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The Tontine Unveiled

A comprehensive exploration of longevity-linked investment schemes, from their 17th-century origins to their modern resurgence and diverse applications.

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What is a Tontine?

A Shared Longevity Investment

A tontine represents a unique investment framework intrinsically linked to the lifespan of an individual. It functions by providing an income stream that persists for the duration of that person's life. These schemes emerged as a mechanism for governments to secure capital in the 17th century, subsequently gaining considerable traction throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.[1]

Annuity Meets Mortality Lottery

Tontines ingeniously mitigate the risk associated with extended lifespans by integrating elements of a group annuity with a form of mortality lottery. Participants contribute a sum into a collective trust, from which they then receive periodic payouts. Crucially, as members of the tontine group decease, their entitlement to payouts is reallocated among the remaining participants, leading to an incremental increase in the value of each continuing payout. Typically, the trust is dissolved upon the demise of the final surviving member.[1]

Enduring Relevance

Despite their historical roots, tontines maintain a presence, particularly in France, where they remain a common financial instrument.[2] European insurers are authorized to issue them under the Directive 2002/83/EC of the European Parliament.[3] Furthermore, the Pan-European Pension Regulation, enacted by the European Commission in 2019, explicitly sanctions next-generation pension products that adhere to the "tontine principle" for offering across the 27 EU member states.[4]

Historical Context

The Neapolitan Genesis

The investment scheme bears the name of Lorenzo de Tonti, a Neapolitan banker often credited with its invention in France in 1653. However, it is more probable that Tonti refined existing Italian investment models. An earlier proposal, put forth by Nicolas Bourey to the Senate of Lisbon in 1641, also serves as a precursor.[6][7] Tonti's initial proposal to the French royal government was ultimately rejected by the Parlement de Paris.[8]

Early Implementations

The first documented "true" tontine was established in Kampen, Netherlands, in October 1670, swiftly followed by similar initiatives in three other Dutch cities.[9] France eventually launched its own state tontine in 1689, though it was not explicitly named after Tonti due to his prior disgrace.[8] The English government followed suit with a tontine in 1693.[10]

Decline as State Instrument

By the close of the 18th century, governments largely ceased employing tontines as a primary revenue-generating tool. This shift was primarily due to organizers consistently underestimating the longevity of participants. Investors learned to strategically "game the system" by purchasing shares for young children, particularly girls around age five, who possessed a longer life expectancy and reduced infant mortality risk. This practice led to substantial returns for shareholders but significant financial losses for the organizing bodies.[17] Consequently, tontine schemes were gradually supplanted by alternative investment vehicles by the mid-19th century.[5]

Core Mechanics

Investment Flow

At its core, a tontine operates on a simple yet powerful principle: each investor contributes a sum of capital into a collective fund. In return, each investor receives an annual interest payment derived from the invested capital. The distinctive feature is that as each investor passes away, their share of the interest is reallocated among the remaining living investors. This process continues until the last investor dies, at which point the trust is typically dissolved. It is crucial to note that subscribers receive only the interest; the initial capital itself is generally not repaid.[12]

Defined Roles

A tontine transaction typically involves four distinct, though sometimes overlapping, roles:[12]

  • Organizer: The governmental or corporate entity responsible for establishing the scheme, collecting contributions, and managing the capital.
  • Subscriber: The individual or entity providing the initial capital investment.
  • Shareholder: The recipient of the annual interest payments.
  • Nominee: The individual whose life the contract is contingent upon.

Historically, in many 18th and 19th-century schemes, the subscriber, shareholder, and nominee were often the same person. However, it was also common for an initial subscriber-shareholder to invest on behalf of another party, frequently their own children, who would then inherit that share upon the subscriber's death.[12]

Age-Based Classes

To account for varying life expectancies, particularly among younger nominees, 17th and 18th-century tontines were commonly structured into several "classes" based on age. These classes typically spanned bands of 5, 7, or 10 years. Each class effectively functioned as an independent tontine, with the shares of deceased members being reallocated exclusively among the surviving nominees within that specific age group.[12]

