Rate Lock 4-Year review

It depends on what you need from it. For someone parking a short-term lump sum who wants a guaranteed yield, no annual fees, and tax deferral, this is a reasonable choice. For someone who might need liquidity in year one, or who is comparing short-duration MYGAs against high-yield savings alternatives, the year-one blackout and MVA risk are worth weighing carefully before committing.

The straightforward case for Rate Lock 4-Year is rate certainty over a short horizon. Banks and brokerage CDs have to renew at market rates; this product locks a rate for the full four years. For non-qualified money, the tax-deferral benefit adds value if you do not need the interest now. For qualified accounts, the guaranteed rate can fill a conservative sleeve without requiring active management. The nursing home and terminal illness waivers also give meaningful escape-valve value for buyers in their 60s and 70s who want protection against forced early surrender.

I think Rate Lock 4-Year fits best for someone between 55 and 75 with a defined four-year horizon — perhaps bridging to Medicare, or parking proceeds from a home sale before a planned distribution — who wants principal protection and a fixed return without rider complexity. It is less suitable for someone under 55 who may have a mid-term financial change, anyone who might need access in the first contract year, or someone shopping primarily on rate without also accounting for the MVA.

You are buying a guaranteed interest rate, locked for four years, inside an insurance contract. The carrier invests your premium in its general account and credits the stated rate to your accumulation value annually. At the end of four years, the surrender charges drop to zero and you can take a full distribution, roll the contract, or annuitize. Until then, your principal is protected from loss but is not liquid above the free-withdrawal amount. The insurance wrapper adds the nursing home waiver, the terminal illness provision, and the death-benefit guarantee — features a bank CD does not offer.

The guaranteed rate on Rate Lock 4-Year is determined at issue by two factors: the guarantee period (four years) and the premium band your deposit falls into. There are three bands — Low ($10,000–$99,999), Medium ($100,000–$249,999), and High ($250,000 and above). As of the most recent rate sheet cited in the source materials (June 2025), the Low band was crediting 4.40% and the Medium and High bands were both at 4.50%. These rates are guaranteed for the full four-year period, not subject to renewal adjustments mid-contract. The rate your contract issues at is the rate it keeps.

The most practically meaningful secondary feature is the Terminal Illness and Nursing Home Confinement Waiver. If you are confined to a qualified nursing home — or receive a terminal illness diagnosis — you can request a full or partial surrender without the standard surrender charges or MVA, subject to the product's eligibility requirements. For the nursing home waiver, the maximum issue age is 75, so buyers who are older than that at issue do not qualify for that specific provision. For buyers in that age window, this waiver is not a minor footnote; it is a real piece of downside protection that meaningfully reduces the risk of being locked into the contract during a health crisis.

The surrender charge schedule runs 9%, 8%, 7%, 6% across years one through four. Starting in contract year two, you can also take free withdrawals up to 5% of the prior anniversary accumulation value (minimum $250) or any required minimum distribution attributable to this contract — whichever is applicable. There is no free-withdrawal access in year one.

The more meaningful constraint in some scenarios is the MVA — Market Value Adjustment. During the surrender charge period, a surrender above the free-withdrawal amount triggers not only the stated charge but also an MVA that adjusts the surrender value up or down based on interest rate movements since issue. In a rising-rate environment, the MVA moves against you and can meaningfully increase the effective cost of an early exit. This is not unusual for MYGAs, but it is worth understanding before you commit. If you might need the money before four years are up, the total exit cost can exceed what the surrender schedule suggests on its face.

There are no front-end charges, no annual contract fees, and no rider fees — there are no riders to add. The stated costs of ownership are: the surrender charges if you exit early, and the MVA which adds a variable penalty on top of those charges. The minimum guaranteed surrender value is 87.5% of premiums at a 1–3% interest rate, so there is a contractual floor on how low the surrender value can go even in a bad MVA environment.

The broader tradeoff is structural. You are giving up four years of liquidity in exchange for a guaranteed rate. Compared to a high-yield savings account or short-duration Treasury, you lose access but gain tax deferral and insurance-company guarantees. Whether that trade makes sense depends on your timeline and tax situation.

Legal Entity: Guaranty Income Life Insurance Company

Parent: Kuvare US Holdings, Inc.

A.M. Best Rating: A-

Guaranty Income Life Insurance Company is a Louisiana-based carrier operating under the Kuvare US Holdings umbrella, a holding company that also owns several other insurance subsidiaries. The A- rating from A.M. Best indicates a solid but not top-tier financial strength position. For a short-duration MYGA, a four-year holding period with a carrier at this rating level is generally within reasonable risk tolerance for most buyers, though it is worth acknowledging that Kuvare-family carriers are smaller and less broadly known than major national issuers.