Readers have asked a host of intriguing questions over the past month: what to do with a retirement-account rollover; how to take advantage of the government's new debt-forgiveness plan; whether to buy health insurance through a former company's plan or in the open market. Here are a few answers.

If you have questions that you'd like answered in a future column, write me at kathykristof24@gmail.com. I can't promise to answer every inquiry, but I'll occasionally use this space to respond to questions of general interest.

Q: I recently took a buyout from my former employer and need to make a decision about what to do with my 401(k). I was approached by a financial advisor, who suggested that I put about 40 percent of the money in bonds and CDs and put the rest in a variable annuity. The annuity has a 2.65 percent annual cost. Is this a reasonable plan? Do I need an annuity in my IRA?

A: No, you shouldn't put an annuity in an IRA. One of the reasons it's a bad idea is that annuities are layered with fees, some of which give you the benefit of tax-deferral. But you already have that with your 401(k). The additional benefits you get with an annuity, frankly, are rarely worth paying for -- and with this one, you're paying dearly.

How dearly? Let's say you had $100,000 that you planned to leave invested for 20 years. Assuming that you earned an average of 8 percent on your investments, the 2.65 percent this annuity charges would cost a whopping $193,704 in fees and forgone investment returns over that time, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission's mutual fund cost calculator (http://sec.gov/investor/tools/mfcc/mfcc-intsec.htm). That leaves you with a nest egg of $272,392 at retirement, assuming an 8 percent average annual return.

If you're considering the annuity because you need some hand-holding, you'd do much better by simply hiring a fee-only planner. If you just need somebody to help you invest wisely for retirement, you should know that a number of mutual fund companies offer so-called "target date" retirement funds. These funds mix your assets based on when you plan to leave the working world, which makes the intimidating job of asset allocation a cinch. Better yet, they do it for a relatively small cost.

If you opted for a target date retirement fund offered by T. Rowe Price, for example, you'd pay about 0.65 percent each year. That would cost you roughly $56,992 in fees and forgone investment earnings over the 20-year period and leave you with $136,711 more to spend than you would have had with the annuity. With this scenario -- assuming the same 8 percent investment return -- you'd have $409,103 at retirement.

Why would an advisor have suggested an investment that's such a bad deal for you? Because it's a great deal for her. She's earning either an up-front commission or an annual fee on your investment. Talking you into making this poor choice would pay her at least $5,000 and probably more.

Q: I was excited to read about the public service debt forgiveness plan that Congress passed recently, but I can't seem to find any more information about it. How do I apply?

A: First, it's important to note that this program doesn't forgive your loans immediately. It will help you only after you make 10 years of payments into the federal government's Direct Loan program while working in a "qualifying" profession. Continued...