Series S L-Share (Raymond James) review

It depends entirely on whether the four-year surrender period is something you actually need. This is a good fit for an investor who wants tax-deferred market growth inside an annuity wrapper but is not willing to commit for seven years, and who has run the math and accepts the higher annual cost during the surrender window. It is a poor fit for a long-term holder who would never touch the money before year seven anyway, because that buyer is paying extra for liquidity they will never use. The standard B-share at 1.15% would serve a true long-term holder better.

The main reason to choose the L-share specifically is the shorter four-year withdrawal-charge schedule, which gives you a clean exit roughly three years earlier than the B-share. Beyond the share class, the reasons to buy any version of Series S come down to tax deferral on subaccount gains, the option to add a FlexChoice Access living benefit for guaranteed lifetime income, and an optional enhanced death benefit. If you want those features but also want to keep your timeline flexible, the L-share is the version that lets you do both. If you do not care about the shorter lockup, there is no reason to pay the higher fee for it.

I think the L-share is best for an investor, roughly age 55 to 70, working through a Raymond James advisor, who wants market-based accumulation inside an annuity but expects to want access to the full balance somewhere around year four or five rather than holding for the long haul. Because the tax deferral is redundant inside an IRA, it generally makes the most sense as a non-qualified, after-tax holding. It is not for a conservative buyer who wants principal protection, for someone who could accomplish the same goal at lower cost in a brokerage account or a fixed indexed annuity, or for a genuine long-term holder who would be better served by the cheaper B-share.

Strip away the brochure language and this is a brokerage account inside an insurance shell, with a particular pricing structure attached to the share class. Your premium buys units in subaccounts, which behave like mutual funds, and your account value moves directly with those investments. There is no cap, no participation rate, and no floor protecting your principal the way a fixed indexed annuity would. What the share class actually sells you is a timing trade. An L-share compresses the surrender penalty into a shorter window so you can leave sooner, and the insurer recovers the commission it pays the advisor through a higher annual mortality and expense charge while you are in that window. You are buying market exposure plus an early-exit option, and you are paying for the early-exit option with a higher recurring fee.

The core of the contract is the subaccount lineup: 62 variable subaccounts that you allocate your premium across and can move money between. Net subaccount expenses run from roughly 0.52% to as high as 9.00% per year depending on which funds you pick, and those fund fees come on top of the base contract charge. The L-share base charge is 1.85% a year during contract years one through four, which includes a 0.25% administration charge and the standard Principal Protection death benefit, and it drops to 1.15% in year five and beyond once the surrender period ends. Brighthouse also offers dollar-cost-averaging programs, with three-month, six-month, and 12-month options crediting 3.00%, that drip a lump sum into the subaccounts over time. The whole structure rises and falls with your investments, so in a down market your account value drops just as it would in a brokerage account, while the base fee keeps coming out.

The most meaningful optional feature is the FlexChoice Access VI living benefit, which is what gives this product a real purpose for an income buyer. It builds a separate Benefit Base that grows at a 5% compound roll-up for the first 10 contract years, and that Benefit Base, not your market account value, is what your guaranteed lifetime withdrawals are calculated from. In plain English, even if your subaccounts stumble, the income guarantee keeps growing for a decade and then supports a withdrawal you cannot outlive. The catch is the cost: the rider runs 1.35% of the Benefit Base per year and can rise to 2.00%. There is also a simpler Guaranteed Withdrawal Benefit at 0.90% of the Benefit Base with no roll-up. Either rider only pays off if you actually turn the income on; if you never activate it, you have paid for a guarantee you never used. One structural note worth flagging: if you elect either income rider, you cannot add purchase payments after the first 120 days.

This contract is more liquid than a typical fixed annuity on the earnings side and, with the L-share, less restrictive on the timeline than the B-share. You can withdraw 100% of your earnings at any time without a withdrawal charge, and after the first year you can take up to 10% of purchase payments annually free of charge, though you must always leave at least $2,000 in the account. Systematic withdrawals are available starting in year two, in monthly or quarterly payments of at least $100. Anything beyond the free amount during the four-year window triggers a declining withdrawal charge of 7%, 6%, 6%, 5%, then 0% in year five. There is no market value adjustment, which is a plus. Required minimum distributions are generally accommodated. A Nursing Home Waiver and Terminal Illness Waiver are available after the first year for owners age 80 or younger at issue, letting you access funds without the charge if you hit a qualifying health event, though these are withdrawal-charge waivers rather than chronic-illness riders and are not offered in every state.

The fee conversation is where the L-share earns its scrutiny, because the share class exists to charge more. The base wrapper costs 1.85% a year during contract years one through four, then drops to 1.15% from year five on. That higher early charge is the price of the shorter surrender period, an extra 0.70% a year versus the B-share's flat 1.15% for exactly the years you are most likely to hold the contract. On top of the base charge, your chosen subaccounts add fund fees ranging from 0.52% up to 9.00%, so even before any rider, a buyer in the surrender window is paying well over 2% a year, and with a pricey fund the number climbs much higher. Add the FlexChoice Access income rider at 1.35% of the Benefit Base, or the optional GLWB Death Benefit at 0.65%, and the all-in cost can clear 3% in a given year. There is also a $30 annual contract fee, waived once your account value reaches $50,000, and a $25 fee on transfers above 12 per year, currently waived. None of these fees are hidden, but they compound against you, and during the four years when the M&E is highest, a flat or down market can erase your returns entirely. The trade is straightforward: you pay more every year to keep a shorter lockup, and that only works if the shorter timeline is worth the premium to you.

Legal Entity: Brighthouse Life Insurance Company

AM Best Rating: A