Evolution & Impact

Funding State Endeavors

Tontines were initially instrumental in state finance. Louis XIV notably utilized tontines in 1689 to finance military campaigns when other fundraising avenues were unavailable. This particular scheme was managed with integrity, culminating in the last survivor, Charlotte Barbier, a widow who died at 96 in 1726, receiving a substantial final payment of 73,000 livres.[14][15] Similarly, the English government issued its first tontines in 1693 to fund its involvement in the Nine Years' War against France.[10]

US Tontine Pensions & Abuses

In the United States, tontines became intertwined with life insurance in 1868, championed by Henry Baldwin Hyde of the Equitable Life Assurance Society. This innovation aimed to boost life insurance sales and address competitive pressures. Over four decades, the Equitable and its competitors sold approximately 9 million policies, representing two-thirds of the nation's active insurance contracts. During the Panic of 1873, tontine-offering companies demonstrated greater resilience, with many surviving the financial downturn.[24]

However, these contracts often included stringent obligations for continuous monthly payments, leading to significant financial losses for policyholders who missed even a single payment. The substantial profits generated by the tontines' deferred payout structures proved a temptation for issuers, particularly James Hyde, leading to funds being diverted into the pockets of directors, agents, judges, and legislators. This corruption culminated in the 1905 Armstrong Investigation, which led to the prohibition of tontines containing "toxic clauses" detrimental to consumers.[25][26] Critics, such as an actuary from the Australian Mutual Provident Society, even labeled tontine insurance an "immoral contract" that "put a premium on murder."[28]

Notable Projects

Public & Private Funding

Tontines frequently served as a funding mechanism for both private and public infrastructure and development projects. Many of these ventures even incorporated "tontine" into their official names, a testament to their funding model.[18]

  • Assembly Rooms, Bath (1769โ€“1771): A prominent social venue in Bath, England.
  • Richmond Bridge, London (completed 1777): Financed by a tontine authorized by the Richmond Bridge Act 1773. Toll income was distributed among investors, with the last survivor receiving the entire revenue until their death, after which the bridge became toll-free.[19]
  • Tontine Hotel, Ironbridge (1780โ€“1784): Built by the proprietors of the iconic Iron Bridge to accommodate tourists.
  • Tontine Hotel and Assembly Rooms, Glasgow: Funded by two tontines in 1781 and 1796.
  • Tontine Coffee House, New York City (1792): The inaugural home of the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street.
  • First Freemasons' Hall, London: Raised ยฃ5,000 through a tontine, though it incurred ยฃ21,750 in interest over its 87-year lifespan.[20]
  • Tontine Hotel, Greenock, Scotland (1803).[21]
  • Cleveland Tontine Hotel, North Yorkshire (1804): Originally a coaching inn, financed via a tontine.[22]
  • Theatre Royal, Bath (1805): Funded by a tontine, with notable subscribers including the Prince Regent and Prince Frederick.[23]

Modern Regulation

European Frameworks

In contemporary Europe, tontines continue to be recognized and regulated. In France and Belgium, "tontine clauses" are frequently incorporated into property ownership deeds as a strategic method to potentially mitigate inheritance tax liabilities.[30] The European Union's First Life Directive explicitly includes tontines as a permissible class of business for insurance providers. Furthermore, the Pan-European Pension (PEPP) legislation, effective March 2022, specifically facilitates the development of new pension products that adhere to the "tontine principle," allowing them to be offered across numerous European countries once approved in a single member state.[4]

US Legal Landscape

In the majority of jurisdictions within the United States, the use of tontines for capital generation or lifetime income provision is generally upheld as legal. However, legislative actions in two specific states have inadvertently fostered a misconception that the sale of tontines is broadly illegal across the U.S.[33] This highlights a nuanced legal environment where historical abuses have shaped perceptions, but the underlying financial mechanism remains viable.

