Overview

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Turning lifetime savings into reliable retirement income is one of the most complex challenges in financial planning. In this course, you’ll explore how annuities work as insurance‑based contracts designed to support retirement income and manage longevity risk—while also examining the tradeoffs they introduce around flexibility, liquidity, costs, and legacy planning. Through expert interviews and realistic retirement scenarios, you’ll compare annuities with traditional investment‑based approaches and evaluate when guaranteed income may be useful within a broader retirement plan. You’ll learn how income options, guarantees, fees, and contract features affect long‑term outcomes for individuals and households. Rather than promoting specific products, this course emphasizes evaluation, judgment, and communication. You’ll apply retirement income concepts to practical situations, considering portfolio pressure, survivor outcomes, and the challenges of clearly explaining tradeoffs to clients or family members. Designed for a broad audience—including aspiring and current financial professionals, retirement planners, and informed consumers—this course equips you to assess annuity contracts thoughtfully and understand their role in comprehensive retirement strategies. This course is part of the College of ACES suite of online programs. To learn more about online programs from the College of ACES and explore ways to apply your Coursera work toward a degree program at the University of Illinois, visit: https://aces.illinois.edu/online.

Syllabus

Orientation & Module 1 | Foundations of Annuities and Retirement Income

In this opening module, you’ll get oriented to the course and begin exploring why retirement income planning is fundamentally different from investing during your working years. We’ll focus on uncertainty, longevity risk, and how annuities are designed to address those challenges. You’ll also be introduced to Jamal and Renee, a household you’ll revisit throughout the course. By the end of this module, you’ll be able to explain what annuities are designed to do and the risks they are meant to manage.

Module 2 | Common Types of Annuities and How They Work

This module focuses on how annuities actually work. You’ll examine different contract structures, income options, and common features, and explore how changes in design affect income and flexibility. Rather than making recommendations, you’ll use tools and examples to observe patterns and tradeoffs. By the end of this module, you’ll be able to describe how annuity contracts function and why design choices matter.

Module 3 | Pricing, Contracts, and Distribution Strategies

In this module, you’ll begin applying what you’ve learned to a real household. Using the Jamal and Renee case, you’ll assess retirement income risks and priorities without selecting products or calculating exact income amounts. Expert perspectives will help connect guaranteed income to spending behavior and long‑term decision‑making. By the end of this module, you’ll be able to evaluate fit and explain key tradeoffs in retirement income strategies.

Module 4 | Strategy, Outcomes, and Long‑Term Implications

This final module shifts from planning to outcomes. You’ll see how earlier retirement income decisions play out over time, including survivor and liquidity considerations. You’ll also explore ethical and practical perspectives on using annuities and practice communicating a strategy in plain language. At the end of this module, you’ll complete the final assessment and earn your Coursera certificate.