mutual of omaha, anyone invest with them?

[Soundguy]

Anyone invest with mutual of omaha?

I'm looking at their annuity products.. trying to keep up with inflation vs many banking products that are making .3-1.0 etc.

anyone recently done this and taken a look at the co?

 

[MossRoad]

Man, be careful with annuities. There are fixed, variable, surrender upon death, surrender upon death of spouse, time limited, on and on. Its easy to like the idea of getting a fixed payment month after month, but be careful.

Here's a great read, but its L-O-N-G.
Link

And another one with specific warnings about variable rate annuities...
9 Reasons You Need To Avoid Variable Annuities - Forbes

I know lots of folks are concerned about wanting to maintain a fixed payout month-after-month so they can budget for their retirement. That's important. But make sure you have a mix of investments, some that bring in a "paycheck" that you can count on, but some that still grow and grow.

 

[k0ua]

I won't argue about the suitability of variable annuities, I cannot sell them, but the fixed annuities and the indexed annuities I do sell can be a good value investment earning far more than you are going to ever make in a savings account or CD. As long as you expect to continue living for a while. 5 7 or 10 years.

 

[ultrarunner]

Mom put her 401k into one and I was somewhat disappointed...

It's been pay 4% for the last 12 years.

She's satisfied and that is all that matters.

 

[Soundguy]

the one i'm looking at is offering a 5 or 7 yr term. I'm looking at the 5. interest rates here are horrid. it's only offering 1.4 / 1.44 apy. It's fixed, and it's early withdrawel is = to 100% of the interest earned, but no principle loss. is listed as fixed and guaranteed principle ( not fdic.. just guaranteed by MOH, barring them going down.. etc.. ). I could get an affitional .15 /.2 apy if I move a large portion of my ira in there, but don't want to. I still have some ira's in t he 2.5% range. ( dismal ain't it! ). But this year I had a bunch of ira's roll and the bank literally offered nothing. they are ranging from 1.0 to .10 ( yes.. not a typo! ) which is why i'm looking for another vehicle for those ira's to go into. at 1% they aren't keeping up with inflation.. thus i am actually. LOOSING money... go figure.

The wife and I have diversafied a bit. we each are contribuiting to an insurance based retirement account, i have my ira's ( which I no longer contribute to, as I am now into a 401k as of this year ). The wife has a 401k/403B as well. A little here and ther ein cd's and money market. so we are playingthe field and not putting all eggs in one basket.

I just need to do something about those ira's soon. 1.0, 1.0, .3, .3, .1 % aren't cutting it in any stretch of reality. Everyting over 1.25 I'll leave put and not hassle with immediately.

Remember the good old days when you could get 6%+ ON A CD RETURN!

 

[k0ua]

How about an indexed annuity, You can do a lot better than 1.4 with still no risk. Indexed annuities are tied to the "index" of the S &P. When it goes up you get the benefit of that up to a "cap". Often 3.5% or more. When the index is 0 or negative you make nothing, but you don't lose anything either, Depends on if you think the S&P is going to continue to grow.. it grew over 26% in 2013. You can also diversify you "bucket" and put it in different strategies.. I am set up with Genworth financial now, but I cannot help you in Florida, as I am not licensed in that state. But there are many other firms you can put your money with. 1.4 is not all that good of a return even now for a fixed. Good luck.

 

[Soundguy]

I know. it's dismal. My 401k has plenty of options. me and the wife are doing good on the 401k. even discounting the employer match.. the investments themselves are killing al bank and just about any annuity investemnts I am seeing.

 

[ultrarunner]

Union Bank is or was paying 1% for a money market checking...

Credit Union dropped from .75 to .45 recently...

 

[Soundguy]

it's horrid here. I kind alike investing with someone that has a local presence vs just a telephone number, or worse.. just a website. but seems like the choices are bad or worse.

 

[MossRoad]

You have to remember something... annuties make money for insurance companies. If they weren't profitable for them, they wouldn't be offering them for sale. You're looking at locking your money into a 5 year contract for 1.44%. That's not real good return.

Have you looked at converting your IRAs to Roth IRA's invested in no load indexed mutual funds?

Read this article...
Link