Chapter 2

Annuities and loans

An annuity is a sequence of payments with fixed frequency. The term “annuity”

originally referred to annual payments (hence the name), but it is now also used
for payments with any frequency. Annuities appear in many situations; for
instance, interest payments on an investment can be considered as an annuity.
An important application is the schedule of payments to pay off a loan.
The word “annuity” refers in everyday language usually to a life annuity. A
life annuity pays out an income at regular intervals until you die. Thus, the
number of payments that a life annuity makes is not known. An annuity with a
fixed number of payments is called an annuity certain, while an annuity whose
number of payments depend on some other event (such as a life annuity) is a
contingent annuity. Valuing contingent annuities requires the use of probabil-
ities and this will not be covered in this module. These notes only looks at
annuities certain, which will be called “annuity” for short.

2.1 Annuities immediate

The analysis of annuities relies on the formula for geometric sums:
n
X rn+1 − 1
1 + r + r2 + · · · + rn = rk = . (2.1)
r−1
k=0

This formula appeared already in Section 1.5, where it was used to relate nom-
inal interest rates to effective interest rates. In fact, the basic computations for
annuities are similar to the one we did in Section 1.5. It is illustrated in the
following example.

Example 2.1.1. At the end of every year, you put £100 in a savings account
which pays 5% interest. You do this for eight years. How much do you have at
the end (just after your last payment)?
Answer. The first payment is done at the end of the first year and the last
payment is done at the end of the eighth year. Thus, the first payment ac-
cumulates interest for seven years, so it grows to (1 + 0.05)7 · 100 = 140.71
pounds. The second payment accumulates interest for six years, so it grows to
1.056 · 100 = 134.01 pounds. And so on, until the last payment which does not

MATH1510 15
 1

t=0 1 2 ... t=n

an sn

Figure 2.1: The present and accumulated value of an annuity immediate.

accumulate any interest. The accumulated value of the eight payments is

1.057 · 100 + 1.056 · 100 + · · · + 100

  7
X
= 100 1 + · · · + 1.056 + 1.057 = 100 1.05k .
k=0

This sum can be evaluated with the formula for a geometric sum. Substitute
r = 1.05 and n = 7 in (2.1) to get
7
X 1.058 − 1
1.05k = = 9.5491.
1.05 − 1
k=0

Thus, the accumulated value of the eight payments is £954.91.

In the above example, we computed the accumulated value of an annuity. More
precisely, we considered an annuity with payments made at the end of every
year. Such an annuity is called an annuity immediate (the term is unfortunate
because it does not seem to be related to its meaning).
Definition 2.1.2. An annuity immediate is a regular series of payments at the
end of every period. Consider an annuity immediate paying one unit of capital
at the end of every period for n periods. The accumulated value of this annuity
at the end of the nth period is denoted sn .
The accumulated value depends on the interest rate i, but the rate is usually
only implicit in the symbol sn . If it is necessary to mention the rate explicitly,
the symbol sn i is used.
Let us derive a formula for sn . The situation is depicted in Figure 2.1. The
annuity consists of payments of 1 at t = 1, 2, . . . , n and we wish to compute
the accumulated value at t = n. The accumulated value of the first payment is
(1 + i)n−1 , the accumulated value of the second payment is (1 + i)n−2 , and so
on till the last payment which has accumulated value 1. Thus, the accumulated
values of all payments together is
n−1
X
n−1 n−2
(1 + i) + (1 + i) + ··· + 1 = (1 + i)k .
k=0

The formula for a geometric sum, cf. (2.1), yields

n−1
X (1 + i)n − 1 (1 + i)n − 1
(1 + i)k = = .
(1 + i) − 1 i
k=0

16 MATH1510
We arrive at the following formula for the accumulated value of an annuity
immediate:
(1 + i)n − 1
sn = . (2.2)
i
This formula is not valid if i = 0. In that case, there is no interest, so the
accumulated value of the annuities is just the sum of the payments: sn = n.
The accumulated value is the value of the annuity at t = n. We may also
be interested in the value at t = 0, the present value of the annuity. This is
denoted by an , as shown in Figure 2.1.

Definition 2.1.3. Consider an annuity immediate paying one unit of capital

at the end of every period for n periods. The value of this annuity at the start
of the first period is denoted an .

A formula for an can be derived as above. The first payment is made after a
1
year, so its present value is the discount factor v = 1+i . The present value of
2
the second value is v , and so on till the last payment which has a present value
of v n . Thus, the present value of all payments together is
n−1
X
v + v 2 + · · · + v n = v(1 + v + · + v n−1 ) = v vk .
k=0

Now, use the formula for a geometric sum:

n−1
X vn − 1 v
v vk = v = (1 − v n ).
v−1 1−v
k=0

v 1
The fraction 1−v can be simplified if we use the relation v = 1+i :

1
v 1 1
= 1+i1 = = .
1−v 1 − 1+i (1 + i) − 1 i

By combining these results, we arrive at the following formula for the present
value of an annuity immediate:
1 − vn
an = . (2.3)
i
Similar to equation (2.2) for sn , the equation for an is not valid for i = 0, in
which case an = n.
There is a simple relation between the present value an and the accumulated
value sn . They are value of the same sequence of payments, but evaluated at
different times: an is the value at t = 0 and sn is the value at t = n (see
Figure 2.1). Thus, an equals sn discounted by n years:

an = v n sn . (2.4)

This relation is easily checked. According to (2.2), the right-hand side evaluates
to
1+i n


(1 + i)n − 1 − vn 1 − vn
v n sn = v n = v = = an ,
i i i

MATH1510 17
 1
where the last-but-one equality follows from v = 1+i and the last equality
from (2.3). This proves (2.4).
One important application of annuities is the repayment of loans. This is
illustrated in the following example.

