ClearLine Annuity review

Yes, for the right buyer. ClearLine is a good annuity for an investor who is already working with a fee-based RIA and wants principal-protected, index-linked growth inside a contract that does not punish them for changing their mind. It is less appealing for someone shopping the open market through a traditional insurance agent, because this product is simply not available through that channel.

The main reason to buy ClearLine is liquidity inside a principal-protected wrapper. Most FIAs ask you to commit five to ten years of capital. Here, you get the downside protection and index-linked crediting structure without the multi-year surrender penalty. The secondary reason is fit with an advisory relationship — the contract is built around how RIAs actually use insurance products, including a Return of Purchase Payment Rider that protects the original deposit through year seven at no additional charge.

I think ClearLine is best for a pre-retiree or early retiree with a fee-based advisor who is already managing the rest of the portfolio. Account size of $100,000 or more makes the rider math more meaningful, and the no-surrender structure is most valuable for people who want to keep adjusting their allocations over time. It is less attractive for someone whose advisor is a commissioned insurance agent, someone who actively wants a long-term lockup to enforce discipline, or someone whose top priority is a guaranteed roll-up on an income benefit base.

You are not buying market participation. You are buying a principal-protected insurance contract that credits interest based on the performance of several indices, shaped by caps, participation rates, and spreads. What sets ClearLine apart from most FIAs is what you are not buying: a multi-year surrender commitment. The contract drops the traditional lockup and replaces it with an RIA-channel distribution model, which is how Security Benefit gets the math to work. That distinction matters because it changes what the product is good for. This is closer to an allocation-style annuity that lives inside an ongoing advisory relationship than to a buy-and-forget insurance contract.

ClearLine offers eight crediting strategies built around six indices: the S&P 500, MSCI EAFE, Nasdaq-100, Russell 2000, S&P 500 Low Volatility Daily Risk Control 5%, and the Avantis Barclays Volatility Control Index. The strategies use three different crediting methods. Annual point-to-point compares the index value at the start and end of the year and credits based on a cap. Monthly sum on the S&P 500 adds up twelve monthly changes, with positive changes capped and negative changes uncapped. The volatility-controlled strategies use a spread instead of a cap, so a stated percentage is subtracted from the index return rather than a ceiling being placed on it.

As of the brochure date, capped strategies sit in the 11.75% to 12.50% range, and spread-based strategies use a 0.50% to 0.75% spread. The Fixed Account credits 5.65% or 5.75% depending on account size. The exact participation rates by strategy were not consistently broken out in the consumer brochure, so a current rate sheet is worth requesting before allocating. The practical point is that the menu is broad enough to position the contract differently based on outlook — a cap strategy if you want a known ceiling, a spread strategy if you want uncapped exposure with a haircut, monthly sum if you want path-dependent crediting.

The most meaningful secondary feature is the Return of Purchase Payment Rider, which is included at no additional charge for years three through seven. In practical terms, after year three the contract guarantees you can walk away with at least your original deposit, regardless of how the index crediting has performed. Combined with the absence of a surrender schedule, this means the contract carries unusually little downside risk during the holding period. The optional Rising Income Rider is also available for 0.50% annually (capped at 1.00% over time), but its value depends entirely on whether you plan to convert the account to a lifetime income stream — paying for it as insurance on an income decision you may never make is exactly the kind of cost worth examining.

ClearLine has no surrender schedule. That is the central design choice, and it is the single most important fact to understand about this product. The contract still allows 10% free withdrawals (10% of purchase payment in year one, 10% of account value annually after that), but because there are no surrender charges, withdrawals above that threshold simply pull from your account value without an additional insurance-side penalty. A market value adjustment can apply during what would otherwise be the surrender charge period in most states, though MVA does not apply in California.

The minimum guaranteed surrender value is 87.5% of premiums at the contract's guaranteed minimum interest rate, which is the standard floor for indexed annuities. Required minimum distributions are accommodated within the free withdrawal framework, and a nursing home waiver and terminal illness waiver are available in most states (the nursing home waiver is not available in California or Massachusetts, and the terminal illness waiver is not available in California or New Jersey). For an RMD-stage retiree, the no-surrender design makes RMD compliance simpler than it is on most FIAs.

The base contract has no explicit annual product fee. The only explicit charge is the optional 0.50% annual fee for the Rising Income Rider, which can rise to a maximum of 1.00% over the life of the contract — and only applies if you elect the rider. The Return of Purchase Payment Rider is included at no charge.

The real costs are structural rather than visible. Cap rates limit how much of a strong index year you actually capture. Spreads reduce the index return before crediting on the uncapped strategies. The Fixed Account rate, while reasonable as of the brochure date, will reset based on the carrier's portfolio rates over time. And the fact that some details — particularly current participation percentages by strategy — are not fully spelled out in the consumer brochure means a rate sheet from your advisor is worth seeing before committing capital.

Legal Entity: Security Benefit Life Insurance Company

Parent: Eldridge Industries

A.M. Best Rating: A-

Security Benefit is a Topeka-based insurer owned by Eldridge Industries, with a long-standing focus on indexed annuities and retirement products. The A- rating from A.M. Best places it solidly in the investment-grade range, though a step below the highest-rated carriers in the space. ClearLine reflects the company's broader posture as a product-design-forward issuer that has historically leaned into the RIA channel ahead of many peers.