Orbiter Income 9-Year review

Yes, for the right buyer in the right state. This is a good annuity for someone who lives in California, wants protected lifetime income, and is comfortable deferring withdrawals for several years before turning income on. It is less appealing for someone who wants short-term access to principal, lives outside California, or is mainly chasing accumulation rather than income guarantees.

The main reason to buy Orbiter Income 9-Year is to build future protected lifetime income while keeping principal protected during the wait. The 10% simple roll-up on the benefit base during the deferral years gives the income side of the contract a clear, predictable growth path that does not depend on how the index performs. For a buyer who knows they want guaranteed income later and has long-term dollars to commit, that structure is the whole point. The deep crediting menu is a secondary draw for anyone who also wants meaningful upside potential on the account value.

I think this annuity is best for a California resident in the pre-retirement or early-retirement window, roughly age 55 to 70, who is using long-term money to create future income and expects to defer withdrawals for several years. It fits someone who values a built-in rider rather than relying on annuitization later, and who is comfortable with a 9-year surrender commitment. It is less attractive for someone who needs frequent access to principal above the free amount, wants the simplest possible annuity, or is shopping primarily for accumulation. Because issue ages run to 85, it can also work for an older buyer focused on legacy-friendly guaranteed income, though the roll-up matters most for those with time to defer.

You are not really buying stock market upside here, even though the crediting menu is broad. You are buying a lifetime income framework wrapped around a principal-protected annuity. The heart of the contract is the Equilibrium Plus Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefit, which is built in rather than optional. Your premium establishes a benefit base, that base grows by 10% simple interest each year you defer for up to ten years, and your age when you turn income on determines how much you can withdraw for life. The index crediting on the account value runs alongside that income engine, but the income guarantee is the reason this product exists.

The Equilibrium Plus GLWB is included automatically with Orbiter Income 9-Year. During the deferral years, the rider applies a 10% simple interest credit to the benefit base each year for the first ten years. Simple interest matters here: the 10% is calculated on the original base rather than compounding on a growing balance, so the benefit base climbs in a straight line rather than accelerating. Once you begin taking withdrawals, or after year ten, the roll-up drops to 1% simple interest annually. The benefit base is the figure your lifetime income is calculated from, not a cash value you can walk away with. GLWB withdrawals taken within the guaranteed amount do not reduce the benefit base proportionally, which protects your future income stream once you activate it. The 1.15% rider fee is charged on that benefit base and deducted from your account value each year.

The most meaningful secondary feature is the crediting menu, which is unusually deep for an income-first FIA. The contract offers annual point-to-point with caps and with participation rates, monthly averaging with a cap, and uncapped strategies tied to the Barclays Global Trailblazer Index using both annual point-to-point and a 3-year term end point. Index choices include the S&P 500, Russell 2000, and the Barclays index, plus a fixed account. The uncapped Barclays strategies are the standout, with participation rates the brochure lists in the 127% to 170% range, meaning they capture more than the raw index move in exchange for the volatility-control drag built into that type of index. That gives the account value more room to grow than many income-focused contracts offer, where crediting is usually an afterthought to the income guarantee. The tradeoff is complexity: a buyer should understand the difference between a cap, a participation rate, and an uncapped volatility-controlled index before allocating, because these are not interchangeable.

This annuity is built for long-term retirement dollars, not short-term cash. You can withdraw up to 10% of contract value each year in years one through nine without a surrender charge, which is more generous than products that make you wait until after the first year. Anything above that 10% during the surrender period is subject to the declining surrender charge shown below, and a market value adjustment may also apply. The MVA, or Market Value Adjustment, means your surrender penalty can move up or down with interest rates at the time you withdraw, which adds uncertainty to any early exit. The brochure indicates required minimum distributions are accommodated, so RMDs attributable to the contract should not be penalized, and surrender charges are waived at the death of the annuitant. Even with the 10% annual access, this is a nine-year commitment and should not be treated like emergency cash.

The main fee is the 1.15% annual charge for the built-in Equilibrium Plus income rider, calculated on the benefit base and deducted from your account value. Because it is charged on the benefit base, which grows with the roll-up, the dollar cost rises over time even as it stays at 1.15% of that base. The brochure lists a maximum rider charge of 2.50%, so the current 1.15% can increase within that ceiling over the life of the contract, which is worth asking about. Notably, there is no mortality and expense charge, no administration charge, and no annual contract fee, so the rider fee is the headline cost rather than one of several layered fees. The real trade is straightforward: you pay 1.15% a year to lock in a 10% simple roll-up and a guaranteed lifetime income floor. Whether that is worth it depends entirely on whether you actually turn income on. If you defer and activate the rider as intended, the fee buys a real guarantee. If you change your mind and surrender, you will have paid for a feature you never used.

Legal Entity: AuguStar Life Insurance Company

Parent: Constellation Insurance, Inc.

A.M. Best Rating: A

AuguStar Life is part of Constellation Insurance and carries an A rating from A.M. Best, which places it in solid financial-strength territory for a carrier backing long-dated income guarantees. For an income product where the guarantee may not pay out for a decade or more, carrier strength is not a footnote, and an A rating is reassuring on that front.