Example 2.1.4. A loan of e2500 at a rate of 6 12 % is paid off in ten years,

by paying ten equal installments at the end of every year. How much is each
installment?
Answer. Suppose that each installment is x euros. Then the loan is paid off by
a 10-year annuity immediate. The present value of this annuity is xa10 at 6 12 %.
i
We compute v = 1+i = 0.938967 and

1 − v 10 1 − 0.93896710
a10 = = = 7.188830.
i 0.065
The present value should be equal to e2500, so the size of each installment is
x = 2500/a10 = 347.7617 euros. Rounded to the nearest cent, this is e347.76.

Every installment in the above example is used to both pay interest and pay
back a part of the loan. This is studied in more detail in Section 2.6. Another
possibility is to only pay interest every year, and to pay back the principal at
the end. If the principal is one unit of capital which is borrowed for n years,
then the borrower pays i at the end of every year and 1 at the end of the n years.
The payments of i form an annuity with present value ian . The present value
of the payment of 1 at the end of n years is v n . These payments are equivalent
to the payment of the one unit of capital borrowed at the start. Thus, we find

1 = ian + v n .

This gives another way to derive formula (2.3). Similarly, if we compare the
payments at t = n, we find

(1 + i)n = isn + 1,

and (2.2) follows.

Exercises
1. On 15 November in each of the years 1964 to 1979 inclusive an investor
deposited £500 in a special bank savings account. On 15 November 1983
the investor withdrew his savings. Given that over the entire period the
bank used an annual interest rate of 7% for its special savings accounts,
find the sum withdrawn by the investor.

2. A savings plan provides that in return for n annual premiums of £X

(payable annually in advance), an investor will receive m annual payments
of £Y , the first such payments being made one payments after payment
of the last premium.

(a) Show that the equation of value can be written as either

Y an+m − (X + Y )an = 0, or as (X + Y )sm − Xsn+m = 0.

18 MATH1510
 1

t=0 1 2 ... t=n

än s̈n

Figure 2.2: The present and accumulated value of an annuity due.

(b) Suppose that X = 1000, Y = 2000, n = 10 and m = 10. Find the

yield per annum on this transaction.

(c) Suppose that X = 1000, Y = 2000, and n = 10. For what values of
m is the annual yield on the transaction between 8% and 10%?

(d) Suppose that X = 1000, Y = 2000, and m = 20. For what values of
n is the annual yield on the transaction between 8% and 10%?

2.2 Annuities due and perpetuities

The previous section considered annuities immediate, in which the payments
are made in arrears (that is, at the end of the year). Another possibility is to
make the payments at advance. Annuities that pay at the start of each year are
called annuities due.

Definition 2.2.1. An annuity due is a regular series of payments at the begin-

ning of every period. Consider an annuity immediate paying one unit of capital
at the beginning of every period for n periods. The value of this annuity at the
start of the first period is denoted än , and the accumulated value at the end of
the nth period is denoted s̈n .

The situation is illustrated in Figure 2.2, which should be compared to the

corresponding figure for annuities immediate. Both an and än are measured at
t = 0, while sn and s̈n are both measured at t = n. The present value of an
annuity immediate (an ) is measured one period before the first payment, while
the present value of an annuity due (än ) is measured at the first payment. On
the other hand, the accumulated value of an annuity immediate (sn ) is at the
last payment, while the accumulated value of an annuity due (s̈n ) is measured
one period after the last payment.
We can easily derive formulas for än and s̈n . One method is to sum a
geometric series. An annuity due consists of payments at t = 0, t = 1, . . . ,
t = n − 1, so its value at t = 0 is

n−1
X 1 − vn 1 − vn
än = 1 + v + · · · + v n−1 = vk = = . (2.5)
1−v d
k=0

MATH1510 19
The value at t = n is
n
X
s̈n = (1 + i)n + (1 + i)n−1 + · · · + (1 + i) = (1 + i)k
k=1 (2.6)
(1 + i)n − 1 1+i
(1 + i)n − 1
= (1 + i) = (1 + i)n − 1 = .
(1 + i) − 1 i d
If we compare these formulas with the formulas for an and sn , given in (2.3)
and (2.2), we see that they are identical except that the denominator is d instead
of i. In other words,
i i
än = an = (1 + i)an and s̈n = sn = (1 + i)sn .
d d
There a simple explanation for this. An annuity due is an annuity immediate
with all payments shifted one time period in the past (compare Figures 2.1
and 2.2). Thus, the value of an annuity due at t = 0 equals the value of an
annuity immediate at t = 1. We know that an annuity immediate is worth an
at t = 0, so its value at t = 1 is (1 + i)an and this has to equal än . Similarly,
s̈n is not only the value of an annuity due at t = n but also the value of an
annuity immediate at t = n + 1. Annuities immediate and annuities due refer
to the same sequence of payments evaluated at different times.
There is another relationship between annuities immediate and annuities
due. An annuity immediate over n years has payments at t = 1, . . . , t = n and
an annuity due over n + 1 years has payments at t = 0, t = 1, . . . , t = n. Thus,
the difference is a single payment at t = 0. It follows that

än+1 = an + 1. (2.7)

Similarly, sn+1 is the value at t = n + 1 of a series of n + 1 payments at

times t = 1, . . . , n + 1, which is the same as the value at t = n of a series of
n + 1 payments at t = 0, . . . , n. On the other hand, s̈n is the value at t = n of
a series of n payments at t = 0, . . . , n − 1. The difference is a single payment at
t = n, so
sn+1 = s̈n + 1. (2.8)
The relations (2.7) and (2.8) can be checked algebraically by substituting (2.2),
(2.3), (2.5) and (2.6) in them.
There is an alternative method to derive the formulas for än and s̈n , anal-
ogous to the discussion at the end of the previous section. Consider a loan of
one unit of capital over n years, and suppose that the borrower pays interest in
advance and repays the principal after n years. As discussed in Section 1.4, the
interest over one unit of capital is d if paid in advance, so the borrower pays
an annuity due of size d over n years and a single payment of 1 after n years.
These payments should be equivalent to the one unit of capital borrowed at the
start. By evaluating this equivalence at t = 0 and t = n, respectively, we find
that
1 = dän + v n and (1 + i)n = ds̈n + 1,
and the formulas (2.5) and (2.6) follow immediately.
As a final example, we consider perpetuities, which are annuities continuing
perpetually. Consols, which are a kind of British government bonds, and certain
preferred stock can be modelled as perpetuities.

