JourneyMark 5 review

It depends. For a buyer between 86 and 90 who wants principal protection, some index-linked upside, and an exit window inside 5 years, this is a serviceable product from a financially strong carrier. For someone outside that age range, it is irrelevant — and for a buyer who wants full liquidity, simple S&P 500 exposure, or an income rider, it is the wrong product entirely.

The most direct reason is that most FIAs won't accept buyers over 85. If you are 86 or older and still want the mechanics of an index-linked annuity — principal protection, tax deferral, and growth potential tied to a market index — JourneyMark 5 is one of the few products designed for you. The short 5-year surrender period keeps the commitment proportionate to a buyer's age and planning horizon, and the mild surrender charges (starting at 5%) reduce the downside of needing access in year one or two.

I think this product is most relevant for a buyer aged 86 to 90 with a qualified account generating RMDs, who wants some growth potential beyond a plain fixed annuity without committing to a product that would tie up money for seven or ten years. It is less relevant for someone with significant liquidity needs, someone who prefers simple transparent indices, or anyone outside the 86–90 age band since they would not qualify.

You are not buying market participation. You are buying a principal-protected insurance contract that credits interest based on the performance of three different indices, each with a participation rate applied to the gain. If an index falls, you get zero — not a loss. If it rises, you get a portion of that gain, shaped by the participation rate and the design of the specific strategy you selected. The plain S&P 500 option carries a modest 44% participation rate (current as of April 15, 2026, and subject to change). The proprietary Goldman Sachs Pathfinder and Citi Flexi-Beta 5 strategies show much higher published participation rates — 157% to 247% — but those indices are engineered to have lower raw volatility, which is what makes that math work. Higher participation on a lower-volatility index is not the same as higher participation on the S&P 500.

JourneyMark 5 offers six indexed strategies plus a fixed account. The indexed options span three measurement periods: annual (one year), biennial (two years), and five-year. Indices are the S&P 500, Goldman Sachs Pathfinder, and Citi Flexi-Beta 5 Excess Return. All strategies use a participation rate rather than a cap — meaning you get a defined percentage of any index gain rather than a capped dollar amount.

As of the April 2026 rate filing: the S&P 500 annual strategy pays 44% of the index gain (guaranteed floor: 4%). The Goldman Sachs Pathfinder annual strategy pays 157% (guaranteed floor: 10%). The Citi Flexi-Beta 5 annual strategy pays 172% (guaranteed floor: 10%). Biennial Citi Flexi-Beta: 247%. The five-year Citi Flexi-Beta strategy pairs that index with a quarterly high-water mark feature, carrying a 235% participation rate. The fixed account is currently 4.15% (guaranteed floor: 1%).

The guaranteed minimum participation rates are a meaningful structural protection — the carrier cannot drop below those floors even if they reset rates at renewal. That floor is worth noting when comparing to cap-based products that offer no such guarantee.

The Waiver of Withdrawal Charge and MVA Rider comes at no cost and covers two situations most buyers at this age should take seriously: confinement in a qualified care facility for 60 or more consecutive days, and a diagnosis of limited life expectancy (12 months or fewer). In either case, both the surrender charge and the MVA are waived, giving access to full account value without penalty. This rider is not available in California, which is one more reason to check state terms carefully.

The surrender schedule is genuinely mild by FIA standards — many 5-year products start at 7–9%. The charge drops to just 1% in year five and then disappears. That said, a market value adjustment (MVA) also applies during the surrender period. An MVA adjusts your surrender value based on the interest rate environment at the time of withdrawal — if rates have risen since you bought the contract, the MVA can deepen the effective penalty beyond the stated charge. That dynamic matters most if you buy when rates are low and need access when rates are higher.

Free withdrawals are limited to 5% of account value per index year after the first year, noncumulative, with a $250 minimum. That 5% threshold is below the 10% many FIA peers offer, which is a real constraint if your total financial picture requires meaningful annual distributions. The good news is that RMDs that exceed the free withdrawal amount are waived of charges (one RMD waiver per index year), and substantially equal periodic payments under IRC 72(t)/72(q) are also waived. California buyers face a steeper surrender schedule: 8.25%, 7.75%, 6.75%, 5.75%, 4.75% in years one through five.

There is no base contract fee and no rider fee on JourneyMark 5. The cost structure is invisible — embedded in the participation rates and the spread between what the index earns and what gets credited. That is standard for FIAs, but it means the economics are harder to evaluate than a product with a stated annual charge.

The main structural tradeoffs are: a 5% free-withdrawal limit that is below peer norms; reliance on proprietary indices for the most attractive participation rates (Goldman Sachs and Citi strategies, not the vanilla S&P 500); channel restriction through Legacy Marketing Group, which limits where you can buy it and potentially limits competition among advisors; and California variation that applies higher surrender charges. None of these are disqualifying, but taken together they create a less flexible profile than an open-market FIA with a 10% free-withdrawal and straight S&P 500 exposure.

Legal Entity: Integrity Life Insurance Company

Parent: Western & Southern Financial Group

AM Best Rating: A+