San Francisco, CA: An annuities class action lawsuit has been filed against ING by Ernest Abbit of California, alleging the financial services firm indexed financial instruments that failed to meet the advertised goals and that company officials failed to properly advise seniors of the risks associated with investing in the annuities.
According to the lawsuit, the stated goal of ING indexed annuities, is to provide seniors in various age groups with "protection of principal", which means reducing the risks of investment while using various investments productsaimed at "fueling the value of our annuity" "to build up your retirement savings." Abbit claims ING failed to back up their claims.
Abbit alleges in the class action, that he, and others similarly situated, have lost as much as 20 percent of their savings, "on the first day" of investment, due to the lack of information regarding what the product provided. His returns are allegedly a fraction of those an investor would have received by investing in the S&P 500 as a whole, the index his annuity was allegedly designed to mirror.
Specifically, the lawsuit, The ING Annuity Class Action Lawsuit, entitled Ernest O. Abbit, et al. v. ING USA Annuity and Life Insurance Company, Case No. 13-cv-2310, U.S. District Court, Southern District of California, claims that ING' the financial instruments are "wolves-in-sheep's clothing" and that their statements are "opaque." The lawsuit claims that not only did the instruments fail to return as advertised, but that those investments contained "embedded derivatives" similar to those that led to the financial collapse in 2008. ING indexed annuities were structured, the lawsuit claims, so that the company would benefit from any derivatives income while at the same time putting it senior investors at risk for losses.
According to the class action, in 2005 the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), which is the financial services industry' self-governing body operating as a private monitor, warned that the products Abbit and others were invested in were accompanied by sales material that "do not fully describe the features and risks of the products."
Other insurance companies allegedly changing their annuity obligations or not being able to meet those obligations are Aviva, Transamerica, The Principal Financial Group, MetLife, Prudential, Guggenheim and Genworth. Variable annuity holders who purchased their annuities in the past three years from those companies may be eligible to file a claim against those companies.
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ING took $250 from me for over 25 years and offer me $46,000.00 to close my $240.000, dollars annuity and Life insurance for my children. I was to receive $1500 a month retirement which I did not. I am 73 years old. My children will not be able to bury me.
When I asked for my retirement. I was then place with Voya Insurance and told I did not have retirement, check with my agent which they have his name but I can't find anything on this man, yet Voya place his name on letter receive from them,
Now I been with Voya for over ten years and to keep my policy I got a letter in the mail today that I need to send $800 dollars a month to keep my policy inforce. This is insane. I take care of my sick 44yr old son that get more SSI; than me. Why because my bookkeeper told me not to pay in SSI because I was only to make so much money. I sorry that I live to be 73years old. But I want to live until God take me home. I have been a pastor for over 30 years. I want to live and not die. Please help me. What do I need to do? I am sending everything that I got to CNN, so other want fall prey to ING and Voya.
VRS
Posted by Joel Hurley
on
My Agent told me this will always earn a 5% annual return. In reality it is earning about .35%. When I called to get out of it he said he went over the risk and that I was told I would not be getting that kind of a return, which is a bold faced lie. I moved my IRA out of a reasonable stable Janus Mutual fund, to go with his proposal. He obtained my name and came out with the intent of helping me get medical insurance, which he actually did, however; I could have called United Health Care and obtained the same Advantage Policy that he found for me. ING was unwilling to refund me the premium without their surrender fees. I am stuck with this plan and cannot afford to pay the penalty and get out of it. I am now 72 and needed this 5% return. He said the plan will Never run out of money, but every year it goes down about $2400 in their fees, not counting the $5600 I have to mandatory withdraw for distribution. It will be out of money in about 12 years at the current rate.
Posted by Meg
on
My 90 year old mother went to her bank to renew her CD. She was turned over to a "bank employee" for renewal. The employee asked numerous questions about her financial affairs (which she did not answer). She had a small nest egg but was living on $500 a month social security. When she left, she was very confused as to what the employee had done as the CD she thought she had did not reflect what she had received in the past. She called me to look at the "CD" investment. It turned out that the CD was actually and ING Annuity. My mother was beside herself as she needed the income from the CD to live. I went to the bank who just belittled me and told me to mind my business. I then called ING who finally, after months returned the money but failed to pay interest. My mother lost income but at least she got her money back. My mother put trust in the bank and their employee but she was defrauded. Sad.
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