A fixed annuity provides a guaranteed income stream. Payouts can be immediate or deferred. Drawbacks include limited upside. Annuities can help ensure your retirement savings last your entire life.

Learn what annuities are, how fixed, variable, indexed, immediate, and deferred annuities work, and how they can help provide ...

An annuity can provide you with a steady stream of income, ensuring that you have money when you need it. That’s why many people turn to annuities during retirement, to be sure that they have cash ...

For investors seeking a predictable return without the volatility of the stock market, a seven-year fixed annuity can be an appealing option. The term is long enough to secure competitive rates but ...

Immediate fixed annuities and deferred fixed annuities are finding a growing market in the wake of the financial market meltdown. It’s no wonder. Their guaranteed payout rates are more than 8 percent ...

Building a Ladder to Financial Security. By Randy Myers. The situation: You want to use cash in your retirement savings to buy a fixed annuity. Your worry: interest rates are low ...

In 2025, both annuities and certificates of deposit (CDs) offer attractive, guaranteed returns, especially as interest rates are expected to drop soon. If you're looking for a safe, fixed return on ...

Probably not, even if you're in your 70s or 80s, but it depends on your circumstances and the kind of annuity you're ...

Laurie Sepulveda is a MarketWatch Guides team senior writer who specializes in writing about insurance, investing, personal loans, home equity loans, mortgages and banking. She lives in North Carolina ...

Average allocations to annuities rose last year, in part, as a response to the market meltdown of late 2008 and early 2009, as investors sought safer income-like investments. According to a 2010 ...