This personal plan is in addition to your mandated state retirement plan, and one does not affect the other. Contributions are made through payroll deduction. This reduces your current tax liability. This is typically the best way for most people to build a retirement nest egg.
Annuities are investment programs offered by insurance companies.
The annuities may either offer a fixed return guaranteed by the insurer, or a variable return that depends on the performance of the investments you choose. Many Certified Financial Planner practitioners feel that the returns of fixed annuities generally are too low for people trying to build for retirement, averaging around 6 percent, and they would do better over the long run to beef up their stock side. AASU presently has contracts with seventeen companies allowing you a wide personal choice of investment options. These include charges for switching out of an annuity within a certain number of years after buying it, and the fee you pay for the insurance component attached to the annuity. Some employees have had to fight to get no-load mutual funds offered in their plans.