BARRON'S

Within the financial services world, few products kindle stronger opinions than annuities.

The promise of lifetime income is undeniably alluring at a time of mounting anxiety about the solvency of Social Security and when individuals are more responsible than ever for funding their own retirement.

But one typical way that annuity sellers are compensated—commissions—keys into an almost-tribal divide within the industry.

"Annuities are always controversial, and probably one of the most divisive financial products that are in the market, largely due to the commission," David Lau, CEO of DPL Financial Partners, said during an online presentation this week analyzing annuity fees and releasing some new survey data. "People who don’t like commissions and don’t accept commissions tend to think of annuities as a four-letter word and people who like commissions tend to like annuities quite a lot because they pay very handsome commissions..."

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