Аннуитет: қаржылық келісім және зейнетақы төлемдерінің түрлері

Under European Union law, an annuity is a financial contract which provides an income stream in return for an initial payment with specific parameters. It is the opposite of a settlement funding. A Swiss annuity is not considered a European annuity for tax reasons.

An annuity certain pays the annuitant for a number of years designated. This option is not suitable for retirement income, as the person may outlive the number of years the annuity will pay.

A life annuity or lifetime immediate annuity is most often used to provide an income in old age (i. e., a pension). This type of annuity may be purchased from an insurance (Ireland and the UK, Life Assurance) company. This annuity can be compared to a loan which is made by the purchaser to the issuing company, who then pay back the original capital with interest to the annuitant on whose life the annuity is based. The assumed period of the loan is based on the life expectancy of the annuitant but life annuities are payable until the death of the last surviving annuitant. In order to guarantee that the income continues for life, the investment relies on cross subsidy. Because an annuity population can be expected to have a distribution of lifespans around the population's mean (average) age, those dying earlier will support those living longer (longevity insurance). Cross subsidy remains one of the most effective ways of spreading a given amount of capital and investment return over a lifetime without the risk of funds running out.

Although this will reduce the available payments, an annuity can be arranged to continue until the death of the last survivor of two or more people. For example, many annuities continue to pay out (perhaps at a reduced rate) to the spouse of the main annuitant after his or her death, for as long as the spouse survives. The annuity paid to the spouse is called a reversionary annuity or survivorship annuity. However, if the annuitant is in good health, it may be more beneficial to select the higher payout option on their life only and purchase a life insurance policy that would pay income to the survivor. Other features such as a minimum guaranteed payment period irrespective of death, known as life with period certain, or escalation where the payment rises by inflation or a fixed rate annually can also be purchased. Annuities with guaranteed periods are available from most providers. In such a product, if death takes place within the guaranteed period, payments continue to be made to a nominated beneficiary. Some providers also offer fixed term annuities that run for a term of the customer’s choosing, and/or escalating annuities in which income payments begin at a lower level and then rise in line with inflation or at a fixed rate with each year that passes. Impaired life annuities for smokers or those with a particular illness are also available from some insurance companies. Since the life expectancy is reduced, the annuity rate is better (i. e. a higher annuity for the same initial payment). This can have the unfortunate appearance of one "betting against" the nominee. Life annuities are priced based on the probability of the nominee surviving to receive the payments. Longevity insurance is a form of annuity that defers commencement of the payments until very late in life. A common longevity contract would be purchased at or before retirement but would not commence payments until 20 years after retirement. If the nominee dies before payments commence there is no payable benefit. This drastically reduces the cost of the annuity while still providing protection against outliving one's resources.

Because immediate annuities generally provide a series of guaranteed payments, the annuity company normally matches its liabilities with government bonds and other high grade bonds, and the market yield available on these bonds largely determines the retail pricing of the annuities. (The companies are usually required by law to invest their funds in this way, to reduce the risk of default.) These investments are generally regarded as less risky than other investments, such as those linked to the stock market, and probably offer a lower expected return. However fixed annuities do not protect the purchaser against the effects of inflation, which is a material risk. For many elderly people, the financial risk of living longer than expected and running out of money is a bigger risk than investment risks such as exposure to a falling stock market. Immediate annuities protect against this risk.

Deferred pensions are often used as a savings vehicle by higher rate taxpayers, as in some jurisdictions they get higher rate tax relief on their pension contributions and their fund accumulates without investment returns being subject to tax. The proceeds will be taxed when they are taken as benefits, but maybe at a lower rate. Those in lower tax brackets may be told to avoid deferred pensions because they may not be able to recoup the charges made by the annuity company. (In some jurisdictions, some or all of the proceeds must by law be applied to purchase a pension.)

Actuarial formulae are used to model annuities and determine their price.

In technical language an annuity is said to be payable for an assigned status, this being a general word chosen in preference to such words as "time", "term" or "period", because it may include more readily either a term of years certain, or a life or combination of lives. The magnitude of the annuity is the sum to be paid (and received) in the course of each year. Thus, if £100 is to be received each year by a person, he is said to have "an annuity of £100". If the payments are made half yearly, it is sometimes said that he has "a half yearly annuity of £100"; but to avoid ambiguity, it is more commonly said he has "an annuity of £100, payable by half yearly instalments". An annuity is considered as accruing during each instant of the status for which it is enjoyed, although it is only payable at fixed intervals. If the enjoyment of an annuity is postponed until after the lapse of a certain number of years, the annuity is said to be deferred. If an annuity, instead of being payable at the end of each year, half year, etc., is payable in advance, it is called an annuity due. The holder of an annuity is called an annuitant, and the person on whose life the annuity depends is called the nominee. Upon immediate annuitization, a wide variety of options are available in the way the stream of payments is paid. If the annuity is paid over a fixed period independent of any contingency, it is known as an annuity with period certain, or just annuity certain; if it is to continue for ever, it is called a perpetuity; and if in the latter case it is not to commence until after a term of years, it is called a deferred perpetuity. An annuity depending on the continuance of an assigned life or lives would commonly be called a life annuity, but also known as a life contingent annuity or simply lifetime annuity; but more commonly the simple term "annuity" is understood to mean a life annuity, unless the contrary is stated. The payments can also be paid over the lifetime of the nominee(s) or for a fixed period, whichever is longer. This is known as life with period certain. A hybrid of these is when the payments stop at death, but also after a predetermined number of payments, if this is earlier: known as a temporary life annuity. The difference with the period certain annuity is that the period certain annuity will keep paying after the death of the nominee until the period is completed. If not otherwise stated, it is always understood that an annuity is payable yearly, and that the annual payment (or rent, as it is sometimes called) is a single currency unit. Instances of perpetuities are the dividends upon the public stocks in England, France and some other countries. Thus, although it is usual to speak of £100 consols, the reality is the yearly dividend which the government pays by quarterly instalments. The practice of the French in this is arguably more logical. In speaking of their public funds (rentes) they do not mention the ideal capital sum, but speak of the annuity or annual payment that is received by the public creditor. Other instances of perpetuities are the incomes derived from the debenture stocks of railway companies, also the feu duties commonly payable on house property in Scotland. The number of years' purchase which the perpetual annuities granted by a government or a railway company realize in the open market, forms a very simple test of the credit of the various governments or railways. In the United Kingdom, the income from compulsory purchase annuities purchased with pension funds or by an employer immediately on retirement (a Hancock annuity) is treated as taxable income. The income from purchased life annuities, bought by any other means, has an element which is considered return of capital, and only the excess over this is considered a gain that is subject to income tax. The element considered capital return is based on life expectancy and will therefore increase with age.

