Let's walk through the scenario. With $300,000 planned for your use as a retiree, a retirement age of 50, and an anticipated life expectancy of 85 years, you need that money to last you 35 years. This should mean that your yearly income is around $8,571, and your monthly payment is around $714.
A $250,000 immediate annuity could pay as much as $1,498 a month or $17,979 a year for a 65-year-old woman. Annuity companies take multiple factors into account when calculating the payout of a $250,000 annuity, including the annuitant's age and gender and the start and duration of payments.
Most financial advisors will tell you that the best age for starting an income annuity is between 70 and 75, which allows for the maximum payout. However, only you can decide when it's time for a guaranteed stream of income.
There are a variety of options that are better than an annuity for retirement, depending on your financial situation and goals. These include deferred compensation plans, such as a 401(k), IRAs, dividend-paying stocks, variable life insurance, and retirement income funds.
As of January 2025, with a $300,000 annuity, you'll get an immediate payment of $1,800 monthly starting at age 60, $1,983 per month at age 65, or $2,138 per month at age 70.
Annuities tie money up in a long-term investment plan that has poor liquidity and does not allow you to take advantage of better investment opportunities if interest rates increase or if the markets are on the rise. The opportunity cost of putting most of a retirement nest egg into an annuity is just too great.
Currently, three-year fixed annuities pay up to 5.65 percent, according to Annuity.org, while 10-year fixed annuities pay up to 5.45 percent. Fixed annuities feature a minimum rate — typically 1 percent to 3 percent — that they will pay each year, even if interest rates fall below that level.
Qualified annuities are paid with pre-tax money, and all payouts are taxed; while nonqualified annuities are paid with taxed money, and only the earnings are taxed. If you take money out of an annuity before you are 59½ years old, you might have to pay an extra 10 percent IRS penalty.
As an example, your annual withdrawal at age 68 could be around $15,000, and by age 80, that withdrawal could be around $18,000. In sum, a $250,000 annuity could realistically pay you from $1,071 (guaranteed) up to $1,912 (non-guaranteed) per month.
The average retirement account generates an average return of about 5% annually. Some estimates place this number higher, but we'll use conservative math. With a retirement account of $300,000, this means an average return of about $15,000 per year.
That means you need to earn either $45,000 or $68,277 per month, depending on whose metric you use. It's a lot, regardless. The Pew Research Center found that, based on the most recent government data, in 2022, around half of American adults (52%) live in middle-income households.
According to Blueprint Income, the average monthly payouts for men aged 60 to 75 investing in a $200,000 annuity could range from about $14,000 to $20,000 per year — $1,167 to $1,667 per month. For women, however, those rates drop to a range of $13,710 to $19,076, or $1,143 to $1,590 monthly.
£300k in a pension isn't a huge amount to retire on at the fairly young age of 60, but it's possible for certain lifestyles depending on how your pension fund performs while you're retired and how much you need to live on.
Immediate annuities
“In my experience, it's probably something like $50,000 to $100,000.” That's because you're funding the entire annuity contract —- which may be designed to last for the rest of your life — with a single lump sum.
An annuity may be either immediate or deferred. If you want to begin receiving income immediately, consider an immediate annuity. Immediate annuities, usually purchased with a single premium, provide income payments starting no later than one year after you pay the premium.
While there's no federal law setting specific age restrictions for annuity purchases, many annuity companies impose their own age limitations. Typically, these range from a minimum age of 50 to a maximum age between 75 and 95. It's essential to consider these restrictions when exploring your options.
The five-year rule requires that the entire balance of the annuity be distributed within five years of the date of the owner's death.
Fixed annuities
If you're risk-averse, a fixed annuity is a good option. However, the rate of growth you receive may not be enough to keep up with inflation. If this happens, you'll actually lose money by using a fixed annuity compared to other investment options.
With $400,000, if you buy an annuity at age 62 and then retire, you might expect monthly payments of around $2,400 for the rest of your life. This comes to about $28,800 per year in guaranteed income according to one estimate.
Annuities are taxed based on whether they are qualified or nonqualified funds, with qualified annuities subject to income tax on withdrawals and nonqualified annuities taxed on earnings first, followed by a return of original contributions.
Although annuities are not for everyone, the assurance of guaranteed income in retirement and tax-deferred growth can be very attractive for certain people looking to invest their money. Meanwhile, the high fees and mind-numbingly detailed contracts are a big drawback.