About Annuity Grader

Annuity Grader is a free library of guides to annuities. We explain the main types and how payouts work, unpack fees, surrender charges and riders, and give you a practical way to grade an offer — without selling anything. There are currently 18 articles across 3 topics, plus a glossary of 54 terms.

Annuity Grader is an independent publication about annuities. We explain how they work and what they cost, and help you grade an offer — we never rate or sell products.

How we write our articles

• Facts — definitions, dates, versions, platform rules and who created which framework — are checked against primary or authoritative sources such as the SEC's Investor.gov, FINRA, the NAIC and state insurance departments, the IRS and the Social Security Administration. They’re listed and linked at the end of each article.
• Each article shows the date it was last reviewed, and we revisit articles as guidance changes.
• We don’t invent people, quotes, statistics or case studies. Examples are clearly labeled as hypothetical. Paid placements are always labeled “Sponsored.”

Corrections

If something in an article is wrong or out of date, please tell us. We’ll check it against the source and update the article and its review date.