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Independent Review of the Reliance Standard Life Apollo MVA Annuity

What’s Covered In This Review

In this review, we’ll cover the following information on the Reliance Standard Life Apollo MVA annuity:
  • Product TypeIndependent Review of the Reliance Standard Life Apollo MVA Annuity
  • Fees
  • Current Rates
  • How it is used
  • How it is most poorly used

Annuities can be complex. That’s where having an Annuity Investigator who loves math comes in. We make the complex, simple.

If you’ve been thinking about purchasing a financial product that can provide you with protection of your principal, along with a guaranteed lifetime income in retirement, then the Apollo MVA annuity from Reliance Standard Life may be a viable option for you – starting with the fact that this product offers safety of principal and various other guarantees that are built directly into the annuity contract. But, prior to going forward with purchasing this annuity – or for that matter, any annuity – it is advantageous for you to first get a better understanding of just exactly how annuities work, as well as how one may (or may not) fit in with your overall personal financial goals. Over the past decade or so, annuities have become quite a bit more popular as a way of providing a guaranteed stream of income in retirement. Because of that, the number of insurance and financial sales reps who are offering annuities has also expanded exponentially. This, however, may not necessarily be a positive thing. This is because, even though most financial and insurance professionals vie to do the best thing for their clients, they may also not always be providing you with all of the pertinent information that you should have in order to make a well-informed purchase decision regarding a fixed annuity. In addition, due in large part to annuities’ growth in popularity, there have been more and more annuity features and benefits being offered in order to help individuals with basically “customizing” their product. Unfortunately, this has actually made what is already a complex financial product even more confusing – even for well-educated consumers. With that in mind, it is recommended that you take the steps that are needed to truly understand what it is that you are purchasing, particularly as an annuity could comprise a large percentage of your overall retirement savings. And, once you have made the decision to move forward with an annuity, if you find out later that it is not the best product for you, it can be very “expensive” to get out, given its surrender penalties.

Annuity And Retirement Income Planning Information That You Can Trust

If this is the very first time that you’ve visited our site, we would like to personally welcome you to AnnuityGator.com. Here, we are a team of financial experts that are focused on offering you the most in-depth and nonbiased reviews pertaining to annuities. We’ve been doing this for quite a while now – and much longer than any of our competitors. Because of that, we have become well known and trusted as a source for good, solid annuity information. If you have been seeking additional details about annuities online, it is possible that you have somewhere along the line run across a lot of conflicting details about them and how they work. This is not completely surprising, though, because there is a great deal of information out there about annuities. It is also possible that you may have recently attended a seminar about annuities, where the presenter offered you a free dinner or lunch, in return for allowing him or her to provide you with more details about the particular annuity products that they sell. Finding out more details about these annuities may even be what has led you to our website right now in search of information. Even though there are many good sources of information about annuities online today, there are also a number of websites that will attempt to lure people in by making some pretty hefty claims, such as:
  • Lowest Fees
  • Highest Payouts
  • Top Rated Annuity Carriers
  • Guaranteed Lifetime Income
  • Fast Annuity Quotes
Yet, while these claims may sound very good on the surface, it is important that you ensure that they are backed up before you move forward with making a purchase – just like you would do before you make any other big ticket purchase. With that in mind, if you really want to know more about the Reliance Standard Life Apollo MVA Annuity, then you have definitely landed in the right place. In fact, we dare say that this website that you are currently on is the only place where you can get all of the necessary information about annuities – which in turn, can help you to determine whether or not an annuity is right for you. What tends to often happen is that the insurance sales people who offer fixed annuities will paint you a nice, rosy picture of how these financial vehicles can give you a stable amount of growth, along with the safety of your principal. But unfortunately, whether it is done intentionally or unintentionally, these very same insurance agents and financial advisors may also often times leave out some of the most pertinent information about the potential drawbacks that these annuities can have. So, with that in mind, prior to moving a large chunk of your retirement savings into the Apollo MVA Annuity from Reliance Standard Life, or any annuity for that matter, it is critical that you first get the entire story. Just to be perfectly clear here, though, we will say that a fixed annuity may be able to provide you with many nice benefits, provided that it fits into your overall financial plan. So, be sure that you know just exactly what you are getting into, as well as the reason why you are choosing a particular annuity product over another possible option. This annuity review is provided here in order to help you gain a more clear understanding of the small print on the Reliance Standard Life Apollo MVA Annuity. So, if you are ready to get started, let’s go ahead and dive in!

