Kaschützke, BarbaraMaurer, Raimond2023-05-232023-05-232010-09-012019-08-06https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/43621We explore the workings of the German private annuity market to evaluate whether annuities are delivering an adequate value for money by measuring their money’s worth. We examine key features of the German private annuity market and give a comprehensive description of the main product groups, taking into consideration the statutory obligation to distribute substantial parts of insurer’s annual profits to the annuitant. Relying on a large dataset covering about 90% of the German market, we calculate money’s worth ratios for private payout annuities and trace long-term developments.Opinions and conclusions are solely those of the author(s) and do not reflect views of the institutions supporting the research, with whom the authors are affiliated, or the Pension Research Council. Copyright 2010 © Pension Research Council of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. All rights reserved.EconomicsWorking Paper