Performance Pro review

Yes, for the right buyer. Performance Pro is a good annuity for someone who wants an immediate lift to account value, doesn't plan to access principal for a decade, and values having built-in income access and chronic illness protection in the same contract. It is less appealing for someone prioritizing maximum accumulation growth, wanting a short-to-medium surrender period, or primarily shopping on income roll-up strength.

The main reason to consider Performance Pro is the 21% first-year premium bonus credited to account value — not just a benefit base. If you put $200,000 in, you start with roughly $242,000 in account value from day one, which is a material head start. The secondary reason is the combination of features: income access at 0.10% per year, chronic illness access after year one without surrender charges, and an RMD-friendly free-withdrawal provision. For a buyer who wants one contract to address income, health-care contingencies, and legacy, this assembles those pieces at a relatively low explicit fee.

I think this annuity fits best for someone in their late 50s to early 70s using qualified or non-qualified retirement money they have no near-term plans to touch. The ideal profile is someone who wants a known income floor available when needed, values the comfort of knowing chronic illness won't trigger surrender penalties, and finds the bonus meaningful relative to a competing product that offers no bonus but a slightly richer roll-up. It is less attractive for someone with a shorter planning horizon, someone primarily focused on building the largest possible future income payment, or someone who might need to access more than 10% of value in any given year.

You are not buying market exposure. You are buying a principal-protected annuity that uses index-linked crediting to grow your account value — potentially — while locking in the 21% bonus credited at issue. The income rider is an overlay that sits on top of the contract: it defines an Income Base, applies a 2.75% annual minimum roll-up before you activate income, and then allows lifetime withdrawals under EGMWB terms when you're ready. The chronic illness provisions are not a rider in the separate-fee sense — they are waivers built into the contract that allow access to vested account value without surrender charges when qualifying conditions are met.

The headline feature is the premium bonus, which credits 21% of first-year premiums to account value for buyers age 75 or younger (15% for ages 76–80; state variations apply, with lower bonus tiers in some states). That bonus vests — meaning it is subject to a vesting schedule — so early surrenders would recoup some or all of it through surrender charges. But once the contract reaches the end of the surrender period, the bonus becomes fully yours.

The Enhanced GMWB Rider VIII (the product's Guaranteed Minimum Withdrawal Benefit, elected at contract issue) carries a current charge of 0.10% of the Income Base per contract anniversary. Before activation, the Income Base grows at a guaranteed compound rate of 2.75% annually — and it can grow faster through a "Stacking Roll-Up" that layers an add-on equal to 100% of the account's actual indexed or fixed interest for the year on top of the guaranteed 2.75%. When you activate withdrawals, the contract provides guaranteed lifetime access at a rate determined by your age and contract provisions. If you restart the rider later — for example, after taking withdrawals and wishing to re-establish income credits — the fee can increase to up to 1.50% on restart.

Index crediting runs across seven indices plus a fixed account, using fixed, annual point-to-point, biennial and three-year term-end-point, and monthly point-to-point methods. Participation rates range from roughly 55% to 230% and caps from about 1.9% on the monthly option to 16% on the three-year S&P 500 option, depending on the index and crediting option; the fixed account currently credits 2.75%. Interest credited is guaranteed never to go below zero.

The chronic illness access feature is underrated relative to how it is typically described in product materials. After year one of the contract, if you qualify for home health care (two ADL limitations), nursing home care (60 days minimum), or receive a terminal illness diagnosis (life expectancy under one year), you can access your vested account value without surrender charges or MVA. That is not insurance — it is contractual waiver of the surrender penalty. For a 10-year product, this matters: it gives the buyer a meaningful safety valve for one of the most financially destabilizing events in retirement. The waiver applies to the vested account value, so the exact accessible amount depends on where you are in the vesting schedule. In addition, once the income rider has been in force three years, an annuitant who becomes impaired — unable to perform at least two of six activities of daily living — can receive an increased Guaranteed Withdrawal Payment: doubled for a single life, or 1.5 times for a joint payout (this enhancement is not available in every state).

Performance Pro is designed for long-term retirement dollars, not short-term capital. After the first contract year, 10% of vested account value is available annually without charge or MVA — and that provision covers RMDs attributable to the contract, which is important for qualified money holders. The free amount also accommodates systematic distributions and up to four non-systematic withdrawals per year.

Withdrawals above 10% are subject to the charge schedule below, and a market value adjustment (MVA) applies in addition. MVA means the effective cost of a large unplanned withdrawal can exceed the stated surrender charge, especially in a rising-rate environment. The schedule starts steep — 14% in year one — and declines to 1% in year 10. This is on the steeper end for a 10-year FIA. Year six drops to 8%, so the mid-contract access picture improves meaningfully after that.

The EGMWB rider charges 0.10% of the Income Base per contract year before activation — a very low fee for a built-in income benefit. That fee can climb to 1.50% if you restart the rider after taking withdrawals, so the restart provision deserves attention if your income plan might change.

Certain higher-participation indexed crediting options carry a 1.25% annual charge deducted from account value. That charge applies specifically to those select crediting options, not to all allocations. Buyers using only the standard cap or participation-rate options do not face it.

The premium bonus is not free in an economic sense. Bonus products typically trade some degree of cap or participation-rate competitiveness against the bonus itself — the bonus is built into the product's pricing. The crediting rates available (caps up to 16%, participation rates up to 230% depending on index) are reasonable for the category, but should be compared against current non-bonus FIA alternatives before assuming the bonus is pure upside.

Legal Entity: Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company

Parent: FGL Holdings

A.M. Best Rating: A