Fee-only advisors are taking a more active role in endorsing annuities that charge a flat-fee.
The
National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) and
Jefferson National Life Insurance Company have teamed up to promote
Jefferson's flat-fee annuity offering.
NAPFA, an organization of fee-only financial planners, has launched a tool at its Web site, www.napfa.org,
that offers consumers the opportunity to carry out a tax-free 1035
exchange-transferring their assets from a high-priced variable
annuity-to Jefferson National's Monument Advisor product.
Called
The Annuity Rescue Center, the online resource offers consumers advice
on whether such an exchange would be beneficial when factors such as
surrender surcharges are considered.
The
Monument Advisor annuity is a no-load, no-commission, no-surrender
charge variable annuity with a flat insurance fee of $20 per month for
clients who invest at least $25,000.
Noting
that most companies charge an asset-based insurance fee, NAPFA and
Jefferson National note on the Web site that studies have estimated
consumers are paying at least $15 billion each year in insurance
fees.
Jefferson says its product also provides four times as many investment
options as the typical variable annuity.
NAPFA CEO Ellen Turf said
the site is designed to "explain how Americans can secure their future
and save billions more for retirement by exchanging high-cost
traditional VAs for new no-commission, flat-fee VAs."