MYGA Plus 3 Year review

It depends on what the buyer actually wants. If the goal is a simple, fully guaranteed 3-year rate with no variability at all, this isn't the cleanest choice — the Performance Triggered sleeve introduces a real chance of a zero-interest year on part of the money. But for someone comfortable with that tradeoff in exchange for a materially higher potential rate on up to half the premium, and who lives in an approved state, this is a reasonably strong 3-year design with no extra fees attached to the optionality.

The rational buyer here wants a short commitment, values the guaranteed floor from the Fixed Account, and likes the idea of a second bucket of money with meaningfully higher upside potential tied to a well-known index. Because the Performance Triggered rate (7.10%/7.50%) is well above the Fixed Account rate (5.10%/5.40%), someone willing to accept the "zero in a down year" risk on part of their premium can meaningfully increase their blended return if the S&P 500 cooperates. The built-in chronic-illness and terminal-illness waivers add a real, no-cost safety valve that a plain-vanilla MYGA typically doesn't include.

I think this product is best suited to someone in their 50s through mid-70s with non-qualified or qualified money they can commit for exactly 3 years, who wants a guaranteed base but is comfortable with some of their premium behaving more like an index-linked bet than a fixed-rate promise. It's a weaker fit for someone who wants total rate certainty on 100% of premium, or who might need the money out sooner than 3 years given the 7.75%/7.5%/7.25% surrender schedule and MVA exposure.

Strip away the "MYGA Plus" branding and this is really two products wrapped in one contract. Slice one is a standard multi-year guaranteed annuity — a declared fixed rate, credited as simple interest, guaranteed for 3 years. Slice two is an index-linked annuity feature disguised in MYGA packaging: no direct market participation, no cap, no spread, no participation rate — just a declared rate that either gets credited in full (if the S&P 500 closed the contract year higher than it started) or not at all. At least 50% of premium must sit in the guaranteed slice; up to 50% can go into the index-linked slice, and the split is locked in permanently at issue — you cannot rebalance between the two later.

The Fixed Account pays a declared rate (currently 5.10% for standard premiums, 5.40% for the Low Band $100,000-plus tier) guaranteed for the full 3-year term, credited as simple interest — not compounded annually within the term, though it compounds at renewal if the contract is rolled into a new guarantee period. The Performance Triggered account works differently: at each contract anniversary, if the S&P 500 (price return, no dividends) is higher than it was at the start of that contract year, the full declared performance-triggered rate (currently 7.10%/7.50%) is credited to that portion of the account value. If the index is flat or down, that portion credits zero interest for the year — there's no partial credit and no floor on the index side beyond principal protection from market losses (the account value itself never declines from index performance, it just may not grow that year).

The second most important feature here isn't a rider fee or a bonus — it's what's included for free. Ibexis bundles an Extended Care Waiver (waives surrender charges after 90+ consecutive days of hospital or certified long-term-care facility confinement, available after the first contract anniversary) and a Terminal Illness Waiver (waives surrender charges with a 12-months-or-less life expectancy diagnosis, available after the first contract year) at no additional cost. These aren't marketed as headline riders, but they materially reduce the downside of being locked into a 3-year contract if health circumstances change — something a lot of comparably priced MYGAs don't offer without an added fee.

Three years is a relatively short commitment as MYGAs go, but the surrender charges are on the higher side for that duration — 7.75% in year one, stepping down to 7.5% and 7.25%. A Market Value Adjustment also applies on top of any surrender charge, meaning an early withdrawal above the free amount could cost more or less than the stated surrender percentage depending on where interest rates have moved since issue. The contract does allow 10% of the prior anniversary value to come out free of surrender charges each year after the first, with systematic withdrawal options (specific dollar amount or interest-only) available monthly, quarterly, semiannually, or annually, subject to a $500 minimum payment and a $2,000 minimum remaining balance. Whether required minimum distributions get special treatment isn't specified in the available materials, so RMD-friendliness should be confirmed directly before relying on this for a qualified account. At the end of the 3-year term, there's a 30-day window to withdraw everything penalty-free or renew into a new 3-year guarantee period at whatever rate is then current — a real advantage over annuities that auto-renew without a clean exit ramp.

There's no M&E charge, product fee, administration charge, or annual contract fee disclosed on the base contract, and the chronic-illness and terminal-illness waivers come with no stated fee either. The real tradeoff isn't a line-item cost — it's opportunity cost. Any premium allocated to the Performance Triggered account is giving up the certainty of the 5.10%/5.40% fixed rate in exchange for a shot at 7.10%/7.50%, but with the real possibility of earning nothing on that slice in a down or flat year. Buyers should think of the index-linked half as a genuine bet on index direction, not a guaranteed enhancement to the fixed rate.

Legal Entity: Ibexis Life & Annuity Insurance Company

A.M. Best Rating: A-