Allianz 222+ review

Yes, and I think it is the better choice over the standard 222 for most buyers. The Income Flex Benefit adds a layer of financial flexibility that addresses a real concern — what happens when you need extra money after you have started lifetime income. The rest of the feature set is equally strong: no rider fee, 150% interest bonus, built-in AIM benefit, and competitive payout rates.

The primary reason to buy the 222+ is the same as the 222 — to build a protected income stream using the PIV's 150% interest bonus. But the reason to choose the 222+ over the standard version is the Income Flex Benefit. Retirement is unpredictable. Roofs leak, cars break down, and medical bills arrive without warning. Most income annuities lock you into a fixed payment structure with no easy way to access extra cash without penalty. The Income Flex Benefit solves that by letting you redirect an income increase into a one-time additional withdrawal. You are not losing income permanently — you are choosing to skip one year's increase in exchange for immediate liquidity.

I think the 222+ is best for someone who is planning for retirement income 10 or more years out, wants the strongest income-building features available in a no-fee structure, and values having a financial flexibility option once income begins. It is particularly well-suited for someone who is concerned about unexpected expenses in retirement and does not want to be locked into a rigid payment structure. It is less appealing for someone who needs income within the next few years, prioritizes accumulation over income, or is uncomfortable with a 10-year surrender commitment.

You are buying the most complete version of Allianz's income-focused FIA platform. The 222+ combines the PIV's 150% interest bonus for income growth, the AIM benefit for care-related income doubling, and the Income Flex Benefit for financial flexibility — all at no explicit rider fee. The product is designed around a single idea: build the highest possible income base over time, then give you tools to manage that income intelligently once it starts. The account value matters, but the PIV is the engine that drives the product's value.

The PIV works identically to the standard 222. Your premium plus a bonus establishes the starting PIV. Each year, any interest credited to the contract is multiplied by 150% and added to the PIV. After 10 contract years and between ages 60 and 100, you can activate lifetime income based on the PIV multiplied by your age-band payout percentage.

Payout percentages are the same as the 222: ages 60–69 get 5.00% single or 4.50% joint, ages 70–79 get 5.50% or 5.00%, and ages 80+ get 6.00% or 5.50%. Once income begins, the PIV can continue to grow if the contract earns positive index-linked interest, which means your income payments can increase over time. That built-in inflation offset is a meaningful advantage over flat-payment income riders.

The Income Flex Benefit is the feature that elevates the 222+ above the standard 222. Here is how it works: in any year after you have started lifetime income, if your income payment would increase due to positive index performance, you can choose to waive that increase. Instead, you receive an additional withdrawal equal to your account value multiplied by the income increase percentage. Your base income stays the same — you do not lose ground permanently — but you get a one-time cash infusion for that year.

This matters because life does not follow a predictable schedule. Having the ability to pull extra cash in a specific year without surrendering the contract, triggering penalties, or permanently reducing your income is a genuinely useful tool. Most income annuities do not offer anything like this.

The AIM benefit adds another layer. If you cannot perform two or more activities of daily living or are confined to a qualifying facility for 90 or more days, the AIM doubles your lifetime income payment. Combined with the Income Flex Benefit, the 222+ gives you more ways to respond to changing circumstances than almost any other income FIA on the market.

Free withdrawals follow the same structure as the 222: up to 10% of paid premium or beginning-of-year account value, whichever is greater, with unused amounts carrying over to the next year up to a maximum of 20%. That carryover provision is more generous than most competitors.

The surrender schedule is identical to the 222: **9.30% / 9.30% / 8.30% / 7.30% / 6.25% / 5.25% / 4.20% / 3.15% / 2.10% / 1.05%**. A market value adjustment applies during the surrender period. RMDs qualify as free partial withdrawals.

The schedule is moderate for a 10-year product. The first-year charge of 9.30% is below the 12% seen on some competing products, and the steady decline is predictable. But this is still a 10-year commitment, and the MVA adds an additional variable. Do not fund this with money you might need in the near term.

There is no explicit fee for the PIV rider, the AIM benefit, or the Income Flex Benefit. The allocation charge is currently 0% but has a contractual maximum of 2.5%, applying to multi-year point-to-point 5-year strategies. If Allianz raises this charge, it would reduce effective crediting on those strategies.

The structural tradeoffs mirror the 222. The PIV is not available as a lump sum. Income requires 10 contract years plus age 60. The MVA can work against you during rising rate environments. And the Income Flex Benefit, while useful, only works in years when there is an income increase to waive — if the index strategies produce no positive return in a given year, there is no increase to redirect. These are reasonable tradeoffs for the feature set, but they are worth understanding clearly.

The Allianz 222+ is issued by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Allianz Life carries an A.M. Best rating of A+ (Superior), an S&P rating of AA, and a Moody's rating of Aa3, with a Comdex score of 96. Founded in 1896, Allianz Life is a subsidiary of Allianz SE, one of the largest financial services companies in the world. The company has issued approximately 3.9 million contracts and is one of the leading carriers in the income-focused fixed indexed annuity market.