Ah, the holidays are here, what with sumptuous meals, evergreen trees and wreaths, presents underneath those trees and festive music playing in the background. Add to that some snow on the ground and a fire crackling away (if you live up north as I do) and the scenery is complete.

As for Thanksgiving one of the pleasant memories growing up was not so much the turkey but all the side dishes; we always had an abundance of hot vegetables such as the classic mashed potatoes, pearl onions, asparagus, spinach and tomato pudding. Need I say that the stuffing was always fantastic? Such are the trimmings that filled the family table.

Can I relate all this to the annuity business? Well I think so. We are in a period when insurers are not shy about offering eye-catching features; on the indexed annuity side the bonuses are as high as ever. Earlier this month Heartland National launched a product that, according to a press release, has “a premium bonus of up to 25 percent added to the account value with no rider charges.”

I would like to see further details on that product, such as the surrender charge period and the kinds of index options the client can choose with the credit. I’ll admit I have not yet sought out a filing to get that information yet, but will do so soon.

So credits are high nowadays. But there are many more cool features on the market, are there not? Too many to count easily, in my opinion. Such conditions make things interesting and at times confusing.

What does the future hold? There are some industry folks who think we are only at the start of a rising annuity tide; one executive suggested $800 billion is a realistic annual number, if annuities can tap into some of that sideline money in so-called safe investments like CDs.

But if that holds true, will that mean we will get even more annuity enhancements or less? We shall see. In the meantime, I think most industry players are thankful for the favorable conditions we have now.

So with that, please pass me some of those turkey leftovers and a touch of the cranberry sauce!