1.   Both companies said the contractual rights of Prudential policy owners and annuity contract holders will remain unchanged.

2.   The annuity holder can choose the riskiest mutual funds.

3.   When an annuity holder dies, the balance in the account is subject not only to income tax, but also to estate tax.

4.   The instruments are tax-deferred, which means annuity holders pay no taxes on the income and investment gains from their annuities until they withdraw their money.

5.   The payments to the annuity holder vary and are determined by the performance of the underlying investments.

6.   With fixed annuities, by contrast, all payments to the annuity holder are equal.