Annuity type
Deferred Income Annuity (DIA)
Also called: Longevity annuity
A SPIA with a waiting period: pay now, income starts years later — the longer the deferral, the higher the quoted payout.
- Principal
- No account value during deferral
- Liquidity
- None — irreversible
- Backed by
- State guaranty association, within limits
The decoder
What the quoted number means
Deferred payout rate (not a yield)
DIA quotes look even higher than SPIA quotes — double-digit payout rates are common for long deferrals — because the insurer holds your money for years first and, on life-only forms, keeps everything if you die before income starts. The quoted percentage is payment ÷ premium; it says nothing about your return, which depends entirely on the deferral length and how long you live.
You pay today; income begins at a date you choose, often five to twenty years out. During the deferral there is typically no account value to access — the premium has already converted into a future income promise.
Purchased at 60 with income at 80, a DIA is pure longevity insurance at its cheapest. The same structure is also its risk: on life-only forms, dying during the deferral can mean nothing was received at all (return-of-premium riders exist and lower the payout).
Who it tends to fit: cheap longevity insurance for a known future date.
The honest comparison
DIA vs. a payment stream
A deferred-start payment stream is the closest secondary-market cousin — future payments bought at a discount, often at a deeper effective yield precisely because start dates are far out. A guaranteed stream pays its schedule regardless of any life and passes to your estate; the DIA pays for exactly as long as you live. Opposite risks, similar shape.
What the secondary market pays right now is on our current estimated yields page.
DIA questions
Why are DIA payout rates so high?
Other types: SPIA · QLAC · MYGA · Fixed deferred · Fixed indexed · RILA · Variable
Pacific Structured Assets
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