20 MATH1510
Definition 2.2.2. A perpetuity immediate is an annuity immediate contin-
uing indefinitely. Its present value (one period before the first payment) is
denoted a∞ . A perpetuity due is an annuity due continuing indefinitely. Its
present value (at the time of the first payment) is denoted ä∞ .
There is no symbol for the accumulated value of a perpetuity, because it would
be infinite. It is not immediately obvious that the present value is finite, because
it is the present value of an infinite sequence of payments.
P∞ However, using the
1
formula for the sum of an infinite geometric sequence ( k=0 rk = 1−r ), we find
that
∞
X 1 1
ä∞ = vk = =
1−v d
k=0
and
∞ ∞
X X v 1
a∞ = vk = v vk = = .
1−v i
k=1 k=0
Alternatively, we can use a∞ = limn→∞ an and ä∞ = limn→∞ än in combina-
tion with the formulas for an and än . This method gives the same result.
Example 2.2.3. You want to endow a fund which pays out a scholarship of
£1000 every year in perpetuity. The first scholarship will be paid out in five
years’ time. Assuming an interest rate of 7%, how much do you need to pay
into the fund?
Answer. The fund makes payments of £1000 at t = 5, 6, 7, . . ., and we wish to
compute the present value of these payments at t = 0. These payments form a
perpetuity, so the value at t = 5 is ä∞ . We need to discount by five years to
find the value at t = 0:
v5 0.9345795
v 5 ä∞ = = = 10.89850.
d 0.0654206
Thus, the fund should be set up with a contribution of £10898.50.
Alternatively, imagine that the fund would be making annual payments
starting immediately. Then the present value at t = 0 would be 1000ä∞ .
However, we added imaginary payments at t = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4; the value at t = 0 of
these imaginary payments is 1000ä5 . Thus, the value at t = 0 of the payments
at t = 5, 6, 7, . . . is
1 1 − v5
1000ä∞ − 1000ä5 = 1000 · − 1000 ·
d d
= 15285.71 − 4387.21 = 10898.50,
as we found before. This alternative method is not faster in this example, but
it illustrates a reasoning which is useful in many situations.
An annuity which starts paying in the future is called a deferred annuity. The
perpetuity in the above example has its first payment in five years’ time, so
it can be considered as a perpetuity due deferred by five years. The actuarial
symbol for the present value of such a perpetuity is 5 |ä∞ . Alternatively, we can
consider the example as a perpetuity immediate deferred by four years, whose
present value is denoted by 4 |a∞ . Generally, the present value of an annuities
over n years deferred by m years is given
m |an = v m an and m |än = v m än .

MATH1510 21
Exercises
1. A loan of £2400 is to be repaid by 20 equal annual instalments. The rate
of interest for the transaction is 10% per annum. Fiund the amount of
each annual repayment, assuming that payments are made (a) in arrear
and (b) in advance.

2.3 Unknown interest rate

In Sections 2.1 and 2.2 we derived the present and accumulated values of annu-
ities with given period n and interest rate i. In Section 2.7, we studied how to
find n. The topic of the current section is the determination of the rate i.
Example 2.3.1 (McCutcheon & Scott, p. 48). A loan of £5000 is repaid by
15 annual payments of £500, with the first payment due in a year. What is the
interest rate?
Answer. The repayments form an annuity. The value of this annuity at the
time of the loan, which is one year before the first payment, is 500a15 . This
has to equal the principal, so we have to solve 500a15 = 5000 or a15 = 0.1.
Formula (2.3) for an yields
15 !
1 − v 15

1 1
a15 = = 1− ,
i i 1+i

so the equation that we have to solve is

 15 !
1 1
1− = 10. (2.9)
i 1+i

The solution of this equation is i = 0.055565, so the rate is 5.56%.

The above example is formulated in terms of a loan, but it can also be formulated
from the view of the lender. The lender pays £5000 and gets 15 annual payments
of £500 in return. The interest rate implied by the transaction is called the yield
or the (internal) rate of return of the transaction. It is an important concept
when analysing possible investments. Obviously, an investor wants to get high
yield on his investment. We will return to this in Chapter 3.
Example 2.3.1 raises the question: how can we solve equations like (2.9)?
It cannot be solved algebraically, so we have to use some numerical method to
find an approximation to the solution. We present several methods here. Con-
ceptually the simplest method is to consider a table like the following, perhaps
by consulting a book of actuarial tables.
i 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05
a15 15.0000 13.8651 12.8493 11.9379 11.1184 10.3797

i 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09 0.10 0.11

a15 9.7122 9.1079 8.5595 8.0607 7.6061 7.1909
This shows that a15 = 10 for some value of i between 0.05 and 0.06, so the
interest rate lies between 5% and 6%. The table also shows that the present

22 MATH1510
 14

12
an
10

i
0 0.04 0.08

Figure 2.3: A plot of the present value of a 15-year annuity against the interest
rate i (cf. Example 2.3.1). This shows that the solution of (2.9) lies between
i = 0.05 and i = 0.06.

10.3797

10.0376 10
9.9547
9.8729

9.7122
an
i
0.06 0.065 0.07

Figure 2.4: An illustration of the bisection method.

value a15 decreases as the rate i increases (you should be able to understand
this from first principles).
If we would like a more accurate approximation, we can apply the bisection
method. This method takes the midpoint, which is here 5 21 %. We compute
a15 at 5 21 %, which turns out to be 10.0376. On the other hand, a15 at 6% is
9.7122, so rate at which a15 = 10 lies between 5 12 % and 6%. Another step of
the bisection method takes i = 5 34 %; at this rate a15 = 9.8729, so the rate we
are looking for lies between 5 12 % and 5 34 %. At the next step, we compute a15
at 5 58 %, which turns out to be 9.9547, so we know that i should be between
5 21 % and 5 58 %. As illustrated in Figure 2.4, the bisection method allows us to
slowly zoom in on the solution.
Another possibility is to use linear interpolation. Again, we use that a15
at 5% equals 10.3797, and that a15 at 6% equals 9.7122. In other words, we know
two points on the graph depicted in Figure 2.3, namely (x1 , y1 ) = (0.05, 10.3797)

