tontine

 
Pronunciation: /tɒnˈtiːn, ˈtɒn-/

noun

  • an annuity shared by subscribers to a loan or common fund, the shares increasing as subscribers die until the last survivor enjoys the whole income.
  • a scheme for life assurance in which the beneficiaries are those who survive and maintain a policy to the end of a given period.

Origin:

mid 18th century: from French, named after Lorenzo Tonti (1630–95), a Neapolitan banker who started such a scheme to raise government loans in France (circa1653)