Q1. An advantage of a variable annuity over a fixed annuity is the:

A)   variable annuity offers stable income over the life of the purchaser of the annuity.

B)   variable annuity offers the opportunity to stay even with the rate of inflation.

C)   purchaser of the variable annuity will never out live the income stream from the annuity.

Q2. Which of the following is NOT a drawback to a fixed annuity?

A)   The investor usually cannot void the contract.

B)   The cash flows could be zero if the underlying asset return is negative for the investment period.

C)   The real value of the cash flows may decline over time.

Q3. Which of the following is NOT an example of a drawback to fixed annuities?

A)   The payments in some periods may fail to meet the investor’s needs or may be zero if the funds lose money.

B)   The real values of the cash flows fall over time.

C)   The investor could become locked into a low interest rate.

Q4. An advantage of a fixed annuity over a variable annuity is:

A)   the fixed annuity’s income stream is stable throughout the life of the annuity purchaser.

B)   the fixed annuity’s income offers a hedge against inflation during periods of stagflation.

C)   fixed annuities are easier to terminate than variable annuities.

答案和详解如下：

Q1. An advantage of a variable annuity over a fixed annuity is the:

A)   variable annuity offers stable income over the life of the purchaser of the annuity.

B)   variable annuity offers the opportunity to stay even with the rate of inflation.

C)   purchaser of the variable annuity will never out live the income stream from the annuity.

Correct answer is B)

Since variable annuities are invested in mutual fund like sub-accounts that can be directly invested in equities they offer a return that can meet or exceed the inflation rate. For example if the return in the equity-like subaccounts is high enough the annuity payments will increase instead of stay the same as would be the case with a fixed annuity. Both fixed and variable annuities offer income streams for the remaining life of the annuitant. The variable annuity’s cash flows are not stable and will fluctuate according the investment returns in the sub-accounts and will not keep pace with inflation if the returns are less than the inflation rate.

Q2. Which of the following is NOT a drawback to a fixed annuity?

A)   The investor usually cannot void the contract.

B)   The cash flows could be zero if the underlying asset return is negative for the investment period.

C)   The real value of the cash flows may decline over time.

Correct answer is B)         

Cash flows received on a variable pay annuity (not fixed annuity) are based on the performance of an underlying fund or set of funds selected by the investor and thus the cash flows are variable and could be zero if the performance of the underlying funds is negative for the investment period. Drawbacks to fixed annuities are:

§   cash flows are fixed and do not increase with the rate of inflation thus the real value of the cash flows decreases over time.

§   cash flows are based on the level of interest rates at the time the annuity goes into effect. If interest rates are low when the contract goes into effect this would lock in a low rate of return to the investor.

§   the annuity is illiquid and difficult to get out of the contract.

Q3. Which of the following is NOT an example of a drawback to fixed annuities?

A)   The payments in some periods may fail to meet the investor’s needs or may be zero if the funds lose money.

B)   The real values of the cash flows fall over time.

C)   The investor could become locked into a low interest rate.

Correct answer is A)

A fixed annuity may fail to meet the investor’s needs, but the payment will never be zero. This is an example of a drawback for a variable annuity. The real values of cash flows from a fixed annuity do fall over time. An investor could get locked into a low lifetime return if interest rates are historically low when the fixed annuity is purchased.

Q4. An advantage of a fixed annuity over a variable annuity is:

A)   the fixed annuity’s income stream is stable throughout the life of the annuity purchaser.

B)   the fixed annuity’s income offers a hedge against inflation during periods of stagflation.

C)   fixed annuities are easier to terminate than variable annuities.

Correct answer is A)

One advantage of a fixed annuity over the variable annuity is the stable income stream offered by the fixed annuity. Since the variable annuity’s income is tied to the return of underlying assets, which are usually equity-like the annuity’s income also fluctuates as the return on the underlying assets fluctuates. A disadvantage of fixed annuities is since their income stream is fixed they lose real earning power over time due to inflation. Once the fixed or variable contracts are annuitized meaning the investor decides to have the payments sent to them for life, both fixed and variable annuities are equally difficult to terminate.

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