The importance of lifetime income and annuities

The following is a sponsored post in collaboration with TIAA.

TIAA is a different kind of financial services company. They help people in the academic, research, medical and governmental fields meet their financial goals.. As a leading financial services provider, they serve over 15,000 institutions and 5 million individuals.

It makes sense that TIAA is a founding member of the Alliance for Lifetime Income, a nonprofit dedicated to educating Americans on the importance of lifetime income.

Lifetime income can be an important factor in having a well-thought out retirement plan. TIAA offers annuities because they believe everyone deserves to have retirement savings they won’t outlive.

Investing in annuities can ensure a guaranteed income stream an individual can’t outlive, typically through annual or monthly payments to supplement income from social security and other savings. An annuity can give contributors financial stability with a “salary” in retirement that can help cover their everyday living expenses and is guaranteed despite stock market ups and downs.

Based on households in the 45- to 72-year-old age range with $75,000 to $1.99 million in investable assets, according to Alliance for Lifetime Income (2018 consumer survey and analysis of Federal Reserve data).

As you can see in the image above, many people do not have protected monthly income other than their Social Security. But, many people would likely be interested in having more if they knew what to look for.

TIAA recently helped celebrate Protect Your Retirement Income Day in New York City. The day included events such as a virtual reality truck experience in Times Square, to raise awareness of how annuities help protect lifetime income.  Lori Dickerson Fouché, Senior Executive Vice President and CEO of Retail & Institutional Financial Services at TIAA, said, “TIAA and our Alliance colleagues see too many people approaching their retirement years ‘unprotected’— that is, their retirement savings lack products that can help protect depletion of one’s portfolio from longevity risk, rising healthcare costs and market volatility.”

Saving for retirement can seem confusing or complicated, especially if you are just starting out. Even if you've been investing for years, the different retirement investment options can be difficult to navigate!

TIAA offers educational tools like Retirement Advisor, Retirement Income Planner, and more to help people understand how lifetime income can help them enjoy a secure financial future.  

All guarantees are based on the claims-paying ability of the issuing company.

What do you think of lifetime income? Is it a part of your retirement plan?