Immediate annuities are annuities designed to pay owners a determined amount of money on a monthly, quarterly, annual or semi-annual basis. The rate for an immediate annuity can be fixed-rate or variable-rate. The fixed will guarantee you a set income that will not fluctuate, whereas the variable option will fluctuate with performance of selected investments your variable annuity is based on. The amount you receive will depend on initial premium deposit, the length of time (term) of your annuity and the guarantees set forth by the particular insurer.