what is a general annuity
In its most general sense, an annuity is an agreement for one person or organization to pay another a stream or series of payments.Usually the term âannuityâ relates to a contract between you and a life insurance company, but a charity or a trust can take the place of the insurance company.There are many categories of annuities. They can be classified by: 1  Nature of the underlying investment â fixed or variable. Protection from creditors. 2  If you own an immediate annuity (that is, you are receiving money from an insurance company), generally the most that creditors can access is the payments as theyâre made, since the money you gave the insurance company now belongs to the company.