Pennsylvania resident Mary Lynch heard an alluringly simple pitch from an insurance salesman: If the stock market goes up, you win; if the market drops, you win even more because you don't lose.With those prospects dangled in front of her, Lynch shelled out $65,000 for an indexed annuity issued by what is now Aviva USA. Lync.h and her heirs realized only afterward that the downside protection the product granted didn't come close to compensating for the upside potential it took away. Lynch was 85 years old and living in a senior citizen home seven years ago when she was sold the "40-year annuity." It had hefty penalties for withdrawals the first decade. "The product was unsuitable for her," says her lawyer, Jonathan Auerbach.
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