Friday, April 10, 2026 - Broadridge Content
A private annuity is the sale of property in exchange for an unsecured promise to make payments for the rest of your life. A private annuity differs from a commercial annuity because you arrange the annuity with a private party instead of a financial organization (e.g., an insurance company). You (the seller or annuitant) transfer complete ownership of property to another party (the buyer or obligor). The buyer in turn makes an unsecured promise to make periodic payments to you for the rest of your life (a single life annuity) or for your life and the life of a second person (a joint and survivor annuity). A joint and survivor annuity provides payments until the death of the last survivor (e.g., payments continue as long as either the husband or wife is still alive). A typical private annuity involves the transfer of appreciated property from parents to their children.