What is your opinion of these investment plans for
retirement.

tsmyer,

There is an excellent thread discussing variable annuities beginning with post #9849 on this board.

As a general rule, most Fools avoid variable annuities because of the high fees and commissions associated with these schemes.

intercst

Fools rarely find annuities to be good deals, usually because of high fees. My optional retirement plan (rather than the poor state retirement plan) is in an annuity, because I have no choice, but it is with TIAA-CREF, whose fees are 1.5% to 2.5% less than the fees with my other choices! My 403(b) is with a straight mutual fund.

Here's some other sites to check out for more information about annuities:

Quicken's page on annuitiy investements:
http://www.quicken.com/annuities/

SmartMoney: What's Wrong With Variable Annuities:
http://www.smartmoney.com/ac/retirement/investing/index.cfm?story=wrongannuities

SmartMoney: Who Should Buy a Variable Annuity?
http://www.smartmoney.com/ac/retirement/investing/index.cfm?story=buyannuities

Hope this helps.

Taylor

Hi Fellow Fools,

Having already made the plunge into variable annuities, I (hopefully) have learned my lesson that these are not for the typical Fool. However, here is another article that I just read that has some Foolish advice. I'm personally waiting for my surrender charges to expire so I can transfer over to Vanguard. Luckily, my annuity has an S&P Index fund that has a "relatively" low fee. Good luck and good investing.

http://cbs.marketwatch.com/archive/19990419/news/current/superstar.htx?source=blq/yhoo&dist=yhoo

Not Cheap - Just Phrugal