SecureIncome 7 review

Yes, for the right buyer. This is a good annuity for someone whose main goal is protected lifetime income, who can defer turning that income on for several years, and who values the care doubler as a backstop. It is less appealing for someone shopping for accumulation, someone who wants a deep menu of index strategies, or someone who might need significant access to principal during the surrender period.

The main reason to buy SecureIncome 7 is to build a guaranteed future income stream while your principal is protected from market losses. The 7% compound roll-up grows the income base predictably during the deferral period, and the 7% bonus gives that base a head start at issue. The secondary reason is the built-in impairment rider, which doubles your income payment if you can't perform certain activities of daily living — a meaningful feature for someone worried about care costs later in retirement.

I think SecureIncome 7 is best for someone in the pre-retirement or early-retirement window — roughly mid-50s to early 70s — who wants to convert long-term savings into a future paycheck and expects to wait several years before drawing income. It fits both qualified and non-qualified money, and the relatively short 7-year surrender makes it easier to commit to than a 10-year income FIA. It is less attractive for someone who wants the strongest possible growth terms, expects to need frequent access to principal above the 10% free amount, or wants a broad index menu to play different market environments.

You are not buying stock market upside. You are buying a future income guarantee wrapped around a principal-protected annuity. The heart of this contract is the income base — a separate accounting value, not your actual cash — that grows at 7% compound for up to 10 years (or until age 85) and gets a 7% bonus at issue. When you eventually turn income on, your age and the size of that income base determine the lifetime payment. The S&P 500 crediting options affect your real account value and what you'd walk away with if you surrendered, but the income base is the engine doing the work.

The built-in income rider here is the Enhanced Guaranteed Minimum Withdrawal Benefit VII, or EGMWB. At issue, F&G applies a 7% bonus to your initial premium and credits it to the income base — note that this bonus goes to the benefit base, not your account value, so it isn't cash you can withdraw. From there, the income base grows at 7% compounded annually for up to 10 years or until you reach age 85, whichever comes first. This roll-up only builds the income base; it does not increase your withdrawable account value. When you activate income, the lifetime withdrawal amount is calculated off that grown income base, so the longer you wait (up to the cap), the larger the eventual payment. The roll-up bonus is not available in AK, AL, CT, MN, MS, OR, PA, and WA, so confirm your state.

The most meaningful secondary feature is the built-in Impairment Rider, which pays 2x your income amount if you can't perform qualifying activities of daily living. This is included with the EGMWB rider rather than sold separately, and it functions as a partial substitute for standalone long-term care coverage — if a care event hits, your annuity income temporarily doubles to help cover costs. It isn't a replacement for true long-term care insurance, and the doubled payment can accelerate how fast the account value depletes, but as a built-in backstop it adds real value for buyers worried about future care expenses. The product also offers additional penalty-free access for nursing home care, home health care, or terminal illness, subject to state conditions.

This annuity is built for long-term retirement dollars, not short-term cash needs. After the first contract year, you can take up to 10% of the account value each year with no surrender charge and no market value adjustment. Anything above that during the surrender period is hit with both a withdrawal charge and an MVA — Market Value Adjustment, which means the penalty on a large early withdrawal moves with interest rates and can swing in either direction. The charge starts at 9% in year one and steps down to 0% after year seven.

There are some relief features. Required minimum distributions are friendly here, and there's additional penalty-free access for nursing home care, home health care, or terminal illness, subject to state conditions. Systematic withdrawals can run monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually, and you get up to four non-systematic withdrawals per year. Even with those provisions, this is not a contract to treat like an emergency fund — the 7-year schedule and MVA make larger early exits expensive.

The main cost is the income rider: 1.15% of the income base annually, deducted from your account value, and it can rise to a maximum of 1.50% if the rider is restarted. That fee buys you the 7% roll-up, the 7% benefit-base bonus, and the care doubler — whether it's worth it depends on whether you actually turn income on and hold long enough for the roll-up to do its work. If you bought this and then surrendered early without using the income features, you'd have paid for guarantees you never used.

The other tradeoffs are structural rather than line-item fees. The crediting menu is limited to the S&P 500, and the caps are modest — the brochure's rates (effective September 12, 2025) list a 4.75% one-year point-to-point cap, an 8.25% two-year cap, a 30% participation rate option, a 3.75% performance trigger, and a 3.00% fixed account. Those are income-product caps, not aggressive growth terms, because the contract is built to fund the income guarantee first. Rates reset and will differ from the brochure snapshot, so ask for the current rate sheet before buying.

Legal Entity: Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company

Parent: FGL Holdings

A.M. Best Rating: A