An annuity is an insurance contract or an insurance product where the purchaser invests a large sum of money and then is guaranteed a return on their investment and payments on that investment into the future. Annuities can be very popular as retirement plans, but they are not always appropriate as investments for people that have already retired.
Annuities can carry high fees and require that most of the investment money stay locked up for a number of years, making them inappropriate for many older investors who may need access to their money to fund their retirement. In some cases, annuities can carry a fee of up to17.5 % as a penalty for early cashing out. These fees decrease as time goes on, but in some cases, they may appear for up to 20 years. If an elderly person is convinced to buy one of these, they may not be able to get access to all of their money until after it will be of use to them.
There are two basic options when it comes to annuities. There are immediate annuities, which offer payments for a period of years or over the lifetime of an individual or couple. There is also the deferred annuity, in which the initial investment grows, tax deferred, until such time as the annuity contract is converted into an immediate annuity or cashed in.
There are a number of financially risky situations that can present themselves to seniors in this day and age. One of them is the purchase of certain types of deferred annuities from less than honest salespeople. Many of these professionals will use deceptive sales tactics and annuity fraud and convince seniors to invest their money in long-term deferred annuities which are generally unsuitable for seniors because they take so long to mature. In 2004, the Pennsylvania Attorney General filed a civil lawsuit against sixteen separate companies and people allegedly involved in using deceptive sales tactics to sell these long-term deferred annuities to unsuspecting seniors. This is a kind of investment fraud.
Regulators in the insurance industry have been receiving claims about this practice for some time, specifically in relation to AmerUs Life Insurance Company and American Investors Life Insurance Company. These companies will hold a free retirement planning or financial planning seminar to draw seniors in and then pitch them with these deferred annuities, promising incredible returns but not warning about the early withdrawal penalties.
Some seniors are lucky enough to cancel their investment before it’s too late. But too many have been duped by sales pitches and promises that are truly too good to be true. These deceptive sales people are preying on senior citizens and on their financial worries for their own financial gain. If you have bought a long term deferred annuity through investment fraud or are a victim of annuities fraud without understanding the potential penalties and fees involved, you may have a claim and be able to file a lawsuit to get your money back and secure compensation from the company that lied to you. Don’t wait on getting access to your money – contact an attorney who can help you get redress as soon as possible.