MaxRate 7 (NY) review

It depends on whether you can commit to the full 7 years. If you are a New York resident with money you are confident you will not need to touch for 7 years, this is a reasonable choice: A+ carrier, guaranteed rate, no MVA, and a $5,000 minimum that keeps it accessible. If there is any meaningful chance you will need access to more than the interest-equivalent free withdrawal amount before year seven, the flat 10% charge makes early exit expensive. I think this product earns its place as a Solid Option, but it is not in the top tier of 7-year MYGAs largely because the surrender structure gives buyers no relief as the contract matures.

The main reason to use MaxRate 7 (NY) is predictability. You know the rate, you know it is locked for 7 years, and you know the carrier backing it carries an A+ financial strength rating. For a New York resident building a conservative fixed-income allocation with tax deferral, this product fits cleanly. A secondary reason is the absence of MVA risk: some MYGAs apply a market value adjustment when interest rates have risen, meaning early exit costs more than just the surrender charge. MaxRate 7 (NY) does not have that feature, which simplifies the early-exit math even if the flat charge is still substantial.

I think MaxRate 7 (NY) is best for a New York resident who is pre-retirement or in early retirement, wants a CD-like structure with better tax treatment, and is placing money they genuinely do not need liquid for 7 years — a rollover from a maturing fixed account, a portion of an IRA rebalance, or conservatively oriented savings. It is less appealing for someone who is uncertain about their liquidity needs, has a shorter time horizon, or wants to compare options across multiple states (this product is only available in New York). Qualified money works naturally here because RMDs are always covered under the free withdrawal provision.

You are buying certainty. Not market exposure, not index-linked upside potential, not an income guarantee — just a locked interest rate for 7 years, backed by an insurance company's general account. The rate is fixed at issue for the primary Multi-Year Fixed Strategy, and it does not change. At $100,000 or more, the rate tiers up slightly, which is standard rate banding for this product type. The $5,000 minimum is notably low for a MYGA, which makes this accessible to buyers who are building fixed allocations incrementally rather than moving a large lump sum. Tax deferral during accumulation is the one structural advantage annuities offer over bank CDs for this use case.

The Multi-Year Fixed Strategy is the primary allocation, and the rate it credits is guaranteed for the full 7-year contract term. You set it at issue, and it does not change regardless of what happens to prevailing interest rates during the surrender period. That is the defining characteristic of a MYGA: you accept a commitment to hold the contract in exchange for a rate the insurer will not lower. The rate bands at $100,000, with a higher guaranteed rate for contracts funded at or above that threshold.

Additional premiums that arrive after issue are credited to a separate 1-Year Fixed Strategy, where the rate is set at the time the additional premium is applied and renews annually thereafter at a rate no lower than the contract's Minimum Guaranteed Interest Rate. That structure keeps the main locked-rate commitment clean while still accepting additional funds.

The most meaningful secondary features here are the Confinement Waiver and the Terminal Illness Waiver. After the first contract year, if you are confined to a Qualified Care Facility for 60 or more consecutive days, you can withdraw 100% of the accumulated value without surrender charges. If you are diagnosed with a terminal illness expected to result in death within one year, the same full-value withdrawal is available after the first contract anniversary. These are not riders you pay extra for — they are built into the contract at no additional charge.

For a 7-year commitment, those waivers are more than a footnote. Health circumstances change, and knowing there is a genuine exit without surrender penalty in serious illness or long-term care scenarios makes the 7-year commitment materially less binding than the flat surrender schedule alone would suggest.

The free withdrawal provision in year one and beyond equals the Multi-Year Fixed Strategy rate multiplied by the accumulated value as of the most recent contract anniversary. In practical terms, that means you can take out roughly the interest earned each year without triggering a surrender charge — it is an interest-equivalent withdrawal, not a fixed 10% of contract value. RMDs are also covered: required minimum distributions attributable to this contract are included in the free withdrawal amount, even if they exceed it, so qualified money should not run into surrender charge issues from normal RMD obligations.

What is notable is that the surrender charge itself does not step down. The 10% charge applies in year one and is still 10% in year seven. Most competing MYGAs in this duration band use a schedule that declines toward 0% by the final year or two. That is a real structural limitation. There is no MVA on top of the surrender charge, which at least keeps the exit cost predictable — you always know a withdrawal above the free amount costs you a flat 10%, not 10% plus a rate-driven adjustment.

There is no base contract fee and no income rider fee — this product does not offer an income rider. The cost structure is entirely implicit: the spread between what Athene earns on general account assets and what it credits to you is where the carrier's margin lives. That is standard for MYGAs and not a knock on the product.

The tradeoffs are structural. The flat 10% surrender schedule for all 7 years is the primary one. The NY-only availability means you cannot compare MaxRate 7 terms side by side with the national version of the same product. And the 1-Year Fixed Strategy for additional premiums introduces a renewal-rate variable that the primary strategy does not have, so buyers adding money after issue are taking on a modest interest rate risk that the original funded amount avoids.

Legal Entity: Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company of New York

Parent: Athene Holding Ltd.

A.M. Best Rating: A+

Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company of New York is the dedicated New York entity under Athene Holding Ltd., which is one of the larger fixed annuity platforms in the United States. The A+ A.M. Best rating reflects strong balance sheet quality. For a MYGA buyer, carrier financial strength matters because you are relying on the insurer's general account for the full term — a strong rating is the right starting point, not a guarantee, but it is meaningful.