The Federal Reserve’s decision to cut its benchmark federal funds rate from 2.5% in 2019 to near-0% in 2020 raises significant questions for those reassessing their retirement nest egg—a common occurrence following a dramatic selloff in equities according to research conducted by Indiana University’s Alessandro Previtero—and the value of annuities in providing guaranteed lifetime income. Historically low interest rates are often used as a reason to avoid annuitizing at the present and forever locking in current interest rates. The logic is that interest rates could increase in the future, which would help support a higher subsequent payout rate from annuities if one waits. This idea is worth a discussion, as it is not correct in the context of a full retirement plan. In addition, deferred annuities that use lifetime income protections without immediately annuitizing the assets do not have this problem. Even for the income annuity, which does lock in the current environment at purchase, the case for its use becomes stronger in a low interest rate environment for someone who is already retired and spending from assets. With low interest rates, the mortality credit or risk pooling component of the annuity payout becomes even more important, making annuities even more attractive relative to bonds. The bond interest component for spending is reduced for both tools as interest rates decrease, however annuities are hurt less by lowering interest rates, since the mortality credit component for spending is not impacted by interest rates.