Athene Activate SPIA
- Turns a lump sum into a fixed monthly payment for the rest of your life.
- At 70, $100,000 pays $702 a month for a man, $674 for a woman.
- The payment never falls and never runs out while you are alive.
- Cash refund: if you die before the payments add up to your premium, the balance goes to your heirs.
Payouts as of July 23, 2026
Monthly income by age
What $100,000 pays each month
Older buyers get a larger payment, because the money is expected to pay out over fewer years. Below, single life with a cash refund, at a $100,000 premium.
| Age | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | $543 | $531 |
| 55 | $568 | $553 |
| 60 | $600 | $582 |
| 65 | $643 | $621 |
| 70 | $702 | $674 |
| 75 | $784 | $750 |
| 80 | $898 | $852 |
At 70 with $100,000, Athene Activate SPIA pays $702 a month — #1 of 22 carriers we track.
What a larger premium buys
More money in, more income out
The same payout basis at age 70, across five premium amounts. Single life with a cash refund.
| Premium | Male / mo | Female / mo |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $351 | $337 |
| $100,000 | $702 | $674 |
| $250,000 | $1,756 | $1,686 |
| $500,000 | $3,511 | $3,372 |
| $1,000,000 | $7,023 | $6,745 |
Income moves almost exactly in line with premium — $250,000 pays about 2.5× what $100,000 pays.
A payment for two lives
Joint life
A joint-life quote keeps paying the full amount to whichever spouse lives longer. Below, a same-age couple at a $250,000 premium — joint life, 100% to the survivor, cash refund.
| Both aged | Monthly, for two lives |
|---|---|
| 55 and 55 | $1,317 |
| 60 and 60 | $1,376 |
| 65 and 65 | $1,457 |
| 70 and 70 | $1,570 |
| 75 and 75 | $1,736 |
| 80 and 80 | $1,971 |
A joint payment is lower than a single-life one at the same age, because it has to last until the second death rather than the first.
Tax treatment
Most of the payment is your own money coming back
At 70 with $100,000, the payment is $702 a month. Of that, only about $254 counts as taxable income — the other $448 is simply your own principal being returned to you.
That split is the "exclusion ratio." It holds for a set number of years, roughly your life expectancy at purchase; once your principal has all been paid back, the whole payment becomes taxable. These figures assume non-qualified money (savings you have already paid tax on); money from an IRA or 401(k) is taxed in full.
About the carrier
Who stands behind the payments
A SPIA is a promise from one insurer to pay you every month for decades. Here is what backs that promise for Athene.
If a carrier ever failed, your state guaranty association steps in and covers annuity benefits up to a set limit per insurer — commonly $250,000 of present value, higher in a few states. It is a reason to keep any single contract at or under your state's figure.
Read it yourself
The Athene brochure
The carrier's own contract document — payout options, the cash-refund terms, and the fine print behind the numbers on this page.
Download the Athene brochure (PDF) →How other carriers compare
The same $100,000, at other carriers
Top monthly payments at 70 on a $100,000 single-life premium, from the carriers we track.
| Carrier | Product | $ / mo |
|---|---|---|
| Nationwide | Income Promise Select | $699 |
| Guardian Insurance | Guaranteed Income Annuity III | $691 |
| Penn Mutual | Single Premium Immediate Annuity | $687 |
| New York Life | Guaranteed Period Income Annuity II | $687 |
| Integrity Life | IncomeSource Single Premium Immediate Annuity | $684 |
Common questions
Before you decide
The questions careful buyers ask about turning a lump sum into a payment for life.
1 What happens to the rest of my money if I die early?
With the cash-refund option priced into every number on this page, nothing is lost. If you die before the monthly payments have added up to what you paid in, the carrier pays the remaining balance to your beneficiary in a lump sum.
So the worst case is not "the insurer keeps my money" — it is that your heirs get back the part you had not yet collected. What you give up is the chance to leave more than your premium; what you buy is a payment that cannot run out while you live.
2 Are these numbers guaranteed?
The lifetime payment itself is guaranteed: once a contract is issued, that monthly amount is fixed for life and cannot be cut. What is not fixed is the quote. The figures here move with interest rates and are refreshed from live carrier data — the date at the top of the page is when they were last pulled.
An actual quote holds its number only through its stated lock date, usually a week or two. The amount you lock is the one on the quote you run for your own age and premium, not the representative figures shown here.
3 Why is the taxable amount lower than the payment?
Because a large part of each check is just your own principal coming back to you, and you already paid tax on that money. Only the earnings portion is taxable — that is the "exclusion ratio," and it is why a $702 monthly payment can show only about $254 as taxable income.
This applies to non-qualified money — savings outside a retirement account. If you fund the annuity with IRA or 401(k) money, the whole payment is taxable, because that money was never taxed going in.
4 Aren't annuities a rip-off?
A lot of them earn that reputation — the index annuities sold hardest tend to carry high commissions, moving parts, and surrender terms that trap your money for years. That criticism is fair, and it is worth keeping.
A single-premium immediate annuity is the plain corner of the category: you hand over a lump sum, you get a fixed monthly payment for life, and there is nothing else to it. Commissions are low and the payout is easy to compare across carriers — which is exactly what the tables on this page let you do.
5 What if I need the lump sum back later?
You cannot get it back. Buying a SPIA is a one-way trade: the lump sum becomes the monthly income, and there is no account left to draw on. That is the trade-off, and it is the main reason not to put all of your savings into one.
The usual approach is to convert only the slice you want turned into a paycheck, and keep the rest liquid for emergencies and larger one-off costs. If you might need the principal, this is not the product for that money.