Secure Landing 5 (TD Bank) review

It depends on the buyer. For someone who banks with TD Bank, wants to protect principal, and is comfortable with a 5-year surrender schedule, this is a reasonable product. The structure is sound, F&G carries an A rating from A.M. Best, and the terms are straightforward. It is less compelling for someone who is willing to comparison-shop broadly — there are open-market FIAs with wider index menus and more crediting flexibility in the same 5-year window that may serve accumulation-focused buyers better.

The practical reason to choose Secure Landing 5 through TD Bank is simplicity and access. Bank-distributed annuities often appeal to buyers who are already depositing cash at the bank and want something beyond a savings account or CD without going through a standalone advisor. The 5-year window is short enough to feel manageable, the $10,000 minimum is accessible, and the product does not require a complex strategy decision. Someone rolling over a maturing CD and wanting slightly more growth potential with principal protection fits this product well.

I think Secure Landing 5 is best for a conservative buyer — often in or near retirement — who wants to move a portion of savings into something safer than equities but more potentially rewarding than a bank CD. The non-qualified issue age starting at 0 suggests broad positioning, but in practice this is most sensible for someone 55 and older who has medium-term savings to protect. It is less attractive for someone who wants to compare the full FIA market, who needs income guarantees, or who prioritizes deep index menu flexibility.

You are buying principal protection and limited upside potential inside a 5-year insurance contract. When the chosen index goes up, you earn interest — up to a cap or participation limit. When the index goes down, you earn nothing that year but lose nothing. That zero-floor guarantee is the core mechanic. This is not a stock account and not a savings account — it is an insurance product that uses index performance as an interest-crediting reference while the insurer absorbs downside risk. The trade-off is that caps and participation limits mean you will not match full market returns in strong years.

Secure Landing 5 offers four ways to credit interest: Annual Point-to-Point with a Cap using the S&P 500 (currently 9.50% annually as of January 2026 rate sheets), Annual Point-to-Point with Participation Rate using the Balanced Asset 5 Index, an Annual Performance Trigger option (a declared rate credited if the index finishes flat or positive), and a Fixed crediting account with a declared rate guaranteed at 1.00% or higher.

Each crediting method is a one-year reset: the index is measured from the start to the end of the contract year, and interest is credited based on whichever method you chose. Allocations require a minimum of $2,000 per method, so buyers can diversify across multiple strategies if they prefer. Index-linked interest is guaranteed never to go below 0% in any contract year. Rate caps and participation rates are set at contract issue and declared at the start of each new contract year, so the specific numbers you see in current marketing may change when you renew strategies.

The secondary feature worth discussing is the optional Minimum Interest Credit (MIC) guarantee. For an annual fee of 0.40% of account value, this rider guarantees that your contract earns a minimum level of interest even in years when your index strategies credit zero. The standard contract already protects you from negative returns — the MIC buys you a positive floor on top of that. Whether that additional guarantee is worth 0.40% per year depends on your risk tolerance and your expected holding strategy. For someone who would feel significantly better knowing they earn at least something every year even in flat markets, the MIC adds peace of mind. For most buyers focused on accumulation, paying 0.40% to ensure a small positive credit in bad years will likely drag net returns in an already cap-constrained product.

The 5-year surrender schedule starts at 9% in year one and steps down to 5% by year five, dropping to 0% in years six and seven. A Market Value Adjustment (MVA) may also apply to any withdrawal subject to surrender charges — meaning the actual penalty during the surrender period can increase or decrease based on prevailing interest rates at the time. In a rising-rate environment, MVA can make early exit more expensive than the published surrender charge alone.

Free withdrawals of 10% of account value are available annually after the first contract year without surrender charges or MVA. RMD-related withdrawals are also exempt from surrender charges and MVA, which makes this a workable option for qualified money in an IRA. The waiver for nursing home care, impairment (2+ ADL limitations), and terminal illness adds meaningful liquidity relief for health emergencies. California contracts have different surrender charge percentages and do not include the health care liquidity features. This is not a product for money you may need within 5 years outside of the free-withdrawal provisions.

The base contract carries no ongoing fee. The only explicit cost is the optional MIC rider at 0.40% annually if you elect it. The more significant tradeoffs are structural: index upside is limited by caps and participation rates that reset annually, the index menu is narrower than many open-market FIAs, and the MVA adds interest-rate risk to early exits beyond the nominal surrender charge. There is no income rider available on this product — buyers who want lifetime income guarantees need to look at a different product.

Legal Entity: Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company

Parent: FGL Holdings

A.M. Best Rating: A