Maydeen Tharp wanted a living trust. She wound up buying a $230,000 annuity.

Tharp, a widowed homemaker, had invited an insurance man to her home in Upland, east of Los Angeles, to get her estate in order. The salesman shifted the conversation to a different subject: annuities. Then he asked whether they could move outside to the back patio, so her cats wouldn't trigger his allergies.

The salesman talked for hours. The November afternoon grew cold and dark.

Finally, Tharp gave in. She agreed to move the bulk of her retirement savings into an annuity.

"He was so talkative he could sell you anything," recalled Tharp, 69. "After five hours, I was so tired and cold, I just wanted to make him go away."

Tharp had second thoughts the next day and was able to get her money back with help from her financial adviser. Thousands of other elderly Americans have not been so fortunate.

Investment brokers and insurance agents are selling annuities to the nation's 36 million senior citizens at a furious clip, often through deceptive or high-pressure tactics. Annuity sales reached $217 billion last year, nearly triple the level of the early 1990s.

Using come-ons honed by marketing experts, unscrupulous agents play on seniors' fears by suggesting that stock mutual funds, even federally insured bank accounts, are too shaky to depend on. They depict annuities as a secure alternative without explaining the accompanying fees and restrictions.

Some sales agents offer estate-planning services or free financial workshops for seniors to gain access to their financial information. Then they zero in on those with sizable assets, delivering a hard sell for annuities regardless of whether they meet the clients' needs.

Annuities are contracts that promise fixed or variable payments in the future. Salespeople sometimes omit mention of the "surrender'' charges that apply if buyers withdraw more than modest sums in the early years of an annuity.

Murray H. Cheves, a 90-year-old retiree from San Luis Obispo, Calif., bought a $100,000 annuity in 2001 with withdrawal penalties that lasted 10 years. Cheves would have had to live to 100 to have unfettered access to his money.

Instead, he died at 91, and his heirs were slapped with an $11,000 surrender charge.

The NASD, formerly the National Association of Securities Dealers, the brokerage industry's regulatory arm, has filed 286 enforcement actions over annuity sales in the past six years — including 88 in the 12 months that ended in November, the most ever for a single year.

Authorities and irate investors in California have accused subsidiaries of AmerUs Group Co., an insurer based in Des Moines, Iowa, of using scripted pitches to frighten seniors into moving their savings into annuities.

A sales trainer, testifying in one lawsuit, said agents were coached to bad-mouth the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which insures bank deposits, by saying that the agency "had troubles'' in the early 1990s and could take as long as 20 years to repay customers if a bank failed.

To avoid leaving a written record of these tactics, the trainers used a chalkboard rather than handouts, said Rob Gianelli, a Los Angeles attorney for the plaintiffs.

In a recent settlement of that suit, an AmerUs subsidiary agreed, among other things, to reimburse seniors for fees they incurred by switching annuities. Settlement talks are continuing with the state, which is seeking more than $110 million in fines and restitution.

Regulators say deceptive practices are driven by the prospect of rich commissions. On a $100,000 annuity, the agent's take typically runs $3,000 to $10,000, although it can reach $16,000, according to industry experts.

Annuities allow people to shield retirement savings from taxes for years and then receive regular payments, much like a pension. When investors die, their estates generally can get lump sums equal to at least what they contributed.

Surrender charges, however, can be in force for up to 20 years. During that period, investors who take out more than 10 percent of their money in any year can be subject to steep penalties. In addition, investment gains are diminished by commissions paid to sales agents and by fees for insurance features.

Proponents of annuities say abusive sales practices are far less widespread than regulators contend. They say their products make sense for many people, including older Americans.

Los Angeles billionaire Eli Broad, who founded SunAmerica Inc., one of the biggest annuity providers in the U.S., notes that the products are unique among investments because they can provide guaranteed income for life.

"People are living how many years now? If they start investing at 65, they need a variable annuity more than they need a mutual fund,'' said Broad, 72. "They need a guarantee that if something bad happens to the stock market, they or their heirs will get their money back.''

But Broad conceded that people of advanced age should be leery of annuities. An 85-year-old, for example, might see only a few months of payouts — and withdrawing money early for medical care or other emergencies could trigger penalties.

Hazel Hauswedell, 73, said the man who sold her two annuities was plenty charming — at first.

Hauswedell, a retired sales manager for a music store, said she met Barry Baricza in December 1999 while waiting for her Ford Taurus to be serviced at a repair shop.

Baricza dropped by her trailer home near Palm Springs, Calif. He treated her to lunch. When she talked about the difficulty of living on a fixed income, he said he had the answer: an annuity that could grow in value and provide steady payouts.

Hauswedell, a widow whose husband had handled the family finances, put $70,000 of her savings into an annuity, according to a suit she filed against the agent and the insurer, Conseco Inc. When Baricza returned weeks later and urged her to buy another, she resisted.

"I decided, 'I don't better put all my eggs in one basket,' " Hauswedell said. "He got very upset.''

She said Baricza picked up her phone, asked for the number of her bank and dialed it. When a bank employee answered, she said, he handed her the phone and she reluctantly ordered a $67,000 transfer to buy the second annuity.

Hauswedell said she felt pressured to make the investment and didn't understand its restrictions, including penalties of up to 20 percent for early withdrawals. She got no immediate income from the annuity and later had to draw down her principal to make ends meet, she said.

Conseco, based in Carmel, Ind., and Baricza denied the allegations before reaching settlements with Hauswedell last year. Baricza said the agreement barred him from discussing the matter.

States with sizable elderly populations have adopted investor protections in recent years.

Florida requires agents to document the basis for any annuity sale to a senior, including a review of the client's financial goals and tax status. In addition, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the NASD are working with state regulators to ensure that brokers and financial advisers give truthful presentations at seminars for seniors.

Arizona gives annuity buyers 65 or older a "free look" at the contract, allowing cancellations for any reason within 30 days. A California law passed in 2004 mandates special training for annuity sellers who market to seniors and requires new disclosures.