MATH1510 23
 y1

y∗

y2

x1 x∗ x2

Figure 2.5: The method of linear interpolation takes two known points (x1 , y1 )
and (x2 , y2 ) on the graph and considers the line between them (the dashed
line in the figure). This line approximates the graph and is used to find an
approximation x∗ to the x-value corresponding to y∗ .

and (x2 , y2 ) = (0.06, 9.7122). The method of linear interpolation approximates

the graph by a straight line between (x1 , y1 ) and (x2 , y2 ), as illustrated in Fig-
ure 2.5. The equation of this line is
y2 − y1
y − y1 = (x − x1 ) .
x2 − x1
In the current example, we wish to find the value of x which corresponds to
y = 10. If we denote the given value of y by y∗ , then the unknown value of x∗
is given by
x2 − x1
x∗ = x1 + (y∗ − y1 ) . (2.10)
y2 − y1
In the situation considered here, this evaluates to
0.06 − 0.05
0.05 + (10 − 10.3797) · = 0.055689.
9.7122 − 10.3797
This brings us in one step close to the solution. As with the bisection method,
we can repeat this process to get more accurate approximations of the solution.
Some people may know Newton’s method, also known as the Newton–Raphson
method. This method is usually given for equations of the form f (x) = 0. We
can write (2.9) in this form by taking
 15 !
1 1
f (x) = 1− − 10.
i 1+i

Newton’s method start from only one value of x, say x∗ . It states that if x∗ is
a good approximation to the solution, then
f (x∗ )
x∗∗ = x∗ −
f 0 (x∗ )
is an even better one. The disadvantage of Newton’s method is that you have
to differentiate the function in the equation. We will not consider this method
any further.

24 MATH1510
 All these methods are quite cumbersome to use by hand, so people commonly
use some kind of machine to solve equations like these. Some graphical calcu-
lators allow you to solve equations numerically. Financial calculators generally
have an option to find the interest rate of an annuity, given the number of pay-
ments, the size of every payment, and the present or accumulated value. There
are also computer programs that can assist you with these computations. For
example, in Excel the command RATE(15,500,-5000) computes the unknown
rate in Example 2.3.1.

Exercises
1. A borrower agrees to repay a loan of £3000 by 15 annual repayments of
£500, the first repayment being due after five years. Find the annual yield
for this transaction.

2. (From the sample exam) A loan of £50,000 is repaid by annual payments

of £4000 in arrear over a period of 20 years. Write down the equation of
value and use linear interpolation with trial values of i = 0.04 and i = 0.07
to approximate the effective rate of interest per annum.

2.4 Annuities payable monthly, etc.

Up to now all annuities involved annual payments. However, other frequencies
commonly arise in practice. The same theory as developed above apply to
annuities with other frequencies.
Example 2.1.1 shows that the accumulated value of a sequence of eight an-
nual payments of £100 at the time of the last payment is £954.91, if the rate of
interest is 5% per annum. The result remains valid if we change the time unit.
The same computation shows that the accumulated value of a sequence of eight
monthly payments of £100 at the time of the last payment is £954.91, if the
rate of interest is 5% per month.
Interest rates per month are not used very often. As explained in Section 1.5,
a rate of 5% per month corresponds to a nominal rate i(12) of 60% per year
payable monthly (computed as 60 = 5 × 12). It also corresponds to an effective
rate i of 79.59% per year, because (1.05)12 = 1.7959. Thus, the accumulated
value of a sequence of eight monthly payments of £100 at the time of the last
payment is £954.91, if the (effective) rate of interest is 79.59% p.a.
The preceding two paragraphs illustrate the basic idea of this section. The
remainder elaborates on this and gives some definitions.

Definition 2.4.1. An annuity immediate payable pthly is a regular series of

payments at the end of every period of 1/p time unit. Consider such an annuity
lasting for n time units (so there are np payments), where every payment is
1/p unit of capital (so the total payment is n units). The present value of this
(p)
annuity at the start of the first period is denoted an , and the accumulated
(p)
value at the end of the npth period is denoted sn .

The present and accumulated value of an annuity immediate payable pthly on

the basis of an interest rate i per time unit can be calculated using several

MATH1510 25
methods. Three methods will be presented here. All these methods use the
nominal interest rate i(p) payable pthly, which is related to i by (1.5):
p
i(p)

1+i= 1+ .
p

The first method is the one used at the start of the section, in which a new time
unit is introduced which equals the time between two payments (i.e., 1/p old
time units). The rate i per old time unit corresponds to a rate of j = i(p) /p per
new time unit, and the annuity payable pthly becomes a standard annuity over
np (new) time units, with one payment of 1/p per (new) time unit. The future
value of this annuity is p1 snp j , which can be evaluated using (2.2):
(p)
np

(p) 1 (1 + j)np − 1 1 + ip −1 (1 + i)n − 1

sn i = p snp j = = (p)
= .
jp i i(p)
To compute the present value of the annuity over np time units, with one pay-
ment of 1/p per time unit, use (2.3) while bearing in mind that the discount
factor in new time units is 1/(1 + j):

1 np i(p) −np


(p) 1
1− 1+j ) 1− 1+ p 1 − (1 + i)−n 1 − vn
an i = p anp j = = = = (p) .
jp i(p) i (p) i
The second method computes the present and accumulated value of annuities
payable pthly from first principles using formula (2.1) for the sum of a geometric
sequence. This is the same method used to derive formulas (2.2) and (2.3). The
(p)
symbol an denotes the present value at t = 0 of np payments of 1/p each. The
first payment is at time t = 1/p, so its present value is (1/p) · v 1/p ; the second
payment is at time t = 2/p, so its present value is (1/p) · v 2/p ; and so on till the
last payment which is at time t = n, so its present value is (1/p) · v n . The sum
of the present values is:
np
(p) 1  1/p 1
 1X
an = v + v 2/p + · · · + v n− p + v n = v k/p
p p
k=1
v 1/p 1 − (v 1/p )np 1 1 − vn 1 − vn
= · 1/p
= · 1/p
= (p) .
p 1−v p (1 + i) − 1 i

