A business owner purchases a deferred annuity, names herself as owner, and names her adult son as the annuitant. Who controls withdrawals, beneficiary designations, and other contract decisions?

Why B is correct

In the three-party structure of an annuity, the owner is the party with the contract rights: making withdrawals, changing beneficiaries, surrendering the contract, and directing other decisions. The annuitant is the measuring life who receives the payout stream during the annuity period. Pennsylvania's annuity framework, administered by the Pennsylvania Insurance Department, treats these roles as distinct, which is why an owner can name someone else as annuitant without surrendering control of the contract.

Why the other options are wrong

• A) The annuitant measures and receives the payouts but does not hold the contract's control rights; those belong to the owner.
• C) The insurer executes the contract as written; it does not arbitrate between the owner and the annuitant over control.
• D) The beneficiary takes effect at the annuitant's death or under a refund option; the beneficiary does not approve the owner's decisions during the contract.

Memory hook

Owner = the steering wheel; annuitant = the seat; beneficiary = the back seat.