Income Annuities Strong in the Midst of Mayhem

Interest rates have held pretty steady for the past year.  Once we built the calculators for live quotes on the website I knew the biggest challenge would be to keep them updated because competitive options can change fast.  Fortunately we haven’t had to do that until recently but that won’t always be the case.  I’ll tell everyone again that I only use the highest rated companies and you may be able to find a better deal if you go with some company with a substandard financial rating.  I care nearly as much about your money as you so I’m only going to recommend something that lets us all sleep well at night.

This podcast should be seen as good news to everyone interested in the retirement market.  Interest rates are not down and have risen to the point where many companies are confident offering long-term guarantees.  Considering the uncertainty surrounding the economy and geopolitics, this is a rare bit of positivity.  With everything on the table right now, there has never been a better opportunity to secure your future.

Typically the top spots in the income quote list are held by A- or B+ companies so we have to go down a few spots to find a solid company.  The exception to that is Nationwide, who has been the top A+ company on the list while often beating out the lower rated companies as well.  Some of the other companies I like have been down the list a ways and were only relevant in some specific scenarios.  That all changed a few weeks ago when one of my favorite companies to use came out with a new option, seemingly from nowhere.  Let me explain…

First of all, interest rates are a general factor for pricing annuity contracts, but there are other things that affect the deal as well.  Companies have to make a profit and not every company prices income products aggressively.  You may see payouts from a company change at a time when market rates are not really moving.  In those cases the company is most likely putting their focus on a different type of product.  For example, Nationwide had some of the best MYGA rates three years ago and no seriously competitive income products.  Now their MYGAs are relatively low but they are at the top of the income quote market.

A few weeks ago I was running a quote for someone and when the list came out I was shocked.  Mass Mutual Ascend (A++) was at the very top of the list.  For some reason the company had decided to make a play for the income business and they found a way to beat everyone else.  Some of you may remember that this company has one of my favorite indexed annuities for growth and I did a podcast on that sometime in the past year.  What’s interesting is that this new income deal comes as an additional rider to the contract I talked about in the past.  Yes, one of the best indexed annuities for growth now has an option for very competitive income as well.  I have said in the past that income products are not built to grow very well and I guess I was proven wrong this time.  

I was going to do an episode on just that because people really like product recommendations.  Mass Mutual has always had an income product but rarely did it ever hit the top of the list.  Added to the fact that it’s an addition to one of the best growth indexed annuities, this is a high quality option for anyone wanting guaranteed income.  Often you’ll see the top quotes separated by a very small amount so this will be appealing to those who want the highest levels of safety.  To top it off the income option comes on a seven year surrender schedule so it enhances the liquidity option if plans change and the income rider is not used.

This did not last long as being the biggest news in the income space and the rest of it is both good and not so good.  Last week, Midland National and North American (both A+) announced a rate increase that would make their respective products more competitive as well.  For the past year, these companies have been viable for long deferral periods but this gives them an edge in other time periods as well. Unfortunately, some of the lower carriers are equally as bold with the long-term guarantees and have increased payouts as well.  You will still have to make a choice but to me it’s not that difficult.  

These options aren’t the best they’ve ever been but it’s pretty darn close.  Consider the message shared by my client Dave in the past couple of weeks.  Had he waited to buy the annuity it would have cost more but his market portfolio provided the growth to buy the annuity at a higher price.  He would have to spend more money today but the market gave him the money to buy it.  Either way it’s about a wash so no one should lament buying a few years ago and those who waited can still get a good deal.  We have four A+ or better companies on my calculator that will pay extremely competitive guaranteed lifetime income.  Go check it out and run some numbers on it.

This is not complete without mentioning single premium immediate annuities (SPIAs) because those are equally as viable, depending on the situation.  SPIAs are continually marked to market rates so the payouts fluctuate daily and are still very solid.  It is critical to evaluate SPIA payments as well to make sure you don’t leave a big payout on the table.  As a reminder, SPIAs are most competitive for immediate income and tend to not offer as high of payouts for deferrals longer than one year.  It’s not set in stone so you have to work with someone who knows both markets well.  Unfortunately most guys go with one or the other.

I think we are sitting in a place where interest rates will stay up and the market faces some serious challenges.  You may not be missing out on an annuity payout but you might have less money to buy one in the near future.  The Iran conflict had an initial timeline of 48 hours that has already been extended to weeks and then months.  That doesn’t bode well for the price of oil and it doesn’t take a genius to guess what that will do to the stock market.  Add an annuity and lock up some security for the future.  Leave some assets in the market just in case.  Hedge your bets because that is the foundation of a good investment plan.  If you want top rates from quality companies, book a call and I’ll show you every side of the deal.

Have a great weekend…

Bryan

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Last Updated on March 13, 2026 by Bryan Anderson