Annuity rates from 55 to 75: the table
Age is the single biggest driver of your annuity rate. The younger you are, the longer the insurer expects to pay, so the less income each pound buys. Here are indicative single-life level annuity rates for a healthy non-smoker, checked August 2026 and consistent with the figures used across our annuity guides:
| Age | Indicative rate | Income per £100,000 | Income per £200,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55 | ~6.6% | ~£6,600/yr | ~£13,200/yr |
| 60 | ~6.8–7.0% | ~£6,800–£7,000/yr | ~£13,600–£14,000/yr |
| 65 | ~7.75% (best buy ~8.36%) | ~£7,750/yr | ~£15,500/yr |
| 70 | ~8.8% | ~£8,800/yr | ~£17,600/yr |
| 75 | ~10.3% | ~£10,300/yr | ~£20,600/yr |
Checked August 2026. Rates are market averages and move with gilt yields — the 65-year-old best buy is currently around 8.36% against a 7.75% average, so shopping around matters at every age.
Why age moves the rate so much
An annuity is longevity insurance run in reverse: the provider pools thousands of customers and pays each a rate based on how long people their age typically live. A 55-year-old might draw income for 35+ years; a 75-year-old perhaps 12–15. Two forces set your personal rate:
- Expected payment period. Every extra year of expected payments spreads your capital thinner. This is why the rate curve steepens with age — the jump from 70 to 75 (~8.8% to ~10.3%) is bigger than from 55 to 60.
- Gilt yields. Providers back annuities with long-dated government bonds. Yields have stayed elevated since 2022, which is why rates at every age are near 18-year highs in 2026 — the backdrop is covered on our August 2026 rates tracker and in how interest rates drive annuity rates.
Should you wait to buy at an older age?
Waiting always earns a higher rate — but it is not free money. Delay from 65 to 70 on £200,000 and your income rises from about £15,500 to £17,600 a year. In exchange you give up five years at £15,500: £77,500 of payments you never receive. Break-even typically arrives deep into your 80s, and in the meantime the money must sit invested, exposed to markets, with no guarantee today's high rates survive until you buy. There are three honest reasons to wait: you don't need the income yet, you expect a health condition to qualify you for enhanced terms later, or you plan to annuitise in phases. "The rate will be higher when I'm older" alone is weaker than it looks.
What shifts the rate besides age
The table above is a healthy-life baseline. Your actual quote moves with:
- Health and lifestyle — enhanced annuities for smokers and people with medical conditions pay uplifts that are commonly around 20–30% and can be substantially higher for serious conditions. The qualifying list is longer than most people expect: see health conditions that boost annuity income.
- Product shape — joint-life cover runs roughly a percentage point below single-life at each age, and RPI-linked income starts about 1.5 points lower.
- Guarantee periods and value protection — small cost, meaningful death benefits.
- Provider appetite — pricing varies week to week, which is why the average-to-best-buy gap exists at all.
Phased annuitisation: using the age curve deliberately
Because the curve rewards age, some retirees treat it as a ladder rather than a single rung. A worked sketch: a 65-year-old with £240,000 annuitises £80,000 now (~£6,200 a year at 7.75%), a second £80,000 at 70 (~£7,040 at ~8.8%, if the slice holds its value), and the final £80,000 at 75 (~£8,240 at ~10.3%). Total guaranteed income builds from £6,200 to about £21,500 in steps, each tranche bought at a better rate than the last, while the unspent tranches stay invested and inheritable in the meantime. The strategy's cost is exposure: the later tranches ride the markets and future rate levels, and there's no guarantee either cooperates. It suits people who like the annuity concept but dislike single-day, single-rate commitment.
How current is this table — and how fast do the numbers move?
These figures were checked in August 2026 and sit at an 18-year high. Annuity pricing reprices continuously with long-dated gilt yields, so the absolute rates in the table can drift within months — but the shape of the age curve is remarkably stable, because it reflects life expectancy rather than markets. Practical rule: use the curve to plan the "when" of your purchase whenever you read this, but get live quotes for the "how much" — and re-quote if more than a few weeks pass before you complete, since providers only hold quoted rates for a limited window.
Joint-life and inflation-linked rates across the ages
The age curve applies to every product shape, shifted down. Joint-life cover (50% to a surviving partner) runs roughly a percentage point below the single-life figures in the table at each age, so a 65-year-old couple sees about 6.75% where a single buyer sees 7.75%. RPI-linked income starts around 1.5 points lower again. One nuance worth knowing: the age gap between partners matters on joint quotes — a 65-year-old with a 58-year-old spouse is quoted on the longer joint expectancy, pulling the rate down further than the headline joint figure suggests. Escalation choices compound with age too, since a 55-year-old buyer has three decades of inflation ahead while a 75-year-old may reasonably prioritise starting income.
Using the table for planning
Multiply your expected pot by the rate for your intended purchase age for a quick income estimate — or let our annuity calculator do it for you. For worked examples at specific pot sizes, see what £100k, £250k or £500k buys at today's rates. Remember pension access currently starts at 55, rising to 57 on 6 April 2028 — so the youngest ages in this table have a deadline attached for anyone now 53 or under.
Finally, treat every figure here as a starting point, not a quote. Real pricing is personal — postcode, health, pot size and product shape all feed in — and comparing the whole market through the best annuity rates process, ideally with an FCA-regulated adviser who can also weigh drawdown against annuitising, is how the table turns into an actual income.