Shield Level II 6-Year (NY) review

Yes, for the right buyer. It is a good fit for someone who wants index-linked growth potential beyond what a fixed indexed annuity offers and is comfortable absorbing a portion of market losses in a bad year. It is a poor fit for someone who wants their principal fully protected, who might need access to the money inside six years, or who is shopping primarily for guaranteed lifetime income — none of which this product is built to deliver.

The main reason to buy Shield Level II is structured growth with a controllable downside. A registered index-linked annuity sits between a fixed indexed annuity, which protects all principal but caps growth tightly, and direct market exposure, which offers full upside and full risk. Shield lets you choose where on that spectrum you want to sit by selecting a Shield Rate. The secondary reason is flexibility: you can blend strategies and indices and reset annually, or choose longer measurement terms.

I think Shield Level II is best for a buyer in their 50s or 60s with a six-year-plus time horizon, some tolerance for market loss, and a desire for more growth than a traditional FIA delivers. Because the death benefit and structure favor non-emergency, long-horizon money, it suits qualified or non-qualified accumulation dollars that the owner does not expect to touch. It is less suitable for conservative buyers who would lose sleep over a down year, or for anyone who needs reliable access to principal before year seven.

You are not buying principal protection, and you are not buying direct stock ownership. You are buying an insurance contract that links your interest to an index over a set term, gives you a buffer against the first slice of losses, and limits your gains in exchange. The Shield Rate is the buffer — pick 10%, and the insurer absorbs the first 10% of any index decline while you take the rest; pick 25%, and you are protected more deeply but typically accept a lower cap on the upside. That tradeoff between protection depth and growth ceiling is the entire product, and understanding it is the difference between a contract that does its job and one that surprises you.

Shield Level II credits interest using one of several strategies measured against four indices: the S&P 500, Russell 2000, MSCI EAFE, and Nasdaq-100. The strategies include a Cap Rate (your gain is capped at a stated maximum), a Step Rate and Step Rate Edge (you receive a fixed credit if the index is flat or up, regardless of how far up), and Performance Triggered strategies. Each strategy is paired with a Shield Rate of 10%, 15%, or 25%, which sets how much downside the insurer absorbs before losses pass to you. Terms of one, two, three, or six years are available, so you can choose annual resets or lock in a longer measurement window. Crediting is point-to-point with 100% participation; the cap on gains varies widely by strategy and Shield Rate — the materials reference a range from 9.0% all the way up to 300.0% across the lineup, with the higher figures applying to multi-year terms. Because those exact caps are set at issue and change over time, ask for the current rate sheet before allocating.

The most meaningful secondary feature is the breadth of choice itself. Rather than a single buffer and a single index, you can spread money across strategies, indices, and protection levels inside one contract. Someone who wants the most upside might pair a 10% Shield with a Cap Rate strategy; someone who wants steadier results might pair a 25% Shield with a Step Rate so they collect a fixed credit whenever the index does not fall. That said, more choice means more responsibility — the Step Rate Edge and Performance Triggered strategies behave differently in flat versus strong markets, and the right mix depends on how you expect markets to move, which nobody knows in advance.

This annuity is built for long-term money, not short-term cash. After the first contract year you can withdraw up to 10% of account value annually without a charge. Withdrawals above that are subject to the six-year surrender schedule below, and a market value adjustment (MVA — an adjustment that moves your surrender value up or down with interest rates) can apply during the term, which means larger early withdrawals can be affected by more than just the stated charge. On the helpful side, automated RMDs are available in any contract year, and Nursing Home and Terminal Illness waivers are available for owners age 80 and under at issue. Even with those provisions, this should not be treated as emergency reserves.

The available materials do not list an explicit annual product fee on the base contract, which is typical for a RILA — the insurer is compensated through the cap and buffer structure rather than a stated charge. The real costs here are structural, not line-item. Your upside is limited by the cap or step rate. Your downside, while buffered, is not eliminated — past the Shield Rate, losses are yours. And the six-year surrender plus MVA means early access can cost you. There is no income rider and no premium bonus, so there are no rider fees to weigh, but there is also no guaranteed lifetime income to fall back on. The trade is clear: you give up full principal protection and some liquidity in exchange for higher growth potential than an FIA.

Legal Entity: Brighthouse Life Insurance Company of NY

Parent: Brighthouse Financial

A.M. Best Rating: A