If your financial situation allows, do not annuitize, meaning do not convert your annuity into regular income payments. Why? Because it creates the potential of leaving your life savings to an insurance carrier instead of your family. People typically annuitize to get more monthly income, but we believe that typically inflation and poor performance issues can reduce the actual amount received. Instead, we recommend avoiding Date Lottery issue contracts and knowing the renewal rate history of what you're buying. We consider annuitization a last resort. We have never annuitized a family annuity nor do we intend to.

What's the alternative? You can still get paid without annuitizing. Annuities typically have cost-free withdrawal parameters that renew annually. We typically have the insurance company make monthly deposits into our client’s checking account at no cost, without annuitizing. We set the withdrawal level lower than the contract's performance and continue to monitor it to ensure you're getting the most out of your annuity. This way, the remainder of your assets upon death go to your loved ones instead of an insurance company.