Annuity Exchanges, Full or Partial, Boost Flexibility without Creating Taxes
1035 exchanges let you trade up for a better annuity or trade in unneeded life insurance.
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Newsletter sign up Newsletter

Cashing in an annuity usually produces taxable income. Additionally, if you surrender your annuity before the contract term is up, often there’s a surrender charge.
But you aren’t stuck for years if you have a low-paying annuity or even a type of annuity, such as a variable annuity, that no longer meets your needs. You can make a tax-free 1035 annuity exchange. You can trade in an entire annuity or part of it for a better annuity at a different insurance company.
A 1035 exchange lets you switch companies while continuing to defer taxes, ensuring that your annuity stays up-to-date with the latest advantages, benefits and best rates available.

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
It’s one of the few parts of the tax code that work in your favor. Accumulated interest earnings from your original policy remain tax-deferred until you withdraw the funds from your new annuity sometime in the future. In contrast, surrendering an annuity is a taxable event and you must recognize any gain as current income.
A full 1035 exchange most often involves exchanging one fixed-rate annuity at the end of its surrender term for a better-paying fixed annuity. You can often get a higher interest rate than the renewal rate offered by your current insurer.
And you can exchange among types of annuities. For instance, if you want to lower your risk profile, you can exchange a variable annuity for a fixed annuity that guarantees principal. It’s a simple process. The funds go directly from the current insurer to the new one.
Partial 1035 exchanges
Partial exchanges provide additional flexibility. Anyone unhappy with a current annuity that’s still subject to a surrender charge can usually take advantage of the penalty-free withdrawal provisions of their existing contract. Most annuities let you withdraw 10% annually without penalty. Instead of taking receipt of the penalty-free withdrawal amount, you can move it to a new annuity via a partial 1035 exchange.
Many fixed-rate annuity owners move their penalty-free amount annually from a lower-interest-rate product bought years ago to a higher-paying current annuity. Some are doing partial exchanges from variable and fixed-indexed annuities into fixed-rate multi-year guarantee annuities (MYGA).
Caution must be exercised when executing a partial 1035 exchange. There’s a special IRS rule when using non-qualified funds (money not in a retirement plan) in a partial exchange. If any withdrawals are made from either contract within 180 days of a partial exchange, the exchange is invalidated and becomes a taxable event.
Life insurance policy can be exchanged for an annuity
Many older people have paid-up cash-value life insurance policies that they no longer want or need. Section 1035 lets you exchange such a policy for an annuity tax-free.
You could use the cash value to buy any type of annuity. One good choice is a deferred income annuity, which will pay an individual or a couple a guaranteed lifetime income starting at a date the owner chooses.
As with any 1035 exchange, the insured or annuitant and the owner(s) of the life insurance policy and the new annuity must be the same. This IRS rule prevents someone from passing their tax liability on any untaxed gain in the policy to another person.
All 1035 exchanges, whether full or partial, require serious thought. Only after careful examination of available alternatives can you decide if a 1035 exchange makes sense for your individual situation.
My firm offers a free 1035 exchange-evaluation service that compares an existing annuity to newer products on the market.
Retirement-income expert Ken Nuss is the founder and CEO of AnnuityAdvantage, a leading online provider of fixed-rate, fixed-indexed and immediate-income annuities. Interest rates from dozens of insurers are constantly updated on its website. He launched the AnnuityAdvantage website in 1999 to help people looking for their best options in principal-protected annuities. More information is available from the Medford, Oregon, based company at https://www.annuityadvantage.com (opens in new tab) or (800) 239-0356.
-
-
A Financial Review in Early 2023 Can Optimize Your Strategy
Look to build savings, reduce risk, minimize taxes and ensure a successful retirement by reviewing your budget, contributions, allocations and beneficiaries.
By Ken Nuss • Published
-
How to pick the best robo advisor for you
Kiplinger's guide to the best robo advisors to fit your needs.
By Kim Clark • Published
-
A Financial Review in Early 2023 Can Optimize Your Strategy
Look to build savings, reduce risk, minimize taxes and ensure a successful retirement by reviewing your budget, contributions, allocations and beneficiaries.
By Ken Nuss • Published
-
Want to Increase Income? Focusing on 5 Elements Can Help
There are multiple ways to generate income, but to make your money work for you, consider sustainability, maximizing, automation, reinvestment and tax efficiency.
By Jamie P. Hopkins, Esq., CFP, RICP • Published
-
Are Annuities Good Investments? Weighing the Pros and Cons
Love ’em or loathe ’em, annuities can be a smart investment tool for the right person under the right circumstances.
By Nate Miller, Investment Adviser Representative • Published
-
6 Questions Your Financial Adviser Should be Asking
To effectively help you with your retirement strategy, a retirement professional must get a clear picture of what you have and what you need.
By Tyler Hill, Investment Adviser Representative • Published
-
Financial Planning Should Be Intergenerational
Overcoming the unspoken rule that money is too taboo a topic to discuss among family members is important going forward. The reality is that families, at some point, will need to be on the same page about wealth planning.
By Aditi Javeri Gokhale • Published
-
In Retirement Planning, What’s Your Retirement Personality?
There are many ways to think about retirement planning, and your personality can influence yours. If your personality and plan match, you have a greater chance of retirement success.
By Samuel V. Gaeta, CFP® • Published
-
Inflation’s Toll: Cuts to Retirement Savings and Health Care
Many consumers struggling to make ends meet amid inflation are reducing retirement planning and health care, both of which can have disastrous results later in life. A professional could help.
By Kristi Martin Rodriguez • Published
-
Considering a Roth IRA Conversion? 6 Reasons It Makes Sense
Avoiding possibly higher taxes in retirement, having no RMDs and the markets being lower are just three reasons to switch to a Roth IRA.
By Kevin Webb, CFP® • Published