Palladium MYG 7 (NY) review

Depends. If a buyer genuinely intends to hold the contract for the full 10 years — either riding out a renewal rate at year 7 or accepting the declining surrender charges in years 8-10 — this is a reasonably built, financially solid product with no MVA to complicate an early exit. If the buyer is thinking of this as a "7-year commitment" because of the product name, it is not a good fit; the real illiquidity window is 10 years, and that distinction should change the decision for anyone who might need the money in years 8, 9, or 10.

A New York resident who wants a guaranteed, tax-deferred fixed rate without any exposure to a Market Value Adjustment would consider this product. The banded rate structure means a $100,000 or $250,000+ deposit earns a meaningfully better rate than a smaller one, which appeals to buyers consolidating retirement savings into one contract. It's also a straightforward option for buyers who specifically want an American National contract but live in NY, where the non-NY Palladium series isn't sold at all — this NY-entity filing is the only way to get an American National MYGA in that state.

Best for conservative, NY-resident savers roughly age 50-80 who have non-qualified or qualified (IRA) money they don't expect to need before the contract's 10th year, and who value a straightforward no-MVA design over rate-shopping the absolute top of the MYGA market. It is not well suited to anyone who might need principal access in years 8 through 10 — after the rate guarantee ends but before the surrender schedule does — since that's exactly the window where this product's structure works against the buyer.

Strip away the "7" in the product name and what you're actually buying is a declared interest rate, locked for 7 years, housed inside a 10-year surrender-charge contract. At the end of year 7, the carrier gives the owner a 30-day penalty-free window to take the money out, roll into a new declared-rate guarantee period, or annuitize. If the owner does nothing — or misses that window — the contract doesn't become liquid. It renews at whatever rate American National of NY declares at that time, while surrender charges of 3%, 2%, and 1% continue running through years 8, 9, and 10. That's the single most important mechanic to understand before buying.

American National of NY declares a fixed rate at issue, banded by deposit size: Low Band (under $100,000), $100,000+, and $250,000+, each earning progressively better guaranteed interest for the full 7-year guarantee period. As of the Wink data snapshot dated 11/1/2022, those bands were 3.95% / 4.05% / 4.20%. That snapshot is roughly 3.7 years old at the time of this review — current rates for this product are almost certainly different, and a shopper should request a current rate sheet before doing any real comparison shopping. The Minimum Guaranteed Surrender Value (MGSV) provides a 1%-3% guaranteed annual floor regardless of the declared rate, which is a standard MYGA backstop.

The most consequential secondary feature is what happens — and what doesn't — at the end of the 7-year guarantee. The 30-day window to surrender, re-enter a new guarantee period, or annuitize is the owner's one chance to exit cleanly without additional surrender exposure. Miss it, and the contract renews into a new rate the carrier sets unilaterally, while three more years of surrender charges (3%, 2%, then 1% in years 8, 9, and 10) keep running from the original 10-year schedule. Compare that to American National's non-NY Palladium MYG 7, which uses a clean 7-year surrender schedule that ends when the rate guarantee ends — a straightforward match between rate lock and liquidity. The NY filing doesn't offer that alignment. On the plus side, this NY filing carries no Market Value Adjustment at all, unlike the non-NY version, which does apply an MVA to excess withdrawals — so the tradeoff cuts both ways.

This is the section where the product's real commitment shows up. The surrender-charge schedule below runs a full 10 years — 8%, 8%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1% — even though the rate guarantee only covers the first 7. Free withdrawals allow 10% of account value per year starting in year 2 (year 1 permits only interest credited, not principal), which gives some flexibility for RMDs or modest income needs throughout the full contract term, guarantee or not. But any withdrawal beyond that 10% during years 8-10 still triggers a surrender charge, even though the declared rate has already reset to a new, carrier-determined figure. Because there's no MVA on this NY filing, at least the surrender charge itself won't be compounded by interest-rate-driven adjustments — a real point in this product's favor relative to its non-NY sibling.

There's no explicit base contract fee, M&E charge, or administration fee disclosed in the source material — the rate quoted is net to the policyholder, which is standard for MYGAs. There's no income rider, so no rider fee applies. Surrender-charge waivers are available for nursing home confinement and disability, which waive charges on withdrawal rather than functioning as a standalone chronic-illness rider. The real "cost" of this product isn't a line-item fee — it's the structural one: three years of surrender exposure after the rate guarantee ends, with the renewal rate entirely at the carrier's discretion.

Legal Entity: American National Life Insurance Company of New York

Parent: American National Group

A.M. Best Rating: A