Whether your money is in a 401(k), an IRA, the TSP, a 403(b) or a savings account, retirement asks the same two questions: how much can it pay you each month, and how do you stop a market drop from taking a bite out of it? We help you see your options in plain English, including where an annuity could fit.
Every kind of retirement account comes with its own rules for turning it into income: what's taxed, when penalties apply, and what you can move where. Pick yours.
Leaving a job or retiring? Your rollover and income options, and how to avoid the 20% withholding trap.
401(k) options →Already rolled over? How to turn an IRA into a monthly paycheck, and what changes at 73.
IRA options →Federal employee? What each TSP choice at separation does, and what moving your money out of the TSP would mean.
TSP options →Teachers, nurses and nonprofit staff: what to do with a 403(b), and what to check before you move it.
403(b) options →Money in the bank? How fixed annuities compare with CDs for safety, growth and taxes.
Savings options →Fixed, indexed and income annuities explained, with their trade-offs, in plain English.
Annuities explained →Whatever account your money is in, it usually ends up doing one of three jobs. None of them is "the right one". The right mix depends on your bills, your other income and how much market risk you can live with.
Once you stop working, a bad year in the market hurts more: you're taking money out instead of adding it. That's when the features of an annuity start to matter.
Fixed and fixed indexed annuities don't lose value when the market falls. An indexed annuity credits part of an index's gains in good years and zero in bad ones, so past gains are locked in.
An income annuity, or an income rider on a deferred annuity, can pay you a set amount every month for the rest of your life, however long that turns out to be.
Interest builds up without yearly tax until you take it out. For money from your savings, that's a real difference from a CD. Inside an IRA or 401(k), the account is already tax-deferred.
Three steps. About a minute of questions, then a 15-minute conversation. Nothing to buy.
Five quick questions about your age, your timeline and roughly what you've saved. A range is enough. We never ask for account numbers or logins.
We introduce you to an independent, state-licensed insurance professional who works with people retiring in your state. They pay us a referral fee; you pay nothing.
A no-obligation call, about 15 minutes, comparing your income options side by side. You decide what, if anything, to do next.
No. RetireLevel is an independent marketing company. We don't sell annuities or any other product, and we don't give financial advice. If you ask to speak with someone, we introduce you to an independent, state-licensed insurance professional, who pays us a referral fee.
It's free to you. Here's how we're paid, plainly: the licensed professional we introduce you to pays us a referral fee. You're never charged, and you're never obligated to buy anything or to stay on the call.
Generally, yes. A direct rollover from a 401(k), 403(b) or the TSP, or a trustee-to-trustee transfer from an IRA, into an annuity held as an IRA keeps the money tax-deferred, with no tax or penalty on the move itself. Whether it makes sense for you is a separate question, and the one the review is for.
Fixed and fixed indexed annuities don't lose value when the market falls. Their guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the insurance company, and by your state's guaranty association up to limits that vary by state. They are not bank deposits and are not FDIC insured. You can lose money by surrendering one early, so it should be money you won't need all at once.
No. Plenty of people finish the review and decide to change nothing. That's a perfectly good outcome, and it costs you nothing.
Five quick questions, about a minute. Then, if it's useful, a free income review with a state-licensed professional.
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