November 13, 2008
I am a member of the Financial Planning Association and support the Index-Annuity Rule. The Rule is fair and reasonable. The rule is long overdue.
I am a salaried financial planner with my employer. I assist employees with their retirement plan options. An employee plan selection does not impact my salary or performance review. Before 9/11, I worked with a husband and wife concerning their retirement plans. I encouraged both of them to become more conservative with their investment choices. The wife selected a conservative mixture of bonds and stocks. The husband moved his retirement funds to an insurance agent because the agent promised him great returns with an index-annuity. Of course, 9/11 happen. The wife retired shortly after this tragedy in American history because of her mutual fund investment choices. The husband lost the majority of his retirement funds because of the poor performance of the index-annuity. The husband called me after several years asking if there was any way he could recover his investments since he did not understand the risk involved in index-annuities. He thought these products were safe because his insurance agent had said they were safe. Even after seven years, the husband is still unable to retire because of pressure of aggressive insurance agent to make a buck at his expense.
Normally, I am in favor of less regulation, but something has to change with index-annuities. This product is hurting middle American more than any financial investment in today's market. The general public is not aware of the hidden dangers and charges in these products. Regulation cannot come too soon for index-annuities.
Dr. Keith T. Hamilton, CFP, CRPC
Church Financial Services
Georgia Baptist Convention