When discussing life insurance and financial matters with clients, often the question comes up about whether this particular client should take a life annuity.
The answer is not always clear cut as each person has different amounts of capital and different life needs. If you have no dependents, you differ from the person with children. So each case must be given individual consideration.
One consideration is life expectancy. People are living longer which is the reason most life annuities payments are decreasing. Another is health. If you are in good health, you can enjoy the fruits of your labours with a good life annuity income. Otherwise you can seek an impaired life annuity, which will give you increased payments.
Living longer demands more financial capital, so a life annuity will put in a floor for your monthly income. If you subject yourself and your possible income to the rise and falls of the stock market , you need to consider whether you can recoup any capital you lose.
If you only buy one or two houses in your lifetime, so you will probably own only one or two life annuities. You need to shop wisely and get the best deal possible.