Reliance Standard Life Apollo MVA Annuity at a Glance

Product NameApollo MVA Fixed Annuity
IssuerReliance Standard Life Insurance Company
Type of ProductSingle Premium Deferred Fixed Annuity
Standard & Poor'sA (Excellent)
Phone Number(800) 351-7500
Websitewww.reliancestandard.com

Opening Thoughts on the Reliance Standard Life Apollo-MVA Annuity

Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company is a leading insurance carrier that specializes in flexible and innovative employee benefits solutions and medical stop-loss insurance coverage, as well as other types of insurance protection, and annuity products. Its annuity product lineup includes both fixed and fixed indexed annuity options. These products are offered in all states (including the District of Columbia), except for New York. This insurer is considered to be a strong and stable contender in the insurance and annuity arena, and today, it is a member of the Tokio Marine Group. The ultimate holding company of Reliance Standard Insurance Company is incorporated in Japan and is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. However, Reliance Standard is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The company has been offering insurance products to its customers for more than 110 years. It is strong and stable financially, and due to its strong financial foundation and positive claims-paying reputation, it has been rated highly by the independent insurer rating agencies, including an A+ (Superior) from A.M. Best and an A (Excellent) by Standard & Poor’s. With the constant volatility in the stock market over the past decade or so, the demand for fixed annuity products has grown substantially across the board. This has been due in large part because these products offer a way to protect your principal, as well as to provide an ongoing, guaranteed, lifetime income in retirement – regardless of how long the annuitant lives. However, because of the low-interest rate environment that we have also been subject to – particularly since the 2008 recession – fixed annuities’ returns have not been anything to brag about. In fact, the returns on these vehicles have been so dismally low lately that most of these annuities do not return enough to even beat the inflation rate. This can be detrimental to your financial situation going forward, then, especially if you plan to use the income from your fixed annuity to pay for the goods and services you need to purchase in the future.

Before getting into the gritty details, here are some legal disclosures…

This is an independent product review, and it is not to be considered as a recommendation to purchase or to sell an annuity. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company has not endorsed this review in any way, nor do we receive any compensation for offering this review. This review is meant to be an independent review at the request of readers so that they may see our perspective when breaking down the positives and the negatives of this particular annuity product. Prior to purchasing any insurance or investment product, you should be sure to do your own due diligence and consult a properly licensed professional if you have any specific questions that relate to your individual circumstances. All names, marks, and materials that were used for this review are the property of their respective owners. For additional information on how to compare fixed annuities so that you can decide which may be the best one for you, click here in order to obtain our free annuity report.

How Reliance Standard Life Describes the Apollo-MVA Annuity

The product literature for the Reliance Standard Life Apollo MVA annuity describes this product as being “a smart choice for safety conscious individuals seeking financial security.” This annuity is available to applicants who are up to age 85, and the annuity allows a minimum premium of $5,000 and a maximum of $500,000. This single premium deferred annuity also offers interest that is compounded annually and is credited daily. This particular product offers an annuitization bonus, as well as a nursing home waiver that allows you to access your funds if you are confined to either a nursing home or to a hospital. There is also a death benefit that is payable to a named beneficiary (or to several named beneficiaries) upon the annuity owner/annuitant’s death. The amount of the death benefit will be equal to the annuity’s value at the time of the annuitant’s passing.

How a Financial Advisor Might “Pitch” this Annuity

If a financial advisor or insurance sales agent has approached you about the Apollo MVA Annuity from Reliance Standard Life, they may have “pitched” this product by highlighting certain features, which include safety of your principal, a safe rate of return, and a guaranteed lifetime income that is paid out to you in the future. However, as an educated consumer, you may have noticed that insurance and financial institutions will work very hard to make sure that their products sound very enticing. For example, the safety of principal and a set amount of lifetime income do sound good – but they may come at a price to you. In this case, with the Apollo MVA annuity, a market value adjustment will occur if you make early withdrawals from the annuity that exceed the annual penalty-free amount, or if you request a full surrender of the annuity within the first seven years of owning it. (Note: A market value adjustment can either increase or decrease the value of your annuity, based on the difference between the current interest rates and the interest rate that is in effect when your annuity was issued). With regard to the annuitization bonus that is offered on the Apollo MVA annuity, there is also some “small print” to consider. In this case, you can receive a bonus that is equal to 4% of the annuity, provided that you meet both of the following criteria:
  • You begin your payout period at any time after the 5th contract year, and
  • You elect a payout period of at least ten or more years.
Also, while this annuity may appear to offer a guaranteed rate of interest, the interest rate is actually only guaranteed for the first contract year. Each year thereafter, Reliance Standard Life will declare the interest rate for the subsequent contract year. So, even though the protection of principal and a guaranteed income for life are appealing, these features are actually present on any fixed annuity that you’ll find out there – and, if you are able to obtain these benefits, along with the opportunity to also earn a higher rate of return, then it could be well worth it to take a look at some of the other options that are available to you. The bottom line is that, while the Reliance Standard Life Apollo MVA Annuity has some nice advantages, once you have committed to purchasing this product, if a better alternative comes along, it could be too late – and too expensive – for you to get out of it. With that in mind, if you are still not 100 percent sure that the Apollo MVA Annuity from Reliance Standard Life is the best annuity option for you, and if you would like to get answers to any additional questions that you may have, then please feel free to reach out to us through our secure contact form now. We understand how confusing it can be when trying to determine whether or not a particular annuity product will or won’t be right for you. However, simply knowing what you should look for in these products is essential, as an annuity could very well comprise a substantial portion of your overall retirement funds. If you would like to get additional assurance with regard to this – or any other annuity that you may be considering buying – then just simply click here to download our free report on what you need to know before you buy an annuity.

