Secure MYGA Non-MVA 3 with ROP review

It depends on the use case. For someone who wants a 3-year guaranteed rate, no MVA exposure, and a simple death benefit guarantee, this is a reasonable fit. For someone who wants income features, longer-term growth compounding, or a more competitive rate without a minimum premium threshold, there are better options in the MYGA market. The product's strength is its constraint: it does not try to be anything other than a short locked-rate vehicle, and it delivers that cleanly.

The main reason to buy this annuity is predictability. You know your rate before you commit, you know your surrender charge structure, and you know there is no MVA — meaning interest rate changes in the broader market do not make your early exit more expensive than advertised. The return-of-premium death benefit is an added layer of certainty: if the contract owner passes away, the named beneficiary receives at least the full premium, regardless of what surrender charges would otherwise apply. That combination is especially meaningful for older buyers or those with health considerations who want the growth benefit but want family protection in place.

I think this product is best for savers in their late 50s through 80s who have a defined near-term purpose for the money — a known expense in three to five years, a bridge before Social Security, or simply a desire to park a portion of savings in a guaranteed instrument without the rate-environment exposure that an MVA product creates. It works for both qualified and non-qualified money, with issue ages extending to 90 for both. It is less well suited for accumulation-focused buyers with a longer horizon, or anyone who needs income-generating features.

You are buying a three-year insurance contract that credits a fixed rate, guaranteed at issue, on your deposit. The insurer — Fidelity and Guaranty Life Insurance Company — takes on your deposit, credits interest, and returns principal plus accumulated interest at the end of the period. In exchange, you agree not to access more than 10% of the account value per year during the three years without facing a surrender charge. The "Non-MVA" label means the surrender charge percentage is the only cost for early exits — there is no additional market-sensitive adjustment layered on top. The "with ROP" label means the death benefit is at least the return of your original premium, not just the cash surrender value after any charges.

The fixed account credits interest at a guaranteed rate set at contract issue. The brochure notes two rate tiers: a lower rate for smaller deposits and a higher rate for deposits above a threshold. The rate is locked for the full three-year initial guarantee period. At the end of that period, you have a 30-day window to surrender without penalty or roll into a new guarantee period. Exact current rates are not published in the specification materials and may vary by issue date — ask your advisor for the current rate sheet, especially to confirm the premium threshold that qualifies for the higher tier.

The return-of-premium death benefit is the most meaningful secondary feature here. On a short-duration annuity, the practical risk of a death benefit shortfall is real: if the contract owner passes away early in the surrender period, surrender charges would ordinarily reduce the available value. The ROP guarantee removes that risk entirely. Beneficiaries receive at least the full original premium. For buyers who are funding this with money earmarked for heirs, or who have reason to think the full surrender period may not play out, that provision shifts the risk calculus meaningfully.

The three-year surrender structure is steeper than it might initially look. The first-year charge is 9%, dropping to 8% and then 7% before clearing in year four. That is a meaningful penalty for a short-duration product. The 10% free-withdrawal provision, available immediately and in each contract year, provides some flexibility but requires a minimum $2,000 balance to be left in the account.

The absence of an MVA is a real structural advantage. Many MYGAs include an MVA that adjusts the surrender charge up or down based on changes in a reference interest rate index — in a rising rate environment, that adjustment can add significantly to the exit cost. This product does not have that exposure. What you see is what you pay. Waiver provisions for nursing home confinement, terminal illness, and inability to perform activities of daily living are also included, which reduces the real-world liquidity risk for buyers with health uncertainty.

There are no base contract fees and no rider fees on this product. The only explicit cost is the surrender charge schedule noted above, which applies only if you exceed the free-withdrawal amount during the three-year period. That is a clean fee structure for a MYGA.

The tradeoffs are structural, not hidden. The rate tiering means smaller depositors access a lower rate — the high band requires a premium at or above an undisclosed threshold, so buyers near the $20,000 minimum may find themselves on the lower tier. The three-year term limits compounding potential. And because this is an advisor-channel product, it may not be available through every distribution path. Buyers comparing MYGAs should verify both the current rate and the tier threshold before committing.

Legal Entity: Fidelity and Guaranty Life Insurance Company

Parent: FGL Holdings

A.M. Best Rating: A

Note: The carrier's A.M. Best rating of A and parent entity (FGL Holdings) were listed in the source materials as lower-confidence fields. Verify current ratings directly with F&G or A.M. Best before relying on them in a suitability analysis.