MarketLock (NY) review

Yes, for the right buyer. It is a good annuity for a New York resident who understands they are taking on some market risk and wants higher upside than a fully protected indexed annuity can deliver. It is not a good fit for someone who wants their principal completely shielded from loss, or for anyone outside New York, since the contract is not approved in any other state.

The main reason to buy MarketLock is to capture more index growth than a fixed indexed annuity offers, while still putting a defined limit on how much of a market drop you absorb. The buffer means the insurer takes the first 10% or 20% of any index loss before you feel anything. For a New York buyer who has been frustrated by the low caps on fully protected FIAs, that tradeoff can be appealing — you give up complete protection but get meaningfully more room to grow.

I think MarketLock is best for a New York resident in or approaching retirement who has long-term money they can leave alone for six years, wants index-linked growth, and accepts that "protected" here means partially protected, not fully protected. It works for both qualified and non-qualified money. It is least attractive for someone whose top priority is never losing a dollar of principal — that buyer should look at a fixed indexed annuity or a MYGA instead — and it is simply unavailable to anyone living outside New York.

You are not buying direct stock-market participation, and you are not buying the full downside protection of a fixed indexed annuity. You are buying a structured contract that links your interest to an index over a term, applies a cap or participation rate to the upside, and applies a buffer to the downside. The buffer is the key word. A 10% buffer means the insurer absorbs the first 10% of a loss; if the index falls 25%, you absorb the remaining 15%. That is fundamentally different from an FIA, where a bad year simply credits zero. Understanding that single mechanic is the whole job before buying this product.

MarketLock offers several crediting strategies across the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, Russell 2000, and MSCI EAFE indices, with terms of either 1 year or 6 years and buffers of 10% or 20%. The cap strategy credits index gains up to a stated ceiling. The trigger (performance-triggered) strategy credits a fixed declared rate any time the index is flat or positive. The dual-direction strategies are the standout: if the index ends down but stays within the buffer, you can still earn a positive return equal to the absolute value of that decline, up to a cap. There is also a Cap Secure strategy that guarantees the annual cap rate for the full 6-year term, with earnings credited at the end, and a fixed account paying 3.25% as of the May 1, 2026 rate sheet.

Caps and participation rates as of that May 1, 2026 sheet range widely depending on strategy and term — the brochure shows caps from 11.50% up to 110.00% on longer-term and participation-based options, with participation between 100% and 105%. These are snapshots; they reset and will look different by the time you shop, so ask for the current rate sheet directly.

The most meaningful secondary feature is the Performance Lock. Normally, money in a structured strategy is committed until the end of its term — you cannot reallocate out mid-term. Performance Lock lets you lock in your gain partway through a term and move to a fixed rate of 2.55% for the remainder. That matters because it gives you a way to capture a strong gain instead of watching it evaporate before the term ends. It is a genuine flexibility advantage over RILAs that leave you fully exposed until the term closes. The tradeoff is that once you lock, you are giving up any further upside on that money for the rest of the term.

This is a six-year commitment built for long-term money, not emergency cash. After the first year you can withdraw up to 10% of the prior anniversary value each year free of surrender charges (10% of premiums in year one), and you must leave at least $2,500 in the account. Withdrawals above that amount during the surrender period are subject to charges of 8%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, then 4%.

There is an important wrinkle specific to structured annuities: any withdrawal from a structured strategy mid-term is subject to a daily adjustment — an interim value calculation that can be negative. In plain terms, taking money out of a structured strategy before its term ends can cost you more than just the surrender charge, because the interim value formula may mark your balance down. There is no market value adjustment on this contract, which is a point in its favor, but the interim value mechanic effectively plays a similar role for structured-strategy withdrawals. Required minimum distributions are accommodated, and the contract includes surrender-charge waivers for nursing-home/extended-care needs (90-plus consecutive days, after year one) and terminal illness.

There is no base contract fee here — no mortality and expense charge, no administration charge, no annual contract fee. That is a real plus and unusual to state so cleanly. The cost of this product is not a visible fee; it is structural. Your upside is limited by caps and participation rates, and the insurer's protection only extends to your buffer. The biggest tradeoff is the one that defines every RILA: in a sharp market decline, you can lose principal below the buffer. There is also embedded trading cost baked into the daily adjustment formula that governs interim values, which can affect what you receive on a mid-term withdrawal. None of these are hidden, but they are the price of the higher growth potential.

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

Parent: Corebridge Financial

A.M. Best Rating: A

MarketLock (NY) is issued by The United States Life Insurance Company in the City of New York, the entity Corebridge uses to write business in New York's distinct regulatory environment. Corebridge Financial is a large, established annuity carrier, and an A.M. Best rating of A places the issuer in solid financial-strength territory.