From: Cynthia Tidwell [mailto:ctidwell@usa.net] 

Sent: Friday, February 05, 2010 1:45 PM 

To: EBSA, E-ORI - EBSA 

Subject: RIN 1210-AB33

I am against putting my retirement funds into annuities because my funds cease growing 

and I am stuck with whatever there is at that point. I also like having control. Some 

people do need help with their funds. Some people do not even know who our vice 

president is; how can we expect them to have the knowledge to manage their funds? I 

think everyone should be given the pros and cons of annuities and given the choice of 

what they want to do.

Those of us who know how to manage our funds should have control of our own money. 

I worked many years and for years, I averaged 100 hours of overtime per month to pay 

my bills and put money into retirement accounts. I retired in 2000 at the age of 55. I 

studied the market and the cycles and the picture was not pretty and it still does not look 

good according to the cycles. Upon retirement, I set up periodic payments for the 5 years 

and drew enough to replace the salary that I had. I put about 50% of my funds in 2-5 

year CDs at 7 percent plus and found the very worse sector I could find where I invested 

more of my funds. I was sure laughed at when I said I was invested in gold (I have 

rotated out of that investment since). When I turned 59 1⁄2, we paid off the house and 

cars. Since then, we each have bought new cars and have remodeled the kitchen and 

made the house energy-efficient, not because I believe in global warming but to save 

money on energy. I learned my lesson in the 70s when I was a democrat and bought into 

the idea that we were going to freeze to death. After withdrawing several hundred 

thousand dollars, my retirement accounts have still grown about 70% in the past 10 

years. In the past year, I have transferred half of my money to a money manager for 

managing but I am still very much involved and do trade the other half. This is definitely 

not a buy and hold market. 

Annuities would be invested somewhere. Would that be stocks which the cycles indicate 

could go down to triple digits or bonds that are in a bubble? I recall in the late 70s when 

interest went to 18-20%. Now is certainly not the time to invest in bonds when interest 

rates have nowhere to go but up. Annuities would only be as good as the institution 

holding them and I do not trust those institutions. I look around and see pension funds all 

over the country losing money. Cities, states and the federal government are in trouble 

and who is going to control those annuities? 

I worry about my funds now. What if the dollar crashes or is devalued? We are 

borrowing so much money that there is no way to ever pay it back if we can even 

continue finding buyers for our bonds – what if the country defaults? My core account is 

in money market which I don’t trust. Fidelity wanted to work a deal to guarantee those 

funds and why did the administration tell them no? I think I am doing much better at 

managing my money than the government is doing and they want to control my money! 
Do you really think we are so stupid to believe that you are only trying to help us? You 

do not need more money to blow like you have done with social security. 

Cynthia Tidwell 

Katy, TX