The period certain represents the period of time that annuity payments will be paid whether or not the annuitant survives the entire certain payment schedule.
Some people refer to a period certain as a guarantee period, however this usage occasionally leads to confusion when used in conjunction with a lifetime benefit. For example where an annuity is stated as being a life annuity with 30 years guaranteed, the annuity is guaranteed for life of the annuitant, even if that exceeds the guarantee period.
For this reason the usage of the term period certain is better. Alternatively one can express the above example as payable for 30 years, or the life of the annuitant, whichever is longer.
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