There are four parties to each annuity:
The person who buys the annuity and makes the contributions. Owners have the right to make decisions about an annuity's investments and to make withdrawals, surrender or change the designated beneficiary or other terms of the contract. Eligible for annuity ownership are:
The annuitant is the individual whose life will be used as the measuring life for determining the distribution benefits paid. Thus, annuitants must be natural persons. They cannot be non-natural entities.
Typically, the owner and the annuitant are the same person, but that is not always the case, as discussed in "Structuring Annuities" later in this Unit.
The person or other party designated by the contract owner to receive annuity proceeds when the annuitant dies.
Although annuities are issued by insurance companies and sold by insurance advisers, they may also be purchased through banks, stockbrokers, credit unions, and savings associations.
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