He proceeded to tell me proudly that he had sold more of a certain type of deferred annuity than anyone else in the U.S. Obviously, no matter what his clients need, they get a deferred annuity.

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So we will confine our discussion of the deferred annuity.

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The choice of annuities has long been built into TIAA-CREF retirement plans, and close to 50% of TIAA-CREF participants opt for a guaranteed deferred annuity as an investment option, allocating 40% of their contributions to the option.

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But he tells his clients to be wary of their instinct to defer income (such as by owning a tax-deferred annuity).

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's Select Deferred Income Annuity, a product introduced last April that now accounts for 20% of the insurer's income annuity sales.

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The breach of fiduciary duty allegations stem from the fact that the Plan assets are invested in a tax deferred variable annuity.

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Annuity payments can be deferred until retirement or advanced age, at which point tax would be due on the income component of the annuity payments.

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