The same kind of bait-and-switch marketing schemes is sometimes used with income riders sold on annuities. Perhaps no other financial feature is more confusing and yet people still buy them, sometimes without even knowing it.
The way an annuity guarantees lifetime income is the addition of an income rider, but the benefits and features offered by riders vary so much from insurance company to insurance company, they are often called different things even if the annuity itself is the same. There’s nothing fishy about this Income Rider Q&A – just the facts.