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Real-Time Period Certain Quotes Now Available on Blueprint Income

Jan 18, 2023

Blueprint Income Team

We've expanded our real-time income annuity calculator to include Period Certain annuities. Unlike other income annuities, Period Certain annuities are not life contingent.

  • We now support Period Certain income annuities on our income annuity quote calculator
  • Period Certain income annuities are different from Life with Period Certain income annuities
  • The quotes are easy to access, and you start by running an income annuity quote as you always have

Good news — we’ve expanded our free, real-time income annuity calculator to include Period Certain annuities. Period Certain annuities provide a guaranteed amount of monthly income for a predetermined number of years, starting immediately or in the future. In many ways, they are similar to a fully amortizing bond. In this article, we’ll describe the difference between Period Certain and Life with Period Certain annuities, when you might use a Period Certain annuity, and how to access Period Certain quotes on our website.

Period Certain annuities are a kind of income annuity in that they provide an insurer-guaranteed steady stream of income. Unlike other income annuities, Period Certain annuities are not life contingent. That means that the payments continue for the preset number of years in the contract no matter whether you’re alive or not. If you pass, the payments continue to your beneficiary until the end of that preset period. If you’re alive at the end of the period, the payments still stop.

Our launch of Period Certain quotes follows closely behind the launch of Life with Period Certain annuities.

The Difference Between Period Certain vs. Life with Period Certain Annuities

Period Certain annuities provide guaranteed income for a set number of years. Income payments do not continue beyond that number of years even if you're still alive.

Life with Period Certain annuities, on the other hand, continue after the preset number of years if you’re still alive. This chart compares Life Only, Life with 10 Year Period Certain, 10 Year Period Certain, and Life with Cash Refund immediate annuities.

Example: 70 Year Old Woman, $100,000 Purchase

Die 5 Years After Purchase

Die 10 Years After Purchase

Die 15 Years After Purchase

Life Only

Payments stop. No payments to beneficiary.

Payments stop. No payments to beneficiary.

Payments stop. No payments to beneficiary.

Life with 10 Year Period

Payments continue to beneficiary for 5 more years.

Payments stop. No payments to beneficiary.

Payments stop. No payments to beneficiary.

10 Year Period Certain

Payments continue to beneficiary for 5 more years.

Payments stop. No payments to beneficiary.

Payments had already stopped 5 years ago.

Life with Cash Refund

Any unpaid premium paid to beneficiary.

Any unpaid premium paid to beneficiary.

Any unpaid premium (if any still left) paid to beneficiary.

Generally speaking, Period Certain annuities make sense to fund a cost of a certain term (i.e. a grandchild’s college costs or the remaining period of a mortgage). Life with Period Certain annuities make the most sense when you want payments for at least a set number of years but want those payments to continue if you are still alive at the end of that set number of years.

Unless there’s some kind of pricing anomaly, Period Certain annuities will always provide more monthly income than Life with Period Certain annuities of the same period because Life with Period Certain annuities will always pay for at least as long, but maybe longer, than Period Certain annuities.

Typically, Life with Period Certain annuities and Period Certain annuities are offered at 5 year increments up to at least 20 years, so you’ll most often see 5 Year, 10 Year, 15 Year and 20 Year Period Certain quotes.

How To Run Period Certain Quotes

  1. Go to blueprintincome.com/income-annuities-quotes and run a quote like you normally would.
  2. Under Advanced Settings, use the Period Certain dropdown to select the preset term you’d like. Toggle off the Refund at Death, as these options are not compatible.
  3. If you’d like Life with Period Certain quotes, you’re done and can simply click the Refresh Quotes button.
  4. If you’d like Period Certain only quotes, then toggle on Period Certain Only underneath the Period Certain dropdown.



Questions? Call us at (888) 867-7620, chat with us in the lower-right hand corner of your browser, or email us at support@blueprintincome.com.

Blueprint Income Team

We are a team of finance, insurance, and actuarial professionals working to make it easier for everyone to achieve a steady and comfortable retirement. We write about annuities (the good and the bad) and provide strategies to help Americans prepare for retirement.

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