Immediate Annuities
You hand over a sum and income starts almost immediately, for life if you choose. It is the oldest and simplest annuity, it has almost nothing to go wrong, and it is nearly irreversible.
Read this first
This is a fixed annuity. It is not a variable annuity, not a registered index-linked or “buffer” annuity, and not a security. We do not offer securities.
Guarantees are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. They are not insured by the FDIC or any federal agency.
Income from an immediate annuity is generally irrevocable. Once payments begin the premium is no longer available as a lump sum, and on a life-only payout nothing is left to beneficiaries when you die unless the contract includes a period certain, a cash refund or a joint life option.
The problem it solves
The hardest problem in retirement is not what the money earns. It is not knowing how long it has to last. Draw too fast and you run out; draw too slowly and you spend your retirement poorer than you needed to be, to insure against a date nobody can tell you.
An immediate annuity transfers that specific risk to an insurance company. In exchange for a sum you will not get back, you receive a defined payment that continues for as long as you live. It is the only instrument that solves longevity risk directly rather than approximating it.
Three things happen, in this order
You pay a single premium
It stops being available as a lump sum. That irreversibility is the price of the guarantee, and it is the part to be certain about beforehand.
You choose the payout shape
Life only pays the most and stops at death. Life with a period certain continues to a beneficiary for a minimum number of years. Joint and survivor continues for a spouse. A cash refund returns any unpaid premium. Each protection reduces the payment.
Income starts, usually within a year
Monthly, quarterly or annually, at an amount fixed at the outset, for as long as the contract says.
Who this suits, and who it does not
The second list matters more than the first. An agent who only writes the first one is selling, not advising.
Worth considering if…
- You want a floor of guaranteed income under your essential expenses, so that the rest of your money can be invested without that pressure.
- You are genuinely worried about outliving your money and would rather hand that risk to a company than manage it yourself for thirty years.
- You have other liquid assets, so committing this portion permanently does not leave you without reserves.
Probably not for you if…
- You may need the lump sum. Once payments begin, the premium is gone. There is no version of this where you change your mind in year three.
- Leaving the money to heirs matters more than income. A life-only payout leaves nothing at death. The options that protect beneficiaries all reduce the payment, which may defeat the reason you were considering it.
- You have not compared quotes. Payout rates for identical terms differ meaningfully between companies, and this is a one-time irreversible purchase — the single best case in this whole family for shopping it properly.
Who we are appointed with
We are independent and appointed with the annuity companies below. Which of them we would approach for you depends on the product, your age, your state and what the contract has to do — rates, caps and payout amounts move constantly and differ sharply between companies, which is the practical reason for working with someone who can approach more than one. They are quoted for you directly rather than published here, where they would be stale within days.
- Allianz Life
- American Equity
- American National
- Americo
- Ameritas
- ASPIDA
- Athene
- Atlantic Coast Life
- AuguStar Financial
- Brighthouse Financial
- CL Life and Annuity
- Clear Spring Life and Annuity
- Columbus Life
- Corebridge Financial
- Delaware Life
- ELCO Mutual Life & Annuity
- EquiTrust Life
- F&G Annuities
- Fidelity Security Life
- Global Atlantic (Forethought Life)
- Guaranty Income Life (GILICO)
- Ibexis
- Knighthead Life
- Lafayette Life
- Liberty Bankers Life
- Lincoln Financial Group
- MassMutual Ascend
- Midland National
- Mutual of Omaha (United of Omaha)
- Nassau (Phoenix Life)
- National Integrity Life
- National Life Group (Life Insurance Company of the Southwest)
- National Western Life
- Nationwide
- New York Life
- North American Company for Life and Health
- Oceanview
- Oxford Life
- Pacific Life
- Penn Mutual
- Principal
- Protective Life
- Prudential
- Puritan Life
- Reliance Standard
- Revol One Financial
- Royal Neighbors of America
- S.USA Life / SBLI USA
- Sagicor
- Securian Financial (Minnesota Life)
- Sentinel Security Life
- SILAC
- Symetra
- Talcott Financial Group
- The Standard
- Upstream Life
Being appointed with a company does not mean that company offers every product on this page, and we do not represent every insurer. Which company suits you depends on the product, your age, your state and your health history. We publish no benefit, rate or feature for any company here until we can cite it to that company's own current material.
Servicing only — not available for new business
We can help with an existing contract from these companies — reviewing it, taking income from it, or understanding what you already own. We are not appointed to write new business with them, so if a new contract is what you need, it would be placed with one of the companies above.
- Genworth
- Security Benefit
- Transamerica
- Venerable (formerly Voya annuities)
Questions people actually ask
What happens to my money if I die early?
On a life-only payout, payments stop and nothing goes to your beneficiaries — that is why life-only pays the most. If that outcome is unacceptable, the contract can include a period certain, a cash refund or an installment refund, each of which protects beneficiaries and each of which lowers your payment. Decide which matters more before you buy, because it cannot be changed after.
Can I change my mind later?
Generally no. Immediate annuity income is irrevocable once it begins, and the premium is not available as a lump sum. A small number of contracts offer limited commutation, but you should assume the decision is permanent and buy accordingly. Most states also provide a short free-look period right after purchase — ask how long yours is.
How much income will I get?
It depends on your age, sex where state law permits its use, the payout shape, interest rates at purchase, and the company. Because those move, no honest number can be published on a web page — a rate quoted today would be wrong by the time you read it. Ask for current quotes from several companies for the exact shape you want and compare them side by side.
Should I annuitize everything?
Almost certainly not. The usual approach is to cover essential expenses your Social Security and any pension do not already cover, and to leave the rest liquid and invested. Annuitizing everything removes your flexibility to handle the unexpected, which in retirement is the thing you most need to keep.
Ask for a quote on Immediate Annuities
Tell us how to reach you and which state you are in. A licensed agent calls back, usually the same business day, and will tell you plainly if a fully underwritten policy would serve you better.
The other three
Same family, different jobs. Match the product to how long the need lasts.
Fixed Annuities
A contract that credits a stated interest rate for a stated period. A multi-year guaranteed annuity locks the rate for the whole term; a declared-rate contract resets periodically above a contractual minimum.
Worth a look if you have money you will not touch for a set number of years and want the rate in writing.
Fixed Indexed Annuities
A fixed annuity whose interest credit is calculated from the movement of a market index, limited by a cap, participation rate or spread, and floored so that a falling index credits zero rather than a loss.
Worth a look if you want more than a fixed rate but will not risk principal to market movement.
Deferred Income Annuities and QLACs
You buy the income now and it starts on a date you choose years later. Bought inside a qualified account and meeting the Treasury rules, the same contract is a QLAC.
Worth a look if you want to solve the last decade of retirement now, or are considering a QLAC.
Lifetime Income Riders (GLWB)
An optional rider that guarantees a withdrawal amount for life even if the account runs to zero, while you keep ownership of the account. It runs on a second number that is not your money.
Worth a look if you want lifetime income but will not give up access to the principal.
Enhanced Income Riders (Income Doublers)
An optional rider that increases your guaranteed withdrawal, often doubling it, for a limited period if you cannot perform activities of daily living or are confined to a qualifying facility. It is often mistaken for long-term care insurance. It is not.
Worth understanding before anyone sells it to you as care coverage, because it is not.