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Independent Review of the Jackson National Life Action Annuity | Updated April 2021

What will we be discussing in this annuity review of Jackson National’s Life Action Annuity?

In this updated review of the Jackson National Life Action Annuity, we will be going over the following details: jackson national annuity review
  • Annuity contract type
  • How the annuity works
  • Pros and cons
  • Fees and surrender charge information
  • Where this contract may and may not work, based on your objectives

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

The Jackson National Life Action fixed annuity contract offers a number of nice benefits that retirees and pre-retirees today may be seeking, such as guarantees and principal protection. Many of these are actually built directly into the annuity itself. However, prior to moving forward with purchasing this (or any) annuity, it is important to have a good understanding of how the product works, and how it may – or may not – fit into your overall financial situation once you have a more thorough idea of its inner workings. An annuity can offer a way to ensure guaranteed lifetime income. This is due in large part to the fast disappearance of traditional pension plan offerings from employers, as well as the extreme volatility of the stock market – particularly in times like the 2008 recession, and the more recent 2020 COVID-19 outbreak and corresponding stock market correction. Jackson National’s Life Action can make it easy for investors to simply roll funds from an IRA or a 401(k) plan and continue to let it grow, while at the same time set it up for eventual ongoing income in the future. Yet, while this can be reassuring, it is also essential to understand that an annuity is a long-term commitment that can oftentimes have a surrender charge period of many years. This means that, once you have made your decision to purchase an annuity, it can be difficult to change your mind without paying a hefty penalty. Truly knowing what you are getting into with an annuity can be difficult because these products tend to be confusing. There can be a lot of “small print” with these financial vehicles – even with fixed annuities, which offer the least amount of moving parts. What can often add the most amount of confusion actually has less to do with annuities themselves, but rather is the way in which these products are sold to consumers. This is where we come in.

Annuity and Retirement Income Planning Information That You Can Trust

You may have run across our website if you are starting or updating your retirement planning strategies, or even just reviewing your investment portfolio and want to determine whether or not there would be a benefit if you added an annuity. In any case, if this happens to be your first visit here, then we would personally like to welcome you to AnnuityGator.com. We are a team of experienced financial professionals who are dedicated to providing you with the most comprehensive and non-biased annuity reviews that can be found on the Internet today. We have been doing this longer than any of our competitors. If you have been seeking out information on annuities online, or even if you have heard friends and family discussing these products, it is likely that you have encountered some conflicting information about them. This is easy, as there is a lot of confusing information about annuities out there. In addition, even some very reputable websites that are devoted to marketing their annuity products do a great job of grabbing your attention so that they can obtain your contact information by making claims like:
  •  Guaranteed Income For Life
  •  Highest Payouts
  •  Lowest Fees and/or Surrender Charge Periods
  •  Top-Rated A+ Companies
  •  Get Your Quote Now!
Sure, these awesome statements do sound great – but are any of these claims really true? If you want to find out, then you’ve come to the right place – and we dare say, likely the only place – where you can actually find out if that’s so. There are many different retirement savings products available today – which includes a plethora of different types of annuities. Because everyone’s needs are different, not all retirement products will be right for everyone. Insurance salespeople will typically do their very best to provide a rosy picture of how safe these products are. But, what they will often neglect to say is that there are also still some drawbacks to owning fixed annuities, too – so this means that you need to know all of the potential angles prior to putting down your hard-earned retirement dollars into one. Plus, an annuity is a contract, so there are things you need to know before you sign on the dotted line! This isn’t to say that what these agents are trying to sell you is a bad thing. But, what it does mean is that as you approach retirement, and as you determine what you should do with the money you have saved up over the years, you should know and understand exactly what you are purchasing with it – and why. This annuity review is here to help you in decoding all of that “fine print” so that you will have a more thorough knowledge of whether this particular annuity may help you to achieve your financial goals. So, if you are ready to begin, let’s go ahead and dive on in!

Jackson National Life Action Annuity at a Glance

Product NameJackson National Life Action
IssuerJackson National
Type of ProductFixed Annuity
Standard & Poor's RatingA+ (Strong)
Phone Number(877) 565-2968
Websitewww.jackson.com

Opening Thoughts on the Jackson National Life Action Fixed Annuity

For nearly six decades, Jackson National Insurance Company has been helping individuals, families, and business owners with growing and protecting their wealth. As one of America’s top annuity providers and provider of retirement planning tools, Jackson National – which is based in Lansing, Michigan, has a key focus on educating people about how annuities work, and how they may – or may not – be right for everyone.

