Living a long life is its own reward. But when you invest in a tontine, there’s an added benefit: You collect money that would have gone to people who have died.

That is part of the macabre appeal of the tontine, a 350-year-old investment vehicle that fell into disfavor more than a century ago but is now getting fresh consideration as a way to help people receive steady income in retirement.

Tontines became popular in 17th-century Europe, largely to help governments raise money to fight wars. A group of people would invest equal amounts in a fund run by the government, and in turn would draw an annuity — an annual payment — until they died. The annual payments of surviving members increased as others died, and the last one standing wound up with the entire dividend. Upon that last investor’s death, the arrangement terminated.

They were once common in the United States, too, but fell into obscurity after an embezzlement scandal early in the 20th century.