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Choosing an Insurance Company
A well-designed variable lifetime income strategy begins with choosing an insurance company whose strengths best complement your retirement goals.
Today's leading insurers offer exceptional platforms, each combining lifetime income guarantees with distinctive investment capabilities, contract features, and flexibility. The best choice depends on how these characteristics align with your unique retirement income strategy.
The profiles that follow highlight the strengths and distinguishing features of each company to help you explore the available options with confidence.
“It is much more sensible to expect institutions to find a more efficient way to distribute risk than to impose it on the individual person.”
— Robert Merton, Nobel Laureate
What insurance companies offer variable annuitization?
Most of the top-20 variable annuity insurers by revenue do not offer variable annuitization, only fixed. Fewer guarantee the mortality and expense (M&E) charges.
These insurance companies do.
Whether you are comparing companies on your own or seeking professional guidance, we hope they provide a useful starting point for identifying the platform that best fits your needs.
Standardizing Cost
Comparing variable annuity costs isn't always straightforward because recurring expenses vary across insurance companies and may include mortality & expense (M&E) charges, administrative fees, investment platform fees, underlying investment expenses, and premium breakpoints.
To provide a consistent point of comparison, we examine advisory annuities, which typically have lower M&E expenses, and the recurring variable contract costs within each insurer's lowest-cost broadly diversified stock and bond investment options—equivalent to a 50% U.S. large company stock index and a 50% US aggregate bond index. For perspective, Morningstar reported an asset-weighted average investment expense ratio of .32% for combined open-end mutual funds and ETFs in 2025.
Cost is only one consideration. Investment platforms, guarantees, AIR options, contract provisions, and flexibility can be equally important in selecting an insurance company. We hope these comparisons provide a helpful framework for understanding the differences among today's leading variable lifetime income platforms.
Transamerica Advisory Annuity
Transamerica Advisory Annuity Prospecus
Standardized Cost: .40%
Transamerica offers a competitively priced platform with 27 professionally managed separate accounts, featuring low-cost investment strategies from Vanguard and Dimensional Fund Advisors. The investment lineup emphasizes broadly diversified index and factor-based investing.
The platform also traces its roots to the former Vanguard Variable Annuity, whose administration transitioned to Transamerica in 2020 while Vanguard continued to manage the underlying Vanguard Variable Insurance Funds.
The primary tradeoff is a three-year waiting period before variable annuitization may begin. However, its combination of competitive recurring costs, high-quality investment options, and disciplined investment philosophy makes Transamerica one of the strongest deferred variable lifetime income platforms available.
Originally part of the Dutch insurer Aegon, Transamerica has evolved into a U.S.-focused retirement and insurance company reflecting the growing importance of its American business.
Pacific Life Advisory Variable Annuity
Pacific Life Advisory Variable Annuity Prospectus
Standardized cost .54%
Reduced to .49% for $500k to under $1 million
Reduced to .44% for $1 million+
Pacific Life offers a broad variable lifetime income platform with more than 100 professionally managed separate accounts spanning diversified equity, fixed-income, international, sector, and specialty investment strategies. Variable annuitization is available following a three-year waiting period for its 4% AIR .
Pacific Life assesses a .15% investment platform fee, but offers competitive underlying separate account expenses and breakpoint reductions help maintain an attractive overall cost profile.
As a mutual holding company, Pacific Life emphasizes long-term financial strength and policyholder value rather than short-term shareholder expectations, reflecting a long-term approach to retirement income solutions.
TIAA CREF Accounts
Standardized cost .22%
Founded in 1918, TIAA is a not-for-profit institution pioneering the modern variable annuity through the creation of CREF in 1952. Long recognized for serving educators, researchers, healthcare professionals, and nonprofit employees, TIAA has expanded many of its retirement income solutions to a broader audience.
TIAA combines the lowest recurring contract costs among the companies evaluated with institutionally managed investment options. CREF manages approximately $290 billion across eight diversified variable accounts, with approximately 82% of assets invested in equities, reflecting a longstanding emphasis on long-term capital growth and purchasing power among its annuitants.
CREF accounts deduct a M&E charge of 0.005%.
A distinguishing feature is a 4% AIR and the ability to begin immediate variable annuitization, eliminating the contractual waiting periods required by many competitors.
The principal tradeoff is a relatively limited investment menu compared with some insurers. However, its exceptionally low costs, institutional investment management, and immediate income availability make TIAA one of the strongest variable lifetime income platforms available.
TIAA Real Estate Account
TIAA Real Estate Account Prospectus
Standardized cost .86%
Includes TIAA's .26% liquidity expense guarantee
The TIAA Real Estate Account is one of the most distinctive investment options available within a variable annuity. Unlike publicly traded REITs, the account invests directly in a diversified portfolio of institutionally owned commercial real estate, including office, industrial, multifamily, retail, and other income-producing properties.
The account provides cost-effective access to professionally managed private real estate. Comparable institutional private real estate strategies often require minimum investments of $1 million to $5 million or more and typically offer limited liquidity.
Available exclusively through TIAA, the Real Estate Account can be combined with CREF equity and fixed-income accounts to build a diversified institutional-quality portfolio, each at a 4% AIR. Its unique combination of direct commercial real estate exposure, low cost, and accessibility makes it a compelling option for retirees seeking annuitization as well as accumulation in a unique offering.
Lincoln Investor Advantage
Lincoln Investor Advantage Prospectus
Standardized cost .50%
Lincoln Financial offers one of the most comprehensive variable lifetime income platforms available, combining immediate variable annuitization, one of the industry's broadest investment menu, and multiple Assumed Interest Rate (AIR) options. With more than 140 professionally managed separate accounts, investors can access diversified equity, fixed-income, international, sector and alternative investment strategies.
A distinguishing feature is the flexibility to select from multiple AIR options—3%, 4% and 5%—allowing investors the flexibility to tailor the balance between initial income and future payment growth to their retirement objectives. Unlike many insurers that require a waiting period, Lincoln permits immediate variable annuitization, providing greater flexibility in retirement income planning.
The primary tradeoff is that some of Lincoln's fixed-income investment options carry higher expenses than comparable offerings from certain competitors. However, its extensive investment platform, immediate income availability, and AIR flexibility make Lincoln one of the most versatile variable lifetime income platforms available.
Protective Investors Benefit Advisory
Protective Investors Advisory Prospectus
Standardized cost .41%
Protective combines one of the industry's broadest variable lifetime income platforms with a highly competitive recurring cost structure. Investors have access to approximately 157 professionally managed separate accounts spanning diversified equity, fixed-income, international, sector, specialty, and alternative investment strategies.
Protective offers multiple Assumed Interest Rate (AIR) options, including 5%, allowing investors to tailor the balance between initial income and future payment growth. Variable annuitization is available following a three-year waiting period.
Founded in 1907, Protective has been a trusted provider of retirement and insurance solutions for more than a century. Since 2015, it has operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of Dai-ichi Life Holdings, one of Japan's largest life insurance organizations, providing the resources and long-term perspective of a global insurance company.