Social Security covers some of your bills. The rest has to come from somewhere, and for most retirees that means savings. So here is the question our team hears almost every week: is there a way to turn savings into monthly income that shows up for life, the way a paycheck used to? There is. One of the most common tools is called an immediate annuity.

In this post we will use $100,000 as our example and walk through what that amount could produce in 2026.

First, a promise about the numbers. Every figure below comes from published rate surveys. They are examples — not quotes, and not offers. Your own payment depends on your age, sex, state, the options you choose, and the rates on the day you buy.

Can you turn savings into monthly income for life?

Yes. The product built for this exact job is the single premium immediate annuity, or SPIA. You give an insurance company a lump sum one time. In return, the company sends you a payment every month for as long as you live. You no longer have to guess how long your money needs to last, because the checks continue for life.

One sentence belongs in every conversation about this: Guarantees are backed by the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. In plain terms, the promise is only as solid as the company making it. That is why the insurer's financial strength rating should sit near the top of your shopping list.

What $100,000 could pay in 2026

Published mid-2026 examples show a 65-year-old receiving roughly $600 to $800 a month for life from a $100,000 SPIA. Over a full year, that is about $7,200 to $9,600 of income.

The same math scales up. April 2026 survey figures for a $1 million deposit ranged from about $4,460 to $11,500 a month. Notice how wide that range is. Age, sex, and payout choices swing the number that much — which is exactly why a personal illustration matters more than any national chart.

Why the checks can beat plain interest

Readers sometimes stop here with a fair question. Savings accounts do not pay $7,200 a year on $100,000, so where does the money come from? The answer is that an annuity payment is not pure interest. Part of every check is your own principal coming back to you, spread across your expected lifetime. Another part comes from pooling: people who live a very long time keep collecting, supported in part by the contracts of people who do not. That pooling is the insurance engine at work, and interest alone cannot duplicate it.

Timing helps too. Interest rates in 2026 remain near their strongest levels in about 15 years, and annuity payouts track rates.

Four levers that move your payment

The trade-off nobody should skip

An immediate annuity is a one-way door. Once your lump sum becomes lifetime income, you generally cannot reach back in and take the money out. That is a real limitation, not a footnote. It is why most retirees convert only a slice of their savings — often just enough, combined with Social Security, to cover essential monthly bills — and keep the rest invested and reachable for emergencies.

Inflation is the other honest concern. A level check buys a little less each year as prices rise. Contracts with payments that increase annually do exist, but they start noticeably lower. Many people let Social Security's cost-of-living adjustments and their remaining investments handle the inflation fight instead.

What this means for you

Add up your must-pay monthly bills. Then add up your guaranteed monthly income. If the bills are bigger, you have an income gap, and a SPIA is one tool for closing it with a payment that arrives every month for life. Whether it fits you — and how much of your savings, if any, belongs in one — depends on your full picture. A personalized illustration built on your age, your state, and your goals is the only number worth acting on.