Annuities are insurance financial products that can be structured to pay the policyholder for a specified period of time or for as long as the insured and his spouse are alive.
Life annuity is an annuity that is paid to a person throughout his life, starting from the age specified in the contract.
The payment schedule can vary and can be either monthly or yearly.
Annuities can be paid either at a fixed rate, which stays the same regardless of how the underlying investment performs, or at a variable rate, meaning that the rate changes based on the performance of the underlying investment.
Most variable annuities allow the policyholder to invest in different funds to build a diversified portfolio.