Using Annuities for Income and Legacy at Advanced Ages

This question comes up more than people realize.

Someone will ask, “Stan, should an 80-year-old even own an annuity?”

And my answer usually surprises them.

Age by itself does not disqualify you from owning an annuity.

The Two Questions That Always Matter

No matter how old you are, I’m going to ask you the same two questions.

What do you want the money to contractually do?
And when do you want those contractual guarantees to start?

Those answers matter far more than the number on your birthday cake.

Fewer Products, Not Zero Products

It’s true that once you get into your 80s, there are fewer annuity products available.

That’s just how carriers design their offerings.

But fewer options does not mean no options.

Depending on the situation, someone in their 80s can still use:

• Lifetime income annuities
• Period certain payout annuities
• Multi-Year Guarantee Annuities, which are CD-type fixed annuities

The question is whether any of those actually solve the problem you’re trying to solve.

Income Versus Legacy Decisions

At advanced ages, the conversation usually goes in one of two directions.

Income or legacy.

Some people want to turn a lump sum into income they know will be there between ages 80 and 90, or 80 and 95.

Others want certainty that their money goes to heirs and does not disappear.

Both goals are legitimate. The product choice depends on which one matters most.

How Legacy Really Works With Annuities

People sometimes worry that if they die early, the insurance company keeps the money.

That’s not how these contracts work when they’re structured correctly.

If an annuity has a beneficiary and the owner passes away, the remaining value goes to that beneficiary according to the contract terms. The carrier does not just keep the money.

Period Certain Annuities at Later Ages

I’ve worked with people in their 90s.

In one case, the goal wasn’t growth or market returns. The goal was making sure income continued for a set period of time, regardless of what happened.

A period certain payout annuity can do exactly that. Payments continue for the full period, whether the person is alive or not, with beneficiaries clearly listed.

That creates certainty.

What This Is Really About

At age 80, the goal is not market growth.

It’s not speculation.

It’s certainty.

Income certainty.
Legacy certainty.
Contractual certainty.

That’s the lens these decisions should be made through.

My Bottom Line

Annuities are contracts.

If the guarantees make sense, the trade-offs are understood, and the contract solves for income or legacy, then age alone should not stop someone from owning an annuity.

The decision isn’t about how old you are.
It’s about what the money needs to do.