRA or Roth IRA, you likely have thousands of investment options available. You can also roll your 401k to an IRA for better investment options. There are many fixed income mutual funds available for those who don’t want to dabble in stocks or broad based ETFs. But for us at the Wealthy Idiots, we’re big fans of Vanguards plethora of index ETFs such as VTI and VOO. These funds track the total stock market and S&P 500, respectively. Why not grab your share of the market returns?
Annuity Options
As discussed in the past, we can’t completely paint annuities in a bad light. Stan the Annuity Man has done a great job of explaining the differences between good and bad annuities in depth and we urge you to read up on this further. You can also get some great immediate annuity quotes at immediateannuities.com. Full disclosure… Oceanview Annuity even offers some MYGA options. I can’t comment on the fee structure as it doesn’t appear to be disclosed on their website, but it may be worth a further look. Either way, make sure you make an informed decision before purchasing!