Julia Kagan is a financial/consumer journalist and former senior editor, personal finance, of Investopedia. Dr. Melody Bell is a personal finance expert, entrepreneur, educator, and researcher. Melody ...

Because annuities offer advantages like regular lifetime payments, premium protection, tax-deferred growth, unlimited contributions, and various investment options, they should be a part of your ...

An annuity is an insurance contract you purchase to receive payments for a specific period, such as 30 years, or for the rest of your life. By applying a mathematical formula consisting of variables ...

In the world of finance, an annuity is a contract between you and a life insurance company in which you give the company a lump sum or series of payments, and in return, the insurer promises to ...

Image source: Flickr user Ken Funakoshi. A perpetual annuity, also called a perpetuity, promises to pay a certain amount of money to its owner forever. A classic example would be that of a perpetual ...

After you retire, your income will mainly come from savings and Social Security. However, annuities provide an additional steady income stream to help you enjoy your golden years with greater ...

Investopedia contributors come from a range of backgrounds, and over 25 years there have been thousands of expert writers and editors who have contributed. Investopedia / Hilary Allison The present ...

Too many financial decisions are made without factoring in the time value of money. Whether providing financial planning advice related to a client’s retirement, advising a client about a business ...

Many people use annuities to help them with their investing goals, but the terms of annuity contracts can be extremely complicated and tough to understand. Knowing the current cash value of an annuity ...