MultiVantage 5-Year review

Yes, for buyers whose goal is principal protection with a competitive fixed yield. This is not a product with a complex story to evaluate — you get a guaranteed rate for five years, immediate free-withdrawal access, a clean death benefit, and a nursing home waiver. If those are the features you need and your time horizon fits, the product does what it promises. It is less compelling for anyone whose primary goal is accumulation with upside potential or guaranteed lifetime income.

The rational case is simple: someone wants a fixed rate for five years, does not want to think about index strategies or participation rates, and values knowing exactly what they will earn. The immediate free withdrawal adds practical value for buyers who may need periodic access to a portion of their funds without triggering charges. The nursing home waiver is a real secondary benefit that addresses a genuine concern for older buyers who are funding an IRA rollover or a non-qualified account approaching retirement.

I think MultiVantage 5-Year is best suited for buyers in their late 50s through mid-70s who have a portion of savings they want to keep safe and growing at a predictable rate. It fits both qualified (IRA, IRA rollover) and non-qualified accounts. Someone looking to ladder CDs into annuities or move money from a savings account into a slightly higher-yielding fixed vehicle will find the structure familiar. It is less appropriate for buyers who need the money within five years without leaning heavily on the free-withdrawal provision, or for buyers whose main goal is equity-like upside or lifetime income guarantees.

You are buying a five-year rate lock from an insurance company. The contract credits interest at the guaranteed rate using daily compounding, and the result shows up in your account value annually. There is no participation in any index, no cap rate to track, and no rider rolling up a benefit base. The value proposition is entirely about certainty. If market interest rates rise sharply after you buy, you will have locked in the rate you started with and nothing more. If rates fall or stay flat, that same lock starts to look attractive. This is the fundamental trade in any fixed annuity.

MultiVantage 5-Year uses a single Guaranteed Rate Option: a fixed interest rate applied to the full account value for the five-year contract period. Interest is credited at an annual effective rate using daily compounding, which means it accrues continuously rather than once a year. At the time of the April 2026 rate sheet, the underlying guaranteed rate is 3.90% for all five years, with a 1% interest rate enhancement added in the first contract year only — effectively a higher first-year yield that steps back down to the base rate for years two through five.

The account value can only be allocated to one GRO period at a time, so there is no rate-shopping between tranches during the surrender period. What you see at issue is what you get for the duration.

The most practically meaningful secondary feature is the waiver package: surrender charges and the MVA are both waived for nursing home or licensed health care facility confinement (after the first contract anniversary, minimum 60 consecutive days of confinement), as well as for terminal illness diagnosed after issue, required minimum distributions, and full annuitizations. For a buyer who is funding a qualified account and concerned about long-term care needs, the nursing home waiver turns a potential liquidity trap into a more defensible choice. This is not a care-funding product, but the waiver reduces the risk of paying exit charges during an adverse health event. Note that the nursing home waiver is not available in California.

The 10% free withdrawal is available from the first contract year — no waiting period — which is better than many MYGAs that delay access until after year one. That means a buyer with $100,000 in the contract can withdraw up to $10,000 in year one without triggering any charge. The provision is noncumulative, so unused free-withdrawal room does not carry over.

Amounts above the free withdrawal are subject to the following schedule, and an MVA — Market Value Adjustment, meaning your effective exit cost fluctuates based on prevailing interest rates — also applies. If rates have risen since you bought the contract, the MVA will increase your effective cost to exit; if rates have fallen, it may reduce it.

The 8% charge in the first two years is on the high end for a 5-year product. Buyers who value maximum flexibility during the early years should weigh this carefully. The MVA does not apply during the last 30 days of the GRO period or to the death benefit.

There is no base contract fee and no rider fee — this is a genuinely low-cost product. The only cost embedded in the structure is the spread between what the insurer earns on its general account and the rate it credits to you, which is standard for any fixed annuity and not separately disclosed.

The main structural tradeoffs are: a 1% guaranteed minimum interest rate floor that sits well below the current credited rate (meaning the contractual downside protection is thin if economic conditions shift sharply over a longer horizon), and the MVA, which adds uncertainty to the true cost of any surrender above the free amount. Neither of these is unusual for this product type, but both are worth understanding before committing.

Legal Entity: Integrity Life Insurance Company

Parent: Western & Southern Financial Group

AM Best Rating: A+

Western & Southern is a highly rated mutual holding company with a long history in the insurance industry. An A+ AM Best rating reflects a very strong ability to meet policyholder obligations. Integrity Life is the entity that issues this form in most states; National Integrity Life Insurance Company issues in New York.