Delaware Life Target Growth 10 review

It is a good accumulation FIA for someone who understands what they're committing to. The product has genuine strengths: no fees, a wide index menu, Precision Portfolio convenience, and a bailout provision that provides a real safety valve if renewal rates drop sharply. Where it falls short of "great" is the surrender structure and index transparency. A 10-year product that holds your money at 10% surrender charges through year five is asking for a lot of trust in exchange for accumulation upside that is mechanically constrained. For the right buyer — long time horizon, no income need, and a preference for simplicity — it is a solid fit. For someone who needs flexibility or expects to use money before year 10, it is not.

The main reason to buy Target Growth 10 is to grow retirement savings tax-deferred inside a principal-protected structure without paying ongoing product fees. The secondary reason is index diversification — buyers who want exposure to volatility-controlled and trend-following indices alongside the S&P 500 can get that in one contract. The Precision Portfolios add a third reason: someone who wants a pre-set, diversified allocation without managing annual strategy elections can hand that decision to one of Delaware Life's preset portfolios at issue.

I think this annuity is best for a pre-retirement or early-retirement buyer in their mid-50s to early 70s who is setting aside a meaningful portion of retirement savings, doesn't need the money for at least 10 years, and wants protection from market downturns without paying a fee for it. It is also a reasonable fit for someone who's been using a CD or money market account and wants to step into an index-linked product with some upside potential. It is not a good fit for someone who needs regular income, wants a shorter commitment, or believes that specialty index mechanics will outperform a simple cap strategy over a 10-year window.

You are buying principal protection with tax-deferred index-linked upside. Each year, Delaware Life measures the return on your chosen index from start to finish. If the index is positive, your account is credited with some portion of that gain — limited by a cap, participation rate, or trigger rate depending on the strategy you selected. If the index is negative, you receive zero interest but lose nothing. Prior credited interest is locked in. There are no ongoing fees reducing your account value. The specialty indices layer in additional mechanisms — intraday rebalancing, volatility controls, trend-following — that are designed to smooth the ride but also limit how much of a strong market you actually capture.

Target Growth 10 credits interest annually using a point-to-point measurement — the index value at the start of the year is compared to the index value at the end of the year.

For the S&P 500 with a cap, the math is simple: if the index returns 12% and your cap is 9.25%, you get 9.25%. If the index returns 4%, you get 4%. If it returns -8%, you get 0%.

The performance trigger is different: if the S&P 500 index return is zero or positive — any positive return — you receive a declared trigger rate (currently 6.00%–7.00% depending on band). This is a binary outcome: hit zero or better and you get the full declared rate; miss and you get nothing.

The participation-rate strategies (used for specialty indices) apply a percentage multiplier to whatever the index returns. If the Goldman Sachs Canopy Index returns 8% and your participation rate is 100%, you get 8%. If the Franklin SG Select Index returns 10% and your participation rate is 155%, you get 15.5% — but that same participation rate applies if the index only returns 3%, giving you 4.65%.

The volatility-limit and knockout strategies add further conditions that can end the measurement early or cancel a credit in certain scenarios. These are not punitive, but they add complexity that buyers should understand before selecting them.

The Precision Portfolios are the most practically useful feature for many buyers. Instead of choosing among six indices and multiple crediting methods, a buyer selects either Precision Core or Precision Edge at issue, and the allocation is set automatically across all six index strategies plus the fixed account. Precision Core tilts toward the fixed account for steadier, more predictable growth. Precision Edge tilts more toward the specialty indices for higher long-term growth potential.

The key constraint: Precision Portfolios are set at issue, allocations don't change over time, and additional premiums go to the fixed account rather than the portfolio mix. That makes them most appropriate for buyers who contribute a lump sum upfront rather than funding the contract over time. There is also a benefit: Precision Portfolio buyers receive the higher crediting rates for S&P 500 strategies (cap: 9.25% vs. 7.60% for standalone buyers).

