Assured Edge Income Builder (NY) review

Yes, for a specific buyer. This is a good annuity for a New York resident who wants a guaranteed income floor for retirement and values the simplicity of a built-in income benefit with no separate fee. It is a poor fit for someone whose main goal is growing the account value, since the fixed rate is low and there are no indexed or market-linked crediting options.

The main reason to buy Assured Edge Income Builder is to lock in guaranteed income for life from a single lump sum, without paying an explicit rider fee. The income percentage increases 0.25% for each year you defer turning income on, up to 15 years, so patience is rewarded. For a New York buyer — who has fewer annuity choices than the rest of the country because of the state's strict insurance rules — a clean, fee-free income guarantee from an A-rated carrier is a reasonable way to build a retirement paycheck.

I think this annuity is best for someone roughly 55 to 70, planning a few years ahead of retirement, who wants a predictable lifetime income stream and is comfortable committing money for seven years. It works for both qualified (IRA) and non-qualified money, and the contract is RMD-friendly. It is less attractive for someone who wants accumulation, expects to need access to principal above the free-withdrawal amount, or never intends to activate lifetime income — because if you skip the income benefit, you are left holding a low-rate fixed annuity and the rest of the product's value goes unused.

You are not buying growth. You are buying a guaranteed lifetime income framework wrapped around a plain fixed annuity. Your premium earns a flat, contractually guaranteed interest rate for seven years, and on top of that sits the Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefit XV, which calculates how much you can withdraw every year for the rest of your life once you activate it. The longer you wait to turn income on, the higher your income percentage climbs. The fixed rate keeps your account value protected and slowly growing, but the real engine is the income benefit.

The headline feature is the built-in Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefit XV. It is included automatically with no separate rider charge — an important detail, since most income annuities charge 0.85% to 1.25% a year for this. Before you activate income, the rider increases your income percentage by 0.25% per contract anniversary, for up to 15 years or until you start lifetime income, whichever comes first. When you activate, your age and the accumulated income percentage determine how much you can withdraw each year for life. Because the guarantee is for life, the payments continue even if the account value is eventually drawn down to zero. In plain terms: defer longer, get a higher lifetime payout.

The most meaningful secondary feature is the set of access waivers. The contract includes extended-care, activities-of-daily-living, and terminal-illness waivers at no additional cost, which let you reach your money without surrender charges if you face a qualifying health event. There is also a full account-value death benefit: if you die, your beneficiary receives the entire account value with no withdrawal charge and no market value adjustment, paid directly without going through the surrender schedule. For an income-focused contract, having a clean death benefit and health-based access matters, because it softens the main risk of any income annuity — committing money you might urgently need later.

This is a seven-year commitment, and you should treat it that way. In year one you can withdraw up to 10% of premiums paid penalty-free; in later years you can take 10% of the prior anniversary's contract value. Anything above that during the surrender period triggers a withdrawal charge that steps down from 7% in year one to 1% in year seven. A Market Value Adjustment — which means your surrender penalty can move up or down with interest rates — applies to excess withdrawals, but only in contract years one through five. There is real liquidity relief built in: RMDs based on this contract do not count as excess withdrawals once lifetime income has begun, and systematic interest-only withdrawals of at least $100 are allowed starting 30 days after issue. Even so, this is retirement money, not an emergency fund.

The fee story here is genuinely simple: there is no base contract fee and no rider fee. The Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefit XV is included at no charge, which is the product's standout structural feature. The real cost is not a fee — it is opportunity cost. The current fixed crediting rate is 2.45% guaranteed for seven years (as of the 4/1/2026 brochure date), with a minimum guaranteed rate floor noted in the materials. That is a low rate, and the spec lists the minimum-guaranteed-value figure with only medium confidence, so confirm the exact guaranteed minimum on the current rate sheet before you buy. The trade you are making is clear: you accept modest growth in exchange for a no-fee lifetime income guarantee. Whether that is worth it depends entirely on whether you actually activate income.

Legal Entity: The United States Life Insurance Company in the City of New York

Parent: Corebridge Financial, Inc.

A.M. Best Rating: A