Why Not To Invest In Variable Annuities? 
Annuities and especially Variable contracts have a place if your primary goal is to defer taxes and guarantee lifetime income . However there are many potential down falls which include market risk , not very liquid , surrender charges , very high fees to protect principal , and not very flexible when you need to make changes to the contract . Every person 's financial situation is different so a good financial advisor would go through a thorough risk assessment to assure that this type of contract is good for you . I also would mention this is n't a good place for all of your life savings . Things tend to change overtime like health.Unexpected expenses may cause the contract to change if more than a free withdrawal is needed to take care of the expenses . Typically a free withdrawal is 10 % of the premium -LRB- original deposit -RRB- without causing a surrender charge or change to the contracts living benefits . 