For all people who are serious about retiring in the future, annuities make sense. They are ideal for working men and women to supplement their employer-sponsored retirement benefits, as well as their own IRAs and Social Security.

Seniors, especially, look to annuities for their financial security. Seniors learn to deal with retirement and, more and more, Baby Boomers join their ranks every year. Annuities continue to play a crucial role in the financial lives of men and women in the United States. Who buys annuities?

According to a 2009 Gallup Annuity Survey:

• Eight out of 10 non-qualified annuity owners (80 percent) have annual household incomes below $100,000, and only 4 percent have annual incomes greater than $200,000.
• Almost half (42 percent) have annual household incomes below $50,000.
• Non-qualified annuity owners are more likely to be female (58 percent) than male (42 percent).
• Almost three out of four (73 percent) say that they have set aside more money for retirement than they would have if the tax advantages of annuities were not available.
• The vast majority of annuity owners say that annuities are an effective way to save for retirement (86 percent) and their their annuity was a safe purchase (89 percent).