Defined terms for the annuity market and lifetime income landscape.
A joint and survivor annuity is a payout structure in which the insurer makes scheduled income payments for the lifetime of two designated annuitants — typically spouses — with payments continuing in full or at a contractually specified reduced level after the first annuitant's death until the second annuitant's death. Why it matters The joint and survivor structure addresses the situation that affects most retired couples: that the shorter-lived spouse's death does not eliminate
