They found that the person who buys an annuity paying $10,000 a year, with $140,000 will spend more on non-essential things than the person who doesn’t buy an annuity and spends from $140,000 kept in savings. Why? Because for one thing, the spending is on nonessentials, such as vacations, dining out more, and so on. And second, with an unknown future regarding inflation, interest rates and longevity, there is a reluctance to draw from investments.