Reasons to Buy an Annuity

There are many reasons to buy annuities, depending on your lifestyle needs. Among other benefits, they can provide you with guaranteed income for life, a way to provide for your loved ones, protection against losing your initial investment and help with long-term care costs.

Elaine Silvestrini, Annuity.org Writer
  • Written By
    Elaine Silvestrini

    Elaine Silvestrini

    Financial Writer

    Elaine Silvestrini is an advocate for financial literacy who worked for more than 25 years in journalism before joining Annuity.org as a financial writer.

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  • Edited By
    Kim Borwick
    Kim Borwick, Financial Editor for Annuity.org

    Kim Borwick

    Financial Editor

    Kim Borwick is a writer and editor who studies financial literacy and retirement annuities. She has extensive experience with editing educational content and financial topics for Annuity.org.

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  • Financially Reviewed By
    Rubina K. Hossain, CFP®
    Rubina K. Hossain

    Rubina K. Hossain, CFP®

    Certified Financial Planner™ Professional

    Certified Financial Planner Rubina K. Hossain is chair of the CFP Board's Council of Examinations and past president of the Financial Planning Association. She specializes in preparing and presenting sound holistic financial plans to ensure her clients achieve their goals.

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  • Updated: April 26, 2023
  • 6 min read time
  • This page features 12 Cited Research Articles
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APA Silvestrini, E. (2023, April 26). Reasons to Buy an Annuity. Annuity.org. Retrieved June 10, 2023, from https://www.annuity.org/annuities/buy/reasons-to-buy/

MLA Silvestrini, Elaine. "Reasons to Buy an Annuity." Annuity.org, 26 Apr 2023, https://www.annuity.org/annuities/buy/reasons-to-buy/.

Chicago Silvestrini, Elaine. "Reasons to Buy an Annuity." Annuity.org. Last modified April 26, 2023. https://www.annuity.org/annuities/buy/reasons-to-buy/.

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Some people think annuities are complicated, partly because they come in so many varieties. But they’re more like ice cream in that sense because they come in many flavors, allowing you to select the kind that suits you.

You can also add different toppings on ice cream, akin to riders on annuities. Like ice cream toppings, annuity riders usually come at an additional cost.

The point here is that you can design annuities to meet your needs. So what one person may consider complicated, others see as customizable.

Annuities are a great option for individuals who are planning for their retirement and want to ensure they have a steady stream of income during their retirement years. Therefore, if you are looking for a reliable source of retirement income, you should consider buying an annuity.

Annuities are designed to help you save your money tax deferred until you are ready to receive retirement income, providing you with a secure way to ensure you do not outlive your retirement savings. In addition, annuities can also serve as a means to provide for your loved ones after you pass away or for yourself should you require long-term care.

Let’s break that down.

Illustration of the annuity PILL strategy

Premium Protection

Premium protection means you will always walk away with your purchase payment no matter what. In other words: You can’t lose the money you started with.

Fixed annuities of all stripes guarantee the safety of your initial investment. With fixed-indexed annuities, you have both premium protection when the market is down and the possibility of growing your investment when the market is up. You have upside potential (within certain limits) with no risk of loss.

Other investments, such as stocks, place your principal at risk. This is something many retirees, in particular, can’t tolerate, as they need their savings to fund their living expenses for the rest of their lives.

Interested in Buying an Annuity?

Learn about the different types of annuities and find out which one is right for you.

Income for Life

Many annuities provide the annuitant a stream of guaranteed retirement income for his or her entire life. Depending on the contract, they may also provide income for the annuitant’s spouse for his or her life. That’s known as a joint and survivor option.

A lifetime payout annuity may provide payments that are either fixed or variable. Variable payments change based on the performance of an underlying investment portfolio. These come with the potential for greater growth and the risk of loss.

With fixed payments, the dollar amounts are set in the contract and don’t vary. When the market is volatile or on a down cycle, knowing your monthly income will never go down can provide a sense of security that’s invaluable in retirement.

In fact, research has shown that retirees with guaranteed income are happier than those without it. The thought of losing your money, resources or lifestyle is terrifying. An annuity that provides a steady stream of income allows you to live with dignity through retirement. And a guaranteed lifestyle is priceless.

Chris Magnussen, licensed insurance agent, explains the background of the agents who work with Annuity.org.

This feature of annuities is especially important in an age in which pensions, with their dependable income, are becoming less common. And it can be difficult for a retiree to manage a lump sum of cash, spending just enough to live on without running out.

Those worries can be eliminated by buying annuities.

The promise of income for life is also insurance against outliving your assets. With a life annuity, no matter how long you live, you will continue to receive that stream of income. Even after you’ve collected your entire premium and any expected earnings, the income will continue. No other investment can provide that promise.

Ready to Purchase an Annuity?

An annuity can secure your financial future and provide you with guaranteed income for life.