This is a 10-year surrender product and that commitment is real. The surrender schedule starts at 10% in year one and stays there through year five, which is among the steeper profiles in the accumulation FIA peer group. Charges step down in year six (9%) and continue declining to 5% in year 10 before reaching zero in year 11 and beyond.

The free withdrawal provision softens this somewhat: in year one you can take up to 10% of total premiums without charge, and in subsequent years you can take the greater of 10% of the last anniversary value or your required minimum distribution. That covers normal withdrawal needs for many buyers, but anyone who might need more than 10% in a given year faces real surrender charge exposure.

The bailout provision is a meaningful extra protection: if the renewal cap rate for the S&P 500 point-to-point strategy falls below the declared bailout cap rate, you can withdraw or surrender without charges or MVA — regardless of what index options you're using. This protects against a scenario where interest renewal rates deteriorate significantly.

The nursing home waiver allows charge-free withdrawals after the first contract anniversary if you're confined to a hospital or nursing facility for at least 90 consecutive days, provided the contract was issued before your 76th birthday. The terminal illness waiver similarly allows charge-free withdrawals after year one for hospice care, for contracts issued before age 70.

The product itself carries no annual product fee, no M&E charge, and no administration charge. From a pure cost standpoint, this is one of the cleanest accumulation FIAs available.

The tradeoff is that the lack of explicit fees shows up as tighter crediting terms relative to products that also carry no fees but have more straightforward cap structures. The specialty indices — Goldman Sachs Canopy, S&P 500 Dynamic Intraday TCA, Nasdaq-100 Intraday Elite 15%, Franklin SG Select — embed either an annualized deduction rate (0.5% for Goldman Sachs Canopy), volatility control mechanisms, or intraday rebalancing logic that can reduce effective index participation in strong markets.

There is also a market value adjustment that applies to withdrawals above the free amount during the surrender period. MVA can be positive or negative depending on interest rate movement, adding a layer of uncertainty for buyers who might need to access more than the free amount before the surrender period ends.

| Feature | Details |

|---|---|

| Product Type | Fixed Index Annuity |

| Surrender Period | 10 years (non-rolling) |

| Standard Surrender Schedule | 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 0% |

| Issue Ages | 18–80 |

| Minimum Premium | $25,000 |

| Maximum Premium | $1,000,000 without prior approval |

| Free Withdrawal | 10% of premiums (year 1); greater of 10% of last anniversary value or RMD (years 2+) |

| MVA | Yes (waived at death, in bailout window) |

| Income Rider | None |

| Bonus | None |

| Product Fees | None |

| Index Options | 6 (S&P 500, Goldman Sachs Canopy, Franklin SG Select, First Trust Barclays 10%, Nasdaq-100 Intraday Elite 15%, S&P 500 Dynamic Intraday TCA) |

| Fixed Account Rate | 4.20%–4.55% (as of April 2026) |

| S&P 500 Cap Rate | 7.60% (standalone) / 9.25% (Precision Portfolio) |

| Performance Trigger Rate | 6.00% (standalone) / 7.00% (Precision Portfolio) |

| Precision Portfolios | Precision Core and Precision Edge |

| Bailout Provision | Yes |

| Nursing Home Waiver | Yes (after year 1, issued before age 76) |

| Terminal Illness Waiver | Yes (after year 1, issued before age 70) |

| MGSV | 87.5% of premiums, accumulated at 1%–3% |

| Available Plan Types | IRA, Roth IRA, SEP IRA, Nonqualified |

| State Availability | All states except New York |

Delaware Life Insurance Company is based in Zionsville, Indiana and is a member of Group 1001. The company has a meaningful place in FIA history: it launched the first fixed index annuity in 1995 under the Keyport Life brand, and continues to be an active FIA issuer. Financial strength ratings as of December 2024 are A- (Excellent) from A.M. Best, A- (Stable) from S&P Global, and A- (Strong) from Fitch. These are investment-grade ratings that indicate solid, but not top-tier, financial strength. Delaware Life is not available in New York, which limits distribution compared to national carriers.