June is Annuity Awareness Month — and if you own an annuity, there's no better time to ask a simple question: when was the last time someone actually reviewed it with you?
Annuities are one of the most widely held — and least understood — financial products in America. Millions of Americans own them. Far fewer can tell you exactly what they're paying in fees, when their surrender period ends, or whether their income riders have ever been activated.
That's not a criticism. It's a reality of how these products are often sold and — more importantly — how rarely they're revisited.
At Tempus Wealth Management, serving clients throughout Hillsboro Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and South Florida, this is one of the most common conversations I have with new clients. And it starts with the same question: "Has anyone reviewed this with you recently?"
The answer is usually no.
How Annuities Are Typically Structured
Most annuities are sold on a commission basis. The advisor or agent receives a one-time upfront payment — often ranging from 4% to 8% of the premium — at the time of sale. That structure, in itself, is not wrong. Many advisors use commissions as part of a legitimate and ethical practice.
But it does create a dynamic worth understanding: once the sale is complete, there is often no ongoing financial incentive for that advisor to stay engaged with your account. No annual fee. No renewal commission. No built-in reason to pick up the phone.
That's not an indictment of anyone. It's simply how many of these products work — and why periodic, proactive reviews matter so much.
What Tends to Happen Over Time
Clients who purchased annuities five, ten, or fifteen years ago often find themselves in a similar situation: the product is still there, quietly accumulating or paying out, but the original advisor has moved on, retired, or simply gone quiet.
Meanwhile, a lot can change:
- Surrender charge periods expire — opening up options that didn't exist before
- Income rider elections become available but go unactivated
- Beneficiary designations go unreviewed for years
- The original retirement income goal the product was purchased for may have evolved
None of this means your annuity is a bad product. It may be perfectly suited to your situation. But without a periodic review, you simply don't know.
What a Review Actually Looks Like
In honor of Annuity Awareness Month, here's what a proper annuity review covers — and why each point matters to your retirement income plan:
Surrender charge status. Many annuity contracts carry surrender penalties that expire after 7–10 years. If yours has passed that window, your options may have changed significantly — including the ability to reposition assets, add to your plan, or restructure entirely.
Income rider activation. Some contracts include guaranteed income riders that were never formally elected. If you have one built into your contract, it may be time to evaluate whether activating it makes sense for your retirement income picture.
All-in annual fees. This is one of the most overlooked aspects of annuity ownership. Annuities can carry multiple layers of costs — mortality and expense charges, administrative fees, rider fees, and subaccount expenses inside variable products. Together these can stack to 2%, 3%, or more annually. Most clients have never seen the full number presented as a single figure. As a wealth management client, you deserve to know exactly what you're paying.
Anniversary reallocation windows. Many annuities — particularly variable and indexed products — only allow changes to your investment strategy or index allocation once per year, on your contract anniversary date. Miss that window and you wait another 12 months. In a shifting market environment, that's not a minor administrative detail. It's a potential performance drag that compounds quietly over time. Knowing your anniversary date and planning around it is part of sound retirement planning — not something to leave to chance.
Beneficiary designations. Life changes. Marriages, divorces, births, deaths — beneficiary designations on annuity contracts don't update automatically. This is one of the simplest things to fix and one of the most commonly overlooked.
The Bottom Line
Annuities can be legitimate, valuable tools in a retirement income strategy — particularly for South Florida clients who want a guaranteed income stream they can't outlive. The issue is rarely the product itself. The issue is when a product gets purchased and then forgotten, with no one actively making sure it's doing its job.
June is Annuity Awareness Month. If you haven't reviewed your annuity in the last 12 months — or if you're not entirely sure what you own — use this month as your prompt.
As a financial advisor based in Hillsboro Beach serving clients throughout South Florida and Fort Lauderdale, I offer a no-obligation annuity review at no cost to you. No products to sell, no pressure — just a clear, honest look at what you own and whether it's still aligned with where your retirement is headed.
This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment, tax, or legal advice. Annuity products vary significantly by carrier and contract type. Please consult a qualified financial professional regarding your individual circumstances.