Cash for Life Odds and Prizes

Cash for Life is true to its name! If you win one of the top two prizes, you'll be paid an annuity for the rest of your life. If you match all the numbers and hit the jackpot, that's $1,000 every single day – making you one of America's top 1% earners overnight!

The runner-up prize for matching the five main balls will land you $1,000 per week for the rest of your life. There are also seven other prizes which you can check out in the table below.

New Jersey is unique among Cash for Life states as it is the only place where you can add Doubler to your play. It costs an extra $1, but you’ll receive twice as much for any non ’for-life’ payout.

Numbers Matched	Odds of Winning	Prize	Doubler Prize
5 + Cash Ball	1 in 21,846,048	$1,000 a day for life	$1,000 a day for life
5	1 in 7,282,016	$1,000 a week for life	$1,000 a week for life
4 + Cash Ball	1 in 79,440	$2,500	$5,000
4	1 in 26,480	$500	$1,000
3 + Cash Ball	1 in 1,471	$100	$200
3	1 in 490	$25	$50
2 + Cash Ball	1 in 83	$10	$20
2	1 in 28	$4	$8
1 + Cash Ball	1 in 13	$2	$4

Overall, the odds of winning any prize are roughly 1 in 8.

How do Cash for Life payments work in practice?

If you hit the jackpot, you won't actually get daily payments of $1,000 – instead, you'll receive annual payments of $365,000 (even on a Leap Year). The same goes for the runner-up prize of $1,000 per week, which becomes an annual $52,000 payment.

These payments really do last for the rest of the winner's life! However, if the winner passes away within 20 years of their win, payments will continue to their estate until the 20th anniversary of the win.

Although Cash for Life is marketed as an annuity game, it is possible to opt for the jackpot prizes as cash lump sums. For the top prize, this is usually around $7,000,000. For the second prize, the cash value is fixed at $1,000,000. In the unlikely event that 15 or more players win the jackpot, the annuity option will be unavailable, and the cash divided evenly among the winners.