Fixed Indexed Annuities
A fixed indexed annuity credits interest based on how a market index moves, with a limit above and a floor below. It is a fixed annuity, not an investment, and the difference is the whole point of this page.
Read this first
This is a fixed annuity. It is not a variable annuity, not a registered index-linked or “buffer” annuity, and not a security. We do not offer securities.
An annuity is a long-term contract with an insurance company. Withdrawals above the contract's free amount during the surrender charge period are reduced by a surrender charge and, where the contract has one, a market value adjustment. Withdrawals of taxable amounts before age 59½ may also carry a 10% federal additional tax.
Guarantees are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. They are not insured by the FDIC or any federal agency.
A fixed indexed annuity is not an investment in the stock market. You do not own the index, you are not invested in it, and you receive no dividends from the companies in it.
Caps, participation rates and spreads are set by the insurance company and can be changed on renewal. Only the contractual minimums are guaranteed.
A 0% floor means a falling index credits zero interest for that period. It does not mean the contract value cannot fall: any rider charge is still deducted.
The problem it solves
People who want more than a fixed rate but cannot tolerate losing principal are stuck between two unsatisfying options. A fixed annuity is safe and modest. Market exposure can fall, sometimes exactly when the money is needed.
A fixed indexed annuity sits between them: when the index rises you are credited some of that movement; when it falls you are credited zero rather than a loss. What you give up for the floor is the amount above the cap, the dividends, and access to the money during the surrender period.
Three things happen, in this order
You choose a contract, a term and a crediting method
The crediting method — annual point to point, monthly sum, and others — determines how the index movement is turned into interest. Two contracts on the same index can behave very differently.
Interest is calculated from the index, not by investing in it
You do not own the index and receive no dividends from the companies in it. Most index crediting is based on price movement only, which is a meaningful difference from a total return you might see quoted elsewhere.
A cap, participation rate or spread limits the credit; a floor limits the loss
The insurer sets those limits and can change them on renewal within the contract's guaranteed minimums. A falling index credits zero — not a loss to principal from index movement.
Who this suits, and who it does not
The second list matters more than the first. An agent who only writes the first one is selling, not advising.
Worth considering if…
- You want more potential than a fixed rate, will not accept losing principal to market movement, and can genuinely leave the money for the surrender term.
- You will ask what the cap, participation rate and spread are today, what the guaranteed minimums are, and what the company has historically done at renewal.
- You are using it as the conservative part of a plan rather than as the plan.
Probably not for you if…
- You want market returns. Buy investments. This credits limited interest by reference to an index, and comparing it to the index's total return will always disappoint because dividends are not included and the cap is.
- You need the money inside the surrender period. These contracts have some of the longest surrender schedules in the family, and that is the trade.
- You will not read the crediting method. The formula, not the index, decides what you are credited, and a contract chosen on the index name alone is a contract chosen on nothing.
Who we are appointed with
We are independent and appointed with the annuity companies below. Which of them we would approach for you depends on the product, your age, your state and what the contract has to do — rates, caps and payout amounts move constantly and differ sharply between companies, which is the practical reason for working with someone who can approach more than one. They are quoted for you directly rather than published here, where they would be stale within days.
