annuity

annuity — noun

1. a fixed sum of money that someone receives every year, often after they retire a

1.nounC1
Definition

a fixed sum of money that someone receives every year, often after they retire and usually continuing until they die.

Example

After he retired, Mr. Lin began drawing a small annuity of NT$300,000 every January.

draw an annuity of [amount]

The widow lived quietly on a modest annuity left by her late husband.

live on an annuity

Common collocations
  • yearly annuity
  • lifetime annuity
  • draw an annuity
  • live on an annuity
Synonyms
  • pension

    a regular payment from past employment, usually monthly rather than yearly

  • stipend

    a fixed regular payment, often for a role or studies, not tied to retirement

  • allowance

    money given regularly for a purpose; broader and less formal than annuity

Grammar Patterns

receive an annuity of [amount]

draw an annuity from [source]

Usage Note

Subject of 'pay' is usually an institution (a trust, employer, insurer); subject of 'receive' or 'draw' is the individual beneficiary. Often modified by an amount or by 'yearly / annual'.

Common Mistakes

He earns an annuity from his job.
He receives an annuity from his pension fund.
you don't 'earn' an annuity; you 'receive' or 'draw' one from a fund or trust.
She bought an annuity last week and got NT$50,000.
She bought an annuity last week, which will pay NT$50,000 each year.
sense 1 refers to the yearly payment itself, not a one-time sum.

2. a contract sold by an insurance company, in which a person pays a lump sum or re

2.nounC1
Definition

a contract sold by an insurance company, in which a person pays a lump sum or regular premiums and then receives steady payments over a chosen period — for example, a retiree paying NT$5 million now to get a fixed monthly income for life.

Example

At fifty-five, Mrs. Chen bought a fixed annuity to guarantee a steady income after retirement.

buy a fixed annuity

The bank's adviser explained how a deferred annuity could grow tax-free for twenty years.

deferred / variable / fixed annuity

Common collocations
  • fixed annuity
  • variable annuity
  • deferred annuity
  • immediate annuity
  • buy / purchase an annuity
Synonyms
  • pension plan

    a retirement product; an annuity is one common form of pension plan

  • retirement plan

    broader umbrella term covering annuities, 401(k)-style accounts, and others

  • insurance contract

    the wider category an annuity belongs to; not all insurance contracts pay regular income

Antonyms
  • lump sum

    a single one-time payment, the opposite of the steady stream an annuity provides

Grammar Patterns

buy / purchase an annuity

an annuity from [provider]

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense names the financial product (the contract) itself, while sense 1 names the yearly payment that comes out of it. Often combined with descriptors such as 'fixed', 'variable', 'deferred', or 'immediate'.

Common Mistakes

I want to invest in annuity at the bank.
I want to invest in an annuity at the bank.
annuity is countable; use 'an annuity' or 'annuities'.
He bought an annuity, so he got the money next week.
He bought an annuity, so he will receive payments every month for life.
buying an annuity sets up long-term payments, not a one-off cash return.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words name money paid out at regular intervals, but the source and timing differ. An annuity is paid yearly (or split into smaller equal instalments) and usually comes from a contract, trust, or insurance product; the amount is fixed in advance. A pension is the regular payment retirees draw from a former employer or the state, typically arriving monthly. A stipend is a modest fixed payment given to someone for a role or for study — a researcher, trainee, or junior priest might receive one. An allowance is the most general: any sum given regularly for a particular purpose, such as a child's pocket money or a travel allowance for staff. So a retired teacher in Taipei might live on a state pension, top it up with an annuity she bought at sixty, and still send her grandson a small monthly allowance.

annuity ↗pension ↗stipendallowance ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • annuity payment
  • annuity income
  • annuity contract
  • annuity holder

Adverbs

Phrases

  • buy an annuity
  • draw an annuity
  • lifetime annuity
  • joint annuity

Prepositions

  • annuity from
  • annuity of
  • annuity for life

Etymology

LatinMedieval LatinAnglo-Norman FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Annuity entered English in the 15th century from Anglo-Norman French 'annuité', which came from Medieval Latin 'annuitas', built on Latin 'annuus' meaning 'yearly' (from 'annus', year). The word kept its core idea of a payment tied to the cycle of a year, even as modern finance extended it to cover insurance products that pay out monthly or quarterly.