SecureBuilder 7 review

Yes, for the right buyer. SecureBuilder 7 is a solid accumulation FIA for someone who wants principal protection, is comfortable with a 7-year commitment, and has no need for a guaranteed lifetime income rider. It is less compelling for someone who might want income-rider flexibility down the road, dislikes MVA exposure, or is comparing it against short-surrender alternatives that may better match their timeline.

The primary reason to consider SecureBuilder 7 is accumulation with a zero-loss floor on indexed interest. The secondary reason is the flexibility of having seven distinct crediting strategies available inside a single contract, including both annual and biennial options. In practical terms, this is the kind of annuity someone buys when they want their retirement savings to have more upside potential than a traditional fixed annuity typically allows, while keeping principal protected from market declines. The absence of a rider fee also means every dollar in the contract is working on accumulation rather than paying for a benefit that may go unused.

I think SecureBuilder 7 is best for someone in their mid-50s to early 70s with a clear 7-year time horizon, whether in a qualified or non-qualified account. The broad issue-age window — non-qualified down to age 0 — suggests F&G designed this for a wide audience, but realistically the product suits a pre- or early-retiree who wants to set aside a meaningful chunk of savings for growth, is not counting on that money for day-to-day income, and prefers the simplicity of a no-fee design. It is less suitable for someone who may need periodic access above the free-withdrawal amount or who wants a contract that can convert to a guaranteed income stream via a rider.

You are not buying stock market exposure. You are buying a principal-protected insurance contract that determines interest credits based on how an index performs over a defined period. If the index goes up, you receive a portion of that gain, shaped by either a cap or a participation rate depending on which strategy you choose. If the index goes flat or falls, you receive zero interest rather than losing principal. That floor on indexed interest is the core of what the annuity provides. The trade-off for that protection is that your upside is limited — caps and participation rates mean you will not capture the full index return in a strong year.

SecureBuilder 7 offers seven indexed crediting strategies across two indices plus a fixed account option. On the S&P 500, you can choose from: an annual point-to-point cap strategy, an annual point-to-point participation-rate strategy, an annual performance-triggered strategy, and a biennial (2-year) point-to-point cap strategy. On the Balanced Asset 5 Index, you can choose from: an annual point-to-point participation-rate strategy and a biennial point-to-point strategy. The rates on file as of April 2026 show an S&P 500 annual cap in the 8.75%–9.25% range, S&P 500 annual participation rates around 100%, and Balanced Asset 5 participation rates in the 195%–205% range.

Each approach works differently. A cap strategy credits up to a maximum percentage of the index gain. A participation-rate strategy credits a stated share of the index gain, with no separate cap above that. The performance-triggered strategy credits a fixed declared rate whenever the index is positive (even slightly), and credits zero if the index is flat or negative. The Balanced Asset 5 Index is a volatility-controlled allocation index, which explains why its participation rate can exceed 100% — the index itself is designed to dampen volatility, which typically reduces raw return potential versus the S&P 500 directly.

The biennial options measure performance over two years rather than one, which adds a different kind of flexibility for buyers who want to reduce the chance of a single bad year wiping out a full crediting period.

The most meaningful secondary feature on SecureBuilder 7 is the health-care waiver package. The contract waives surrender charges and MVA for terminal illness, nursing home confinement, and home health care — what F&G describes as access for unexpected health care costs. For a 7-year accumulation contract, that waiver matters because it softens one of the primary objections to a long surrender period: what happens if a major health event forces a large withdrawal before the contract matures.

The RMD accommodation is also worth noting. F&G will waive surrender charges and MVA on withdrawals needed to satisfy required minimum distributions attributable to the contract. For buyers holding this in a qualified account — where RMDs apply after age 73 — that provision prevents an administrative requirement from triggering unexpected costs.

After the first contract year, SecureBuilder 7 allows annual withdrawals of up to 10% of account value without surrender charges. Amounts beyond that are subject to the following schedule:

A market value adjustment — MVA, which causes your surrender penalty to fluctuate based on interest rate changes — can also apply in most states. The spec notes that the MVA does not apply in Alaska, Alabama, Connecticut, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Oregon, Pennsylvania, or Washington. If you are in a state where MVA applies, a rising interest rate environment means you could pay more than the stated surrender charge alone on a large early exit.

The contract is not designed for short-term access. Even with the 10% free amount, anyone who might need more than that during the 7-year window should think carefully before committing.

SecureBuilder 7 has no base contract fee and no income rider fee — there is no rider to attach. That is genuinely a clean structure. The cost of the product is embedded in the crediting terms: the caps, participation rates, and performance-trigger rates are set at levels that allow F&G to hedge the underlying index options and maintain a spread. In good years, you give up some of the upside. In bad years, you get downside protection that a direct market investment does not provide.

The main structural tradeoff is the 7-year commitment combined with MVA exposure. A 7-year surrender period is not unusually long for an FIA, but it is real. Buyers who have any doubt about their ability to leave a significant portion of their savings untouched for seven years should weigh that carefully. The performance-trigger strategy, while appealing in flat markets, will lag in strong up-years compared to cap or participation-rate strategies. And the Balanced Asset 5 Index, while offering a high participation rate on paper, is a volatility-controlled index — its design typically reduces the raw gain it can capture relative to the S&P 500 directly.

Legal Entity: Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company

Parent: FGL Holdings

A.M. Best Rating: A

F&G is a mid-sized annuity carrier with a focused product line and an A (Excellent) rating from A.M. Best. It is not one of the largest insurers by assets, but its financial strength rating is solid for this category of product.