Thank you Steven. I will certainly read your links. 5 years seems very short to recoup what's been put in, I would imagine that you would only recoup a fraction of what had been paid in ? Say putting in 10 k per year for 20 years. I know it's tax efficient and the accountants all push this angle. I will check to see if there is a five year guarantee. I'm terrified of all these loopholes if you are not aware you could get badly stung. It seems that that you must either die before retirement or live to 90 to get all your money back or is this a little simplistic ? Ps any idea what the commission on an amount like this would be. I know the advisors have to get paid but we are wary of this whole thing given our lack of knowledge and the pitfalls which may not always be clear at the outset.