Because of cross subsidy and the guarantees an annuity can give against running out of income and becoming dependent on state welfare in old age, annuities often have a favourable tax treatment, which may affect how attractive they are relative to other investments. Immediate annuities are a compulsory feature of certain pension saving schemes in some countries, where the government grants tax deductions, provided that savings are paid into a fund which can only (or mainly) be withdrawn as an annuity. The Netherlands has such schemes and United Kingdom used to until A day in 2006. From 2003 the tax deduction in the Netherlands is only allowed if, without additional savings, the old age income would be less than 70% of the current income. The French government currently honors a very unusual debt contract: an annuity that was issued in 1738 and currently yields €1.20 per year.

In the United Kingdom contributions into pension savings are generally net of income tax (i. e. tax relief is available), up to certain limits. On retirement if an annuity is not purchased, retirement income up until the age of 75 can be drawn from the pension fund by using pension income withdrawal commonly known as income drawdown. This is an unsecured pension as opposed to an annuity which is a secured backed pension. Unsecured pensions operate under age related income limits calculated by the Government Actuarial Department to prevent the fund being eroded too fast. Before A day, individuals could vary withdrawals between 35% and 100% of a maximum limit, recalculated every three years at what was known as the triennial review. Following changes introduced by HMRC as part of the A day legislation, individuals can now draw an income between zero and 120% of the "GAD rate". On reaching 75, the individual must then secure their pension fund by the purchase of an annuity, except that up to 25% of the fund can be taken as tax free cash, also known as the pension commencement lump sum, or enter into an alternatively secured pension (ASP). Under an ASP arrangement the rate of income must fall between 55% and 90% of the GAD rate for a 75 year old. The GAD rates are subject to periodic review and are based on the return of a level, single life annuity paid monthly in arrears without any guarantee or value protection for an individual in good health. These rates are in turn largely dependent on long term gilt yields and mortality data. Unsecured or alternatively secured pensions carry both the investment risk of the invested pension fund and mortality drag that occurs from the loss of cross subsidy and advancing average age expectancy that occurs in the time over which annuity purchase is delayed.

The mathematical theory of life annuities is based upon a knowledge of the rate of mortality among mankind in general, or among the particular class of persons on whose lives the annuities depend, see actuarial present value. In practice simply tables may be used, which vary in different places, but which are easily accessible.

Abraham Demoivre, in his Annuities on Lives, put forth a very simple law of mortality: out of 86 children born alive, 1 will die every year until the last dies between the ages of 85 and 86. This law agreed sufficiently well at the Middle Ages of life with the mortality deduced from the best observations of his time; but, as observations became more exact, the approximation was found to be not sufficiently close. This was particularly the case when it was desired to obtain the value of joint life, contingent or other complicated benefits. Therefore, Demoivre's law is devoid of practical utility. No simple formula has sufficient accuracy. The rate of mortality at each age is, therefore, in practice usually determined by a series of figures deduced from observation; and the value of an annuity at any age is found from these numbers by means of a series of arithmetical calculations. The first writer who is known to have attempted to obtain, on correct mathematical principles, the value of a life annuity, was Jan De Witt, grand pensionary of Holland and West Friesland. Our knowledge of his writings on the subject is derived from two papers contributed by Frederick Hendriks to the Assurance Magazine, vol. ii. (1852) p. 222, and vol. in. p. 93. The former of these contains a translation of De Witt's report upon the value of life annuities, which was prepared in consequence of the resolution passed by the states general, on 25 April 1671, to negotiate funds by life annuities, and which was distributed to the members on 30 July 1671. The latter contains the translation of a number of letters addressed by De Witt to Burgomaster Johan Hudde, bearing dates from September 1670 to October 1671. The existence of De Witt's report was well known among his contemporaries, and Hendriks collected a number of extracts from various authors referring to it; but the report is not contained in any collection of his works extant, and had been entirely lost for 180 years, until Hendriks discovered it among the state archives of Holland in company with the letters to Hudde. It was the very first document on the subject that was ever written.