Income Tax Treatment of Annuities. Life insurance protects one's beneficiaries against one dying too young.
Annuities protect the annuitant against living too long.
It should be noted at one time retiree annuitants could, on their own, select a single life annuity and the spouse if any had no choice in the matter. Today, most companies, states, the Federal Government and the military insist that if an annuitant is married, the spouses okay and a signature is required to select a single life annuity. Otherwise a joint and survivor annuity is required. Dorfman closes the chapter with an excellent summary of the five types of annuities. If you are not familiar with all the following, a review in the chapter would be beneficial.