Good question right? Oddly enough, it is not always that easy to answer. Call your broker and ask them how much your variable annuity is paying and you will get varying answers and for good reason. Most of the time it will take a few quick calculations to get exact numbers.
Now ask for a year over year or past three year total return and your broker or insurance agent will have to call you back! It can be confusing and it takes time to get those numbers together even for the professional handling your annuity contracts. Are you trying figure out the number on your own?
You should at least know how it works to be able to compare annuity returns over time. If you were earning about 5% for the last 6 years and there is contract that is virtually identical that had returned 8% for the last 5 years it might be worth it to at least look at making a change.
If you had $1,000,000 in that contract then that is an extra $30,000 per year! That is a whole lot more golf for the year! Now consider an extra $30,000 for 20 years. That is $600,000 in interest earned or lost by not taking any action.
But the first step is to learn how to read your annuity statements and get a good grasp on how much you are earning. To learn the basics read - How Much Is Your Annuity Paying?
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