The company ended the year 2019 with more than $22 billion in total sales and deposits, with fixed indexed annuities making up approximately $3.8 billion of that, and fixed annuities coming in with an additional $1.2 billion. In total, Jackson held nearly $298 billion in total IFRS assets.

Jackson National has accumulated some nice achievements, too, particularly in the life insurance and annuity arena, including the ranking of the:

  •  #1 seller of annuities in the U.S. during 2019
  •  #1 ranking in variable annuity sales in the U.S. during 2019
  •  #12 largest seller of fixed-rate deferred annuities in the U.S. during 2019
  •  #7 largest seller of fixed indexed annuities in the U.S. during 2019

The company also holds a high ranking position in terms of asset rankings, being the:

  •  7th largest U.S. life insurance company (as ranked by total statutory assets).
  •  15th largest U.S. life insurance company (as ranked by general account assets).
  •  21st largest U.S. life insurance company (as ranked by statutory surplus plus asset valuation reserve and interest maintenance reserve).

Based on the company’s financial strength and stability, along with its positive reputation for paying out its policyholders’ claims, Jackson has earned high ratings from the insurer rating agencies. These include a(n):

  •  A (Excellent) from A.M. Best
  •  A+ (Strong) from Fitch Ratings
  •  A+ (Strong) from Standard & Poor’s
  •  A1 (Good) from Moody’s Investor Service
So, this provider of retirement income sources definitely has a good track record in the annuity industry.

Before we get into the gritty details, here are some necessary legal disclosures…

This is an independent annuity product review. It is not a recommendation to purchase or to sell an annuity. Jackson National Life Insurance Company has not endorsed this review in any way, nor do we receive any type of compensation for providing this review. This annuity review is meant solely to be an independent review at the request of our readers so that they may see our perspective when breaking down the positives and the negatives of this particular annuity. Prior to committing to the purchase of any type of insurance and/or investment vehicle, it is critical that you do your own due diligence, and that you also talk with a properly licensed professional if you have any questions that relate to your specific situation. All of the names, materials, and marks that have been used in compiling this annuity review are the property of their respective owners.

For additional information on how to compare fixed annuities rom Jackson National Life Insurance Company – or from any other insurance carrier – so that you can decide which may be the best one for you, click here in order to obtain our free annuity report.

How Jackson National Life Describes the Action Fixed Annuity

Jackson National Life Insurance Company describes the Action fixed annuity as an annuity contract that offers competitive interest rates, along with a choice of guaranteed rate periods, and options for guaranteed lifetime income (regardless of how long you may need it).

As with other annuities, the growth inside of the account is allowed to take place on a tax-deferred basis. This means that there is no tax due on the gain until the time of withdrawal.

While this annuity really doesn’t stand out, it does provide some added “bells and whistles,” such as a way to access your funds penalty-free – even during the surrender charge period – if you are diagnosed with various medical conditions and/or if you are confined to a hospital or a nursing home for 90 consecutive days.

There is also a death benefit on the Jackson National Life Action annuity, whereby your named beneficiary(ies) can receive the remainder of the contract value if you pass away before receiving all of your contributions back. This is the case on many fixed, variable, and indexed annuities.

To check out information on this and other Jackson annuities, go here.

How an Insurance or Financial Advisor Might “Pitch” this Annuity

If you’ve been looking more intently at retirement income generators lately, you may have noticed that insurance companies do a good job of making their products sound enticing. For example, you may have read the description of the Jackson National Life Action fixed annuity above that decided that this is the perfect annuity for you. And that’s exactly what a commissioned insurance salesperson wants you to think! But even though Jackson annuities have a good reputation, you still need to do your due diligence.

So, if you are making the decision to purchase this particular annuity product under the guidance of an insurance salesperson who will earn a nice sized commission or a fee from the sale of the annuity, then it is possible that you might hear this annuity explained in an even brighter light.

