1. Fixed Annuities
The promise: the carrier promises a set interest rate for a set time. Your principal does not ride the market.
The trade-off: growth is modest. It may trail inflation. Your money is locked up — early exits trigger surrender charges.
Suits: people who want calm and predictability.
2. Fixed Indexed Annuities
The promise: growth links to a market index. When the index rises, you earn some of the rise — capped by the contract. When the index drops, a floor guards your principal. You do not earn the market's full gains. In exchange, index drops do not cut your principal.
The trade-off: caps and participation rates limit your upside. Surrender periods often run long. The floor is a carrier promise — only as strong as the carrier's ability to pay.
Suits: people who want some market link without market loss to principal.
3. Variable Annuities
The promise: your money goes into market-based subaccounts. Full upside — and full downside. You can lose money, including principal.
The trade-off: market risk, often higher fees, and complex moving parts.
Suits: people who accept market risk for growth potential.
I do not offer variable annuities. Selling them takes a securities license, which I do not hold. This page teaches what they are so you can spot them — nothing more.
4. Immediate Annuities
The promise: you pay one lump sum now. Monthly checks start within a year — often within a month. Some pay for life.
The trade-off: the lump sum is gone. There is no walking it back.
Suits: people who want a paycheck the day they retire.
Which Types Can I Get From Serge?
Which types I can offer rests on my current carrier appointments. I will name the carrier and the exact product on our first call — before we talk numbers. What I will not do: offer variable annuities, ever, under my current licenses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which type is right for me?
That rests on your goals, timeline, and comfort with lock-ups. I cannot answer it on a website — that would be advice. On a call, I will walk you through the trade-offs and you decide.
What is a "cap" on an indexed annuity?
A cap is the most the carrier will credit you in a period, no matter how high the index climbs. It is one way the carrier pays for your floor.
What is a "participation rate"?
The share of the index's rise you get. If the rate is 60% and the index rises 10%, you are credited 6%. Simple as that.
Do all annuities have surrender charges?
Almost all deferred annuities do. Immediate annuities work differently — the trade-off there is that the lump sum does not come back.