---
title: Why Annuities Are the Rodney Dangerfield of Investments
description: Veteran financial journalist Jane Bryant Quinn explains how they can help your retirement.
authors:
  - name: Donna Rosato
    url: https://money.com/author/donna-rosato-3/
    at_money_since: 2013
    articles: 125
    covers:
      - Investing
      - Career Advice
      - Housing
      - Insurance
      - Lifestyle
      - Mortgages
      - Personal Finance
      - Retirement
      - Taxes
    social:
      - https://x.com/RosatoDonna
    former_staff: true
published: '2016-07-21T20:51:44.000Z'
modified: '2016-07-21T20:51:44.000Z'
section: Investing
tags:
  - annuities
  - Money
  - video
word_count: 118
canonical: https://money.com/annuities-rodney-dangerfield-investments-explained/
type: Article
source: structured-blocks
---

> **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/).

![Rodney Dangerfield Portrait Session](https://img.money.com/2016/07/gettyimages-71598567.jpg)
*BEVERLY HILLS, CA - 1987: Comedian and film star Rodney Dangerfield poses during a 1987 Beverly Hills, California, photo portrait session to promote his return to Las Vegas. Dangerfield starred in several hit movies including, "Caddyshack," "Easy Money," and "Back to School." He died of heart complications in 2004. (Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)*

Jane Bryant Quinn, legendary financial journalist and author of *[How to Make Your Money Last](https://www.amazon.com/Make-Your-Money-Last-Indispensable/dp/1476743762/?tag=timecom-20),* explains why many people believe that annuities are the "Rodney Dangerfield" of investments.

The late comedian Rodney Dangerfield was famous for his self-disparaging one-liners and his catchphrase "I don't get no respect."

The reason that Quinn says annuities get no respect is that potential buyers are afraid they'll be a sucker if they buy one. They'll give money to an insurance company in return for a lifetime stream of income, but if they die soon afterward, they'll have recovered hardly any of the annuity's cost.

The type of annuity Quinn recommends is the plain-vanilla version known as an immediate-pay annuity or immediate annuity.

```json
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@graph": [
    {
      "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
      "@id": "https://money.com/annuities-rodney-dangerfield-investments-explained/#breadcrumb",
      "itemListElement": [
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 1,
          "name": "Home",
          "item": "https://money.com"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 2,
          "name": "Investing",
          "item": "https://money.com/investing/"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 3,
          "name": "Investments",
          "item": "https://money.com/investments/"
        },
        {
          "@type": "ListItem",
          "position": 4,
          "name": "Why Annuities Are the Rodney Dangerfield of Investments"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "@type": "WebSite",
      "@id": "https://money.com/#website",
      "url": "https://money.com",
      "name": "Money",
      "publisher": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/#organization"
      }
    },
    {
      "@type": "WebPage",
      "@id": "https://money.com/annuities-rodney-dangerfield-investments-explained/#webpage",
      "url": "https://money.com/annuities-rodney-dangerfield-investments-explained/",
      "name": "Why Annuities Are the Rodney Dangerfield of Investments",
      "isPartOf": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/#website"
      },
      "datePublished": "2016-07-21T20:51:44.000Z",
      "mainEntity": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/annuities-rodney-dangerfield-investments-explained/"
      },
      "inLanguage": "en-US",
      "breadcrumb": {
        "@id": "https://money.com/annuities-rodney-dangerfield-investments-explained/#breadcrumb"
      },
      "dateModified": "2016-07-21T20:51:44.000Z"
    },
    {
      "@type": "Article",
      "headline": "Why Annuities Are the Rodney Dangerfield of Investments",
      "articleSection": "Investing",
      "image": [
        {
          "@type": "ImageObject",
          "url": "https://img.money.com/2016/07/gettyimages-71598567.jpg",
          "width": 3606,
          "height": 2424,
          "caption": "Rodney Dangerfield Portrait Session"
        }
      ],
      "author": [
        {
          "@type": "Person",
          "name": "Donna Rosato",
          "url": "https://money.com/author/donna-rosato-3/",
          "@id": "https://money.com/author/donna-rosato-3/#author",
          "image": "https://img.money.com/2014/05/140530_bio_author_rosato.jpg?quality=85&w=190&h=190&crop=1",
          "email": "donna_rosato@moneymail.com",
          "sameAs": [
            "https://x.com/RosatoDonna"
          ]
        }
      ],
      "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization",
      "datePublished": "2016-07-21T20:51:44.000Z",
      "description": "Veteran financial journalist Jane Bryant Quinn explains how they can help your retirement.",
      "abstract": "Veteran financial journalist Jane Bryant Quinn explains how they can help your retirement.",
      "@id": "https://money.com/annuities-rodney-dangerfield-investments-explained/",
      "inLanguage": "en-US",
      "dateModified": "2016-07-21T20:51:44.000Z",
      "wordCount": 118,
      "keywords": [
        "annuities",
        "Money",
        "video"
      ],
      "about": [
        {
          "@type": "Thing",
          "name": "Investment",
          "sameAs": [
            "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Investment"
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
```