Immediate Annuity Rates: What a SPIA Actually Pays by Age

If you have searched for "current immediate annuity rates," you have probably noticed that nobody gives you a straight number. That is not evasion. An immediate annuity does not have a rate the way a CD or a MYGA does. It has a payout: a fixed monthly check, for life, in exchange for a lump sum. The "rate" people quote is just that annual check divided by the premium.

This page gives you the actual dollars, explains why the quoted percentage is not a yield, and shows you how to compare quotes so a bigger number does not fool you.

What a $100,000 SPIA pays per month

Single life, payments starting immediately, no inflation adjustment. The ranges reflect the spread between carriers on a typical week.

Two things jump out of that table, and both matter more than the exact numbers.

Age is the biggest lever you control. Waiting from 65 to 70 raises the payment on the same $100,000 by roughly 12% to 15%, and 70 to 75 by another 15% to 20%. That is not the insurer being generous. It is simple arithmetic: fewer expected years of payments means each one can be larger.

The period certain costs less than people expect at 65. Guaranteeing ten years of payments to your heirs trims the check by about 2% to 3% at 65. At 75 the same guarantee costs closer to 8% to 10%, because ten years is a much bigger share of remaining life expectancy.

The quoted percentage is not an interest rate

A 65-year-old man getting $615 a month on $100,000 is receiving $7,380 a year, which insurers and websites will call a "7.38% payout rate." Here is what that number is and is not.

It is the price of the guarantee: for every $100,000 you hand over, you get $7,380 a year for as long as you live, no matter what markets do, no matter how long that is.

It is not a return. In the first year, most of that $7,380 is your own money coming back. If you died after twelve months on a life-only contract, the insurer keeps the other $92,620. If you live to 95, you will have collected over $221,000 on the same $100,000, and the effective return beats most bond portfolios. The internal rate of return on a SPIA is unknowable in advance because it depends on one thing: how long you live.

What moves immediate annuity rates

Four inputs determine your quote. You control two of them.

Your age and sex. Older pays more. Men are quoted slightly more than women at the same age because of average life expectancy. Some states require unisex pricing, which narrows the gap.

The payout option. In descending order of monthly amount: life only, life with cash refund, life with 10-year certain, life with 20-year certain, joint life with 100% to survivor. Each added guarantee reduces the check because it increases what the insurer expects to pay in total.

Long-term interest rates. This is the part you do not control and the reason the same 65-year-old was quoted around $480 a month in 2020 and over $600 in 2024 through 2026. Insurers invest your premium mostly in long, high-grade bonds, and they price the payout off those yields. When the 10-year Treasury rises, SPIA quotes follow within weeks.

The insurer. On any given week the spread between the highest and lowest quote from A-rated carriers is commonly 5% to 8% of the monthly amount. That is why you never buy a SPIA from a single quote.

How to compare SPIA quotes without getting fooled

We see the same three mistakes over and over.

Comparing different payout options. One quote is life only, the other is life with 10-year certain, and the life-only one "wins" by $25 a month. It should. Line up quotes with the identical option, start date, and premium before you look at the numbers.

Chasing the highest number without checking the carrier. A quote from a B-rated insurer that pays 6% more than an A-rated one is not a bargain; it is a bet. SPIA payments are a promise you are counting on for thirty years. Stay with carriers rated A- or better by AM Best, then compare payouts within that group. Our guide to carrier ratings covers what the letters mean.

Ignoring inflation. A level $615 a month buys a lot less in 2046 than it does today. Inflation-adjusted SPIAs exist but start 25% to 35% lower, and most buyers are better served by keeping a growth bucket outside the annuity for rising costs. That is the structure we use in income planning: the SPIA covers the fixed bills, the rest stays invested.

Worked example: turning $250,000 into income at 67

A 67-year-old woman with $250,000 of the $600,000 she wants to commit to guaranteed income, life with cash refund so her children get any unpaid premium:

• Quote range on a typical 2026 week: about $1,450 to $1,575 a month, or $17,400 to $18,900 a year, for life.
• Combined with $2,100 a month of Social Security, her guaranteed floor is roughly $3,550 to $3,675 a month.
• The remaining $350,000 stays invested for inflation, extras, and legacy.

If she waits until 70 to buy, the same $250,000 produces roughly $1,650 to $1,800 a month, but she has to bridge three years from other assets. Whether that trade is worth it depends on her other income, her health, and how much the certainty is worth to her right now. That is exactly the conversation to have with an advisor, and it is why we do not sell SPIAs off a rate table.

When a SPIA is the right tool, and when it is not

A SPIA fits when you need income starting now or within twelve months, you want the highest guaranteed payment per dollar, you have other assets for liquidity, and you are at least in your mid-60s. Older buyers get the best deal.

Look elsewhere when you do not need income for several years (a deferred income annuity or an income rider FIA will usually pay more later), you might need the lump sum back (a SPIA is irrevocable), or you are under 60 and mainly want growth.

Our SPIA versus income rider comparison walks through the trade-offs between the two guaranteed-income routes in detail.

The bottom line

Immediate annuity rates in 2026 are the best they have been in fifteen years, and for a 65- to 75-year-old who needs guaranteed income now, a SPIA is often the most efficient way to buy it. Just remember what the number means: it is the price of a lifetime paycheck, not a yield. Compare identical payout options across A-rated carriers, keep money outside the annuity for inflation, and run your own numbers before you request quotes.