If you don't even know what to ask yet

Life insurance for a set period — 10, 20, 30 years. No accumulation, so premiums stay low.

Permanent life insurance that lasts your lifetime and builds cash value at a contractual rate.

Permanent coverage with premiums and death benefit you can adjust as circumstances change.

Universal life whose value is credited from an index, with no loss in a down year. It is an insurance contract, not a security.

Coverage ending because premiums stopped or the policy value could no longer carry its costs.

The balance that accumulates inside a permanent policy. You can withdraw it or borrow against it.

What the beneficiary receives when the insured dies — generally free of income tax.

The person named on the policy to receive the proceeds. The policy overrides your will.

The insurer's review of health, occupation, and family history to set the rate — or decline.

What you pay to keep coverage in force. Stop paying and the coverage stops.

An add-on to the base contract — long-term care, critical illness, waiver of premium.

A contract with an insurer: you hand over principal, and it pays you back on a schedule.

Payments start within about a year of the deposit. Used to bridge income right after retirement.

You fund it now and collect years later, with growth tax-deferred in the meantime.

Grows at a rate the insurer declares. No market loss, and a correspondingly modest ceiling.

Credits interest tied to an index like the S&P 500 with no loss in a down year — the upside is limited by a cap rate and participation rate.

A fixed annuity with a rate guaranteed for a set term, usually three to ten years. Often compared to a CD.

The amount you may take each year without a surrender charge — commonly around 10% of the balance.

A clause that raises or lowers your surrender value based on rate movement. It applies on top of any surrender charge.

Converting the accumulated balance into an income stream for life or a set term. Usually irreversible.

A fee for cancelling or over-withdrawing during the surrender period, typically 5–10 years and declining annually.

How much of the index gain gets credited. At 80%, a 10% index year credits 8%.

The ceiling on credited interest for a period. With a 9% cap, a 20% index year still credits 9%.

The contractual floor the insurer must credit regardless of the market.

Guarantees lifetime withdrawals without annuitizing. Carries its own annual fee.

Moving an existing policy or annuity into a new one without triggering tax. Surrender charges still apply separately.

Lets employees pay their share of premiums from pre-tax salary, lowering their taxable income and the company's payroll tax.

An employer-sponsored retirement plan funded by salary deferrals, with an optional employer match.

A retirement account you open yourself. Contributions may be deductible; withdrawals are taxed.

Funded with after-tax dollars; qualified withdrawals come out tax-free. Direct contributions phase out at higher incomes.

A retirement plan for self-employed people and small employers, funded by the employer and simple to set up.

Built for employers under 100 staff — lighter administration than a 401(k), with a required employer contribution.

What the company adds on top of an employee's own contribution. Leaving it unclaimed is leaving pay behind.

The service time required before employer contributions fully belong to the employee.

The minimum amount that must come out of pre-tax accounts each year past a certain age. Missing it triggers a penalty.

Moving a retirement account after leaving a job. Taking personal receipt of the funds creates withholding and deadline problems.

A retirement plan that earns tax advantages in exchange for following federal rules — a 401(k) being the common example.

The company pays an employee's personal life premium as a bonus. Deductible to the business; the policy belongs to the individual.

Coverage the company owns on someone essential to it, with the company as beneficiary.

A contract setting who buys an owner's share, and at what price, if they die or leave. Frequently funded with life insurance.