Allianz Lifetime Income+ review

Yes, if it is offered in your plan. This is a good annuity for a DC-plan participant who wants to lock in part of their savings as future guaranteed lifetime income while keeping the rest in market-linked funds. It is not relevant for someone whose plan does not offer it, and it is not the right tool for someone who wants brokerage-style flexibility — this is built around a defined formula, not active management.

The main reason to use Lifetime Income+ is to convert part of a workplace retirement balance into a guaranteed source of income that supplements Social Security and continues for life. The secondary reason is to keep growing that future income — both through guaranteed credits and through indexed growth multiplied by the accelerator — while still in the savings phase, without having to time a rollover into a retail annuity later.

I think this annuity is best for a participant in their 50s who already has access to it inside a DC plan, wants protected lifetime income as part of retirement, and would otherwise be choosing among target-date funds and stable-value options. It is less attractive for participants under 50 who would not benefit from the Income Builder credit, or for anyone close to retirement who could just buy a retail income annuity directly without the in-plan layer.

You are buying a guaranteed retirement-income engine wrapped in a fixed index annuity. The contract has two values that matter: the **accumulation value** (your real account balance) and the **Lifetime Income Value** (the formula-driven figure used to calculate your future income). They are not the same thing. The Lifetime Income Value is what determines your income; the accumulation value is what you can take as a lump sum.

The Lifetime Income Benefit is automatically included. Two engines feed the Lifetime Income Value before income starts. **Income Builder** credits 2% to the Lifetime Income Value each contract anniversary, starting at age 50 and continuing until you elect income — regardless of how the indexes performed. **Income Accelerator** credits an additional 150% of any earned interest on top of the indexed credit. So if your indexed allocations earn 4%, the Lifetime Income Value gets that 4% plus a 6% Income Accelerator credit, plus the 2% Income Builder, in that year.

When you elect income (at age 60 or later), the Lifetime Income Value is multiplied by your Personal Lifetime Withdrawal Percentage to produce your initial annual maximum. The percentage is based on age at election and the withdrawal-percentage table in effect when each contribution was made. After income begins, your annual maximum can keep increasing — every time your allocations earn interest, the 150% accelerator continues to apply, locking in higher income for life.

The most meaningful secondary feature is **continued income growth in retirement**. Many income-rider designs freeze the income base once income starts. Here, the Income Accelerator continues to apply during the income phase, so positive index years lift the lifetime annual maximum permanently. That is unusual and genuinely valuable for buyers worried about purchasing-power erosion later in retirement.

There is no traditional surrender-charge schedule here — this is an in-plan annuity, so liquidity follows plan rules, not contract surrender rules. You can take partial or full withdrawals from the accumulation value at any time, but a market-value adjustment may apply on premium that has been in the contract less than 10 years if you take a full withdrawal, begin annuity payments before the 5th contract anniversary, or take a partial withdrawal that is not a lifetime, cumulative, or required-minimum-distribution withdrawal. RMDs do not trigger an MVA. The Lifetime Income Value cannot be taken as a lump sum — only as income.

The annual product fee is **0.50%**, deducted from both the accumulation value and the guaranteed minimum value at each contract anniversary in most states. That is a relatively low rider/product cost compared with retail income FIA designs, which often pair a 1.0%-1.25% rider fee with a long surrender schedule. The structural tradeoff is rigidity — Lifetime Income+ is built around a defined formula, so you give up the ability to customize allocations or features the way you might in a retail product.

| Feature | Details |

| --- | --- |

| Product type | Fixed index annuity (in-plan) |

| Product focus | In-plan lifetime income |

| Surrender period | None (plan-rule liquidity) |

| Issue ages | Up to 80 |

| Income election | Age 60 or older |

| Product fee | 0.50% annual |

| Income Builder | 2% annual credit to Lifetime Income Value, age 50 through income election |

| Income Accelerator | 150% of earned indexed or fixed interest, applied both before and after income begins |

| Personal Lifetime Withdrawal Percentage | Established at issue, based on age at income election and contribution dates |

| Free withdrawals | Plan rules govern; partial or full withdrawal of accumulation value allowed |

| MVA | Applies to premium less than 10 years old on full withdrawals, certain partial withdrawals, or annuity payments before year 5 |

| Death benefit | Greater of accumulation value, guaranteed minimum value, cash value, or cumulative withdrawal amount; spousal continuation available |

| Annuitization | Available after first contract year; based on greater of accumulation value or cash value |

| Distribution channel | Defined contribution employer-sponsored plans only |

Lifetime Income+ is issued by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, part of Allianz SE. Allianz Life is one of the largest fixed index annuity carriers in the U.S. and has been an early entrant in the in-plan annuity space, so the product reflects deliberate design rather than a repackaged retail contract.