Tarrant Trail 4-Year review

It depends on what you're comparing it to. Next to a MYGA of similar length, it's a mixed proposition — a MYGA locks your rate for the whole term, while this product only locks year one and then re-declares annually. Next to a savings account or CD, it's clearly more competitive, with a guaranteed rate floor and a bailout escape hatch if the carrier's renewal rate disappoints. It's a reasonable annuity for someone who wants short-term, principal-protected money and is willing to accept some rate uncertainty — it's not a good fit for someone who wants a rate locked and forgotten for four years.

The main draw is the combination of a short four-year commitment and a rate floor that can't go below 2%, paired with a 30-day bailout window if the carrier's renewal rate ever falls short of what was promised at issue. Someone might buy this instead of a MYGA because they don't want to lock in today's rate for years if they think rates could move higher, and they're willing to trade that lock-in for the annual renewal process and the protections built around it.

I think this is best for someone who wants a short surrender period, doesn't mind that the rate resets every year, and takes some comfort in the 2% floor and the bailout window as backstops. It's a reasonable secondary account for someone diversifying away from a MYGA ladder. It is not a good fit for someone who wants a rate they can count on for the full term, someone chasing the highest possible guaranteed yield (the 6.75% headline overstates the real story), or someone who wants a carrier rated above B++.

You're not buying a locked-in rate for four years. You're buying a one-year rate lock (6.75%, built from a 5.00% base plus a 1.75% first-year bonus), followed by three more years where CL Life declares a brand-new rate each anniversary — with a guaranteed promise that it will never go below 2%. In exchange for taking on that renewal-rate uncertainty, you get a shorter surrender commitment than most fixed annuities, a bailout window if the carrier under-delivers, and full account value paid at death with no surrender charge or MVA.

The core mechanic here is the annual rate reset, not a multi-year guarantee. CL Life sets an Initial Interest Rate for the first 12 months — currently 6.75%, which breaks down to a 5.00% base plus a 1.75% Interest Rate Bonus that the carrier's own product profile is explicit is a rate bonus, not a premium bonus (nothing is added to your account value; it's added to the declared rate). Before each contract anniversary after that, the carrier declares a new Renewal Interest Rate for the coming year, and that new rate is contractually guaranteed to never come in below 2%. Tied to that is a 30-day Bailout Window: at issue, CL Life also sets a Bailout Interest Rate, and if a declared renewal rate ever comes in below that bailout threshold, you get a 30-day window after that anniversary to fully surrender, take a partial withdrawal, or move to an income option — all free of surrender charge and MVA. That's the release valve that makes the annual-reset structure more tolerable: if the carrier gets stingy on a renewal, you're not stuck for the rest of the four years.

The secondary feature worth understanding is the standard free-withdrawal allowance, which is more limited than it first sounds. Starting in contract year 2, you can take out the greater of 10% of account value or your RMD without triggering a surrender charge or MVA — but RMD is folded into that 10%, not added on top of it, and there's no free withdrawal allowance at all in year 1 (even an RMD taken in the first year gets hit with surrender charges and MVA). That makes this a workable but not especially generous option for someone who needs RMD access immediately after funding the contract; anyone rolling this into an IRA close to their required beginning date should plan around the year-1 gap.

This is a four-year product, and the surrender schedule reflects that short horizon: 9% in year 1, stepping down to 8%, 7%, and 6% in years 2 through 4, plus a market value adjustment on top of the surrender charge. Free withdrawals only start in year 2, at the greater of 10% of account value or RMD, and year 1 has no penalty-free access at all — not even for an RMD. The bailout window described above is the other liquidity lever: if a renewal rate disappoints, you get a real, if narrow, 30-day exit. Compared to a MYGA of similar length, the surrender numbers are roughly in line, but the total absence of year-1 access is worth flagging for anyone who might need the money sooner than expected.

There's no explicit contract fee, M&E charge, or administration charge disclosed on this product — the cost here is structural rather than a line-item charge. The real tradeoff is the renewal-rate risk built into the annual-reset design: the 6.75% headline is a one-year number, the ongoing base is 5.00%, and years 2 through 4 depend on what CL Life chooses to declare, bounded only by a 2% floor. The Minimum Guaranteed Surrender Value backstop (87.5% of premium, accumulated at a separate 1.00% nonforfeiture rate) is a worst-case floor, not something to expect in a normal scenario. And CL Life carries an A.M. Best rating of B++, below the A− threshold we look for on products we'd actively recommend — that's a real financial-strength tradeoff a shopper should weigh against the guarantees on paper.

Legal Entity: CL Life and Annuity Insurance Company

A.M. Best Rating: B++