- Allianz Life
- American Equity
- American National
- Americo
- Ameritas
- ASPIDA
- Athene
- Atlantic Coast Life
- AuguStar Financial
- Brighthouse Financial
- CL Life and Annuity
- Clear Spring Life and Annuity
- Columbus Life
- Corebridge Financial
- Delaware Life
- ELCO Mutual Life & Annuity
- EquiTrust Life
- F&G Annuities
- Fidelity Security Life
- Global Atlantic (Forethought Life)
- Guaranty Income Life (GILICO)
- Ibexis
- Knighthead Life
- Lafayette Life
- Liberty Bankers Life
- Lincoln Financial Group
- MassMutual Ascend
- Midland National
- Mutual of Omaha (United of Omaha)
- Nassau (Phoenix Life)
- National Integrity Life
- National Life Group (Life Insurance Company of the Southwest)
- National Western Life
- Nationwide
- New York Life
- North American Company for Life and Health
- Oceanview
- Oxford Life
- Pacific Life
- Penn Mutual
- Principal
- Protective Life
- Prudential
- Puritan Life
- Reliance Standard
- Revol One Financial
- Royal Neighbors of America
- S.USA Life / SBLI USA
- Sagicor
- Securian Financial (Minnesota Life)
- Sentinel Security Life
- SILAC
- Symetra
- Talcott Financial Group
- The Standard
- Upstream Life
Being appointed with a company does not mean that company offers every product on this page, and we do not represent every insurer. Which company suits you depends on the product, your age, your state and your health history. We publish no benefit, rate or feature for any company here until we can cite it to that company's own current material.
Servicing only — not available for new business
We can help with an existing contract from these companies — reviewing it, taking income from it, or understanding what you already own. We are not appointed to write new business with them, so if a new contract is what you need, it would be placed with one of the companies above.
- Genworth
- Security Benefit
- Transamerica
- Venerable (formerly Voya annuities)
Questions people actually ask
Am I invested in the stock market?
No. You do not own the index, you are not invested in it, and you receive no dividends from the companies in it. The insurance company credits interest using a formula based on the index's movement, limited by a cap, a participation rate or a spread. This is a fixed annuity — a state-regulated insurance contract, not a security.
Can the company change the cap after I buy?
Yes, on renewal, within the guaranteed minimums written into the contract. The cap or participation rate you are shown at the point of sale is current, not promised for the life of the contract. Ask for the guaranteed minimum cap and participation rate in writing, and ask how the company has treated renewal rates on contracts it issued in the past.
Does the floor mean I cannot lose money?
It means index movement will not produce a negative credit. Your contract value can still fall if you have elected a rider with a charge, because the charge is deducted regardless, and a withdrawal during the surrender period is reduced by the surrender charge and any market value adjustment. Principal is protected from the index, not from every possible reduction.
Is this the same as a buffer or structured annuity?
No, and the distinction is legal, not cosmetic. A registered index-linked annuity — sold as a buffer or structured annuity — is an SEC-registered security sold by prospectus, and it can lose principal to index movement within its buffer or floor design. A fixed indexed annuity is a state-regulated insurance contract. We offer fixed indexed annuities and do not offer securities of any kind.
Ask for a quote on Fixed Indexed Annuities
Tell us how to reach you and which state you are in. A licensed agent calls back, usually the same business day, and will tell you plainly if a fully underwritten policy would serve you better.
The other three
Same family, different jobs. Match the product to how long the need lasts.
Fixed Annuities
A contract that credits a stated interest rate for a stated period. A multi-year guaranteed annuity locks the rate for the whole term; a declared-rate contract resets periodically above a contractual minimum.
Worth a look if you have money you will not touch for a set number of years and want the rate in writing.
Immediate Annuities
You hand over a single premium and income starts almost straight away, for life or for a chosen period. The simplest annuity there is, and the one with the least to go wrong.
Worth a look if you want a guaranteed income floor under your essential expenses for life.
Deferred Income Annuities and QLACs
You buy the income now and it starts on a date you choose years later. Bought inside a qualified account and meeting the Treasury rules, the same contract is a QLAC.
Worth a look if you want to solve the last decade of retirement now, or are considering a QLAC.
Lifetime Income Riders (GLWB)
An optional rider that guarantees a withdrawal amount for life even if the account runs to zero, while you keep ownership of the account. It runs on a second number that is not your money.
Worth a look if you want lifetime income but will not give up access to the principal.
Enhanced Income Riders (Income Doublers)
An optional rider that increases your guaranteed withdrawal, often doubling it, for a limited period if you cannot perform activities of daily living or are confined to a qualifying facility. It is often mistaken for long-term care insurance. It is not.
Worth understanding before anyone sells it to you as care coverage, because it is not.