If you die before the term ends in a Fixed-term Annuity, who continues the payments?

If you die before the term ends in a Fixed-term Annuity, who continues the payments?

• A. Your estate or beneficiary
• B. The insurer
• C. Payments stop entirely
• D. Your joint spouse

Answer: (A)

Fixed-term (term-certain) annuities guarantee a payment stream for a specific number of years, regardless of whether you’re alive for the whole term. If you die before the term ends, the contract often designates a beneficiary or your estate to receive the remaining scheduled payments for the rest of the term. The insurer remains the payer, but the obligation to continue payments shifts to the beneficiary or estate as named in the contract. This isn’t automatically to a spouse unless the contract is written as a joint-life product or includes a specific provision for a survivor. So the remaining payments would flow to your estate or a named beneficiary, not stop or default to the insurer or to a spouse by default.

Fixed-term (term-certain) annuities guarantee a payment stream for a specific number of years, regardless of whether you’re alive for the whole term. If you die before the term ends, the contract often designates a beneficiary or your estate to receive the remaining scheduled payments for the rest of the term. The insurer remains the payer, but the obligation to continue payments shifts to the beneficiary or estate as named in the contract.

This isn’t automatically to a spouse unless the contract is written as a joint-life product or includes a specific provision for a survivor. So the remaining payments would flow to your estate or a named beneficiary, not stop or default to the insurer or to a spouse by default.