The idea of living a long and healthy life is a welcomed prospect. But the reality of paying for a retirement that extends into your 90s can be a challenging financial situation.
That’s when AgeUp annuities can step in to provide a promising solution to this financial problem. They offer affordable monthly payments and then begin providing a guaranteed income starting at age 91 and continuing for life.
This could give you and your loved ones a lot of peace of mind about the future.
What is AgeUp?
AgeUp offers a new take on the traditional annuity product. With AgeUp, the annuity is designed to start paying out to the recipients when they reach age 91.
AgeUp is not designed to completely cover all retirement expenses. Instead, it is ready to step in when retirees reach a later stage in life and the bulk of their retirement funds may be tapped out. After all, many Americans don’t have enough savings to cover over 30 years of retirement expenses.
This innovative product is offered by Haven Life and backed by MassMutual Life Insurance Company.
How AgeUp Works
AgeUp is an annuity that guarantees an income stream beginning at the age of 90 and continuing for life.
Not convinced that you’ll see your 90s? This stage of longevity is more common than you think. 65-year-old women in good health have a 53% chance of living to 90. And 65-year-old men in good health have a 42% chance of living to 90. With that, it is important to consider how your finances would look if you hit this advanced age.
With the help of AgeUp, you will have the peace of mind that comes with a guaranteed lifetime income for the final years of your life. When you hit the target age of 91 or older, AgeUp will start to pay out a monthly income stream that is guaranteed to last for the rest of your life.
But if you don’t reach your target age, you have the option to leave the money you’ve paid in premiums to a beneficiary. If a beneficiary receives those funds, they can use the funds to cover final costs or simply enjoy the inheritance. Choosing this optional feature will reduce the guaranteed payments you'll receive after age 90.
What is an Annuity?
AgeUp is a specialized annuity that kicks in when you turn 90. But what exactly is an annuity?
Annuities are financial products that provide a set of guaranteed payments to the individual. The payments are guaranteed income for a specific period of time or the lifetime of an individual.
How Annuities Typically Work
Typically, investors choose to buy annuities to create a steady stream of income.
As an investor, you can choose between immediate annuities and deferred annuities.
An immediate annuity will begin to pay out income right away. In this case, you would pay a lump sum upfront and immediately begin to receive a payout each month.
For example, let’s say you make a lump sum payment of $100,000 for an immediate annuity. At that point, you would immediately begin to receive the specified monthly payouts until the term of your annuity expires.
A deferred annuity offers a different approach with smaller monthly payments leading to guaranteed income at some point in the future.
How AgeUp is Different
Although AgeUp is an annuity, this product stands apart from the crowd in a few ways. Here are the features that should draw your attention.
Affordable Pricing
A guaranteed income is an enticing feature of all annuities. However, the majority of annuities come with a steep cost. It is not uncommon to find annuities that require a lump sum payment of at least $10,000 upfront with additional premiums along the way.
When you work with AgeUp, you’ll have the option to make monthly premium payments that range from $25 to $250. As annuities go, this is an affordable choice.
For example, a 50 year old man paying $50 a month can begin receiving $1,831 per month starting when he turns 91.
Once you start making the premium payments, you can choose to increase or decrease the amount at any time. Plus, you can choose to pause your premium payments if you can’t make the payments for a period of time.
You will need to continue making premium payments until 13 months before your target age. For example, if your target age is 93, then you would pay premiums until one month before your 91st birthday.
Of course, the higher the monthly contribution, the higher your payouts will be. Additionally, the longer you choose to make premium payments, the higher your payouts will be.
Supplemental Retirement Income for your 90s and Beyond
Annuities come in all shapes and sizes designed to meet the needs of different individuals. With AgeUp, the goal of this product is to create supplemental retirement income. Importantly, AgeUp is not designed to provide an income for your entire retirement.
The payouts won’t start until your selected trigger age. However, the available trigger ages are much later in life than the traditional retirement age of 65.
