1. It is a payment made at specific intervals such as a Pension Plan that will payout a specific amount for the rest of your life, if you have a spouse, he or she would continue to get that annuity payment until they pass on depending on what the plan offered and what option was elected at retirement.
2. Another form of Annuity is Social Security, like the Pension, the larger monthly payment will be based on how much you contributed and how long you worked.
3. Should you win the Lottery (congratulations) that can also be paid out as an annuity at specific intervals such as annually

The answer is yes and much like all financial planning, the type(s) you select will be based on your timelines and objectives such as, income for life, differing taxes, passing on assets and growth of wealth!

Fixed annuities involve ZERO RISK! Variable annuities are risky as the name VARIABLE suggests and they also have very high fees! We only deal with fixed annuities; fixed indexed annuities that are guaranteed contractually to have zero risk!

Yes, and IRA is basically a tax code and can be put into any vessel you choose such as a CD with a bank, the stock market, or a fixed indexed annuity.

The answer is no! When you transfer funds, be it partial or otherwise, it is all done through paperwork between the institutions! The easy way to think about this is to ask yourself, “am I taking income”? If the answer is yes, you will pay income taxes if the answer is no, then taxes will not be paid, and it is still tax deferred.

The simple answer is asset protection and growth and income for life!

Most people have saved and worked hard and there comes a time when they want to protect those assets but still enhance that growth. If that is you, then and indexed annuity is for you, because you only participate in the upside of the market and not the losses (it’s only an index). Also, people like the idea of the growth because you want that IRA (for example) money to be as large as possible when you must start taking RMD/Required Minimum Distribution after 70! If there are any major losses as you start thinking of retirement, you may not have enough time to recuperate the losses and there goes all the planning you made over the years. Remember, it is not all or nothing; an annuity is “SAFE MONEY”. If you do not want to have to go back to work, you should consider having part of your retirement money in SAFE MONEY and you can gamble with the other portion!

The answer is no! The company you choose to do business with is required by law to send you your required distribution after 70 years of age.

Yes, that is true and there are certain ways on how those bonuses can be used and calculated depending on what you are trying to accomplish! Each company that offers these types of accounts will outline their rules and regulations in their contractual policies and those do differ from company to company! The bonuses are credited up front/day 1 at the issue date and become your new principal balance.