Variable Annuity Calculator
Project a tax-deferred annuity balance using your starting value, contribution pattern, return assumption, and contribution growth.
Annuity assumptions
Results
Annual projection
| Age | Year-end balance | Taxable comparison | Contributions to date | Growth to date |
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How to use the variable annuity calculator
What this calculator does
This calculator estimates the accumulation value of a variable annuity during the contribution phase. It compounds a starting balance, adds recurring contributions, optionally grows those contributions once each year, and compares the tax-deferred projection with an illustrative account whose investment gains are reduced by an annual tax rate. It is useful for planning and scenario testing, but it does not model contract-specific mortality and expense charges, surrender schedules, riders, fund expenses, withdrawal taxation, guarantees, or actual market volatility. Variable annuities are insurance contracts, and the SEC's variable annuity overview explains why fees, investment options, and contract terms matter alongside a projection.
When to use it
Use the calculator to compare contribution levels before buying or reviewing a contract, test how delaying the withdrawal age changes compounding, estimate the effect of increasing contributions over time, or examine how a simplified taxable-account comparison changes with a different tax assumption. It can also help you prepare questions for a licensed financial professional by showing which assumptions have the largest effect on the projected balance.
How to calculate
- The calculator opens with a complete demonstration: a $25,000 starting balance, age 30 to 65, $300 monthly contributions, a 7% nominal annual return compounded monthly, 2% annual contribution growth, and a 24% taxable-comparison rate. The results and a validated Excel workbook are available immediately.
- Replace the demonstration values with your own assumptions. Results update live after every valid edit. Use U.S.-style decimals, such as 7.5 for 7.5%; decimal commas such as 7,5 are rejected to avoid ambiguity.
- Read the estimated final balance first, then compare total contributions with investment growth. Review the annual projection to see how the balance changes as the assumed withdrawal age approaches.
- Select Download Excel to export the current canonical values and annual rows to a genuine .xlsx workbook. Select Reset to clear the demonstration and all calculated state; Excel export stays unavailable until every required field is complete and valid again.
Input guide
Starting balance is a required nonnegative dollar amount, such as $25,000. A higher value generally raises every future balance. Do not enter currency codes or scientific notation. Current age and Withdrawal age are required whole years; withdrawal age must be greater. Their difference sets the projection length, so even a few additional years can materially increase compounding. Contribution is the required amount deposited each period, such as $300. Annuity payment frequency determines whether that amount is deposited yearly or monthly. Confusing a monthly amount with an annual amount is a common and significant mistake.
Type of annuity selects an ordinary annuity, where deposits occur at period-end, or an annuity due, where deposits occur at period-start and receive one extra period of return. Expected rate of return is a nominal annual percentage. It may be negative but must stay above -100%; it is an assumption, not a guaranteed return. Compounding frequency controls how the nominal rate is converted to an effective rate for each contribution period. Annual growth rate changes the contribution once per year; 2% means the payment in year two is 2% larger than in year one. Values at or below -100% are invalid. Tax rate for taxable comparison is an optional planning assumption from 0% to 100%. It reduces modeled investment gains in the comparison account and does not reproduce federal or state tax brackets.
Output guide
Estimated final balance is the projected tax-deferred value at withdrawal age. Taxable comparison balance is the same cash-flow pattern with the simplified tax drag applied to positive investment gains. Total contributions includes the starting balance plus every recurring deposit. Investment growth equals the final balance minus total contributions; a negative value means the assumed return path did not preserve all contributed capital. Number of contributions counts deposits, not years. Final annual contribution adds the last year's deposits after contribution growth. Tax-deferral advantage is the difference between the tax-deferred and taxable-comparison balances and can be zero when the tax rate is zero or returns are nonpositive.
The Annual projection table reports age, year-end balance, taxable comparison, contributions to date, and growth to date. These are deterministic estimates driven by the entered assumptions. A high projected balance should not be read as a recommendation or guarantee. The FINRA variable annuity guidance discusses costs, surrender charges, and suitability questions that are outside this model.
Worked example
With the opening demonstration, the term is 35 years and there are 420 monthly contributions. The calculator converts the 7% nominal rate compounded monthly to a monthly rate, adds the $300 contribution at each month-end, and raises the contribution by 2% after each completed year. The $25,000 starting balance compounds throughout the projection. The displayed final balance, total contributions, growth, taxable comparison, and annual rows are produced from that same monthly model and are exported without substituting rounded screen text.