I had an interesting conversation with Vanguard today and wanted to pass it along...
My mother has a variable annuity with Vanguard. It is not annuitized and there is no desire for it to be annuitized.
The other day she got a letter from Vanguard stating that unless she took action Vanguard would be annuitizing the VA.
I called up Vanguard and talked to one of their annuity people about this.
The Vanguard rep said that historically Vanguard has not enforced the VA's "commencement date" -- the date chosen back at purchase for when the VA would annuitize. But states have started enacting and proposing laws saying that if a VA is not annuitized on the commencement date, then five years later, some amount of VA escheats to the state (I'm guessing the amount is equal to all the payments that would have been made if the VA had been annuitized).
Therefore, Vanguard is contacting people (don't know if they are contacting all VA holders or just those in states with enacted/proposed VA escheat laws) who are at/after the commencement date and telling them that if they do nothing the VA will be annuitized and that if they don't want that, then contact Vanguard to either defer the commencement date or cash out the VA). In my mother's case she just deferred the commencement date to age 99 (I don't know if that's the latest allowed by Vanguard or her state's law).