Why it earned this rating
Our assessment
Advanced Choice 7-Year offers a clean, no-fee MYGA structure with a competitive guaranteed rate, a standard free-withdrawal provision, and an RMD accommodation that most seven-year products now include. It earns a Good Option rating rather than something higher because the first-year surrender charge of 9% is on the steeper end for this duration band, and the MVA adds real rate-sensitivity risk that matters if you ever need to exit early.
The short version
Advanced Choice 7-Year is a straightforward MYGA for someone who wants a guaranteed rate for seven years and has no need to access principal during the surrender period. The rate structure is competitive for this duration — slightly higher for deposits of $100,000 or more — and the product avoids the complexity and fees that make some annuities harder to evaluate. The main caution is the MVA: if you need money before the contract matures and interest rates have risen since you bought, you could face a larger effective penalty than the stated surrender charge implies.
Key facts
The full review
Is Security Benefit Advanced Choice 7-Year a Good Annuity?
Yes, for the right buyer. If you want a principal-protected, guaranteed-rate account that you will not touch for seven years, this product does exactly what it says. If you want income-rider guarantees, index-linked upside, or the ability to exit cheaply in year two or three, this is not the right structure.
Why Someone Would Buy This Annuity
The straightforward reason is rate certainty. A MYGA like this one locks in the credited rate for the entire term, so there is no re-rate exposure in year three or five the way a traditional fixed annuity with a reset period creates. For someone parking IRA dollars or non-qualified savings for seven years, that predictability has real value. The RMD accommodation also matters for IRA owners who would otherwise face surrender charges on required distributions — here, RMDs are explicitly not subject to surrender charges or MVA by company practice.
Who This Annuity Is Best For
I think this product works best for someone in their late fifties or early sixties with retirement assets they want to protect and grow at a known rate without market exposure. A minimum of $10,000 keeps it accessible, and the $100,000-plus band gets a marginally better rate. The issue-age range of 0-90 is unusually broad, which makes it usable even for late-stage wealth transfer scenarios. It is less suited for someone who is uncertain about their seven-year liquidity needs or who wants the option to reposition the money if a better rate emerges in year four.
What You're Really Buying Here
A MYGA is essentially a CD-like contract issued by an insurance company. You deposit a lump sum, the carrier credits a fixed interest rate for the full term, and you receive the accumulated value at maturity — or surrender it subject to the schedule if you exit early. The insurance wrapper provides tax deferral on the accumulation until withdrawal, which is the main structural advantage over a bank CD. There is no market linkage, no discretionary allocation, and no carrier flexibility to change the rate mid-term.
How the Core Feature Works
The credited rate on Advanced Choice 7-Year is fixed at issue and guaranteed for the full seven-year term. Per the brochure, the current rate range is 4.95% to 5.15% depending on deposit size, with the higher rate applying to deposits of $100,000 or more. That rate does not fluctuate with index performance, cap resets, or any other variable — it compounds at the same level through contract year seven. At the end of the guarantee period, Security Benefit provides a 30-day window to withdraw or reallocate without penalty.
Why the Secondary Feature Matters
The nursing home waiver and terminal illness waiver are the secondary features worth noting here. Both are included at no additional charge. If you are confined to a nursing home or diagnosed with a terminal illness during the surrender period, you can access the account value without the standard surrender penalties — an important relief valve for a seven-year commitment. These waivers do not eliminate the need for emergency planning, but they meaningfully reduce the worst-case downside of locking money up for this long.
Liquidity and Surrender Schedule
This is a seven-year commitment. You can withdraw up to 10% of account value each year after the first contract year without penalty, provided the remaining balance stays above $5,000. Amounts above that threshold are subject to the surrender schedule below. A market value adjustment — MVA, which ties your effective exit cost to prevailing interest rates — also applies. If rates have risen since you purchased, the MVA amplifies your surrender cost; if rates have fallen, it can reduce it.
| Contract Year | Surrender Charge |
|---|---|
| 1 | 9% |
| 2 | 8% |
| 3 | 7% |
| 4 | 6% |
| 5 | 5% |
| 6 | 4% |
| 7 | 3% |
The 9% first-year charge is at the high end for a seven-year MYGA. Most products in this duration band open at 7-8%. The MVA on top of that means year-one liquidity is genuinely expensive. RMDs required from the contract are not subject to surrender charges or MVA per company practice, which is a meaningful accommodation for IRA-funded contracts.
Fees and Tradeoffs
There are no stated base contract fees and no rider fees — this is a clean MYGA with no ongoing cost layer. The cost is entirely in what you give up: seven years of liquidity above the 10% free-withdrawal amount, and the MVA risk if you exit early into a rising-rate environment. The MGSV (Minimum Guaranteed Surrender Value) varies at 1-3%, which is the regulatory floor on what you receive even in a worst-case surrender scenario. That number is not fixed, so verify the current contract terms before purchasing.
Product snapshot
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Product Type | Fixed Annuity |
| Surrender Period | 7 years |
| Issue Ages | 0-90 |
| Minimum Premium | $10,000 |
| Crediting Methods | Fixed Rate |
| Free Withdrawal | 10% of Account Value annually after 1st Contract Year, must leave $5,000 minimum |
| MGSV | Varies 1-3% |
| Death Benefit | 100% of Account Value, less any applicable premium tax |
| Income Rider | Not available |
| Premium Bonus | None |
| Availability | Variations approved in CT, IN, MD, OK, PA, TX. Not approved in NY |
Carrier snapshot
Legal Entity: Security Benefit Life Insurance Company
Parent: Eldridge Industries
A.M. Best Rating: A-
Final take
Advanced Choice 7-Year is a competent MYGA for the right buyer. If you have seven-year money, want a guaranteed rate without any index complexity, and are primarily using this for IRA or qualified-plan accumulation, the product does its job cleanly. The RMD accommodation and included waivers address the most common liquidity concerns for retirement-age buyers.
The cautions are real. The first-year surrender charge of 9% combined with the MVA means early exit is meaningfully expensive. This is not a product to use for money you have any genuine chance of needing in the next few years. And because the MGSV varies, it is worth confirming the current guaranteed floor with the carrier before signing the application. For long-horizon buyers with true seven-year money, this is a solid option in its peer group.