Power 10 Protector Plus Income review

Yes, for the right buyer. It is a good annuity for someone who wants protected lifetime income, values principal protection, and is comfortable letting the money sit for several years before drawing on it. It is a poor fit for someone who wants short-term liquidity, the simplest possible contract, or the strongest accumulation terms — for pure growth, the accumulation sibling reviewed separately (plain Power 10 Protector, no income rider) is the more natural comparison.

The core reason to buy this contract is to create future protected lifetime income while keeping principal shielded from market losses along the way. The 9% simple roll-up grows the income base during deferral, so waiting is rewarded with a larger guaranteed payout later. The second reason is flexibility: at issue you choose between Max Income and Level Income, which lets you match the annuity to how you actually want retirement cash flow to behave. For a pre-retiree who knows income is coming but not for a few years, that combination is the appeal.

I think this is best for someone in the pre-retirement or early-retirement window — the issue ages are 50 to 75 — who has long-term money earmarked for income, expects to defer withdrawals for several years, and prefers a built-in rider over relying on annuitization later. It works in both qualified and non-qualified accounts, though buyers using IRA money should note that required minimum distributions still have to be managed inside the contract. It is not for someone who wants growth first, expects to need frequent access above the free-withdrawal amount, or wants a contract they never have to think about.

You are not buying stock market upside. You are buying a lifetime income framework wrapped around a principal-protected annuity. The heart of the contract is the rider, not the index menu. Your premium establishes a benefit base, that base grows at 9% simple interest each year for up to ten years (or until you start income, if sooner), and your age when you activate income sets the withdrawal percentage you can take for life. The indexed strategies exist mostly to give the account value a chance to grow and support step-ups — they are the supporting cast, not the headline.

Lifetime Income Choice VIII is automatically included; you do not add it and you cannot decline the 1.10% fee. During the deferral phase, the benefit base earns a 9% simple-interest credit each contract year for a ten-year initial accumulation period, or until you begin income if that comes first. Because the credit is simple rather than compound, each year's 9% is calculated on the original base, not on a growing balance — so the benefit base can roughly double over the full ten years, but it does not snowball the way a compound roll-up would. If your actual account value ever exceeds the benefit base, the contract can step the base up to that higher value.

At activation you choose between Max Income and Level Income. Max Income is designed to pay a higher withdrawal percentage while account value remains positive, then drop to a lower protected percentage for life if the account value is exhausted. Level Income pays a steadier percentage that stays the same even after the account value is gone. In plain terms, Max Income is front-loaded, Level Income is even and predictable. That choice is permanent, so it is worth thinking through before signing.

The most useful secondary feature is the care-related income boost. After you have owned the rider for at least two years, if you become confined to a qualified care facility for 90 days, the contract can double single-life guaranteed withdrawals (or increase joint-life withdrawals by 150%) for up to five years. That turns the income rider into a partial substitute for standalone long-term-care coverage — not a replacement for it, but a meaningful cushion during a care event when expenses spike. The contract also carries the usual surrender-charge waivers for terminal illness, activities-of-daily-living triggers, and extended care, which give you some relief if health changes before the surrender period ends.

This annuity is built for long-term retirement dollars, not short-term cash. After the first contract year, you can withdraw up to 10% of the previous anniversary's account value each year without penalty. Anything above that during the surrender period is hit by the withdrawal-charge schedule below — starting at 9% and declining to 1% over ten years — and by a market value adjustment (MVA), which means the penalty on an excess withdrawal also moves with interest rates: if rates have risen since you bought, the MVA can increase your cost. Required minimum distributions attributable to the contract are generally not subject to surrender charges or MVA, though they still count within the withdrawal framework. Even with those provisions, treating this contract like an emergency fund would undo its purpose. Note it is not approved in New York.

The main cost is the rider: 1.10% annually, calculated on the benefit base and deducted from the account value. Because the fee is charged on the benefit base — which the roll-up is inflating — the dollar amount can grow even in years the account value is flat. That is the trade: the 1.10% buys the 9% roll-up and the lifetime guarantee, and it is only worth paying if you actually intend to turn income on. If there is any real chance you would surrender for cash instead, you are paying for a benefit you never use.

The second cost is optional and depends on which crediting strategies you pick. Some of the higher-participation index strategies carry an indexing-method fee (roughly 5% or 10% of the credit) or a 1.50% spread in exchange for larger participation rates. Those can be reasonable for buyers who understand them, but they add complexity, and the current caps and participation rates on the zero-fee strategies are modest — the brochure shows a low-band S&P 500 annual point-to-point cap around 3.90% to 4.90% — because the growth side is engineered to fund income guarantees first. Confirm the current rate sheet before buying; index terms change and the figures here are snapshots as of the brochure date.

Legal Entity: American General Life Insurance Company

A.M. Best Rating: A