Next-Gen Pension Architectures

The inherent risk-sharing structure of tontines has inspired the design and deployment of several innovative pension architectures aimed at addressing modern longevity challenges. These include:

  • Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) pensions: Soon to be introduced in the UK, these pool contributions and investment risks among members.
  • Pan-European Pensions (PEPP): Available across 27 EU member countries, Switzerland, Canada, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, incorporating tontine principles.
  • Pooled Annuity Funds: Schemes where individuals pool assets to purchase annuities, sharing longevity risk.
  • Group Self-Annuitization Schemes: Arrangements where a group collectively manages their retirement income, effectively self-annuitizing and benefiting from mortality credits.[34]

Global Variations

Beyond Traditional Tontines

In many French-speaking regions, particularly in developing countries, the term "tontine" has evolved to encompass a broader spectrum of semi-formal group savings and microcredit arrangements. A critical distinction in these contemporary applications is that the benefits derived do not hinge on the deaths of other members, diverging from the traditional tontine model.[35]

Rotating Savings & Credit Associations (ROSCAs)

As a form of Rotating Savings and Credit Association (ROSCA), these "tontines" are well-established savings instruments in central Africa. They function as savings clubs where each member makes regular payments into a common fund, and the accumulated "kitty" is then lent to members in rotation. These schemes are typically wound up after each cycle of loans.[35] In West Africa, these group savings initiatives, often predominantly composed of women, exemplify economic, social, and cultural solidarity within communities.[36]

Asian Adaptations

Informal group savings and loan associations are also deeply rooted in many East Asian societies. Under the nomenclature of "tontines," these structures are observed in Cambodia and among emigrant Cambodian communities.[37] In Singapore, the Chit Funds Act of 1971 governs the operation of "chit funds," which are colloquially known as tontines, though they are more accurately classified as a variant of ROSCA.[38] Similarly, in Malaysia, these are primarily known as "kootu funds" and are defined under the Kootu Funds (Prohibition) Act 1971 as schemes where participants contribute periodically to a common fund that is then distributed by various methods like auction or ballot.[39]

Cultural Echoes

Tontines in Fiction

The dramatic potential of tontines, particularly the fictionalized variant where the entire capital devolves to the last survivor, has made them a compelling plot device across various forms of popular culture. This often leads to narratives involving intrigue, murder, and dark humor as characters vie to be the sole beneficiary.

  • La Tontine (1708): A comic play by Alain-Renรฉ Lesage, where a physician endeavors to keep an elderly peasant alive to secure a dowry from a tontine.
  • The Wrong Box (1889): A comic novel by Robert Louis Stevenson and Lloyd Osbourne, adapted into a 1966 film, centering on a tontine among wealthy English children and the ensuing chaos as family members conspire for the final payout.
  • The Secret Tontine (1912): A faux-gothic novel by Robert Murray Gilchrist, featuring potential beneficiaries plotting murder to claim a covert tontine.
  • "The Tontine Curse" (1948): A short story by Lillian de la Torre, where Samuel Johnson investigates mysterious deaths linked to a 1779 tontine.
  • The Tontine (1955): A novel by Thomas B. Costain, illustrating the fictional "Waterloo Tontine" and involving impersonation and murder plots among shareholders.
  • 4.50 from Paddington (1957): Agatha Christie's Miss Marple mystery, inaccurately describing a settlement where the last grandchild inherits all as a tontine.
  • Something Fishy (1957): A P. G. Wodehouse novel featuring a "tontine" where investors' sons benefit from late marriages.
  • The Wild Wild West, "The Night of the Tottering Tontine" (1966โ€“67): A TV episode where agents protect a tontine member whose co-members are being murdered.
  • M*A*S*H, "Old Soldiers" (Season 8): Colonel Potter receives a bottle of brandy, the prize of a WWI tontine among his army buddies, after being the last survivor.
  • The Simpsons, "Raging Abe Simpson and His Grumbling Grandson in 'The Curse of the Flying Hellfish'" (1996): Grampa Simpson and Mr. Burns are the final survivors of a WWII art-looting tontine.
  • Tomcats (2001): A comedy film featuring a tontine where the last investor to marry receives the entire fund.
  • Diagnosis: Murder, "Being of Sound Mind" (2001): A tontine serves as the motive for murder.
  • Archer, "The Double Deuce" (2011): Archer's valet Woodhouse is a survivor of a WWI tontine, inspiring ISIS HQ workers to create a new one for field agents.
  • The Brokenwood Mysteries, "Tontine" (2018): An episode centered around a tontine.

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References

References

  1.  Milevsky 2015, pp. 58รขย€ย“59.
A full list of references for this article are available at the Tontine Wikipedia page

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