Why it earned this rating
Our assessment
New Momentum 10-Year is a clean fixed annuity with no fees, a solid waiver set, and an immediate 10% annual free withdrawal provision. It earns a solid rating for its peer group rather than a higher mark because the 7-year surrender schedule with MVA exposure is a meaningful commitment for a product whose main appeal is simplicity, and the $2,000 minimum premium targets a broad market where rate competitiveness varies considerably by issue date. The A+ carrier rating and Western & Southern backing are genuine strengths.
The short version
This is a straightforward fixed annuity with a guaranteed interest rate — not an index product, not a variable product, not a product with income riders. Integrity offers multiple guaranteed rate option (GRO) periods ranging from 2 to 10 years, and the 10-year option is the longest available. What you are buying is certainty: a rate locked for up to 10 years inside a contract that has no annual fees. The tradeoff is a 7-year surrender schedule with a market value adjustment, which means early exit before year seven can be expensive if interest rates have risen.
Key facts
The full review
Is Integrity New Momentum 10-Year a Good Annuity?
It depends on what you need. For someone who wants a fully guaranteed fixed rate, no annual fees, and a solid carrier, this is a reasonable product. For someone who might need liquidity before year seven, wants index participation, or is shopping primarily for income, it is the wrong product entirely. The 7-year surrender window paired with an MVA is a genuine commitment, and buyers who underestimate that risk are the ones most likely to be unhappy with this contract.
Why Someone Would Buy This Annuity
The main reason to buy New Momentum 10-Year is rate certainty. If you have a lump sum you want to grow at a predictable rate without any market exposure, without any fees eating into the return, and without managing investment choices, this product does exactly that. The secondary reason is the waiver package: nursing home confinement, terminal illness, unemployment, and RMD provisions all allow access without surrender charges, which reduces the practical cost of a long lockup for buyers with specific risk scenarios in mind.
Who This Annuity Is Best For
I think this product is best for conservative savers in their 50s through early 70s who have a specific bucket of money they do not plan to touch for seven or more years. It fits well in a qualified account where RMDs will eventually apply, since those distributions avoid surrender charges. It is less appealing for anyone who needs current income, wants to participate in equity markets, or is not certain they can leave the money alone for the full surrender period. The $2,000 minimum makes it accessible at smaller deposit sizes than most competitors, but that does not change the liquidity picture.
What You're Really Buying Here
You are buying a contractual guarantee. Integrity promises to credit a specific interest rate — locked at the time of issue — for the period you select. Nothing about this product is tied to market performance. The rate does not go up if markets do well, and it does not go down if they do not. That is the core appeal for buyers who want certainty over potential. The Quarterly Interest Option is a secondary crediting method that pays interest out rather than compounding it, which is useful for buyers who want periodic income from a non-qualified contract without annuitizing. What you are not buying is flexibility — the MVA and 7-year surrender schedule mean this is genuinely illiquid money.
How the Core Feature Works
The primary crediting method is the Guaranteed Rate Option (GRO). At issue, you lock in a fixed interest rate for a selected guarantee period — available in 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, or 10 years. The rate is credited daily and compounds inside the contract. The 10-year GRO is the longest available, and as of the most recent rate sheet (April 2026), the current rate was 3.75% with a 0.75% first-year enhancement applied on top. That enhancement is an interest rate bonus, not a premium bonus — it boosts the credited rate only in year one and does not add to your account value at issue.
The alternative is the Quarterly Interest Option, which pays interest out quarterly rather than letting it compound. This option makes the contract behave more like a bond-ladder substitute, producing quarterly distributions without annuitizing. It is a meaningful distinction for buyers who want current cash flow rather than deferred accumulation.
Why the Secondary Feature Matters
The most practically important secondary feature is the waiver package. New Momentum 10-Year waives surrender charges and the MVA if you need to take money out due to nursing home or hospital confinement, terminal illness, or unemployment. Availability of these waivers varies by state — hardship waivers are not available in MA or SD, and the unemployment waiver is excluded in IN, MT, NJ, OR, PA, SC, and TX — but where they do apply, they meaningfully reduce the real cost of the long surrender period for buyers who face those life events. RMDs attributable to the contract are also exempt from surrender charges and the MVA, which matters significantly for buyers funding a traditional IRA or 401(k) rollover.
Liquidity and Surrender Schedule
New Momentum 10-Year allows a 10% annual free withdrawal from the day the contract is issued — that is more accessible than many fixed annuities, which start free withdrawals after the first year. Above that 10%, surrender charges apply for the full 7-year window. A market value adjustment (MVA) also applies to amounts subject to surrender charges, which means if interest rates have risen since you purchased the contract, your effective exit cost could be higher than the listed surrender percentage alone. That dual risk — surrender charge plus negative MVA — is the main liquidity hazard in this product.
| Contract Year | Surrender Charge |
|---|---|
| 1 | 8% |
| 2 | 7% |
| 3 | 6% |
| 4 | 5% |
| 5 | 4% |
| 6 | 3% |
| 7 | 2% |
Fees and Tradeoffs
There are no annual fees on this contract. The base fee is zero. That is a genuine advantage over fee-bearing products, and it means the credited rate is the credited rate — there is nothing being silently subtracted each year.
The real tradeoffs are structural. First, the 3.75% current rate (as of April 2026) is a snapshot — Integrity will set rates at issue for new buyers and those rates can be higher or lower depending on when you purchase. Second, the product carries an MVA, which most buyers do not fully appreciate until they try to exit early in a rising-rate environment. Third, the first-year rate enhancement of 0.75% is a one-time boost only, so the blended annualized return over 10 years is lower than the first-year headline rate implies.
Product snapshot
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Product Type | Fixed Annuity |
| Surrender Period | 7 years |
| Issue Ages | 0–85 |
| Minimum Premium | $2,000 |
| Crediting Methods | Fixed rate (Guaranteed Rate Option), Quarterly Interest Option |
| Free Withdrawal | 10% of account value annually (noncumulative), available immediately from contract issue |
| MGSV | Minimum guaranteed interest rate of 1–3% (varies by contract/state) for life of contract |
| Death Benefit | Full account value at time proof of death is received; no withdrawal charge applies |
| Income Rider | Not available |
| Premium Bonus | None |
| Availability | Not available in CA, MI, OR, WA. State variations approved in IN, MA, MT, NJ, PA, SD, TX. Hardship waivers not available in MA and SD; unemployment waiver excluded in IN, MT, NJ, OR, PA, SC, TX. |
Carrier snapshot
Legal Entity: Integrity Life Insurance Company
Parent: Western & Southern Financial Group
A.M. Best Rating: A+
Final take
New Momentum 10-Year is a straightforward fixed annuity that does what fixed annuities are supposed to do: lock in a rate, protect principal, and stay out of your way. The Western & Southern A+ backing is a real credential, the waiver set is practical, and the zero-fee structure keeps the math honest.
The limitation is that the product's name suggests a 10-year commitment but the surrender schedule is 7 years — that naming can create confusion, and buyers should understand the distinction before signing. If you have long-term dollars you genuinely will not need for seven or more years, want certainty over index potential, and value the RMD and hardship waivers, this is a respectable choice. If you are less certain about the timeline, or if you want the option to pursue higher returns through an indexed strategy, a shorter GRO period or a different product type would be a better fit.