Jill on Money: Annuities, Social Security, refinance

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Insurance agents are going crazy, accusing me of "disparaging annuities unjustly." In honor of those nasty-gram e-mails, we kicked off this week's show with annuity-focused questions from Linda in MI and Gene in NY. Linda has three fixed annuities and wants to know what to do with them, while Gene has most of his net worth tied up in a variable annuity and is concerned with the policy's safety. The insurance haters may be surprised to hear me tell both Linda and Gene to stay in their contracts.

Here are the two articles that I recently wrote about annuities:

-- The ABCs of Annuities: 6 Questions to Ask

-- The Pros and Cons of Annuities

One of the features of annuities is that they provide retirement income, which can often help augment Social Security retirement benefits. Pete from KY called in asking what to do with his Social Security check, which he doesn't need right now. I gave him an idea that would guarantee an 8 percent return! I also helped Donna with a question about whether she could claim one-half of her first ex-husband's Social Security benefit.

Peter from Buffalo asked about whether he should refinance his home and the answer is a resounding YES, while Linda wants to know whether or not to pay off her mortgage if she may be selling the house soon.

Judy from Texas has an estate of $15 million and desperately needs estate planning advice, while Nikki from WI needed advice about having the "money" talk with her fianc?.

Here are web sites and resources mentioned in this week's show:

-- Jill's Blog

-- How to Choose a Financial Advisor: 10 Questions

-- NAPFA: National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (fee-only advisors)

-- Best CD Rates

-- E, EE and I Savings Bonds

-- The ABCs of Annuities: 6 Questions to Ask

-- The Pros and Cons of Annuities

-- Social Security: Manage your account online

-- Social Security estimator

-- When to take Social Security?

-- Social Security: File and Suspend

-- Social Security: Double-Dipping

-- Immediate Annuity Calculator

-- Financial documents: What to shred, what to keep

-- Estate Planning: the Documents You Need

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE

Send an email: [e-mail]

Tweet me: @jillonmoney

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