Heritage Premier Plus 9 review

Depends on the buyer. For someone with a genuine nine-year horizon who wants a locked rate and isn't worried about early access to principal, this is a reasonably competitive, low-drama MYGA from a solidly rated carrier. For someone who wants more liquidity flexibility, or who is shopping mainly for the "Plus" first-year bump, I don't think the math supports paying much attention to that distinction — it barely moves the needle by maturity.

The rational reason to buy this is the rate lock itself: 5.35% for nine years, from a carrier rated A- by A.M. Best, with no annual contract fee, no M&E charge, and no administrative charge disclosed anywhere in the materials. The year-one 1.00% Interest Rate Bonus is a secondary sweetener — not the reason to buy, but a modest boost to the first-year yield. Someone choosing this over a shorter MYGA is typically doing so because they want to avoid reinvestment risk for a full decade and are comfortable giving up liquidity to get there.

This fits retirement savers, typically in their 50s through mid-70s, who are moving qualified or non-qualified money out of a maturing CD, bond ladder, or another MYGA and want a full nine years of rate certainty without touching the principal. Because free withdrawals are limited to interest only, not a percentage of account value, it is a poor match for anyone who anticipates needing a lump-sum draw in years one through eight for anything other than the carve-outs under the Health Waiver Benefits (nursing home, terminal illness, disability, or home health care).

You're not buying an investment with market upside — you're buying a single-premium, fixed-rate insurance contract that locks in 5.35% annual interest for nine years, with a one-time 1.00% Interest Rate Bonus added in year one only (bringing the effective first-year credited rate to 6.35%). After that first year, the contract reverts to the 5.35% base rate for years two through nine. It's a guarantee, not a growth vehicle — the appeal is knowing exactly what you'll earn for the full term, with none of the index-crediting complexity of an FIA.

The core mechanic is a declared fixed rate: Capitol Life guarantees 5.35% for the full nine-year surrender term as of the brochure's effective date (2/9/2026), and rates on new issues can change at any time. On top of that base rate, the contract adds a 1.00% Interest Rate Bonus credited only in the first contract year — the brochure is explicit that this is an interest rate bonus, not a premium bonus, meaning it's added to the crediting rate rather than to the account value at issue. That distinction matters: a premium bonus increases principal immediately and compounds for the full term, while an interest rate bonus just changes the interest calculation for one year and then goes away.

The Health Waiver Benefits are the more meaningful secondary feature here. The contract waives surrender charges for nursing home confinement, terminal illness diagnosis, disability, and home health care needs — up to 10% of accumulated value in the first year, and up to 50% of accumulated value from year two on. That's a real liquidity backstop for the scenarios that most commonly force early annuity surrenders, and the available materials don't disclose any additional cost for it.

This is a full nine-year commitment, and the free-withdrawal provision is narrower than what many MYGA buyers expect. Systematic withdrawals of interest only are available after the contract has been in force 30 days, subject to a $100 minimum — there is no stated percentage-of-account-value free withdrawal, a feature many competing MYGAs offer that lets buyers pull roughly 10% annually without penalty. Above the interest-only amount, the surrender schedule below applies, and a market value adjustment (MVA — an adjustment that can increase or decrease your surrender value depending on how interest rates have moved since issue) applies on top of those charges for the full term. Buyers should treat this as locked money for nine years, aside from the health-triggered waivers described above.

There's no base contract fee disclosed anywhere in the materials — no M&E charge, no administration fee, no annual contract charge. That's typical for a MYGA and a genuine plus relative to fee-bearing FIA and VA products. The real cost isn't a fee; it's the MVA and the interest-only free-withdrawal limit, both of which can penalize an early exit more than a shorter-surrender MYGA would. The 1.00% year-one Interest Rate Bonus doesn't cost the buyer anything explicitly, but it's worth remembering it's funded by a base rate that's ten basis points lower than the plain Heritage Premier 9's 5.45% — Capitol Life is trading a little guaranteed base rate for a little first-year sizzle, and the two versions land within a rounding error of each other by year nine.

Legal Entity: Capitol Life Insurance Company

Parent: Liberty Bankers Insurance Group

A.M. Best Rating: A-