Power Index Premier (NY) with Lifetime Income Builder review

Yes, for the right buyer. This is a good annuity for a New York resident who wants protected lifetime income, values principal protection, and likes the idea of a built-in rider that does not carry an annual fee. It is less appealing for someone whose main goal is accumulation, who wants the highest possible index caps, or who lives outside New York, since the product is approved only there.

The main reason to buy this contract is to set up future protected lifetime income while keeping principal protection along the way. The fact that the Lifetime Income Builder rider is built in and carries no annual fee is a real differentiator, since most income FIAs charge somewhere between 0.95% and 1.25% of a benefit base every year. For a New York buyer in particular, the income-rider menu is thinner than in other states, so a no-fee built-in rider stands out more than it would elsewhere.

I think this annuity is best for someone in their 50s to 70s, living in New York, who wants to use long-term money to create future income and expects to defer withdrawals for several years before turning income on. The deferral-credit design rewards patience, so it fits a buyer with a real time horizon rather than someone who needs income immediately. It is less attractive for someone who wants maximum accumulation, expects to need frequent access to principal above the free amount, or wants the highest index caps available in the broader market.

You are not buying stock market upside here. You are buying a lifetime income framework wrapped around a principal-protected annuity. The heart of the contract is the Lifetime Income Builder rider, which is built into the product rather than added as an optional layer. Your index strategies grow the contract value with downside protection, but the more important number for an income buyer is the Guaranteed Lifetime Income Amount, which is set by your age and how long you defer before activating income. In plain English, the index side keeps your principal safe and adds some growth, while the rider does the real work of turning that principal into income you cannot outlive.

Lifetime Income Builder IV is a Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefit, or GLWB, which means it lets you take a guaranteed amount each year for life without annuitizing the contract. What is unusual here is how the income grows. Instead of a traditional roll-up that compounds a benefit base at a fixed percentage each year, this rider increases your income percentage by 0.20% for every year you defer, for up to 15 years. So if your starting withdrawal percentage at a given age would be, for example, 5.0%, deferring five years would add roughly a full percentage point to that rate before you turn income on. The longer you wait, the larger your guaranteed withdrawal rate becomes, up to that 15-year cap. There is no annual fee deducted for this rider, which is the standout feature of the design.

The practical takeaway is that this contract rewards deferral directly through the payout rate rather than by inflating a separate benefit base. That makes the math cleaner in some ways, but it also means there is no headline "guaranteed growth" number to compare against roll-up products, so you have to look at the actual income percentages at your planned activation age.

The most meaningful secondary feature is the crediting menu. The contract offers six indexed strategies across the S&P 500, MSCI EAFE, Nasdaq-100, and Russell 2000, using both annual point-to-point with a cap and a performance-triggered method on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100. The performance-triggered option pays a declared rate (2.90% to 3.90% as of the November 3, 2025 rate sheet) as long as the index is flat or positive, which can beat a low cap in a sideways year. There is also a guaranteed minimum cap of 2.85%, which sets a floor on how low the cap can ever be reset.

The tradeoff is that there is no fixed account on this product, so every dollar has to sit in an indexed strategy. The current caps range from roughly 4.50% to 5.75% at the lowest rate band, which are modest figures. That is consistent with an income-first design, where the carrier funds the income guarantee rather than handing out high caps, but it does mean the accumulation potential here is limited.

This annuity is built for long-term retirement dollars, not short-term cash needs. After the first contract year, you can withdraw the greater of 10% of the prior anniversary contract value or the Guaranteed Lifetime Income Amount if the income rider is active, without a withdrawal charge. Amounts above that free amount are subject to the 7-year surrender schedule shown below. Notably, the spec materials indicate no market value adjustment applies to this contract, which removes one common source of surprise on early withdrawals.

There is meaningful liquidity relief built in. Required minimum distributions attributable to the contract are charge-free, though they still count against the 10% free amount and the GLIA. There are also withdrawal-charge waivers for terminal illness and for extended care, nursing home, or assisted living confinement. Even with those provisions, this is a single-premium contract with no additional deposits allowed after issue, so it should not be treated like emergency cash.

The headline here is what you are not paying. There is no base contract fee and no annual fee for the Lifetime Income Builder rider, which is unusual for a built-in income guarantee. Most income FIAs fund the rider with an annual charge against contract value, so a no-fee structure is a genuine point in this product's favor.

The cost shows up elsewhere, as it usually does. Because the carrier is funding the income guarantee without an explicit rider fee, the index caps are modest, ranging from roughly 4.50% to 5.75% at the low rate band as of the November 3, 2025 rate sheet. That is the real trade: you do not pay a visible fee, but you accept lower growth potential on the index side. The other tradeoffs are structural. There is no fixed account, the product is single-premium only, and rates can be reset at each anniversary down to the 2.85% guaranteed minimum cap.

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

Parent: Corebridge Financial, Inc.

A.M. Best Rating: A