Variable Annuities
Which annuity payout option provides the HIGHEST periodic payment?
More guarantees = lower payments. Life-only = highest payment, most risk to annuitant.
Complete Analysis & Legal Rationale
A life-only (straight life) annuity provides the highest periodic payment because payments stop at death with no beneficiary payments. The insurer assumes no extra risk of paying beyond the annuitant's life.
Distractor Autopsy (Why Other Options Are Traps)
FINRA exam writers design incorrect distractors using specific calculation mistakes and regulatory misconceptions. Review why each option succeeds or fails:
Period certain guarantees reduce payments because the insurer may pay after death.
Matches the verified teaching point in the explanation.
Joint and survivor covers two lives, requiring lower individual payments.
Refund provisions guarantee minimum payments, reducing the periodic amount.
Official Standard: Governs options accounts, approvals, and related supervisory requirements (verify current text).
Official Standard: Outline-level citation pending rule-specific upgrade. Verify against current FINRA Series 7 outline.