When Did Annuities Start? 
All annuities have a policy date . That is usually the date that funds are accepted by the insurance company . Money can be withdrawn from an annuity in several ways which would give rise to several other dates . If there will be regular installments for a period of time , which would create a different date . If a lifetime income is desired there would be the start date for that , which could be the same as the policy date on an immediate annuity . The start date for a lifetime income becomes a date that ends all further choices . 