What will be covered in this Prudential annuity review?
Within this review, I will be going over the following information on the Prudential Premier Retirement B Series Variable annuity:- Type of Product
- Fees Charged
- Rates
- How the Annuity Is Used
- How the Annuity 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.
It may become clear to you as you go through this review that the Prudential B Series variable annuity – like many other annuities – is able to perform quite well in certain types of situations. However, there are other situations where this particular annuity will not be the ideal choice, especially given what the ultimate goals for the annuity may be.Annuity and Retirement Education That You Can Trust
It is quite possible that you have found our website and that you are not entirely sure what we do or why we are reviewing this annuity. The good news is, though, that if you are looking for information about annuities, you have certainly come to the right place. If you’ve done any type of research on annuities – especially on the Internet – then it is possible that you have seen other websites that will make certain claims about annuities in order to simply collect your contact information. For example, they might suggest that the annuities that they recommend offer features such as the:- Lowest Fees
- Highest Payouts
- 7-8% Returns – with Absolutely No Market Risk!
Prudential Premier Retirement B Series Variable Annuity at a Glance
Product Name | Prudential B Series Variable Annuity |
Issuer | Prudential |
Type of Product | Variable Annuity |
Standard & Poor's Rating | AA- (Very Strong) |
Phone Number | (855) 366-5312 |
Website | https://www.prudential.com/ |
Opening Thoughts on the Prudential Premier Retirement B Series Annuity
Overall, a variable annuity is designed to perform two primary tasks. These include growing principal in the account, and producing income. However, a variable annuity really is not all that great at producing income. One of the main reasons for this is because of the amount of risk that a variable annuity can present to the investor, as well as the risk that it can present to the insurance company that offers it. Because the account value inside of a variable annuity will often times fluctuate a great deal – especially in times of a volatile market – it is not uncommon for an insurance carrier to guarantee a lower amount of income from a variable annuity than it will from “safer” alternatives such as fixed annuities. With that in mind, for each dollar that you might invest in a variable annuity, you could actually end up with less income than you would if you had invested it into a fixed annuity – without all the sleepless nights! Because of this, if in fact, your main goal for an annuity purchase is to have future retirement income, then in most cases, a variable annuity will not be the best alternative. In terms of having a variable annuity for growing your principal, these vehicles can certainly provide you with the opportunity for high returns. For instance, with the Prudential Premier Retirement B Series variable annuity, investors can create a fully customized portfolio with any combination of the 61 investment options and the annuity’s managed asset allocation portfolios, guided allocations, or individual asset class portfolios. However, because this is a variable annuity, the portfolio is still exposed to downside market risk. It will also be exposed to a number of different fees – some that variable annuity investors may or may not even be aware of until they are already invested in the product and it is essentially “too late” to jump ship. For example, what a number of variable annuity purchasers do not often realize is that in addition to the fees that are associated with the annuity itself, there will also be fees that are charged within the investments themselves. In other words, the mutual funds that are inside of the annuity will have their own management fees. These can really add up. And, when you consider all of the investment management fees, plus the annuity fees such as a front-end load, annual administrative fees, and any possible rider fees – and you then add in the potential market volatility on the investments – it can be fairly difficult to earn a high return on these types of financial vehicles.Before we move on to the details, there is some required legal information that has to be disclosed here…
This is an independent Prudential annuity review. Because of that, it does not include any type of a recommendation to buy or sell an annuity. Prudential has not endorsed this annuity review in any way. The information here is simply meant to be an opinion so that readers can view our personal perspective when making a determination as to the potential advantages and/or the drawbacks of the Prudential Premier Retirement B Series annuity, as well as whether or not it may fit in with their financial goals. Prior to purchasing any type of financial product or service, it is important to pursue your own due diligence, as well as to consult with a licensed and competent financial advisor. In doing so, you can then better ensure that the product or service that you are considering may fit in with your circumstances. All of the names, the trademarks, and the materials that were used with this annuity review are the property of their respective owners.How Prudential Describes the Series B Variable Annuity
The Prudential is known for offering quality insurance and investment products. This company has been involved in the industry for more than 140 years and has a long history of helping its customers to grow and protect their wealth. Prudential, or “Pru,” is considered to be the second-largest life insurer in the United States (based on total admitted assets), and it is the 9th largest institutional asset manager worldwide. Prudential was also recently ranked first in the Insurance: Life and Health category, in Fortune magazine’s 2016 list of the World’s Most Admired Companies. As of early 2016, the company held more than $1.2 trillion of assets under management and roughly $3.5 trillion of gross life insurance in force. Based upon the information from Prudential’s website, as well as from its annuity prospectuses, the Series B variable annuity is described as a variable annuity that can provide for long-term retirement goals at a lower cost. The Prudential Premier Retirement B Series variable annuity offers more than 61 different, professionally managed investment options, each covering a wide range of styles and classes. As with other types of annuities, the B-Series also provides investors the ability to invest tax-deferred. The annuity offers additional benefits, too, such as a guaranteed death benefit, free withdrawals, and a waiver of withdrawal charges.How Financial Advisors Might “Pitch” the Prudential Premier Retirement B Series Annuity
The B Series variable annuity fits into the Premier Retirement annuity series that is offered through Prudential. This group of variable annuities tends to offer different benefits to investors who are seeking various goals – with the B-Series geared towards those who are investing for the longer term. The B Series offers a number of different living benefits that can be added to the product, which can be beneficial to the investor in case the need for long-term care arises, or the funds are needed for other various circumstances such as terminal illness. This Prudential Premier Retirement B Series annuity offers roughly 61 different investment options to choose from – which can provide a wide variety of different asset types and classes. Because of that, a financial sales pitch may also include the ability for an investor to “customize” his or her portfolio so that it better meets their particular needs. That being said, though, because this is a variable annuity, the funds in the account will still be exposed to market risk – and because of that, it will be important to have a good idea of just how much risk you are comfortable with taking prior to moving forward with a variable annuity, if this is, in fact, the route you decide to take.What About the Fees?
When looking at the fees, a variable annuity can be one of the most expensive products out there in the market today. And, the Prudential Premier Retirement B Series annuity does seem to be racked with many. For instance, the B Series variable annuity has several years of back-end surrender charges. These are as follows:- Years 0-1: 7%
- Years 2-3: 6%
- Year 4: 5%
- Year 5: 4.5%
- Year 6: 4%
- Year 7+: 0%
Akiva Miller
you don’t talk about the Spousal Highest Daily Lifetime 6 plun : benefit
Annuity Gator
Hi Akiva– Thank you for your message.
We would be happy to help you understand this product better.
Please feel free to contact us directly, toll-free, at (888) 440-2468 to chat with one of our annuity specialists or visit http://annuitygator.com/contact/
We look forward to hearing from you.
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Noah
Thank you for your review & insight into Prudential Annuity Retirement B Series. Currently retired and managing my own investments using passive ETFS after paying high management fees for 12 years with Morgan Stanley & Edward Jones. Now have a SCHWAB account and the last financial product I’ve been working through to understand fees & holdings. Purchased for me by financial advisor in 2012 when working and too busy with little knowledge of investments. Read through materials last week and had concluded high fees (2% yr) with likely other hidden fees that would make the 5% annual return & with lifetime annual income distributions, inferior to other retirement instruments like Vanguard ETFs. Thanks again. Your review substantiated my initial assessment & conclusion to liquidate the annuity & roll it over into my Schwab 401k retirement account.