How to Money · Wednesday, September 30, 2026
Jean Chatzky admits she initially rejected an annuity recommendation for her mother, convinced annuities were too expensive and complex. She now regrets this decision, recognizing the value of guaranteed income after observing her mother's fear of depleting savings.
“I basically told this financial advisor to go pound sand I mean, And he made a compelling argument. He said, and this, by the way, a guy I trust, right, he was buying this annuity for himself and his wife. He was buying it for his parents. We could start with a small amount of money. I mean, he made all of the he laid it out, and I couldn't hear it. Well, I couldn't hear it or I wouldn't hear it because I was convinced that annuities were bad.”
“I didn't understand the spending side of the equation that would come down the road. I should have listened. I wish I would have listened. I have felt bad about that in the years that followed, particularly after I read a column years later that an economist named Mosha Malevsky, who's a noted economist, wrote about this particular annuity, where he actually wrote a line something to the tune of, if a financial advisor recommended this for my mother, I would be pleased with that financial advisor.”