Three ways to pay yourself an annuity

You have several options for paying yourself a (life) annuity each month. This is certainly a very interesting idea given the sharp drop in your income once you reach retirement age. But not all income solutions are alike. So think carefully before you make your choice.

You want to be able to enjoy your retirement, but unfortunately, "quality time" has a price. You have some money saved, but you obviously do not know how many more years you will live. Not to mention that life is becoming more and more expensive. So how can you avoid depleting all of your savings too soon? An annuity product can be a solution.

In general, we can distinguish three types of annuity product:

• temporary life annuity
• lifetime annuity
• next generation lifetime annuity 

Temporary life annuity

In this case, you invest a certain amount for a predefined period (for example, eight years and one day for tax reasons). In exchange, you receive a certain pension each month. At the end of this period, you will get back part of your investment, which you can then invest again in the same way.

Note that if you die before the maturity date of your investment, the balance will then revert to the insurer. Your loved ones will not receive anything. Another disadvantage is that the annuity paid is taxable, with 3% of the invested capital being taxable at 30% (+ your municipal tax) as income from movable property. This must therefore be included in the tax return. This is an important difference with respect to an NN annuity product, where only the increase in the annuity is taxed.

 Lifetime annuity 

If you choose a lifetime annuity, the system will be the same as for the temporary annuity: you invest a certain amount and receive a pension each month, until your death in this case. If you die, nothing will be paid to your loved ones. Here too, you will have to declare the pension to the tax authorities. You cannot terminate the contract.

Next generation lifetime annuity  

For this type of life annuity, you enter into a contract until your death, but can revoke it (via a surrender of your contract). The lifetime annuity is in this case combined with branch 23 insurance (linked to an investment fund). You receive a lifetime annuity which can be increased over time if the results of the underlying investment funds are good and if your reserve has grown. For some insurers such as NN, the annuity cannot be reduced, which is a welcome security. 

You also benefit from two other very important advantages:

• You do not have to declare the initial pension. This is tax-exempt. Only in the event of an increase in the pension will the difference between the new pension and the initial pension be taxed at 30% (plus additional percentages).
• Ifyou die, your lovedones will receive the balance of the possible available reserve of the contract. 

 Summary table

Do youhave any further questions?

Your insurance broker will tell you everything you need to know about the various possible life annuity solutions. Find out here how NN can provide you with a life annuity.