Similarly, the accumulated value is computed as

(p) 1 1 2

sn = (1 + i)n− p + (1 + i)n− p + · · · + (1 + i)1/p + 1
p
np−1
1 X 1 ((1 + i)1/p )np − 1 (1 + i)n − 1
= (1 + i)k/p = · = .
p
k=0
p (1 + i) − 1 i(p)

The third method compares an annuity payable pthly to an annuity payable

annually over the same period. In one year, an annuity payable pthly consists
of p payments (at the end of every period of 1/p year) and an annuity payable
annually consists of one payment at the end of the year. If p payments are i(p) /p
each and the annual payment is i, then these payments are equivalent, as was

26 MATH1510
found in Section 1.5 (see Figure 4.1). Thus, an annuity with pthly payments
of i(p) /p is equivalent to an annuity with annual payments of i, so their present
and accumulated values are the same:
(p) (p)
ian = i(p) an and isn = i(p) sn .

All three methods leads to the same conclusion:

(p) 1 − vn (p) (1 + i)n − 1
an = and sn = . (2.11)
i(p) i(p)
The formulas for annuities payable pthly are the same as the formulas for stan-
dard annuities (that is, annuities payable annually), except that the formulas for
annuities payable pthly have the nominal interest rate i(p) in the denominator
instead of i.
A similar story holds for annuities due. An annuity due payable pthly is a
sequence of payments at t = 0, 1/p, . . . , n−(1/p), whereas an annuity immediate
payable pthly is a sequence of payments at t = 1/p, 2/p, . . . , n. Thus, they
represent the same sequence of payments, but shifted by one period of 1/p
time unit. The present value of an annuity due payable pthly at t = 0 is
(p) (p)
denoted by än , and the accumulated value at t = n is denoted by s̈n . The
corresponding expressions are

(p) 1 − vn (p) (1 + i)n − 1

än = and s̈n = . (2.12)
d(p) d(p)
The difference with the formulas (2.11) for annuities immediate is again only in
the denominator: i(p) is replaced by d(p) .
The above discussion tacitly assumed that p is an integer, but in fact the
results are also valid for fractional values of p. This is illustrated in the following
example.
Example 2.4.2. Consider an annuity of payments of £1000 at the end of every
second year. What is the present value of this annuity if it runs for ten years
and the interest rate is 7%?
Answer. The present value can be found from first principles by summing a
geometric sequence. We have i = 0.07 so v = 1/1.07 = 0.934579, so the present
value is

1000v 2 + 1000v 4 + 1000v 6 + 1000v 8 + 1000v 10

5
X 1 − (v 2 )5
= 1000 v 2k = 1000v 2 · = 3393.03 pounds.
1 − v2
k=1

Alternatively, we can use (2.11) with p = 1/2, because there is one payment per
two years. We compute i(1/2) from (1.5),
1/2
i(1/2)

1 
1+i= 1+ =⇒ i(1/2) = (1 + i)2 − 1 = 0.07245,
1/2 2
and thus
(1/2) 1 − v 10
a10 = = 6.786069.
i(1/2)

MATH1510 27
 (p)
Remember that an is the present value of an annuity paying 1/p units of capital
(1/2)
every 1/p years for a period of n years, so a10 = 6.786069 is the present value
of an annuity paying two units of capital every two years for a period of 10 years.
Thus, the present value of the annuity in the question is 500·6.786069 = 3393.03
pounds. This is the same as we found from first principles.

Exercises
1. (From the 2010 exam)

(a) A savings plan requires you to make payments of £250 each at the
end of every month for a year. The bank will then make six equal
monthly payments to you, with its first payment due one month after
the last payment you make to the bank. Compute the size of each
monthly payment made by the bank, assuming a nominal interest
rate of 4% p.a. payable monthly.
(b) The situation is the same as in question (a): you make payments
of £250 each at the end of every month for a year, and the rate is
4% p.a. payable monthly. However, now the bank will make equal
annual payments to you in perpetuity, with the first payment due
three years after the last payment you make to the bank. Compute
the size of the annual payments.

2. (From the sample exam) A 20-year loan of £50,000 is repaid as follows.

The borrower pays only interest on the loan, annually in arrear at a rate
of 5.5% per annum. The borrower will take out a separate savings pol-
icy which involves making monthly payments in advance such that the
proceeds will be sufficient to repay the loan at the end of its term. The
payments into the savings policy accumulate at a rate of interest of 4%
per annum effective.
Compute the monthly payments into the savings account which ensures
that it contains £50,000 after 20 years, and write down the equation of
value for the effective rate of interest on the loan if it is repaid using this
arrangement.

3. (From the CT1 exam, Sept ’08) A bank offers two repayment alternatives
for a loan that is to be repaid over ten years. The first requires the
borrower to pay £1,200 per annum quarterly in advance and the second
requires the borrower to make payments at an annual rate of £1,260 every
second year in arrears. Determine which terms would provide the best deal
for the borrower at a rate of interest of 4% per annum effective.

2.5 Varying annuities

The annuities studied in the preceding sections are all level annuities, meaning
that all payments are equal. This section studies annuities in which the size of
the payments changes. In simple cases, these can be studied by splitting the
varying annuities in a sum of level annuities, as the following example shows.

