Shield Level Pay Plus II review

Yes, for the right buyer. This is a good annuity for someone who wants index-linked growth with a downside buffer and a built-in lifetime income guarantee they plan to use. It is less appealing for someone who wants full principal protection, the simplest possible annuity, or who is buying mainly for accumulation and has no real intention of turning income on — in that last case the 1.50% rider fee is money spent for a guarantee you never use.

The main reason to buy Shield Level Pay Plus II is to create future protected lifetime income while keeping a portion of savings exposed to index-linked growth with a defined loss buffer. The secondary reason is flexibility: the contract offers four indices, several crediting types, and Shield Rates of 10%, 15%, or 25%, so the buyer can dial how much downside cushion they want against how much upside they are willing to cap. For someone in the pre-retirement window who is comfortable with partial market risk but wants a guaranteed paycheck later, that combination is hard to find in a single contract.

I think this annuity is best for someone roughly age 55 to 70 who is planning future retirement income, is comfortable with index-linked exposure cushioned by a buffer, and intends to actually activate the lifetime withdrawal benefit. It suits a buyer who wants more growth potential than a traditional fixed indexed annuity but more downside protection than a straight variable annuity. It fits both qualified and non-qualified money, given the RMD-friendly treatment. It is less attractive for someone who needs full principal protection, wants short-term liquidity, has no plans to take lifetime income, or wants the simplest annuity possible — the moving parts here reward a buyer who understands what they are choosing.

You are not buying direct stock market ownership, and you are not buying a fully principal-protected annuity. You are buying a registered index-linked annuity — meaning your interest is tied to an index, your downside is partially cushioned by a buffer, and the contract is a security, not a fixed annuity. Wrapped around that is the real headline: a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit. The heart of the contract is the Benefit Base, a bookkeeping figure used only to calculate your lifetime income — it is not cash you can walk away with. In one version the Benefit Base grows at a guaranteed rate for years before you draw, which is what lets you lock in a future income floor regardless of how the market behaves.

Two features share top billing here, so it is worth separating them. The accumulation engine uses "Shield Rates," which are buffers. If you pick a 10% Shield Rate, the contract absorbs the first 10% of an index decline at term end and you bear anything beyond that; a 25% Shield Rate absorbs the first 25%. In exchange for that cushion you accept a cap or a participation term on the upside — for example, a one-year S&P 500 term with a 10% Shield carried a 16.25% cap as of the brochure rates, while a six-year term with a 25% Shield was uncapped at 100% participation. You can build terms of one, two, three, or six years across the S&P 500, Russell 2000, MSCI EAFE, and Nasdaq-100, using cap rates, step rates (which credit a fixed amount when the index is flat or up), or dual performance-triggered designs. A fixed account credited 3.50% as of the brochure rates. The key thing to understand is that a buffer is not a floor — in a year where the S&P 500 falls 30% and you hold a 10% Shield, you absorb the 20% beyond the buffer.

The Pay Plus income rider is the secondary feature, and for many buyers it is the actual reason to own this contract. It is a built-in guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit, and it comes in two versions. The Market Growth with Rollup II version credits a 5% simple roll-up each year for the first ten contract years on your net purchase payment, raising the Benefit Base that determines your eventual lifetime income — but the roll-up pauses in any year you take a withdrawal. The Market Growth III version drops the roll-up entirely and grows the Benefit Base only through automatic step-ups when the account value is higher. The roll-up version costs the same 1.50% but front-loads a guaranteed Benefit Base climb, which matters most for a buyer who plans to defer income for several years. Either way, once you activate, the rider pays a percentage of the Benefit Base for life even if the account value runs to zero. Note that the brochure materials describe the roll-up and payout mechanics but the specific age-banded payout percentages were not itemized in the available rate documents, so ask for the current rate sheet before assuming a payout level.

This is a long-term contract, not emergency cash. After the first contract year you can take up to 10% of the account value as of the prior anniversary without a withdrawal charge, as long as you leave at least $2,000 in the contract. Amounts above that during the first six years face the surrender schedule below, which starts at 7% and declines to zero in year seven. There is good news on the income side: once you begin the lifetime benefit, the annual benefit payments are exempt from withdrawal charges, so the rider gives you a charge-free income stream even inside the surrender period. There is no market value adjustment on this contract, which removes the interest-rate-driven swing in surrender value that many RILAs carry. Required minimum distributions are also exempt from withdrawal charges, and the contract can automate RMD payouts, so qualified money is handled cleanly. Still, with only 10% accessible each year before charges, this is money you should expect to leave in place.

The headline cost is the rider fee: 1.50% of the Benefit Base each year, deducted from your account value on every contract anniversary. That is the trade for the lifetime income guarantee and, in the roll-up version, the 5% Benefit Base growth — and it is worth naming plainly that you pay this fee whether or not you ever turn income on. If you buy this product and then never activate the benefit, you have paid for a guarantee you did not use. The brochure does not disclose a separate explicit annual base-contract fee, so the rider charge is the main visible cost. The structural tradeoffs are the bigger story: the buffer caps your upside through cap and participation terms, the buffer protects only a defined slice of any loss, and the income roll-up pauses in any year you take a withdrawal. The math only works in your favor if you commit to the income plan.

Legal Entity: Brighthouse Life Insurance Company

Parent: Brighthouse Financial

AM Best Rating: A