INVESTMENT ACCOUNTS » Investing Money

Annuities can give individuals peace of mind when it comes to preparing for their retirement or long term challenges they might face. A head of a household may consider an Annuity schedule of taking care of their family if they are no longer able to.

Life insurance companies are responsible for issuing Annuity contracts. The Annuity contract is created when an individual provides a life insurance company with the financial resources to be invested on a tax-deferred basis and then paid back to the owner in several ways, usually on a predetermined payment schedule. This legal agreement provides a guaranteed payment until the death of the people named in the contract.

Basically, investors and insurance companies have a contract where the investor makes a lump-sum payment or agrees to make a series of payments. Then, the insurer will make payments back to an investor either in a lump-sum amount or on a payment schedule. Annuities offer an option for tax-deferred growth and may also include a death benefit.

Annuities can be either fixed (where the insurance companies guarantees a minimum rate of return while your account is growing) or variable (where the rate of return fluctuates when based on the different investment options you can choose from). The Securities and Exchange Commission regulates variable annuities but not fixed annuities.

Since the average person's life span is increasing well beyond their retirement age, an Annuity contract can help investors have income and not outlive their investments. Annuities are another variety of investment consumers can choose from when diversifying their portfolio. This type of investment can be especially helpful when it comes to individuals planning for their retirement. Annuity investments may become extremely popular if the push for privatizing Social Security comes to fruition. By combining an Annuity with Social Security, employer pensions, 401(k) plans, IRAs and other assets one can have a stable retirement.

There is a plethora of investment options for consumers to choose from. Stocks, bonds, CDs, Money Markets, Treasury Bills are all ways people can make their money earn more money. Some of these choices are marketable securities others are Non-Marketable Securities.

Non-Marketable Securities are usually US Savings Bonds, and private shares. Individuals cannot sell these types of securities to another investor. To redeem Non-Marketable Securities the shareholder must work directly with the issuer, per the original terms of the investment.

US Savings Bonds need to be purchased by someone who is over the age of 18 and they must provide a social security number to purchase. During the course of bond ownership, the US Savings Bonds cannot be transferred to another person because they are Non-Marketable Securities. They cannot be traded on the open market freely like stocks. They are investments to be held solely by the owner during the lifetime of their existence.

That is not to say that US Savings Bonds cannot make great gifts. Even though they are Non-Marketable Securities they can be purchased for others. For example, if you need to purchase a baby gift, a Non-Marketable Security US Savings Bond can be purchase in the name and social security number of the child and when they turn eighteen they will be able to access the bond at will.

In general, Non-Marketable Securities cannot be easily be bought or sold. This helps enhance the quality of these types of investments. US Savings Bonds are considered to be one of the safest types of investments consumers can choose to partake in. There are limited amounts an individual can buy per year, they have a low principal risk and a guaranteed yield on the investment. If individuals were planning for their own future (and their familys), then a Non-Marketable Security would make an excellent addition to their portfolio.

Since 1917 the US Treasury sold Bonds as a way to generate a cash flow to help fund the expenses that the government was accruing. At this point the US Treasury has issued savings bonds series starting with the letter A and they currently have the I Bond Series available for sale.

With each new...

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