It stands to reason that older people at or near retirement would be more interested in annuities than younger folks, right? Well, not quite, at least according to a study from the LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute that looked at investors who had a discussion with their financial advisors about deferred annuities within the past three years but then decided not to buy.

The online survey of 821 annuity non-buyers comprised people between the ages of 40 and 85, with nearly half of them between the ages of 55 and 74. This analysis was part of a larger survey of both buyers and non-buyers of annuities by LIMRA SRI, a research and education organization focused on the retirement industry.

The survey classified the respondents into three broad categories.

The largest category of people (42 percent) who didn’t buy an annuity considered them to be good products and were open to the idea of eventually buying one. Among this group, the top reason for not buying one is that it’s not the right time (44 percent).

Almost two-thirds of this segment isn’t retired, and only 30 percent of the non-retirees plan to retire in the next 10 years.

People in the second-largest category (40 percent) said that annuities are okay but are not for them.

Those in the third category (18 percent) most identified with the statement that they don’t like annuities and would likely never buy one. Roughly half of this group is already retired and one-third plan to retire in the next four years. This group gives the highest importance on control over how their investments are managed, and are more likely to have guaranteed income through their pensions. Younger workers are less likely to have a pension to fall back on.

Nonetheless, says LIMRA SRI, prior research found that 73 percent of retirees who own an annuity believe they will be able to live the retirement lifestyle they want, versus 64 percent of retirees who don’t own an annuity. And 69 percent of retirees who own an annuity are more confident they won’t run out of money if reach age 90, compared to 57 percent of retirees who don’t own an annuity.

The upshot? LIMRA SRI says a sizable number of people—particularly younger workers—who didn’t buy an annuity now could be buyers in the future. That could provide advisors with fodder for a follow-up conversation down the road.