Kaili Killpack
4 min read
When listener Portia asked a question on the "Women & Money" podcast about her variable annuity, Suze Orman didn't hold back. Based on the high fees Portia was paying and the surrender schedule she faced, Orman advised her to cut her losses — and fast.
If you've ever wondered whether an annuity is right for your retirement funds, especially when it involves rolling over a 401(k), this is a story worth paying attention to.
Portia explained that she transferred $85,000 from her previous employer's 401(k) into a variable annuity at Fidelity in 2022. She's currently paying around $380 per quarter in fees — more than $1,500 per year — and the annuity has a nine-year surrender period. If she waits it out, she avoids the surrender charge but continues paying hefty fees. If she exits now, she'll face a penalty of roughly 7%.
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Orman did the math. If Portia sticks with the annuity until the ninth year, she'll end up paying approximately $9,120 in fees. In contrast, her surrender charge today would be around $6,300 to $6,900. “Absolutely surrender it," Orman said. "It makes no sense for you to be in it."
Orman has long warned against putting retirement savings into variable annuities, especially when they come from qualified accounts like a 401(k). In Portia's case, the high annual fees alone are reason enough to reconsider.
According to Investopedia, variable annuities often charge 2% to 3% annually just for management and administrative costs. Add in surrender charges, possible sales commissions, and insurance fees, and you're looking at a serious drain on your retirement savings over time.
Even though annuities offer the benefit of guaranteed income, that security comes at a price. "It makes no sense for you to be in it," Orman said. "You might even want to look at converting it little by little to a Roth IRA and really save money in the long run."
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Rolling a 401(k) into an annuity can sound appealing — it promises stability and income in retirement. But the move can backfire if you're not fully informed.
