Is it possible to rollover the $ from an insurance anuity to a 403 b acount without penalty?
I want to chg from this insurance anuity to term insurance and then invest the extra $. The anuity has so many fees that I feel that I am not getting good return on my investment. I know once get out I will pay a penalty from them and perhaps from the IRS. But if I could roll it over into a 403 b accounts perhaps I could escape the IRS fees.
You can roll over a 403b annuity to another 403b account say in mutual funds. You can not put an IRA annuity into a 403b annuity, it has to be like to like. Seek out a referral to a qualified representative that handles other 403b accounts in your place of business. I am assuming you are a teacher or hospital employee since those are the main carriers of 403b, which are not-for-profit organizations.
The surrender charge goes down the longer you have the annuity but have the rep weigh out if you surrender now or later. Always look for a policy anniversary date so you can move the money after that date and save a % or 2 doing that.
I don't know how term insurance came into the situation...
Good luck.
Seek the advice of an accountant on this one.
The thing is that a 403b is a very specialized type of account. The rules governing money in and out vary from its qualified cousins. Every agent that I can even think of who focuses on the 403b market does such a large volume that they are sales-oriented not advice-oriented. An accountant or fee-only planner are your best bets.
There are low-fee annuities out there (though they aren't the ones commonly sold), but I bet that your early surrender penalty wouldn't justify getting out of your annual fees now rather than later. If you are willing to pay a penalty to the IRS, pay a little for good advice instead.
Answers:
aaron has an excellent point. I would like to add that you cant 'change' an annuity into a term policy. They are 2 totally different things. In an exchange, you can only exchange like policies (life to life/ annuity for annuity). You would have to surrender it (taking all penalties & fees). I know you can change a 403b to an IRA annuity, but not positive on the otherway around. I am of course assuming that your employer you are with now, offers the 403b.
Do as aaron suggests & talk to an advisor. I think you are looking at a financial wreck if its done wrong! Usually, the annuities with little to no fees are fixed rate ones, & not variable like you currently have. You would probably be better off doing an exchange into a fixed annuity rather than go through this.