1.   A monthly income-for-life plan combines a reverse mortgage with a deferred annuity.

2.   Buy a deferred annuity now, which pays off down the road a ways, and switch in retirement to an immediate annuity, which starts paying instantly.

3.   Deferred variable annuities are bought earlier in life, either with a lump sum or a series of payments.

4.   If the investments were in a deferred annuity, you would owe nothing until you withdraw money from the account.

5.   You can have an immediate annuity, where you receive monthly payments right after purchase, or a deferred annuity where payouts come later.