Comment on FR Doc # 2012-02341

This is an unnecessary change which will discourage public investment in the United States. Additional education of the impacts is necessary before a disaster of this type is enacted with respect to an individual's future financial welfare. A better method would be to support educational outreach to assure the public understands investments before funds are committed. The long-term benefits of strategically investing in appropriate mixes of financial instruments would be beneficial. While annuities are a part of a good plan, they are not the foundation for the majority of participants. Studies are available showing riskless investments are the most risky and lead to depletion of funds more rapidly. This means the annuitant will receive a significant lower lifetime benefit, and the government will need to provide greater supplemental financial support via increases in Social Security/Medicare, not a good method to balance the budget. The only benefactors are the annuity mangers. The Federal Government should not reward the same entities who are a party to the current economic crisis. This should be dropped from consideration for enactment. It's just bad governance.