When you are dealing with fixed annuity products, some of the key concepts that you will oftentimes hear insurance sales agents talking about when explaining them include the following:

  •  Interest rate guarantee
  •  Interest rate bonuses
  •  Guaranteed retirement income for life

But let’s take a closer look at some of these concepts, because even though they can sound great up-front, once you delve a bit deeper into the fine print, you may realize that there are a few tradeoffs.

One is the painfully low-interest-rate this annuity offers. Rates have actually been historically low ever since the Recession of 2008. And they haven’t risen much at all – particularly since the government came in and again tried to stimulate the U.S. economy by further reducing rates during the 2020 COVID-19 crisis.

What About the Jackson National Life Action Fixed Annuity’s Fees?

Along with all the features and benefits on an annuity, it is also important to have a thorough understanding of what type of fees – such as withdrawal charges – are involved before moving forward. When dealing with a fixed annuity, the fees and expenses that are typically involved can generally include administrative charges, the cost of the guaranteed income, and the sales agent’s commission.

Also, you may be charged an annual contract fee that is in the neighborhood of $30 per year. As with other annuity types, a fixed annuity will usually also have surrender charges if you withdraw your funds within the first several years of contract ownership.

As with making withdrawals from any annuity contract, you could be subject to taxes on some or all of the funds that you access. Plus, if you make such withdrawals before you have turned age 59 ½, then you may be hit with yet an additional 10% “early withdrawal” penalty from Uncle Sam.

The Annuity Gator’s End Take on the Jackson National Life Action Fixed Annuity

Where it works best:

This annuity will generally work the best for those who are looking for:

  •  Safety of principal
  •  Slow but steady growth over time
  •  Guaranteed income in retirement

Where it works the worst:

Although it offers some nice benefits and guarantees, the Jackson National Life Action Annuity might not be the best alternative:

  •  For people who need access to their money in the early years (because of the surrender charge and other possible fees for terminating the contract or withdrawing “too much” from it in the early years)
  •  For people who are seeking the opportunity for a high return
  •  For people who have a higher risk tolerance
  •  For people who are not seeking long-term or lifetime retirement income

In Summary

Overall, fixed, variable, and indexed annuities should always be considered as a long-term endeavor – and because of that, these vehicles will generally be more appealing to those who are seeking retirement income in the future and also to those who may be working to build up as much as possible in order to generate that future income stream. While this particular annuity does provide some nice features such as the protection of principal, due to the low rate of return, it may fall short – especially in comparison to some of the other alternatives that are available right now.

Have Questions on the Jackson National Life Action Fixed Annuity? See Any Mistakes?

Thank you for bearing with us on this annuity review. If you found it to be helpful, then please feel free to spread the word and share it with others as they, too, may also find the information in it to be useful.

One last note, as humans will sometimes do, we all tend to make some mistakes. So, if you happened to notice any incorrect statements while you were going through this annuity review, then please let us know. We are always more than happy to make any corrections and to give credit where credit is due.

If you are an investor and this review causes you any confusion and/or if it creates any additional questions, then please reach out to us as well. While we are not always able to get back with you right away, we can usually clear up any questions within a day or two.

Is there an Annuity That You Would Like to See Reviewed?

No problem! Our team of highly trained annuity geeks can get on it! Click here in order to get started and we will do our best in order to get the review online as soon as possible.

Best,

The Annuity Gator

P.S. If you would like to read more of our Jackson National Life annuity reviews here are some links to check out:   jackson annuity review - jackson national
3 Comments
  • J. Douglas Ulrich
    9:48 AM, 1 July 2019

    Thank you very much for putting this information out in a manner common folks can understand!

  • RUBY
    1:55 PM, 19 August 2020

    Do you have annuity with fixed interest, death benefit, quarterly statements,and locked in each year?

  • Annuity Gator
    3:16 PM, 19 August 2020

    Hi Ruby – Thank you for your message.
    Our annuity experts can walk you through a variety of different strategies – and can even provide you with a direct comparison of specific annuities so that you can more easily narrow down which, if any, will fit your needs. In order to provide you with the best advice, we would need to get a bit more information from you. Rather than emailing sensitive details back and forth, though, it would be best to chat via phone. Please feel free to reach out to us directly, toll-free, at (888) 440-2468 to chat with one of our annuity specialists or visit https://annuitygator.com/contact/
    We look forward to speaking with you.
    Best,
    Annuity Gator

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