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What Is an Income Annuity, and How Does It Work?

An income annuity can provide a guaranteed income stream that begins when you choose and lasts a lifetime.

If you are retired or nearing retirement and have some money set aside, an income annuity allows you to convert part of your retirement savings into a stream of guaranteed lifetime income payments. You can buy an annuity with a single lump sum or through flexible premium payments over time. In return, you will receive a check or direct deposit monthly, quarterly, semiannually, or annually for the rest of your life. Most people choose to begin receiving these payments at retirement or sometime afterward.

Annuities have many names depending on their benefits and issuing companies, but fundamentally they are best understood by their timing—immediate or deferred—and whether they include market exposure—variable.

An immediate annuity lets you immediately convert a lump sum into a guaranteed income stream. Within the immediate category are lifetime annuities, which provide income for the rest of your life, and short-term annuities, also known as period-certain or fixed-term annuities, which provide income for the time specified in the contract.

With a deferred income annuity, you typically contribute a single lump sum or a series of payments, and your money grows until you are ready to begin receiving income. Within the deferred category are fixed deferred annuities, also known as fixed annuities, which provide growth at a guaranteed interest rate for a specified period; and variable deferred annuities, also known as variable annuities, which invest the payment or payments in an underlying portfolio of mutual funds. Variable annuities offer more growth opportunities but are subject to market risks, including possible loss of principal.