Guaranteed lifetime income and retirement security are among the top benefits to consumers of investing in a variable annuity within a tax-advantaged defined contribution plan or individual retirement account, a survey of financial advisers found.
The National Association of Variable Annuities surveyed 1,000 financial advisers last quarter. Seventy percent gave the death benefit and 61% living benefits among the top three reasons for recommending annuities to clients in qualified plans or IRAs. Sixty-six percent named guaranteed lifetime income.
Forty-two percent of annuities sold by the respondents were placed into tax-advantaged defined contribution plans. For the industry as a whole about 60% of annuity sales in 2004 were in such plans.
The trade group released the survey results Wednesday.