28 MATH1510
Example 2.5.1. An annuity pays e50 at the end of every month for two years,
and e60 at the end of every month for the next three years. Compute the
present value of this annuity on the basis of an interest rate of 7% p.a.
Answer. This annuity can be considered as the sum of two annuities: one of e50
per month running for the first two years, and one of e60 per month running
(12)
for the next three years. The present value of the first annuity is 600a2 euros
(12)
(remember that an is the present value of an annuity paying 1/12 at the end
of every month). The value of the second annuity one month before its first
(12)
payment is 720a3 , which we need to discount by two years. Thus, the present
value of the annuity in the question is

(12) (12) 1 − v2 2 1−v

3
600a2 + 720v 2 a3 = 600 · + 720v · .
i(12) i(12)
The interest rate is i = 0.07, so the discount factor is v = 1/1.07 = 0.934579
and the nominal interest rate is i(12) = 12(1.071/12 − 1) = 0.0678497, so

1 − v2 2 1−v
3
600 · + 720v · = 1119.19 + 1702.67 = 2821.86.
i(12) i(12)
Thus, the present value of the annuity in the question is e2821.86.
Alternatively, the annuity can be considered as the difference between an
annuity of e60 per month running for five years and an annuity of e10 per
month running for the first two years. This argument shows that the present
value of the annuity in the question is
(12) (12)
720a5 − 120a2 = 3045.70 − 223.84 = 2821.86.

Unsurprisingly, this is the same answer as we found before.

More complicated examples of varying annuities require a return to first prin-

ciples. Let us consider a varying annuity immediate running over n time units,
and denote the amount paid at the end of the kth time unit by Pk . The present
value of this annuity, one time unit before the first payment, is given by
n
X
Pk v k ,
k=1

and its accumulated value at the time of the last payment is given by
n
X
Pk (1 + i)n−i .
k=1

For a level annuity, all the Pk are equal, and we arrive at the formulas for an
and sn . The next example considers an annuity whose payments increase geo-
metrically.

Example 2.5.2. An annuity immediate pays £1000 at the end of the first year.
The payment increases by 3% per year to compensate for inflation. What is the
present value of this annuity on the basis of a rate of 7%, if it runs for 20 years?

MATH1510 29
Answer. The annuity pays £1000 at the end of the first year, £1030 at the end
of the second year, and so on. The payment at the end of year k is given by
Pk = 1000 · (1.03)k−1 . Thus, the present value is

20 20
X 1000 X
1000 · (1.03)k−1 · v k = (1.03v)k
1.03
k=1 k=1
20
!
1000 X
k
= (1.03v) − 1
1.03
k=0
1000 1 − (1.03v)21
 
= −1
1.03 1 − 1.03v
1000
= (14.731613 − 1) = 13331.66.
1.03
So the present value of the annuity is £13,331.66.

The case of an annuity whose payments increase in an arithmetic progression is

important enough to have its own symbol.

Definition 2.5.3. The present value of an increasing annuity immediate which

pays 1 at t = 1, 2 at t = 2, and so on until a final payment of n at t = n, is
denoted by (Ia)n . The present value of an increasing annuity due which pays
1 at t = 0, 2 at t = 1, and so on until a final payment of n at t = n − 1, is
denoted by (Iä)n .

Expressions for (Ia)n and (Iä)n can be derived as follows. Consider first the
increasing annuity immediate. The first payment of 1 at t = 1 has present
value v, the second payment of 2 at t = 2 has present value 2v 2 , et cetera, so
n
X
(Ia)n = v + 2v 2 + 3v 3 + · · · + nv n = kv k . (2.13)
k=1

For the increasing annuity due, the first payment of 1 at t = 0 has present
value 1, the second payment of 2 at t = 2 has present value 2v, et cetera, so
n
X
(Iä)n = 1 + 2v + 3v 2 + · · · + nv n−1 = kv k−1 . (2.14)
k=1

The annuity due is the same sequence of payments as the annuity immediate,
but one year earlier. Thus, we have (Ia)n = v(Iä)n , as is already obvious
from (2.13) and (2.14) above.
Now consider the difference between the annuity due and the annuity im-
mediate. At time t = 0, the annuity due pays out 1 and the annuity immediate
pays out nothing. At time t = 1, the annuity due pays out 2 and the annuity
immediate pays out 1. The annuity due pays out 1 more than the annuity im-
mediate at t = 0, 1, . . . , n − 1. At the other hand, the annuity immediate pays
out n at t = n and the annuity due pays out nothing. Thus,

(Iä)n − (Ia)n = än − nv n .

30 MATH1510
This can also be found by subtracting (2.13) from (2.14). Now use that (Ia)n =
v(Iä)n , as we found above:
1 än − nv n än − nv n
(Ia)n − (Ia)n = än − nv n =⇒ (Ia)n = 1 = .
v −1
v i

This can be written as än = i(Ia)n + nv n , an equation with an interesting (but

perhaps challenging) interpretation. Consider a transaction, in which one unit
of capital is lent every year. The interest is i in the first year, 2i in the second
year, and so on. At the end of n years, the amount borrowed is n, which is then
paid back. The equation än = i(Ia)n + nv n expresses that the payments done
by the lender are equivalent to the payments by the borrower.
The formula for (Ia)n can be used to find the value of annuities with pay-
ments in an arithmetic progression. For instance, consider an annuity paying
£1000 at the end of the first year, £950 at the end of the second year, £900 at
the end of the third year, and so on, with the payment decreasing by £50 ever
year. The last payment is £500 at the end of the eleventh year. The present
value of this annuity is 1050a11 − 50(Ia)11 .

Exercises
1. An annuity is payable in arrear for 20 years. The first payment is of
amount £8000 and the amount of each subsequence payment decreases by
£300 each year. Find the present value of the annuity on the basis of an
interest rate of 5% per annum.
2. An annuity is payable half-yearly for six years, the first half-yearly pay-
ment of amount £1800 being due after two years. The amount of sub-
sequent payments decreases by £30 every half-year. On the basis of an
interest rate of 5% per half-year, find the present value of the annuity.
3. ((From the 2010 exam) An annuity pays out on 1 January in every year,
from 1 January 2011 up to (and including) 1 January 2030. The annuity
pays £1000 in odd years (2011, 2013, 2015, etc.) and £2000 in even years
(2012, 2014, 2016, etc.). Compute the present value of this annuity on 1
January 2011 on the basis on an interest rate of 6% p.a.
4. (From the sample exam) An individual wishes to receive an annuity which
is payable monthly in arrears for 15 years. The annuity is to commence
in exactly 10 years at an initial rate of £12,000 per annum. The pay-
ments increase at each anniversary by 3% per annum (so the first twelve
payments are £1000, the next twelve payments are £1030, and so on).
Compute the amount needed to purchase this annuity now assuming an
interest rate of 6% per annum effective.
5. (From the CT1 exam, Sept ’09) A member of a pensions savings scheme
invests £1,200 per annum in monthly instalments, in advance, for 20 years
from his 25th birthday. From the age of 45, the member increases his in-
vestment to £2,400 per annum. At each birthday thereafter the annual
rate of investment is further increased by £100 per annum. The invest-
ments continue to be made monthly in advance for 20 years until the
individuals 65th birthday.

