Annuity purchased — Terry Says “giant ripoff”!
I just heard you on WGN and have a question regarding the American Equity Gold deferred income annuity. My husband and I rolled our IRA into this a year ago with a 10% bonus. We were told the financial agent does not get a percentage from our investments but is rewarded from American Equity themselves. Is this true? Can you tell us if there are any hidden cost against our investment? Anything you can tell us would be greatly appreciated.
Terry Says
Oh my goodness -- you've really been ripped off! If this just happened, you might have a 30 day right to rescind, or longer depending on your state. The one thing the agent said that was true was that there is no up-front fee. BUT there are huge "surrender charges" -- lasting 20 years! That's almost unheard of! And those charges start at an also unheard of 20 percent if you withdraw in the first few years! This is why the Labor Department is insisting insurance salespeople be registered as fiduciaries -- putting their clients' best interests first. Certainly that is not the case here. They have your money tied up for ages, at likely below-market returns. No wonder they can afford to pay salespeople. Look into this right away. And do let me know what happens. If you're willing, I will write a column about this product and your situation. It may or may not push the insurance company into cancelling the transaction -- but it sure will be a warning to others!!