Legacy

Death benefit riders can allow you to pass on your annuity to one or more named beneficiaries when you die. How this will work will depend on the wording of your annuity contract.

Your contract may provide for a minimum number of payments for your beneficiaries, for example. It may stipulate the remaining principal be passed on. Funds may be distributed as a lump sum or a stream of payments.

With a joint and survivor annuity, your spouse can assume ownership of the annuity when you die under the same terms that you received your payments.

Did You Know?

In most states, annuities move over probate-free, meaning the assets go right to the beneficiary.

By including a beneficiary in an annuity contract, you can protect your heirs from having to go through probate. Probate is the legal process of dividing a deceased person’s estate and following a will. Going through probate involves costs and time.

Designating a beneficiary, other than a spouse, is more complicated with a life annuity. But one option is to have a “life with period certain” annuity. This provides that payments will be made for a minimum period of time, such as 10 years, and then for the rest of your life. If you die before the end of the period certain, your beneficiary can receive the funds for that remaining time.

Long-Term Care

Long-term care riders are an option in many annuity contracts. They provide a level of insurance against the expenses of long-term care should you need it.

The average national cost for a semi-private room in a nursing home is about $8,000 a month in 2023, according to The Senior List. That’s $96,000 a year.

Long-Term Care Needs

Someone turning 65 years old has a nearly 70 percent chance of needing some kind of long-term care services in their remaining years.

Long-term care annuity riders don’t pay the entire cost of care or provide the level of reimbursement available from traditional long-term care insurance. But they’re generally much less expensive than insurance policies. A long-term care policy with $165,000 level benefits, purchased for a couple at age 60 in 2023, cost an average of $2,550 a year, according to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.

And long-term care annuity riders have become more popular than the traditional long-term care insurance policies. In 2014, the number of annuities with long-term care riders exceeded the number of long-term care insurance policies for the first time.

Such riders generally will increase your annuity payout by some multiple for a designated period of time should you need long-term care. For example, your rider might pay you double your normal income stream for up to five years.

Another option is a contract that allows you to make large withdrawals from your annuity principal if you require long-term care.

Annuities with long-term care riders usually have less stringent medical underwriting than the traditional long-term care policy. If you are able to live independently, you still have access to the annuity for income even if you never need long-term care.

Wendy Swanson, Retirement Income Certified Professional™, explains what makes Annuity.org different from other companies.
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Last Modified: April 26, 2023

12 Cited Research Articles

Annuity.org writers adhere to strict sourcing guidelines and use only credible sources of information, including authoritative financial publications, academic organizations, peer-reviewed journals, highly regarded nonprofit organizations, government reports, court records and interviews with qualified experts. You can read more about our commitment to accuracy, fairness and transparency in our editorial guidelines.

  1. Clark, A. (2023, April 17). Nursing Home Costs and How To Afford Them. Retrieved from https://www.theseniorlist.com/nursing-homes/costs/
  2. American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance. (2023). Long-Term Care Insurance Facts-Data-Statistics-2023 Report. Retrieved from https://www.aaltci.org/long-term-care-insurance/learning-center/ltcfacts-2023.php
  3. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. (2008, January 8). Important Facts for State Policymakers Deficit Reduction Act. Retrieved from https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/DeficitReductionAct/downloads/TOAbackgrounder.pdf
  4. CNN Money. (n.d.). Ultimate guide to retirement. What are the advantages of annuities? Retrieved from https://money.cnn.com/retirement/guide/annuities_basics.moneymag/index4.htm
  5. Genworth Financial. (n.d.). Cost of Care Survey 2018. Retrieved from https://acl.gov/ltc/costs-and-who-pays/costs-of-care
  6. Korn, D.J. (2018, May 16). How clients can use annuities to pay for long-term care. Retrieved from https://www.financial-planning.com/news/as-ltc-insurance-prices-rise-long-term-care-annuities-gain-popularity
  7. Marquit, M. (2019, November 28). The Annuity Stanifesto Review – Making Sense of a Complex Product. Retrieved from https://investorjunkie.com/reviews/annuity-stanifesto/
  8. Piper, M. (2017, December 4). How Do Long-Term Care Annuities Work? Retrieved from https://obliviousinvestor.com/long-term-care-annuities/
  9. Rose, J. (2016, October 18). 7 Strategies To Protect Your Principal From The Next Stock Market Crash. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/jrose/2016/10/18/7-strategies-to-protect-your-principal-from-the-next-stock-market-crash/#4a6c822869b5
  10. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2017, October 10). Costs of Care. Retrieved from https://acl.gov/ltc/costs-and-who-pays/costs-of-care
  11. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). How Much Care Will You Need? Retrieved from https://longtermcare.acl.gov/the-basics/how-much-care-will-you-need.html
  12. Updegrave, W. (2016, January 20). How to get guaranteed retirement income for life. Retrieved from https://money.cnn.com/2016/01/20/retirement/retirement-guaranteed-income-annuities/