when an annuity is sponsored by an employer the employer decides which payment options it will provide the options may include single life or joint and survivor options 
however employer sponsored qualified plans must make the joint and survivor annuity the automatic choice for couples married at the time of retirement an individual may receive a single life annuity only with written notarized approval from the primary annuitant s current or depending on the divorce settlement former spouse 3there may also be provisions for making payments to a third party when both annuitants die before the monthly payments have exceeded the principal in these cases the money goes to the annuitants estate or to a named beneficiary if the annuity has an installment refund provision the insurance company must make monthly payments to the estate or beneficiary until the original value of the annuity is reached if an annuity has a cash refund provision the balance of the principal goes to the annuitants estate or a named beneficiary in a lump sum advantages of a joint and survivor annuitya joint and survivor annuity has the advantage of protecting annuitants from outliving their retirement savings a person who retires at 65 may anticipate living to age 80 and plan accordingly living to 90 or 100 is perfectly feasible these days but it requires a backup financial plan its greatest benefit may be its protection for surviving spouses and that aspect may be changing with the times historically annuities were most often offered through employers during much of the 20th century most wage earners were men who generally have lower life expectancies than women the joint annuity took care of their widows who might live years or even decades longer than their spouses the life expectancies of both spouses can play a significant part in deciding between a joint and survivor annuity and a single life annuity 4disadvantages of a joint and survivor annuitylike all annuities joint and survivor annuities will not provide a good return to a younger couple the benefit will be low and the fees will be high compared to other investment options such as exchange traded funds etfs immediate annuities make more sense after age 65 when a couple is retired or looking forward to retiring soon the stakes are changing too with marital trends for example same sex couples if they are about the same age will typically have similar life expectancies so they will not get as much benefit from a joint and survivor annuity as a couple did in the 20th century 