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📋 '''Joint and survivor annuity''' is a type of [[Definition:Annuity | annuity]] contract that provides regular income payments to two individuals — typically spouses or domestic partners — and continues paying a specified benefit to the surviving annuitant after the first one dies. Within the [[Definition:Life insurance | life insurance]] and retirement industry, this product serves as a cornerstone of [[Definition:Retirement income | retirement income planning]] for couples, ensuring that the death of one partner does not leave the other without a guaranteed income stream. The structure is common across the United States, the United Kingdom (where similar products may be called joint life annuities), Canada, and other markets with developed [[Definition:Pension | pension]] and annuity systems.

⚙️ The contract is structured around two named annuitants, and the payment mechanics hinge on the survivorship percentage — the proportion of the original payment that continues to the surviving annuitant. Common configurations include 100%, 75%, 50%, or two-thirds continuation, with higher survivorship percentages producing lower initial payments because the [[Definition:Insurance carrier | insurer]] anticipates a longer total payout period. [[Definition:Actuarial science | Actuaries]] price these products using joint-life [[Definition:Mortality table | mortality tables]] that model the probability of both lives surviving to each future payment date, combined with [[Definition:Interest rate | interest rate]] assumptions that reflect the insurer's expected [[Definition:Investment return | investment returns]] on the [[Definition:Reserve | reserves]] backing the annuity. Some contracts offer a [[Definition:Period certain | period certain]] guarantee — ensuring payments for a minimum number of years regardless of both annuitants' survival — which further adjusts the pricing. In the U.S., the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ([[Definition:ERISA | ERISA]]) requires that qualified [[Definition:Defined benefit plan | defined benefit pension plans]] offer a joint and survivor annuity as the default payment form for married participants, embedding this product directly into the regulatory architecture of employer-sponsored retirement benefits.

💡 Joint and survivor annuities occupy a critical position in the insurance industry because they directly address [[Definition:Longevity risk | longevity risk]] for households rather than individuals — a distinction with profound financial and emotional consequences. A retiree who selects a [[Definition:Single life annuity | single life annuity]] for a higher monthly payment gambles that the surviving spouse will have adequate resources after the annuitant's death; the joint and survivor form eliminates that gamble at the cost of a reduced initial benefit. For insurers, writing joint and survivor annuities involves modeling correlated mortality between partners (the so-called "broken heart" effect, where surviving spouses exhibit higher mortality after bereavement) and managing [[Definition:Asset-liability management (ALM) | asset-liability duration]] across a longer and more uncertain payout horizon. The product also features prominently in [[Definition:Pension risk transfer (PRT) | pension risk transfer]] transactions, where corporate pension sponsors transfer their obligations to an insurer — often involving large blocks of joint and survivor liabilities that require careful [[Definition:Reserving | reserving]] and [[Definition:Reinsurance | reinsurance]] arrangements.

'''Related concepts:'''
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Definition:Annuity]]
* [[Definition:Single life annuity]]
* [[Definition:Longevity risk]]
* [[Definition:Pension risk transfer (PRT)]]
* [[Definition:Mortality table]]
* [[Definition:Defined benefit plan]]
{{Div col end}}

Definition:Joint and survivor annuity - Revision history

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