Not every scratch-off with "Life" in its name actually pays for life
Twenty-one scratch-offs on sale in the US pay their top prize for the rest of the winner's life, as of October 18, 2026. They range from a $1 ticket paying $100 a week for life in Massachusetts to a $50 ticket paying $1 million a year for life in Pennsylvania. The list doesn't include several tickets with "life" in the name, because their prizes stop after a set number of years.
| State | Game | Price | Lifetime prize | Top prizes left |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Connecticut | $20,000 A Year For Life 2nd Ed. | $2 | $20,000 a year for life | 1 of 3 |
| Florida | $500 A Week For Life | $1 | $500 a week for life | 1 of 4 |
| Florida | $1,000 A Week For Life | $2 | $1,000 a week for life | 1 of 4 |
| Florida | $2,500 A Week For Life | $5 | $2,500 a week for life | 1 of 4 |
| Florida | $5,000 A Week For Life | $10 | $5,000 a week for life | 1 of 4 |
| Florida | $10,000 A Week For Life | $20 | $10,000 a week for life | 1 of 4 |
| Georgia | Win $1,000 A Month For Life | $2 | $1,000 a month for life | 66 of 487 |
| Massachusetts | $100 A Week For Life | $1 | $100 a week for life | 1 of 10 |
| Massachusetts | $200 A Week For Life | $2 | $200 a week for life | 2 of 10 |
| Massachusetts | $1,000 A Week For Life | $5 | $1,000 a week for life | 2 of 10 |
| Massachusetts | $2,500 A Week For Life | $10 | $2,500 a week for life | 2 of 8 |
| New Jersey | Win For Life! | $5 | $10,000 a month for life | 3 of 3 |
| New York | Win For Life | $2 | $1,000 a week for life | 4 of 10 |
| New York | Set For Life | $10 | $5,000 a week for life | 2 of 6 |
| New York | $10,000 A Week For Life | $20 | $10,000 a week for life | 2 of 3 |
| Pennsylvania | $500 a Week for Life | $1 | $500 a week for life | 1 of 4 |
| Pennsylvania | $10,000 a Month for Life | $5 | $10,000 a month for life | 1 of 5 |
| Pennsylvania | $20,000 a Month for Life | $10 | $20,000 a month for life | 4 of 6 |
| Pennsylvania | $500,000 a Year for Life | $20 | $500,000 a year for life | 2 of 5 |
| Pennsylvania | $1,000,000 a Year for Life | $50 | $1,000,000 a year for life | 2 of 5 |
| Washington | Lucky for Life 19th Edition | $5 | $1,000 a week for life | 1 of 4 |
Pennsylvania and Florida sell five lifetime games each, one at nearly every price. Florida lists a cash option for each, and the $10,000-a-week game's is $7,752,000. New York's three games come with a guaranteed minimum, so Win For Life pays at least $1 million even if the winner dies early. Georgia's $2 Win $1,000 A Month For Life is different from the rest. It has 487 lifetime prizes instead of a handful, and 66 are left.
Now the tickets that sound like lifetime games but aren't. California sells three Set for Life games that pay for 25 years, from $4,000 a month on the $2 ticket to $200,000 a year on the $20 one. Ohio's four Set For Life tickets pay for 20 years, from $50 a day to $250,000 a year. Virginia's $50 Set for Life pays $200,000 a year for 30 years, or $3,114,000 in cash. Colorado's $50 Set for Life and Massachusetts' $50 Lifetime Millions don't list their payment terms in our data. Read the back of the ticket or the game page before assuming a prize lasts a lifetime.
The best-known lifetime game isn't a scratch-off. Millionaire for Life, a $5 draw game, pays $1 million a year for life, with at least 20 years guaranteed or an $18 million cash option. It replaced Cash4Life on February 22, and we compared it with the old $2 game. Several lifetime scratch-offs above are really long annuities with a cash option, a pattern we looked at across states.
How we did this. The list covers active state lottery scratch-offs in our database on October 18, 2026 whose top prize is described as paid for life. Prize terms, cash options, and guaranteed minimums come from each game's top-prize description in our data, which follows the lottery's game page. Millionaire for Life terms are from its published prize structure.
Frequently Asked Questions
What lottery games pay a prize for life?
As of October 14, 2026, 21 scratch-offs in Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington pay a top prize for life, plus the multistate draw game Millionaire for Life, which pays $1 million a year for life.
Does Set for Life pay for life?
Not always. Set for Life scratch-offs in California pay for 25 years, Ohio's for 20 years, and Virginia's for 30 years, according to their prize terms. New York's Set For Life does pay $5,000 a week for life.
What happens to a lifetime lottery prize if the winner dies early?
It depends on the game. Many lifetime prizes have a guaranteed minimum. New York's Win For Life guarantees at least $1 million, and Millionaire for Life guarantees at least 20 years of payments. Most also offer a cash option.
Phil Nageotte is a writer covering scratch-off odds, expected value, prize data, and more. He joined ScratchCheck in 2026 after years of tracking lottery payouts in spreadsheets of his own.
