Annuities are investment vehicles where the owner pays a large lump sum in exchange for income payments back to them over a certain period of time. In as much as there are different kinds of annuities you can have, there are also two different ways you can sell annuities to make money. One is as a professional, and the second is as an owner. But first make sure to learn what annuities are & how they work.
Professional Selling
If you’re in the financial services sector, then you might want to consider selling annuities to people looking to create a comfortable retirement. There are many ways this can benefit you.
Easier Than Selling Life Insurance
Annuities often compete with life insurance as necessary vehicles for financial security in retirement. While retirees want to know their survivors will be taken care of when they pass away, or at least their burial costs, life insurance doesn’t usually provide much in the way of income during their actual retirement. Social Security payments only go so far, and they usually don’t go far enough.
A Booming Market
The Baby Boomers were one of the largest generations of Americans in history, and most of them are now in retirement. Millennials are now the largest living generation, and many of them are starting to plan for retirement. The sheer number of consumers interested in annuity products is growing constantly.
Growing Need
In addition to there being more people looking to buy annuities, there is more need among them. With people living longer, they need income longer into their golden years. That means they need bigger and longer annuities.
Commissions
Annuity products typically have commissions ranging from 2% up to 5% for the sellers responsible for them. With even small annuities often starting at $25,000, that can be over $1,000 for each minimum sale that you make. As a professional seller, you wouldn’t just be limited to marketing to the wealthy. In fact, most annuity buyers and shoppers have an annual income under $50,000 annually.
Owner Selling
If you own an annuity, you might have the option of selling it for a lump sum of cash. Rather than keep getting payments or start receiving them in the future, you can get all the cash in the immediate future. This might work out well for you if the annuity no longer meets your financial needs.
One Exception
You can usually sell your annuity if you bought it as a consumer with your own resources. However, you might not be able to sell it if the annuity was the result of a legal settlement or as some kind of negotiated compensation.
Flexibility
Depending on the specific terms of the annuity, you might be able to sell all of it to get out of it completely. However, you might also be able to sell a portion of it if you want to keep some of it but don’t need all of it.
Why Sell It?
Annuities are typically created to provide retirement income to the owners. However, if your financial circumstances have changed where you have more income than you expected, or perhaps your actual expense needs are not as great, then you might decide to cash out the annuity so you can use the overall sum of money for better purposes.
It’s All About Making Money
Annuities are a big business. In 2020, an estimated $2.5 trillion of retirement funds were parked in annuities. Obviously, financial professionals can make good money selling these as products. However, people who own annuities can also possibly make money by selling them for a lump sum of cash.