Annuities✓ Verified · outline & fact-checked · Sep 2026Difficulty 2/5
Which statement correctly distinguishes the owner from the annuitant of an annuity contract?
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Answer & full 3-part explanation (select an option above, or peek)
Why A is correct
The owner is the party with contractual rights: making deposits, selecting options, surrendering the contract, naming or changing beneficiaries, and naming the annuitant. The annuitant is the measuring life — the person on whose longevity the income payments are based. They may be the same individual, but they need not be; for example, a business may own a contract on a key executive's life.
Why the other options are wrong
- B) This reverses the roles: the annuitant is the measuring life for income, while the owner holds the contractual control rights.
- C) Owner and annuitant may be different people; nothing in annuity law requires them to be identical.
- D) The owner need not be the beneficiary; the beneficiary receives unpaid benefits on the annuitant's death and is designated by the owner.
Memory hook
Owner holds the wheel; annuitant is the clock. Control versus measuring life.