Valuation of an annuity treats the stream of payments as
cash flows and summarises them by a
present value or a
future value at a given
interest rate. For a level annuity certain, the formulas depend on whether payments are made at the end or at the beginning of each period.
Annuity-certain If the number of payments is known in advance, the contract is an annuity certain (also called a guaranteed annuity). Valuation uses the formulas below, which depend on the timing of payments.
Annuity-immediate If payments are made at the end of each period, so interest accrues during the period before each payment, the annuity is an annuity-immediate (ordinary annuity). Mortgage payments are a typical example, since interest is charged between payments and then repaid at each due date. Let i denote the effective interest rate per period and n the number of payments. The present value factor for a level annuity-immediate with unit payments is: a_{\overline{n}|i} = \frac{1-(1+i)^{-n}}{i} and the present value of payments of amount R is: :\mathrm{PV}(i,n,R) = R\,a_{\overline{n}|i}. In practice, interest is often quoted as a nominal annual rate J convertible monthly or some other frequency. If payments are monthly and the nominal annual rate is J, then the rate per month is i = J/12 and the number of payments over t years is n = 12t. The future value of a level annuity-immediate with unit payments is s_{\overline{n}|i} = \frac{(1+i)^n-1}{i} and the accumulated value immediately after the last payment is: :\mathrm{FV}(i,n,R) = R\,s_{\overline{n}|i}. Example: The present value of a 5 year annuity with a nominal annual interest rate of 12% and monthly payments of $100 is \mathrm{PV}\!\left( \frac{0.12}{12},5\times 12,100\right) = 100 \times a_{\overline{60}|0.01} \approx 4{,}495.50 so the series of payments is equivalent to a single amount of about $4,496 at time zero. Future and present values for an annuity-immediate are related by s_{\overline{n}|i} = (1+i)^n\,a_{\overline{n}|i} and :\frac{1}{a_{\overline{n}|i}} - \frac{1}{s_{\overline{n}|i}} = i.
Proof of annuity-immediate formula To obtain the present value factor, consider a level annuity-immediate with unit payments. The payment at the end of period k is discounted by the factor (1+i)^{-k}, so the present value factor is a_{\overline{n}|i} = \sum_{k=1}^{n} \frac{1}{(1+i)^k}. Let v = (1+i)^{-1} be the discount factor for one period. Then a_{\overline{n}|i} = v + v^{2} + \cdots + v^{n} = v\sum_{k=0}^{n-1} v^{k}. Using the standard formula for the sum of a finite geometric series gives :a_{\overline{n}|i} = v\,\frac{1-v^{n}}{1-v} = \frac{1-v^{n}}{i} = \frac{1-(1+i)^{-n}}{i}.
Annuity-due An annuity due is a series of equal payments made at the same interval at the beginning of each period. Periods can be monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, annually or any other defined period. Examples include rentals, leases and many insurance payments, which are made to cover services provided in the period following the payment. For an annuity-due with unit payments the present value factor is \ddot{a}_{\overline{n}|i} = (1+i)\,a_{\overline{n}|i} and the future value factor is :\ddot{s}_{\overline{n}|i} = (1+i)\,s_{\overline{n}|i}. The present and future values for an annuity-due satisfy \ddot{s}_{\overline{n}|i} = (1+i)^n\,\ddot{a}_{\overline{n}|i} and \frac{1}{\ddot{a}_{\overline{n}|i}} - \frac{1}{\ddot{s}_{\overline{n}|i}} = d, where d = \frac{i}{1+i} is the effective rate of discount. Example: The future value of a 7 year annuity-due with a nominal annual interest rate of 9% and monthly payments of $100 is \mathrm{FV}_{\text{due}}\!\left(\frac{0.09}{12},7\times 12,100\right) = 100 \times \ddot{s}_{\overline{84}|0.0075} \approx 11{,}730.01.
Perpetuity A
perpetuity is an annuity for which the payments continue indefinitely. For a level perpetuity with payment R each period and per period interest rate i, the present value can be obtained as the limit of the level annuity-immediate present value as the term tends to infinity: \lim_{n\to\infty} \mathrm{PV}(i,n,R) = \lim_{n\to\infty} R\,a_{\overline{n}|i} = \frac{R}{i} so the closed form is \mathrm{PV}_{\text{perpetuity}} = \frac{R}{i} provided i is positive. In actuarial notation the present value factors for level perpetuities are a_{\overline{\infty}|i} = \frac{1}{i} and \ddot{a}_{\overline{\infty}|i} = \frac{1}{d}, where d = \frac{i}{1+i} is the effective discount rate.
Life annuities Valuation of
life annuities extends the level annuity formulas by taking into account mortality as well as interest. For a life aged x with annual payments of amount R payable while the life survives, the actuarial present value is the expected value of the discounted payment stream, \mathrm{APV} = \sum_{t=1}^{\infty} R v^{t}\,{}_t p_x where v = (1+i)^{-1} is the discount factor per period and {}_t p_x is the probability that a life aged x survives at least t periods. In actuarial notation the present value of a whole life annuity-immediate of 1 per year on a life aged x is written a_x and can be expressed as a_x = \sum_{t=1}^{\infty} v^{t}\,{}_t p_x while the corresponding whole life annuity-due has present value factor :\ddot{a}_x = \sum_{t=0}^{\infty} v^{t}\,{}_t p_x. == Amortization calculations ==