When you are young and distracted by all the possibilities of life, the best annuity rates 2011 hardly ever cross your mind. The idea of retirement itself is furthest from your plans.

However, there are those among you who are forward thinkers. Early in your thirties or forties, you are already considering how you would like your life to be like as you retire. Of course, you desire to be independent and self-sufficient. You dream of leaving your loved ones well-provided for.

Indeed, retirement is an event in life which everyone ought to prepare for. You would not want to be caught up in the middle of a financial crisis - not when you are old and gray. Definitely, you would take steps and measures to see to it that you can take it easy during your senior years.

That's the very reason why, this early, it's crucial for you to get the best annuity rates 2011. You can start by shopping around for providers like banks and insurance companies. Based on the annuity quotes you request from each of them, you can further compare rates and prices. By the time you actually invest in annuity, you will have availed of the best annuity rates 2011 from the best annuity carriers.

That's what forward thinking can do. It prevents you from saying yes to the first annuity provider you encounter. It saves you from being sweet-talked into offers which haven't been well-studied or explained to you. It often spells the difference between the lowest and the highest annuities available in the market. In between is a whole, big variance between what you could have earned effortlessly and what you could lose meaninglessly.

By gains and losses, what difference are we talking about exactly? Well, if you find the right annuity provider, your retirement benefit could increase by about 45% or more! Imagine that. This different gradations and increments can be explained better once you get a hold of an annuity rates table.

So you see, sometimes, the best annuity rates 2011 of all do not automatically come to you. You have to make an extra effort to search before you find them. Who knows? The best offer could be right in front of you, waiting to be tapped. What's more, the consultation service could even be offered for free. Therefore, don't discount these freebies and grab every chance to get to know as much as you can about retirement and annuity.