How Much Does an Immediate Annuity Pay?
A $100,000 single premium immediate annuity (SPIA) bought by a 65-year-old man might pay roughly $600 to $650 a month for life, about $7,200 to $7,800 a year. A woman the same age usually receives a little less because she is expected to live longer, and a joint payout covering both spouses lands somewhere in between. Your exact income depends on your age, gender, the payout option you choose, and where interest rates sit when you buy. Use the calculator below to estimate your own lifetime paycheck.
Immediate Annuity Calculator (SPIA)
Estimate lifetime monthly income from a Single Premium Immediate Annuity. Includes life-only, period certain, and joint-life with survivor benefit.
Advanced: Market calibration
Use when SPIA rates are running above or below baseline. Default 0 reflects 2026 industry average.
Estimated Income
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| Annual income | |
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| Cumulative income to age 85 | |
| Cumulative income to age 90 |
Estimates are based on 2026 mid-market payout factors and the Society of Actuaries 2012 Individual Annuity Mortality table, adjusted for current rates. Actual carrier quotes vary by state, gender, exact rate date, and underwriting. Range shown reflects typical +/- 5% spread among top 10 SPIA carriers. Joint-life calculations use the average of both ages with a survivor adjustment. Not tax or investment advice.
How to Use the Immediate Annuity Calculator
- Enter your premium and age. Type the lump sum you plan to convert and your current age. Older buyers receive higher monthly payments because the income is spread over fewer expected years.
- Choose gender and payout option. Pick single or joint life and select a payout style such as life-only or life with a period certain. Each choice changes the monthly figure.
- Read the result. The calculator shows an estimated monthly and annual income. Treat it as a planning range, then request a live quote to lock in real carrier numbers.
What a Single Premium Immediate Annuity Is
A single premium immediate annuity, or SPIA, is a contract you buy from an insurance company with a one-time lump sum. In exchange, the insurer guarantees you a stream of income that usually begins within 1 to 12 months and continues for the rest of your life, or for both your life and your spouse’s if you choose a joint contract. It works like a private pension you buy for yourself: predictable, contractual, and not tied to how the stock market performs.
Once the contract is issued, your principal is converted into the income stream. You no longer hold the lump sum, but in return you receive payments the insurer is legally obligated to make no matter how long you live. SPIAs are priced on age and gender, not health, so there is no medical exam. If you are comparing guaranteed-rate products before committing to lifetime income, our fixed annuity calculator and the guide to multi-year guaranteed annuities (MYGAs) are useful next steps.
Payout Options and How Each One Affects Your Income
A bare life-only SPIA produces the highest monthly payment because the insurer’s obligation ends when you (or your joint annuitant) die. Most buyers add a feature that trades some income for added protection. The four common choices are below.
| Payout option | What it does | Effect on income |
|---|---|---|
| Life only | Pays for as long as you live, nothing to heirs | Highest payment |
| Life with period certain | Guarantees payments for a set term (often 5, 10, 15, or 20 years), then continues for life | Slightly lower |
| Joint and survivor | Pays while either spouse lives, often at 50%, 75%, or 100% to the survivor | Lower, depends on survivor percentage |
| Cash or installment refund | Returns any premium you did not collect to your beneficiaries | Modestly lower |
With life with period certain, if you outlive the guaranteed term the payments simply keep coming for life. If you die during it, your beneficiaries collect the remainder of that term. A cash refund protects heirs from the “buy the annuity, then pass away early” scenario without cutting income very much. A joint and survivor contract is the common choice for couples who both depend on the income, since the higher the survivor percentage, the lower the starting payment.
How Age, Gender, and Rates Move the Payout
Three forces drive a SPIA quote. Age is the biggest: a 75-year-old can collect noticeably more per month than a 65-year-old on the same premium, because the insurer expects to pay for fewer years. Gender matters because women on average live longer, so a woman’s payment on an identical contract is usually a bit lower than a man’s. Interest rates set the backdrop: when rates are higher, insurers can promise more income, and when they fall, payouts drift down. Because pricing changes with rates, real quotes are typically valid for only 7 to 14 days. To see how guaranteed rates feed retirement income more broadly, the retirement income gap calculator and the income rider calculator are good companions to this tool.
The Trade-Off: Guaranteed Income vs Lost Liquidity
The reason a SPIA can pay more than a bank account or bond ladder is that the decision is, in most cases, irrevocable. You hand the insurer a lump sum and you cannot get it back as a lump sum later. That is the cost of the guarantee. In exchange you get income you cannot outlive, which is exactly the risk most retirees fear. The practical rule most people follow is to annuitize only the portion of savings needed to cover essential expenses, such as housing, food, and healthcare, and keep the rest liquid for emergencies, travel, and flexibility. Pairing guaranteed annuity income with Social Security timing is a common strategy, which is why the Social Security claiming calculator often gets used alongside this one.
What Inflation Does to a Fixed Payment
A standard SPIA pays the same dollar amount every month for life, which means inflation slowly erodes its buying power over a long retirement. You have two ways to respond. You can add a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) rider, often a 1% to 5% annual increase or a CPI-linked increase, which raises income over time but meaningfully lowers your starting payment. Or you can keep the higher fixed payment and offset inflation with a separate growth portfolio. Neither is automatically right; it depends on how much of your income the annuity covers and how long you expect retirement to last. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission offers a plain-English overview of annuities if you want a neutral primer before you decide.
Carol, age 65, has $400,000 in savings and gets $2,400 a month from Social Security, but her essential bills run about $3,000 a month. She decides to close that $600 gap with guaranteed income rather than drawing down stocks in a down market.
She enters a $100,000 premium at age 65 into the calculator and sees an estimated $610 to $640 a month for life on a life-only payout, roughly $7,300 to $7,700 a year. Because she wants some protection for her children, she models a cash refund option, which trims the figure slightly but ensures any premium she does not collect passes to her heirs.
Carol annuitizes that $100,000, covers her monthly shortfall, and leaves the other $300,000 invested and liquid. She has turned a slice of her savings into a paycheck she cannot outlive while keeping plenty in reserve.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a single premium immediate annuity (SPIA)?
A SPIA is a contract you buy with one lump sum in exchange for guaranteed income that usually starts within a year and continues for life, or for both spouses’ lives on a joint contract. It functions like a personal pension and is not tied to market performance.
Can I outlive an immediate annuity?
No. A life-only or joint-life SPIA is designed to pay for as long as you live, no matter how long that is. That guaranteed lifetime income is the main reason retirees buy one, because it removes the risk of running out of money in old age.
What happens to my money if I die early?
It depends on the payout option. With a pure life-only contract, payments stop and nothing goes to heirs. If you choose a cash refund or a life-with-period-certain option, any premium you did not collect, or the rest of the guaranteed term, passes to your beneficiaries.
Is an immediate annuity protected against inflation?
A standard SPIA pays a fixed amount, so inflation erodes its buying power over time. You can add a cost-of-living adjustment rider that increases payments each year, but it lowers your starting income. Many buyers instead keep the higher fixed payment and offset inflation with other investments.
How are immediate annuity payments taxed?
If you buy a SPIA with after-tax money, each payment is part return of your principal and part taxable interest, so only the interest portion is taxed under the exclusion ratio. If you fund it from a traditional IRA or 401(k), the full payment is generally taxable as ordinary income. A tax professional can confirm how the rules apply to your situation.
Get a Personalized Immediate Annuity Quote
The calculator gives you a planning range. Your real numbers depend on your age, state, premium, and the riders you select, and we shop them across 90+ top annuity companies. Start from the annuity calculators hub to compare related tools, or request a live quote and our team will walk through the options with you.
