What an annuity is, in a minute

Your client asks what an annuity is. Say it in one minute: the idea, the kinds on the shelf, and what a fixed one is not.

Do it in Genius

Market Snapshot→ View More

Practice Client, 3 Nov 2026: it fills in age 66, Texas and $150,000. Cards include Fixed Rates, Indexed Point-to-Point Rates and a lifetime income card.

Rates change every day, so yours will differ.

Open Market Snapshot in Genius (opens the app in a new tab)

In the app: Marketplace → Market Snapshot

(opens full size in a new tab)

1. 1.

   Ask: "From 1 to 10, how much do you know about annuities?" Then say what an annuity is, at their level.

   One sentence: an insurance contract that can pay income, grow money under its stated terms, or do both.

2. 2.

   For growth, use View More on Fixed Rates for the MYGA page. Use it on Indexed Point-to-Point Rates for the FIA page.

   MYGA

   Multi-year guarantee annuity: the insurer states one rate for a set number of years. It is a deferred annuity.

   FIA

   Fixed indexed annuity: interest is credited by a formula tied to an index, within limits such as a cap.

   Top MYGA rows, 6.65% and 6.45%, are Fee-based (Advisory). On commission? Skip them. Next: 6.3% for 5 years earns $53,591 on $150,000 (3 Nov 2026).

   • Open the MYGAs page in the app
3. 3.

   For income, View More on the lifetime income card opens the Income rider calculator. A SPIA and a DIA share one calculator: SPIA calculator.

   SPIA

   Single premium immediate annuity: one payment in, and a paycheck starts soon after.

   DIA

   Deferred income annuity: money goes in now, and the paycheck starts more than about a year later.

   Income rider

   A benefit, optional or built in, that sets lifetime withdrawal income. The contract says what it costs and how it works.

   Both pay a set income for life. In SPIA calculator, Deferred makes it a DIA. Ask GrantAI or run it for a real quote on your client.

4. 4.

   Say what a fixed annuity is not: a bank deposit or the stock market. Then answer: death, a change of mind, fees, a spouse.

   In the Income rider calculator, a row shows "1.2% Rider Fee", and Payout Type: Joint covers a spouse.

   See also:

   • If they die early: the death benefit
   • If they change their mind: the exit
   • No FDIC cover: the MYGA page