Where’s the best place to buy an annuity? According to a report by Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research, the answer is the Social Security Administration. By delaying SS benefits, individuals receive a higher benefit and are in essence “buying” increased streams of incomes by paying their expenses while they wait.
In an era of low interest rates, less competition and more conservative actuarial assumptions, plus marketing, compliance and sales costs, it makes sense that commercial annuity providers can’t compete with the federal government. And while some may quip that they hope Social Security is still around while they wait, the same could be said for commercial providers.
