WealthQuest Citadel 5 Diamond (NY) review

It depends on whether you're pricing it off the right number. If you're comparing it to competitors using the 4.00%/4.10% headline, it looks better than it is — a first-year-only enhancement isn't a fair basis for a 5-year comparison. Priced off the 3.00%/3.10% renewal base, which is what you'll actually earn in years two through five, it's a mid-pack fixed annuity: fee-free and carrier-solid, but not a rate leader, and slightly behind the flat guarantee on its own sibling product.

Someone might buy this because the year-one number is genuinely eye-catching on a rate sheet, or because they specifically want the New York-approved version issued by American National Life Insurance Company of New York and this is one of the few fixed-rate options in that shelf. It also appeals to someone who values the no-fee structure and the built-in disability/confinement surrender waivers over squeezing out the last basis point of yield. It does not appeal to someone doing careful 5-year rate shopping who reads past the first line of the rate sheet.

This fits a conservative New York saver, likely closer to or in retirement (issue ages run 0-85, so it's technically open to almost anyone, but the free-withdrawal and waiver design reads as retiree-oriented), who wants CD-like principal protection with tax deferral and isn't relying on the first-year rate as the reason to buy. It's a weaker fit for anyone shopping primarily on rate who would be better served comparing the 3.00%/3.10% base directly against other carriers' guaranteed 5-year rates, including American National's own Palladium MYG 5 (NY).

Strip away the marketing and this is a single-strategy fixed annuity: your premium earns a declared interest rate, locked for the first two years, then re-declared annually after that (never below a guaranteed minimum set at issue, disclosed by Wink as somewhere in a 1%-3% range but not specified exactly for this contract). The "4.00%/4.10%" figure you'll see on a rate sheet is not that declared rate — it's the declared rate plus a temporary 1% interest rate enhancement that applies only to the 12 months following receipt of each premium. This is an interest-rate teaser, not a premium bonus: nothing is added to your account value at issue, and nothing gets clawed back later. It's simply a higher crediting rate for one year, followed by a lower one.

Here are the actual numbers from this contract, at the Wink-listed 12/1/2022 rate banding of Low Band (premiums under $100,000) and High Band (premiums of $100,000 or more, which also carry a standing +0.10%/year add-on):

Low Band: Year 1 credited rate 4.00% (base 3.00% + 1.00% first-year enhancement). Years 2 onward: base rate only, 3.00%.

High Band: Year 1 credited rate 4.10% (base 3.10% + 1.00% first-year enhancement). Years 2 onward: base rate only, 3.10%.

The base rate is locked for the first two contract years, then re-declared annually (one-year guarantee at a time) for the remainder of the surrender period, always subject to the guaranteed minimum floor. If the 3.00%/3.10% base held flat for the full five years — which is an illustration, not a guarantee past year two — a $50,000 Low Band premium would grow to roughly $58,526 by the end of year five (about 17% total growth, a blended annual yield near 3.2%). Compare that to American National's own Palladium MYG 5 (NY), which guarantees 3.25% flat for all five years with no re-declaration risk: the same $50,000 grows to roughly $58,684 — a slightly better outcome with none of the year-three-through-five uncertainty. The teaser rate makes Citadel 5 Diamond look like the stronger product on a rate sheet; the math says the flat-guaranteed sibling is the cleaner deal.

The base-contract surrender-charge waivers matter more than they usually would on a product this plain. If the contract owner becomes physically disabled for 12+ months and unable to work, or is confined 60+ consecutive days to a licensed hospital, convalescent care, or hospice facility, the surrender charge is waived on withdrawals — up to a lifetime aggregate cap of $250,000 across all contracts with the carrier, with some age and pre-existing-condition carve-outs. These aren't a separate chronic-illness rider with its own fee; they're built into the base contract at no extra cost, which is a meaningful cushion for anyone worried about needing the money early for a health event, on top of the standard 10% annual free withdrawal.

You're locking up this money for five years in exchange for the declared rate. The surrender schedule below front-loads the penalty: 7% in each of the first three years before stepping down to 6% and 5%, which is steeper in the early years than a lot of 5-year peers that ramp down more evenly. Outside of a hardship event covered by the disability/confinement waivers, you get 10% of the annuity value (as of the start of each contract year) free of surrender charge annually, with a $250 minimum partial withdrawal and systematic withdrawal options down to $50/month by EFT. Required minimum distributions at 70.5+ are handled within that same 10% allowance rather than a separate carve-out. There's no MVA on this contract, so the surrender charge is the only penalty mechanism — no additional interest-rate-driven adjustment on top of it.

There are no front-end sales charges, no annual administrative fee, and no rider fees — this is a straightforward, cost-free fixed annuity by design, which is a real point in its favor. The tradeoff isn't a fee, it's a disclosure structure: the rate you're quoted (4.00%/4.10%) isn't the rate you'll mostly earn (3.00%/3.10%), and the base rate itself is only locked for two years before it starts floating annually, within an undisclosed guaranteed-minimum floor. The other tradeoff is currency — this data is stamped as current to 12/1/2022, roughly 3.6 years old as of this review. Current rates from American National are almost certainly different, in either direction, and should be confirmed directly with the carrier or a licensed agent before relying on any number in this review.

Legal Entity: American National Life Insurance Company of New York

Parent: American National Group

A.M. Best Rating: A