Generate and protect your lifelong stream of retirement income.
Creating a reliable, guaranteed stream of income is an important step toward securing an enjoyable retirement, but just as important is protecting it. Consider these questions:
- How should you protect your assets and income from certain financial and health risks?
- How should you manage the tax implications of your retirement income?
- What more can you do to protect your family and your assets?
MetLife can help you create and protect the income you need throughout your retirement.
There are three types of risk you need to prepare for when creating a retirement plan:
- Inflation. A good retirement plan should ensure you can afford to maintain your lifestyle by taking inflation into account. This is typically done by keeping a portion of your savings in growth-oriented investments or with inflation-protection products such as inflation protected treasury bonds.
- Market Volatility. Riding the market's ups and downs can be problematic in retirement. Once you retire and begin withdrawing money, short-term market losses may cause your savings to decrease at an accelerated rate. Diversifying your portfolio is important, but it still might not be enough to counteract the volatility of the current economy. Variable annuities with income protection features can be very valuable in the years leading up to retirement and for protected income later in retirement. . Income annuities can provide a guaranteed income—regardless of market performance.
- Living Long. You may spend as many years in retirement as you did working. For that reason, you must plan for your income to last as long as you live. As you can’t predict how long your retirement will be, an annuity can help by providing an income that is guaranteed to last a lifetime.
While employer retirement plans, IRAs, and deferred annuities grow tax-deferred, there are important tax consequences you should know about. The tax issues correspond to different ages, so if you are at:
- Age 50. You can start making catch up contributions to your IRAs and certain qualified retirement accounts.
- Age 59½. You’re free to start taking withdrawals from these accounts without being subject to a 10% federal income tax penalty.
- Age 70½. You have to start taking “required minimum distributions” from these accounts. If you don’t, you will incur tax penalties.
To avoid a 50% penalty on the required amount you did not withdraw, you can create a distribution plan or transfer assets into a Roth IRA. With a Roth IRA, if plan restrictions are met, earnings are income tax and penalty-free.* However, you need to pay taxes on the taxable portion of any Traditional IRA assets as they move out of that IRA into a Roth IRA.
Learn more about Meeting IRA RequirementsThe simplest way to ensure that your funds, property, and personal effects will be protected and distributed according to your wishes is to prepare a will. To ensure your wishes are acted upon, there are three important documents you should consider drawing up now; documents such as a:
- Living will. This document tells doctors exactly what kind of care you want and don't want to receive if you become terminally ill or incapacitated.
- Durable power of attorney for healthcare. Allows you to name a person who will make medical decisions for you; also know as a healthcare proxy.
- Durable power of attorney for finances. This document designates the person who will handle financial decisions for you.
All of the documents need to be executed at a time when you are able to make decisions, so it's important to put them in place as early as possible.
Learn more about Making a WillA long-term care insurance policy can be a powerful tool for protecting your income and assets from the impact of a major health event. With this taken care of, you will have the confidence to enjoy your retirement as you planned.
Learn more about Long-Term Care InsuranceHaving a life insurance policy in place can help provide guaranteed* income for your loved ones and lessen their financial burden when you’re no longer here. The money can help with everything from mortgage payments to college tuition.
Learn more about Life InsuranceManaging retirement has changed. It is no longer a fixed date, or easily managed by a company pension. It is a dynamic state affected by your priorities, inflation, volatile markets, your lifespan, rising healthcare costs, and other variables. That’s why it’s more important than ever to have an effective retirement income plan that has protection build in to safeguard your lifestyle and the things you care about.
Let MetLife take you step-by-step through the three stages of retirement.
Let MetLife take you step-by-step through the 3 stages of retirement. Learn more.
Envisioning Your Retirement
Determining What Retirement Will Cost
Funding Your Retirement
*Investment products are:
- Not FDIC-Insured
- Not Insured By Any Federal Government Agency
- Not Guaranteed By Any Bank Or Credit Union
- May Go Down In Value
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, New York, NY 10166 (MLIC). Securities, including variable products offered by MetLife Securities, Inc. (MSI)(FINRA/SIPC), 200 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10166. Banking products and services, including deposit accounts, offered by MetLife Bank®, NA, Member FDIC, a MetLife affiliated company. MetLife Bank, MLIC & MSI are MetLife companies.
Like most annuity contracts, MetLife’s contracts contain exclusions, limitations, reduction of benefits, surrender charges and terms for keeping them in force. A MetLife Representative can provide you with costs and complete details.
A variable annuity is a long-term financial vehicle designed for retirement purposes. In essence, a variable annuity is a contractual agreement in which payment(s) is/are made to an insurance company, which agrees to pay out an income or a lump sum amount at a later date. There are contract limitations, fees, and charges associated with variable annuities, which include, but are not limited to, mortality and expense risk charges, sales and surrender charges, administrative fees, and charges for optional benefits. Early withdrawals may be subject to surrender charges, and taxed as ordinary income and, in addition, if taken prior to age 59½, an additional 10% federal income tax penalty may apply. Withdrawals reduce annuity contract benefits and values. Investments in variable annuities will fluctuate and values upon redemption may be less than the original amount invested. Variable annuities are not guaranteed by FDIC or any other government agency and are not deposits or other obligations of, or guaranteed or endorsed by, any bank or savings association.
Variable annuities are offered by prospectus only, which is available from your registered Representative. You should carefully consider the product’s features, risks, charges and expenses, and the investment objectives, risks and policies of the underlying portfolios, as well as other information about the underlying funding choices. This and other information is available in the prospectus, which you should read carefully before investing. Product availability and features may vary by state.
The amounts allocated to the variable investment options of a variable annuity's account balance are subject to market fluctuations so that, when withdrawn or annuitized they may be worth more or less than their original value.
Neither MetLife nor its Representatives provide tax or legal advice. Please consult your tax advisor or attorney for such guidance.
Pursuant to IRS Circular 230, MetLife is providing you with the following notification: The information contained in this document is not intended to (and cannot) be used by anyone to avoid IRS penalties. This document supports the promotion and marketing of MetLife insurance and annuity products. You should seek advice based on your particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor.
Adobe Acrobat Reader version 6.0 or higher is required to view PDF files. If you do not have Acrobat Reader installed on your machine, visit the Adobe Web site to download the software.
Please note that MetLife, Inc is not affiliated with Adobe® or Adobe Acrobat® Reader and makes no representations regarding the suitability of Adobe Acrobat Reader for your computer and assumes no liability with respect to your accessing the site or installing any Adobe software from it, including Adobe Acrobat Reader.
MetLife Bank CD
Promotional Rate! As high as 2.35% APY* on a 24-Month CD. Learn more at MetLife BankWhy Variable Annuities?
See what the Wall Street Journal recently said about variable annuities.Read the Article
Mature Market Institute
The MMI study Broken Trust: Elders, Families, and Finances looks at the problem of elder abuse.
Visit the MMI Caregiving page