MATH1510 31
 (a) Calculate the accumulation of the investment at the age of 65 using
a rate of interest of 6% per annum effective.
(b) At the age of 65, the scheme member uses his accumulated investment
to purchase an annuity with a term of 20 years to be paid half-yearly
in arrear. At this time the interest rate is 5% per annum convertible
half-yearly. Calculate the annual rate of payment of the annuity.

2.6 Loans
Example 2.1.4 considered the repayment of a loan by a level annuity. The
repayment of loans is an important application of annuities, which is studied
further in this section.

Example 2.6.1 (Continuation of Example 2.1.4). We computed that a loan

of e2500 at 6 12 % interest can be repaid by ten installments of e347.76, each
being paid at the end of the year. What is the remaining balance of the loan
after six years?
Answer. There are two methods to handle questions like this. The first method
considers the payments in the first six years. This is called the retrospective
method, because it looks back to payments already made. The second method
considers the payments in the last four years. This is called the prospective
method, because it looks forward to payments that have not been made yet.
Obviously, both methods should give the same answer, and you should pick the
method that seems more convenient.
The retrospective method uses that the remaining balance is the value of
the original loan after six years minus the accumulated value of the payments
that have already been made. The borrower has made six payments of e347.76
each at the end of the year. The accumulated value of these payments is

347.76 · s6 = 347.76 · 7.063728 = 2456.48.

The value of the loan after six years is

2500 · (1 + i)6 = 2500 · 1.459142 = 3647.86,

so the remaining balance of the loan is 3647.86 − 2456.48 = 1191.38 euros.

The prospective method uses that the remaining balance equals the present
value of the remaining payments. The borrower still has to make four payments
of e347.76. We need the present value of these payments six years after the start
of the loan. This is one year before the first of the four remaining payments is
due, so the present value of the four remaining payments is

347.76 · a4 = 347.76 · 3.425799 = 1191.36

euros. Thus, the remaining balance of the loan after six years is e1191.36.
The results found by the retrospective and prospective methods differ by
two cents. The difference is caused because at the end of Example 2.1.4, the
value of 347.7617 . . . was rounded to 347.76. The prospective and retrospective
method would have given the same result if we had used the exact value.

32 MATH1510
 Interest Principal Outstanding
Year Payment paid repaid balance
0 — — — 2500.00
1 347.76 162.50 185.26 2314.74
2 347.76 150.46 197.30 2117.44
3 347.76 137.63 210.13 1907.31
4 347.76 123.98 223.78 1683.53
5 347.76 109.43 238.33 1445.20
6 347.76 93.94 253.82 1191.38
7 347.76 77.44 270.32 921.06
8 347.76 59.87 287.89 633.17
9 347.76 41.16 306.60 326.57
10 347.76 21.23 326.53 0.04

Table 2.1: Loan schedule for a loan of e2500 which is repaid by 10 annual
payments of e347.76.

The outstanding balance at the end of every year can be computed with either
the retrospective method or the prospective method. The results are summa-
rized in Table 2.1. This table is read as follows. At the end of the first year, the
borrower pays e347.76. Part of this payment is interest on the loan. The interest
part is 0.065 · 2500 = 162.50 euros. The remainder, 347.76 − 162.50 = 185.26 eu-
ros, is used to repay the loan, so the remaining balance is 2500−185.26 = 2314.74
euros. In the second year, the payment of e347.76 consist of e150.46 interest
on the outstanding balance of e2314.74 and e197.30 repayment of the loan,
and so on.
According to the table, the loan is not fully repaid after 10 years, but there
is an outstanding balance of four cents. The reason for this is that the table
assumes that the annual payment is 347.76 euros, instead of the exact value of
347.7617 . . . euros that was computed in Example 2.1.4. Had we used the exact
value, then the loan would be exactly repaid after ten years. In practice, the
final payment is often adjusted so that the loan is fully repaid. In our example,
that would mean that the final payment is e347.80 instead of e347.76.
A table such as Table 2.1, is known as a loan schedule or amortization
schedule. It shows the interest component of every payment, which is useful
if the interest component is taxed differently from the repayment component.
It also shows the outstanding balance after every payment. The outstanding
balance is used if the terms of the loan changes, as shown in the forthcoming
Example 2.6.2.
Loan schedules can be computed quite easily. Consider a loan over n years
with an annual payment of P , so amount borrowed is P an . At the end of
year k, there are n − k further payments to be done, so the outstanding balance
is P an−k , by the prospective method. Thus, the next payment (at the end of
year k + 1) has an interest component of iP an−k = (1 − v n−k )P . The rest of
the payment, namely v n−k P , is used to repay the loan.
Example 2.6.2. A mortgage of £120,000 is repaid over 20 years by equal
monthly payments. How much is every payment on the basis of an effective
interest rate of 5.89% p.a.? Suppose that the rate increases by one percent

MATH1510 33
point after eleven years. Compute the revised monthly payment.
Answer. The rate of i = 0.0589 corresponds to a nominal rate payable monthly
of  
i(12) = 12 (1 + i)1/12 − 1 = 0.05736732.

If every monthly payment is 1/12, then the present value of all the monthly
payments is
(12) 1 − v 20 1 − 1.0589−20
a20 = (12) = = 11.882249.
i 0.05736732
Thus, the monthly repayment required to pay off the mortgage of £120,000 is

120000 1
(12)
· = 841.59 pounds.
a20 12

Now consider the situation after eleven years. There are nine years of payments
remaining. The present value of these payments is
(12)
841.59 · 12 · a9 = 841.49 · 11 · 7.016967 = 70864.91

pounds, so by the prospective method the outstanding balance is £70,864.91.

