West Coast Life Insurance Co. has introduced an immediate annuity that includes optional provisions for liquidity, payout increases, and medical underwriting, the San Francisco company has announced.
The liquidity option lets the annuity owner cash out at any point after payments have begun and receive a portion of the purchase payment back, West Coast Life said on Friday. This addresses retirees' worry about locking up their money, Mark Rush, a senior vice president of marketing, said in a press release.
Annuity owners have also expressed concern that stable payments provided by most income annuities will not keep up with inflation, particularly given longer life spans and time in retirement, Mr. Rush said. West Coast Life's PAYPlus Option aims to address this worry by allowing annuity owners to choose at each payment anniversary how much their payment will rise, up to 10% a year.
The third new option enables those with certain medical conditions, including a history of heart attacks, strokes, or Alzheimer's disease, to apply for special medical underwriting. This involves assessment of the individual's medical history and life expectancy, which may result in higher annuity payments or lower purchase payments than would ordinarily be available.
