--Are annuities the way to travel, or are you better off whipping out your trusty IPhone and beckoning a Uber?

--Questions…..questions. Okay, so, what are some of the trepidations surrounding annuities? 

--One factor, apparently, is inflexibility. It goes like this: with a fixed or fixed index annuity, your interest rate? Why, for the life of the contract, it’s locked in, according to annuityexpertadvice.com. Meaning? Well, if rates trek north, you’ll derive nothing stemming from a spike in returns. Conversely, if rates falter, you’re good because your investment’s shielded from receding.

--Then there’s the bugaboo of market fluctuations revolving around your investment that enters the equation with a variable annuity. With a drop in the stock market comes a decline in the value of your investment. 

--Meantime, customization also enters the picture. Risks most conceivably linked to annuities can be mitigated by the fact the annuities themselves are, by their nature, custom friendly, according to sophisticatedinvestor.com. A caveat, however: that features comes with the assumption you’re willing to fork out the cash for it.

Then there are annuity riders – provisions you invest in for annuities, the site continued. They rachet down the percentage of your annal annuity payout.

What are the fears of risks about an annuity?

With a fixed or fixed index annuity, your interest rate is locked in for the contract’s life. So if rates go up, you will not benefit from the higher returns. However, if rates go down, your investment is protected from declining.

With a variable annuity, your investment is subject to market fluctuations. If the stock market goes down, your investment value will also go down. ...

Are Annuities Good Or Bad? (2022) - The Annuity Expert

Pro: If You’re Looking for a Guaranteed Income Stream in Retirement, an Annuity Can Help

An annuity can be a good option if you’re looking for a guaranteed income stream in retirement. With an annuity, you make a lump sum payment upfront and then receive payments from the annuity provider for a set period of time, typically for the rest of your life. This can provide peace of mind knowing that you have a guaranteed income stream to cover your basic living expenses in retirement.

Con: Annuities Come with High Fees

One of the most significant drawbacks of annuities is that they come with high fees (typically variable annuities). These fees can eat away your investment returns, leaving you with less money than you started with. So be sure to review the fee structure of any annuity before investing carefully.