Series VA review

It depends, and for most people the honest answer leans toward no. This is a good fit for someone who has already filled up their other tax-advantaged accounts, is comfortable with market risk, and genuinely wants either the guaranteed income rider or an enhanced death benefit. It is a poor fit for someone who wants principal protection, dislikes paying layered fees, or could accomplish the same accumulation goal in a low-cost brokerage account or a fixed indexed annuity.

The rational reasons come down to three things. First, tax deferral: gains inside the subaccounts grow without annual tax drag, which can matter for a high earner who has run out of IRA and 401(k) room. Second, the optional FlexChoice Access living benefit, which can turn the account into guaranteed lifetime income even if the markets underperform. Third, the death-benefit options, which can lock in market gains for heirs. If none of those three things appeals to you, there is little reason to choose this over a plain investment account.

I think Series VA is best for a pre-retiree or early-retiree, roughly age 50 to 70, who is comfortable with stock-market volatility, has already maxed out other tax-favored accounts, and wants either guaranteed income later or a stronger death benefit for legacy planning. Because the tax deferral is redundant inside an IRA, it tends to make the most sense as a non-qualified (after-tax) holding, though it is sold both ways. It is not for conservative buyers who want their principal protected, for people who need liquidity, or for anyone whose goal is simply growth at the lowest possible cost.

Strip away the brochure language and this is a brokerage account inside an insurance shell. Your premium buys units in subaccounts, which are essentially 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 insurance company actually sells you is the wrapper: tax deferral, the ability to add a guaranteed income rider, and enhanced death-benefit options. Everything else is just market exposure that you are paying an insurer 1.30% a year to hold. Understanding that distinction is the whole game with a variable annuity.

The core of the contract is the subaccount lineup: 62 variable subaccounts plus a fixed account currently crediting 2.45%. You allocate your premium across those choices, and you can move money between them. Net subaccount expenses run from 0.52% to 1.38% per year depending on which funds you pick, and those fund fees come on top of the 1.30% M&E and administration charge. Brighthouse also offers dollar-cost-averaging programs (3-, 6-, and 12-month) that drip money into the subaccounts over time at the 2.45% fixed rate, which can ease a lump-sum buyer into the market. 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.

The optional FlexChoice Access VI living benefit is the feature that gives this product a real reason to exist 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 option at 0.90% of the guaranteed withdrawal amount. Whether either is worth it depends entirely on whether you actually turn the income on; if you never activate it, you have paid for a guarantee you never used.

This contract is more liquid than a typical fixed annuity on the earnings side and less forgiving on the principal side. 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. Anything beyond that during the seven-year window triggers a declining withdrawal charge that starts at 7% and steps down to 0% after year seven. 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 not available in every state. One planning note: if you elect FlexChoice Access or the Guaranteed Withdrawal Benefit rider, additional purchase payments are restricted to the first 120 days.

The fee conversation is where a variable annuity earns its skeptics. The base wrapper costs 1.30% a year (1.05% mortality and expense plus 0.25% administration). On top of that, your chosen subaccounts charge fund fees ranging from 0.52% to 1.38%. So before you add a single rider, a typical buyer is paying somewhere around 1.8% to 2.7% annually. Add the FlexChoice Access income rider at 1.35% of the Benefit Base and the all-in cost can clear 3% in a given year. The death-benefit add-ons stack further: the Annual Step-Up Death Benefit II costs 0.20%, the GLWB Death Benefit runs 0.65%, and the Earnings Preservation Benefit adds 0.25%. There is also a $30 annual contract fee, waived once your account value reaches $50,000. None of these fees are hidden, but they compound against you, and in a flat or down market they can erase your returns entirely. The trade you are making is straightforward: you pay these charges in exchange for tax deferral and optional guarantees, and the math only works if you value those benefits enough to cover the cost.

Legal Entity: Brighthouse Life Insurance Company

AM Best Rating: A