Description: Income i.e., immediate annuities are insurance products that benefit from mortality pooling, so they can generate the highest level of lifetime “income now” per dollar of retirement assets put to work. Including an income annuity as a portion of a retirement portfolio often results in an immediate increase in the level of income generated by that portfolio while at the same time ensuring that a portion of the total income is payable for a lifetime.

Description: Full version of Product Matters! March 2006, Issue No. 64.

Description: The author finds that misperceptions and lack of an appropriate context are the reason that illiquid investments - in particular annuities- have been the less desirable component of a retirement plan. The paper also suggests several catalysts that could spark a dramatic reversal of the current situation. From the 2011 Enterprise Risk Management Symposium, March 2011.