What About the Reliance Standard Life Apollo MVA Annuity Fees?

In addition to knowing how your money may perform in an annuity, it is also a good idea to know about any of the fees that you may be charged, both during the annuity’s “accumulation” phase, and when you’re taking income. The fees that are charged on a fixed annuity can truly add up – and in turn, they can have a negative impact on how much your funds will grow inside the annuity, as well as with the amount of income that you will ultimately receive in the future. Many annuities will charge you an up-front sales commission for the agent or financial representative who sold you the annuity. You may also be charged ongoing fees for the management and administration of the annuity. Plus, if you want to access some or all of your funds in the annuity’s account, you could face a surrender charge over the first seven years. This means any amount that is more than 10 percent of the annuity’s value. The surrender penalties for the Reliance Standard Life Apollo MVA annuity are outlined as follows:
Year 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5Year 6Year 7Year 8
9%8%7%6%5%4%2%0%
Independent Review of the Reliance Standard Life Apollo MVA Annuity

The Annuity Gator’s End Take on the Reliance Standard Life Apollo MVA Annuity

Where it works best: This particular annuity will tend to work the best for those who are seeking:
  • Safety of principal
  • A set amount of income that comes in regularly
  • Ongoing, lifetime income that cannot be outlived (if the lifetime income option is chosen)
Where it works worst: This annuity may not be the ideal option for those who are:
  • Seeking a high rate of return
  • Not planning to take advantage of the lifetime income feature

In Summary

here are many factors that need to be considered when you are deciding which annuity will be best for you – or even if an annuity is right for you in general. In any case, an annuity should always be considered as a long-term endeavor, and because of that, it is essential that you are comfortable in knowing just exactly how that annuity may help you with reaching your ultimate financial goals. If you are leaning towards the purchase of a fixed annuity, these options can offer you the safety of principal, as well as an ongoing, guaranteed stream of lifetime income. With a fixed annuity, you can certainly be assured that your principal in the account will be safe. You can also be sure that you will be able to access an ongoing, lifetime income during retirement. So, in the case of the Reliance Standard Life Apollo MVA annuity, there are certainly some good features to consider. With that in mind, if you are still considering the purchase of the Apollo MVA Annuity from Reliance Standard Life, it could be a viable option for you. However, this annuity may also still fall somewhat short – and quite frankly, there may very well be some better options that are available to you, especially if you are looking for lifetime income, along with the opportunity to obtain more growth. If you still have any additional questions about whether this particular annuity (or any annuity, for that matter) is the right one for you – or even if you just would like some additional assistance in guiding you in the right direction – then please feel free to reach out to us via our secure contact form here.

Have Any Questions on the Reliance Standard Life Apollo MVA Annuity? Did You Notice Any Mistakes in this Review?

We realize that this annuity review was a bit on the lengthy side, so we do appreciate you sticking with us through it all. Hopefully, you found the review to be helpful, and if so, then please feel free to share it and spread the word to anyone else who you think might also benefit from it. We also understand that information regarding annuities can, and oftentimes does, change on a constant basis. So, if you happened to notice any details in this annuity review that need to be corrected or updated, please let us know and we will be happy to make these corrections. If this annuity review has instead caused you to be more confused about annuity products, or if it prompted you to think of any additional questions, then please feel free to click here and let us know that, too. Is There Any Other Annuity (or Several Other Annuities) that You Would Like to See Reviewed? No problem. Our team of highly trained annuity experts can get on it! Just simply click here in order to let us know, and we will do our best to get the new reviews online as soon as possible. Best, The Annuity Gator Independent Review of the Reliance Standard Life Apollo-MVA Annuity    

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