I do not know much about these but I am exploring the possibility of trying to save additional money for retirement tax deferred. I will max out my 401k and the plan would be to make an initial purchase of an annuity and then contribute an amount to it in excess of my 401k contribution so that I could invest more tax deferred. I won't have a Roth IRA so this seemed like the only other alternative for tax free growth. Has anyone used these an an alternative? I will likely go through Fidelity or Vanguard for the lower fees.