ChoicePlus Assurance B-Share review

It is a functional annuity for the right buyer. This product gives buyers access to a broad investment lineup inside a tax-deferred variable annuity wrapper, plus the ability to add an enhanced death benefit, a long-term care rider, or one of several lifetime income riders if those protections matter to the plan.

It is not a strong choice for someone who is cost-sensitive, who wants a simple low-fee investment account, or who does not particularly value the insurance guarantees. Variable annuity costs compound over time, and the B-share format means there are real penalties for early exit. Buyers who purchase this contract and later decide they want out before year eight will face surrender charges that start at 7% and decline to 3% by year seven, and a market value adjustment can apply as well.

For the buyer who understands those terms, values the guarantees, and has a long time horizon, this is a legitimate product with a reasonable design.

The main reasons are investment breadth with tax deferral, optional guaranteed lifetime income, and the death benefit structure. A buyer who wants equity and bond market access inside an annuity that defers taxes — and that can later be turned into a guaranteed income stream — has a real use case here. The optional long-term care rider and the Guarantee of Principal death benefit also make this worth considering for buyers with a care-planning or legacy component to their plan.

The lower $10,000 minimum premium matters too. It makes the contract accessible to buyers who are not starting with six-figure balances, which is unusual among variable annuities with this much rider flexibility.

I think this product is best for someone who wants variable investment exposure inside a tax-deferred wrapper, values the optional income, care, or death-benefit protections, and has a long enough time horizon that the 7-year surrender schedule is not a concern. It is less attractive for someone who is fee-sensitive, plans to take significant withdrawals before year eight, or does not need the insurance guarantees that justify a variable annuity's cost structure.

Buyers who already have substantial tax-deferred savings and are focused mainly on low-cost accumulation will typically find better options outside of a B-share variable annuity.

You are buying a tax-deferred investment account wrapped in an insurance contract. The insurance wrapper provides tax deferral on gains, a death benefit floor, and access to optional lifetime income guarantees through rider elections. The underlying investments are standard subaccounts — essentially mutual-fund-like portfolios inside the annuity shell.

What separates this from simply owning mutual funds in a brokerage account is the insurance layer: the death benefit guarantee, the tax treatment of gains, and the ability to convert to a lifetime income stream. What makes it more expensive than a brokerage account is that same insurance layer, which carries an annual M&E charge plus an administration fee regardless of whether you elect any riders.

The investment core is a menu of 127 variable subaccounts. These span equity (domestic, international, sector), fixed income, and allocation strategies across multiple fund managers. The contract also offers dollar-cost-averaging strategies — a 3.00% three-month DCA Plus, a 3.00% six-month DCA Plus, and a 2.00% 12-month DCA Plus — that pay a stated rate on money waiting to be moved into the subaccounts over time.

The investment allocation is buyer-directed. You can concentrate in a single subaccount or spread across many. The contract does not credit interest based on an index formula the way a fixed indexed annuity does — the subaccount values move directly with the underlying fund performance. That means genuine upside participation in rising markets, and real downside exposure in falling ones.

The optional rider suite is the reason to consider this product over a lower-cost alternative. On the income side, Lincoln offers several ProtectedPay Select options — Core, Max, and Plus — along with the 4LATER Select Advantage and i4LIFE Advantage Guaranteed Income Benefit. These are optional, not built in, so the income guarantee only exists if you elect and pay for it. Per the spec, rider charges run from roughly 0.26% to 0.76% annually, with an Accelerated Benefit option around 0.50% and a Level option around 0.35%. The spec does not specify the roll-up rate or any benefit-base bonus for these riders, so I would confirm those terms directly before relying on them — they are the numbers that determine how much future income the rider actually builds.

Beyond income, the optional long-term care rider can help cover qualifying care costs, with its charge deducted quarterly and scaled to the benefit base, age, and option chosen. The Guarantee of Principal death benefit ensures heirs receive the greater of account value or total investment, which is meaningful in a contract whose underlying value can fall with the market.

This contract allows free withdrawals of up to 10% of current account value or 10% of total premiums paid, whichever is greater. Amounts above that during the first seven years are subject to the B-share surrender schedule below, and a market value adjustment may also apply. Required minimum distributions are generally accommodated, which helps buyers using qualified money.

The fee structure here is real and adds up. The base contract carries a 1.15% mortality and expense charge assessed daily, plus a 0.10% administration charge, for a 1.25% total annual base expense before any subaccount costs or rider charges. That M&E level is on the higher end for a B-share variable annuity and is the single biggest reason this product does not rate higher. On top of the base, every subaccount carries its own expense ratio, which varies by fund and is set by the underlying manager rather than by Lincoln.

There is also a $35 annual contract fee, though it is waived once the account value exceeds $100,000 or after year 15. If you elect an income rider, add roughly 0.26% to 0.76% annually depending on the option, and the long-term care rider adds a separate quarterly charge.

The tradeoffs are structural. The insurance guarantees — the death benefit floor and the optional lifetime income and care features — have real value for some buyers, but they come at a cost that compounds over time. Buyers who elect riders and then never use the benefits have effectively paid for a guarantee that went unused. Anyone considering this contract should look closely at the all-in cost stack, because once the base 1.25%, subaccount expenses, and a rider are combined, the annual drag on a variable account can be substantial.

Legal Entity: The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company

Parent: Lincoln Financial Group

A.M. Best Rating: A