Here’s a look at an example payout. In this case, a 70-year-old woman with a $100 monthly premium can create a guaranteed income stream for later in life. However, the funds won’t be available to help her fund any retirement expenses before age 91.
Death Benefit and Lifetime Income Options
When you choose to work with AgeUp, you’ll have the choice between two different annuity options.
First, you can choose a death benefit option. In this case, the annuity would pay out a lower monthly income if you reach the selected payout age. But your loved ones would receive a lump sum payment of the paid-in contributions minus any AgeUp fees if you died before the trigger age.
The second option is the lifetime income option without a death benefit. With this plan, you would receive higher monthly payments. However, there will be no refund payments to your loved ones if you don’t reach the selected payout age.
Here’s a look at an example. Let’s say a 65-year-old woman starts making payments of $50 per month and chooses the death benefit option. With a trigger age of 91, she would receive $418 per month in guaranteed income.
If she doesn’t live to 91, up to $15,000 would be refunded to the beneficiary.
But if the same 65-year-old woman decides to forgo the death benefit option, her guaranteed lifetime income would increase to $657 per month.
Whether you choose the death benefit or the lifetime income option, AgeUp comes with a Cash Refund Guarantee. With that, your beneficiaries are guaranteed to get back at least what you put into the annuity if you reach the trigger age.
You Can Purchase AgeUp for Someone Else
If you are worried about a loved one’s ability to fund their retirement past age 90, AgeUp could be a useful financial tool. Family members are often called in to help fund the final stages of life for those blessed with longevity.
As a concerned family member, you can choose to purchase AgeUp to help fund their later retirement years. With that, you will be able to preemptively manage the need to cover big expenses for your aging relatives. Instead of being surprised with the cost of financially helping out a parent, AgeUp essentially allows you to save for this possibility along the way to create a guaranteed income for your relative later.
Requirements for AgeUp
In order to work with AgeUp, the individual must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident between the ages of 50 and 75. Currently, AgeUp is available in every state except for California, Florida and New York.
Importantly, the individual will not have to undergo a medical exam. However, AgeUp doesn’t recommend the product for anyone with a health condition that could limit their life expectancy.
Pros and Cons of AgeUp
Here’s a look at the pros and cons of AgeUp.
Pros
First, here are the pros to consider:
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Peace of mind. AgeUP can ease the financial logistics of funding an extensive retirement.
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Affordable premium payments. You can make premium payments as low as $25 per month.
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Early death benefit option. If you pass away before the target age, you can choose a plan that will provide a benefit to your heirs.
Cons
As with every financial product, there are some drawbacks of AgeUp to consider.
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Age restrictions. You can’t buy AgeUp if the individual is younger than 50 or older than 75.
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Delayed target age. You won’t start seeing payments until you are 91.
How to Get Started with AgeUp
Decided that you want to work with AgeUp? Here’s how to get started.
You can take a short questionnaire on the AgeUp site to ensure your eligibility. First, the form asks for your zip code.
You’ll also need to provide your gender.
Next, the questionnaire will ask for the individual’s age. At that point, you can select a target payout age of 91, 95 or 97. Plus, you’ll need to decide whether or not you want the premium payments returned if you don’t reach the target payout age.
Finally, AgeUp will calculate an estimate for your plan. You’ll be able to play around with the details of the estimate to determine which course of action is best for your situation.
Is AgeUp Legit?
Yes, AgeUp is legit. This annuity product is brought to you by Haven Life and backed by MassMutual. With the backing of these prominent companies, you can feel comfortable trusting their financial stability and the promise of a guaranteed income.
Summary
AgeUp is offering a new type of annuity that is designed to help solve a problem that many people face in their retirement. The question of what to do with draining resources in their retirement reserves often falls to their families to shoulder the financial burden.
With that, AgeUp offers an opportunity to prevent financial hardship across generations to ensure smooth sailing in your 90s. Take the time to explore your guaranteed lifetime income options with AgeUp today.