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there was a classic line in the sketch "we're not short of money": "the most painful thing in life is to be alive but have no money." at that time, we treated it as a "meme", but now with the extension of life expectancy, many people have to re-examine this sentence.

the statistical bulletin on the development of my country's health care industry in 2023 released by the national health commission shows that my country's average life expectancy has reached 78.6 years, which is one and a half years longer than five years ago and more than three times higher than the early days of the people's republic of china. at the same time, with the changes in modern people's eating habits and lifestyles, the number of patients with "three highs" (diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia) and cerebral infarction in my country is gradually getting younger.

in addition, "early retirement" has become the "dream" of some young people. however, "early retirement" means that you may have no income earlier.how to get through this "window period" of no job and no pension to receive without income?the insurance industry has come up with a solution, which is to create a “window period” without income by purchasing annuity insurance.

so, what kind of product is this? is it suitable for everyone? compared with other financial insurance products, what are its advantages and disadvantages? what should you pay attention to when buying it? recently, a reporter from the daily economic news interviewed an industry insider, who answered relevant questions.

only ordinary annuity insurance products can set flexible payment time

annuity insurance is a type of life insurance that guarantees that the insured can obtain economic benefits when they are old or lose their ability to work. it mainly refers to the policyholder or the insured paying the insurance premium once or regularly, and the insurer pays the insurance money on an annual, semi-annual, quarterly or monthly basis, subject to the insured's survival, until the insured dies or the insurance contract expires.

the characteristic of annuity insurance is that it usually has a fixed term, or it can be a fixed period every month. the payment condition is the survival of the insured, and many products can flexibly set the payment time. an industry insider said, "annuity insurance premiums are relatively high and the time span is also long, so it is more suitable for people with middle and high incomes who do not value short-term returns and have a certain amount of savings.。”

he said that annuity insurance is generally a medium- to long-term insurance product that will not generate high returns in the short term. it is suitable for people who can hold the funds for a long time. it takes a sufficient period of asset accumulation to generate substantial returns in the future. there are many types of annuity insurance, such as insurance for children's education funds, insurance for children's marriage funds, and pension annuity insurance for future retirement.

"the design logic of annuity insurance products is to provide the insured with a certain cash flow." senior actuary xu yuchen told the reporter of "daily economic news" that annuity insurance often states in the contract how much money to be paid, when to pay it, and how long to pay it. some products are even designed to provide lifetime payments, and the insured can continue to receive them as long as they are alive.

for example, a certain annuity insurance product can provide basic insurance benefits to its policyholders on the fifth anniversary of the policy, and can be received until the age of 88. for example, a 30-year-old male can receive a survival benefit every year when he turns 35 after paying 1,000 yuan per year for five years. if the policyholder starts paying at the age of 40, he can use the survival benefit as a form of "income" at the age of 55.

however, not all annuity insurance products have the characteristics of early or flexible payment. "among annuity insurance products, there is a special pension annuity. if a product is called a pension annuity, then in theory it can only be received after reaching the statutory retirement age, so these products will have a limit when designing the payment age." xu yuchen told the reporter of the "daily economic news",as long as it is not specifically marked as a pension annuity insurance, the age of receiving the benefit is actually quite flexible. however, if it is marked as a pension annuity insurance, then the age of receiving the benefit is relatively fixed, and you need to wait until retirement to receive it.。

can provide clear and stable cash flow, but the return is relatively low

the reporter of "daily economic news" noticed that annuity insurance is not the only insurance product with financial management function. increasing whole life insurance or whole life insurance also have financial management function. so, compared with other life insurance products such as increasing whole life insurance, what are the advantages and disadvantages of annuity insurance?

"compared with financial management insurance products, the advantages and disadvantages of annuity insurance are actually very obvious." xu yuchen introduced,the advantage of annuity insurance is that it can provide clear and stable cash flow, and the time and amount of cash flow collection can also be very clear.。

for example, purchasing annuity insurance can provide a stable pension income after retirement, which is a very practical protection method for retirees. the insured can choose to receive a pension for a certain period of time or for life to guarantee daily living expenses; compared with other investment methods such as stocks and funds, annuity insurance has lower risks because investments are mostly in fixed-income tools; annuity insurance has a variety of payment methods, and different payment methods can be selected according to the needs and actual situation of the insured, such as monthly or quarterly payment.

likewise, these advantages are like a double-edged sword, exposing the disadvantages of annuity insurance. for example, after purchasing annuity insurance, the insured will face a long binding period and need to pay premiums and receive pensions in accordance with the contract, which cannot be changed or terminated at will.

at the same time, although annuity insurance has stable cash flow, its returns are relatively low compared to other investment methods, such as stocks and funds, because annuity insurance generally invests in low-risk, low-yield fixed-income instruments such as bonds and money market funds.

in addition, although there are multiple ways to receive annuity insurance, once a specific method is chosen, it is difficult to change, which may cause unnecessary trouble for uncertain future expenses. "just like some products, the insured agrees in the product to receive the benefits at a certain age, but the actual survival time of the insured may exceed the agreed age." xu yuchen said that at this time, the cash value of the product has been received, and the insured may face the possibility of being penniless, which brings financial pressure to life.

for example, in an annuity insurance policy, the maturity benefit can be received 5 years after the policy takes effect, and the payment period can be automatically set to the insurance period of 60, 65, 70, and 75 years old. for example, if a 30-year-old woman chooses to receive the benefit until she is 75 years old, it means that as long as she is still alive, she can receive the annuity and maturity benefit every year between the ages of 35 and 75. however, after the age of 75, she will no longer have this income.

industry insiders: it is recommended to start with demand and not blindly follow insurance

the reporter of daily economic news noticed that the state has introduced policies to promote annuity insurance, especially pension annuity insurance. the "several opinions on strengthening supervision, preventing risks and promoting high-quality development of the insurance industry" issued by the state council mentioned that commercial insurance annuities should be vigorously developed to meet the people's diversified pension security and cross-period financial planning needs. the development of new products and exclusive products that adapt to the individual pension system is encouraged. support pension insurance companies to carry out commercial pension business.

however, in the opinion of industry insiders, although annuity insurance has helped many people to fill the period of no income, there are many annuity insurance products and consumers need to choose the product that suits them according to their needs.

the mainstream forms in the market are currently divided into dividend-based annuities and ordinary annuities. in addition to being able to pay a certain amount of annuity regularly, dividend-based annuities will also have additional dividends every year, but the dividends are uncertain and will be distributed based on the insurance company's annual operating conditions. ordinary annuities do not have dividends, and the annuity amount paid is generally higher, and all policy benefits such as annuities and cash values ​​are clearly stipulated in the insurance contract.

in addition, some annuity insurance can be combined with a universal account, and the overall benefits of the annuity can be increased through the secondary accumulation of the universal account. "consumers need to start with their needs, that is, when they want to get the pension representing retirement, how much they want to receive each year, etc." xu yuchen believes that by working backwards from the needs and purposes, you can know which category or product to choose.

regarding the brand and company issues that consumers are concerned about, industry insiders said that consumers still need to focus on products when choosing. although the company's brand value has an additional effect on the product, the product is still the first priority. "if your premium is less than 500,000 yuan, you don't have to worry about the insurance company going bankrupt or having operational problems." an industry insider said that this can be referenced by the deposit insurance system. our financial policy is definitely to protect the interests of the people, which is the top priority of the current regulatory authorities.

however, industry insiders also said that if you are an office worker with a stable job, you can consider personal pension.office workers who purchase personal pensions can enjoy a tax benefit of 12,000 yuan, which is a convenience provided by the policy to consumers.。

daily economic news