How to model joint and survivor pensions and annuities

If you're entering a pension or annuity (like a SPIA or DIA) with joint and survivorship benefits, include that income stream in the Other Income section. Then, do the following:

1. Make sure it is marked as jointly owned.
2. Set it to end at the second spouse's death.
3. Answer yes to the question about the income stream changing if one spouse passes away.
4. Enter the amounts after death to reflect any survivorship benefits.

In the example above, a $ 1,000/month pension is set to decrease to $750/month (75% survivorship) upon the death of either spouse. These options allow you to model various combinations, including scenarios where the changes differ depending on who dies, or even where the amount decreases only with one death but not the other.

Where do I see the effects of a joint income stream?

If you are using standard longevity settings and not setting a specified date of death, you won't see any adjustments at death in the Income Sourcing graph or in Life Hub. But fear not, those adjustments do affect the plan. A plan that includes a pension or annuity that goes down on one spouse's death will have a lower spending capacity than the same plan with full 100% survivorship. The effect won't be as large as a single life pension (which has 0% survivorship), but it will still be there. If you'd like to test this, just make two plans, one with a joint pension/annuity with no adjustment on death and one with the adjustment, and note the differences in spending capacity and guardrails.

If you want to explicitly show the change in this income stream in the Income Sourcing graph or in Life Hub, you must set an explicit expected date of death for one of the clients in the plan. You will then see the income stream adjust upon that death. You can do that in the plan's Advanced Settings > Longevity settings area.