It may seem surprising that less than half the loan is repaid in the first eleven
years, but at the start of the loan most of the payments are used to pay the
interest. The bulk of the loan is repaid in the second half.
To compute the revised monthly payment after the rate increase, we compute
the revised nominal rate as
 
i(12) = 12 (1.0689)1/12 − 1 = 0.06681541.

There are nine years of monthly payments left, in which £70,864.91 needs to be
repaid, so the revised monthly payment is

70864.91 1 70864.91 1
(12)
· = · = 874.87.
a9 12 6.750054 12

Thus, the rate increase causes the monthly payment to be increased from
£841.59 to £874.87.

Exercises
1. (From the 2010 exam) A four-year loan of £5000 is repaid by equal annual
payments at the end of each year. Compute the annual payment on the
basis of an interest rate of 6% p.a. and draw up a loan schedule, showing
the interest component of every payment and the outstanding balance.

2. (From the CT1 exam, April ’08) A mortgage company offers the following
two deals to customers for twenty-five year mortgages.

(a) A mortgage of £100,000 is offered with level repayments of £7,095.25

made annually in arrear. There are no arrangement or exit fees.

34 MATH1510
 (b) A mortgage of £100,000 is offered whereby a monthly payment in
advance is calculated such that the customer pays an effective rate
of return of 4% per annum ignoring arrangement and exit fees. In
addition the customer also has to pay an arrangement fee of £6,000
at the beginning of the mortgage and an exit fee of £5,000 at the end
of the twenty-five year term of the mortgage.
Compare the annual effective rates of return paid by customers on the two
products.
3. (From the CT1 exam, April ’09) A loan is to be repaid by an annuity
payable annually in arrear. The annuity starts at a rate of £300 per
annum and increases each year by £30 per annum. The annuity is to be
paid for 20 years. Repayments are calculated using a rate of interest of
7% per annum effective.
Calculate:
(a) The amount of the loan.
(b) The capital outstanding immediately after the 5th payment has been
made.
(c) The capital and interest components of the final payment.

2.7 Annuities over non-integer periods

It is fairly easy to compute the number n of payments of an annuity given
its present or accumulated value, as the following example shows. However, the
result is usually not an integer. This section explains how to interpret fractional
periods.
Example 2.7.1. A loan of $10000 is repaid by annual payments of $1000 each
at the end of the year. How long does it take to repay the loan on the basis of
an interest rate of 6% p.a.?
Answer. The annual payments form an annuity immediate. Its present value
is 1000an . This should equal the amount borrowed, so we have to solve an = 10
for n. Using (2.3), we find:
1 − vn
an = 10 =⇒ = 10
i
=⇒ v n = 1 − 10i
log(1 − 10i)
=⇒ n = = 15.725,
log(v)
so the solution is n = 15.725.
How should we to interpret the result n = 15.725? What does it mean to
have an annuity over 15.725 years? One possibility is that the borrower should
make 15 payments of $1000 at t = 1, . . . , 15, and one final payment at time
t = 15.725 (after 15 years and 265 days). The present value of the 15 payments
of $1000 is 1000a15 = 9712.25 dollars, so after these payments $287.75 of the
loan is still outstanding. Thus, the final payment at t = 15.725 should be

MATH1510 35
(1 + i)15.725 · 287.75 = 718.38 dollars. The loan is repaid by 15 payments
of $1000, paid annually in arrears, and a final payment of $718.38, paid after
15 years and 265 days.
This interpretation is possible but not used very often in practice, because
it is more convenient for both parties to have all payments at regular times.
Usually, either the payment at t = 15 is increased so that the entire loan is
repaid at that time, or a payment is added at t = 16 to repay the remainder of
the loan. In the first case, the borrower has to pay (1 + i)15 · 287.75 = 689.61
dollars extra at t = 15, so the loan is repaid by 14 payments of $1000 at
t = 1, . . . , 14 and a final payment of $1689.61. The payment of $1689.61 at the
end is called the balloon payment. In the second case, the borrower has to make
an additional payment of (1 + i)16 · 287.75 = 730.99 dollars at t = 16, so the
loan is repaid by 15 payments of $1000 at t = 1, . . . , 15 and a final payment
of $730.99 at t = 16. The payment of $730.99 at the end is called the drop
payment. In conclusion, we found three possible interpretations of the annuity
over 15.725 years, that resulted in the situation of Example 2.7.1:
• The borrower pays $1000 at t = 1, . . . , 14 and $1689.61 at t = 15.
• The borrower pays $1000 at t = 1, . . . , 15 and $718.38 at t = 15.725.

• The borrower pays $1000 at t = 1, . . . , 15 and $730.99 at t = 16.

In all these three cases, the present value of the payments at t = 0 is $10000.
These notes use the convention that an annuity over 15.725 years is inter-
preted by one of the three sequences of payments listed above, whose present
value is 1000a15.725 . In other words, we define annuities over n years, where n
is not an integer, such that the formulas (2.3) for the present value and (2.2) for
the accumulated value remain valid. This definition is not generally accepted.
Other writers define an annuity immediate of $1000 over 15.725 years as 15 pay-
ments of $1000 at t = 1, . . . , 15 and a final payment of $725 at t = 15.725. This
may seem more normal, but in that interpretation formulas (2.3) and (2.2) are
no longer valid.

Exercises
1. (From the 2010 exam) A loan of $1000 is repaid by payments of $100 at
the end of each quarter, and a smaller final payment made one quarter
after the last regular payment (a drop payment). The interest rate is
10% p.a. as long as the outstanding balance is greater than $500 and
8% p.a. afterwards.
(a) Compute the outstanding balance after one year.
(b) Which payment causes the outstanding balance to drop below $500?
(c) How long does it take to pay off the loan?
(d) Compute the final payment.

36 MATH1510