Annuities boost retirement security, poll says

According to a new Gallup survey, non-qualified annuities significantly increase the retirement security of middle-class Americans, and those whose portfolios include them have expressed greater financial confidence during the current recession.

Non-qualified annuities are purchased by investors individually, rather than through a qualified employer-sponsored retirement plan or individual retirement arrangement.

The study, conducted in conjunction with the Committee of Annuity Insurers (CAI), found that although many Americans believe they are not financially ready for retirement, a total of 91 percent of non-qualified annuity owners believe they have done a very good job of saving for old age.

In addition, nearly 79 percent say that annuities are safe and make them feel more secure in times of financial uncertainty.

"This survey demonstrates that these Americans consider their annuities the answer to both sides of the fundamental retirement challenge – a method to accumulate retirement savings and a vehicle to turn their savings into a steady retirement income stream that cannot be outlived," says Deborah Winston of the CAI.

The background to the survey specifies that 80 percent of non-qualified annuity owners have annual household incomes below $100,000. They are also more likely to be female (58 percent) than male (42 percent).