Which is true about a joint and survivor annuity?

A joint and survivor annuity is a type of immediate annuity payout option designed to provide a continuous stream of income for two or more individuals, typically a married couple. The payments begin on a specified date and continue throughout the lifetimes of all annuitants. Upon the death of the first annuitant, payments continue to the surviving annuitant(s) for the remainder of their life or lives. The amount paid to the survivor may be the same or a reduced percentage (e.g., 50% or 75%) of the original payment, as specified in the contract.

B. Annuity payments are guaranteed for the annuitant's entire life, not just until a statistically calculated life expectancy is reached.

C. This describes a hybrid product. A joint and survivor annuity is a pure annuity focused on providing income, not a life insurance death benefit.

D. Annuities manage longevity risk (the risk of outliving one's assets), so evidence of insurability, which assesses mortality risk, is not required.

1. Rejda, G. E., McNamara, M. J., & Rabel, W. H. (2020). Principles of Risk Management and Insurance (14th ed.). Pearson. In Chapter 13, "Annuities and Individual Retirement Accounts," the text defines a joint-and-survivor annuity as an option where "income payments continue until the last annuitant dies" (p. 315).

2. The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. (2018). Annuities: A Primer for Financial Professionals. Pension Research Council Working Paper, WP2018-05. This paper discusses various annuity payout options, describing the joint-and-survivor option as providing "payments that continue as long as either of two individuals is alive" (p. 6).

3. Code of Virginia. Title 38.2. Insurance. § 38.2-3348.1. Standard nonforfeiture law for individual deferred annuities. While this section details the nonforfeiture provisions, its framework presupposes the fundamental nature of annuities as contracts providing payments for a specified period, which for life annuities is the duration of a human life, not a statistical expectancy.