Securing a financially independent future begins today with sound retirement planning and building a dependable source for lifetime income. As a hard-working individual, you take your finances seriously. You have invested your time and energy in order to create and sustain a quality of life that suits you and your family. Just like you insure your home, health and car, an annuity provides insurance for your nest egg. At American Equity, we strive to provide stable annuity products backed by our company’s financial strength, disciplined investment practices and award-winning customer service.

What is an Annuity?

An annuity is a contract between you and an insurance company purchased in a lump sum or through a series of recurring premium payments. Annuities are sold by licensed insurance agents and are regulated by state departments of insurance.

How Do Annuities Work?

The annuity is backed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing company. Annuities are one of the only safe-money products that can guarantee practical retirement solutions, such as protecting hard-earned dollars and generating income that cannot be outlived.

There are a variety of annuities available that you can discuss with a financial professional. The two most common categories are fixed annuities and variable annuities. These annuities have different methods of earning interest on the contract value. Variable annuities earn returns based on the performance of the investment portfolio. A return is not guaranteed, and the contract value may go up or down. American Equity specializes in fixed and fixed index annuities.

Only fixed annuities guarantee an interest that will never be less than zero, even if the market goes down. There are two common designs for these types of annuities, which are fixed and fixed index annuities. 

What is a Fixed Index Annuity? 

A fixed index annuity is a contract between you and an insurance company that provides a series of immediate or deferred payments that can be used for retirement income in exchange for a single or recurring payment, also known as a premium. 

The benefits of these insurance products include principal protection with the potential of growth based on an external index, such as the S&P 500^® Index, which can be used to help reach retirement income goals after the accumulation period has ended and the payout phase begins. Interest earned is also protected from loss due to index fluctuations, leaving your retirement dollars intact for the future since the interest can never be lost once it is credited to the annuity contract.