Why it earned this rating
Our assessment
Max Elite Guarantee 7-Year earns a strong rating because it delivers a clean, competitive locked rate from an A+-rated carrier with a straightforward surrender structure and a tiered rate design that rewards larger deposits. The MVA adds real early-exit risk that buyers need to account for, but within its peer group — 6-7 year accumulation MYGAs — this is a well-positioned product with no hidden fee drag.
The short version
This is a 7-year guaranteed-rate annuity for people who want the certainty of a fixed yield without any market-linked crediting complexity. The two-tier rate structure means buyers who can clear $100,000 get a noticeably better deal. What makes it more competitive than a basic bank CD alternative is the tax deferral, the tiered yield, and the nursing home waiver that provides a genuine safety valve after year one.
Key facts
The full review
Is North American Max Elite Guarantee 7-Year a Good Annuity?
Yes, for the right buyer. If you want a guaranteed rate, hate complexity, and have money you are confident you will not need for seven years, this is a solid fit. It is not the right product for someone who might need full access before the contract matures, or for someone whose main goal is lifetime income from a rider — there is no income rider on this product.
Why Someone Would Buy This Annuity
The case for this annuity is simple: you want a locked yield with no decision fatigue. There are no index allocations to manage, no participation rates to second-guess, and no annual crediting choices. You pick the deposit amount, accept the rate, and hold it for seven years. The tiered rate structure adds a practical incentive — buyers at $100,000 or more capture the full 4.80% rate rather than the 4.55% offered on smaller deposits. For someone parking retirement savings they will not touch until age 67 or later, that clarity has real value.
Who This Annuity Is Best For
I think this product is best for a buyer in their late 50s to mid-60s with a known timeline — someone who can match the 7-year surrender window to a retirement target or a larger distribution plan. It works well in both qualified and non-qualified accounts. It is less suited to someone who has not stress-tested their liquidity needs, someone who wants market-linked upside, or someone whose priority is building a pension-like income stream.
What You're Really Buying Here
You are buying a guaranteed-rate insurance contract, not a CD and not an investment. The mechanism is simpler than most annuities: North American credits your account with daily interest at a contractually locked rate for the full seven years. The insurance wrapper provides tax deferral on earnings until withdrawal, and the death benefit ensures the full accumulation value passes to beneficiaries without the delay and cost of probate. What you are giving up is flexibility — specifically, penalty-free access beyond 10% per year for the duration of the surrender schedule.
How the Core Feature Works
The crediting is straightforward. Interest accrues daily at the guaranteed rate for the full 7-year contract term. There are two bands: deposits below $100,000 earn 4.55% annually, and deposits of $100,000 or more earn 4.80%. These rates are locked at issue for the life of the contract — they do not reset annually the way some fixed annuity rates do. That means you know on day one exactly what your ending value will be, assuming no withdrawals. The daily crediting structure means even midyear contributions earn a full pro-rated benefit.
Why the Secondary Feature Matters
The nursing home confinement waiver is the most meaningful secondary feature. After the first contract year, if you are confined to a qualified nursing care facility, you can withdraw up to 100% of the account value without surrender charges or MVA. That is a genuine safety valve for a 7-year contract. Many buyers in the 55-70 age range do legitimately worry about the scenario where health forces an early exit. The waiver does not replace long-term care insurance, but it meaningfully reduces the risk that a serious health event forces a painful penalty on top of everything else. The spousal continuance option — which lets a surviving spouse continue the contract rather than trigger a full payout — also adds value for couples structuring legacy assets.
Liquidity and Surrender Schedule
You can withdraw up to 10% of the beginning-of-year accumulation value once per contract year after the issue date without penalty. Amounts above that are subject to the surrender schedule below. Importantly, this contract also includes a market value adjustment — the MVA can either increase or decrease the surrender amount depending on where interest rates are when you exit, which means the actual cost of an early withdrawal can diverge from the headline charge percentage. In a rising rate environment, the MVA can add meaningful cost on top of the stated charge.
| Contract Year | Surrender Charge |
|---|---|
| 1 | 9% |
| 2 | 8% |
| 3 | 7% |
| 4 | 6% |
| 5 | 5% |
| 6 | 4% |
| 7 | 3% |
| 8 | 0% |
Fees and Tradeoffs
There are no explicit contract fees or rider fees on this product. No base contract charge, no annual fee, no mortality and expense deduction. The cost of the product is purely the opportunity cost of the 7-year lockup and the spread between what North American earns on the underlying assets and what they credit to you. That is a reasonable tradeoff for a guaranteed-rate instrument, but buyers should go in clear-eyed about the MVA. The tradeoff is illiquidity for certainty — and the MVA makes the illiquidity real in rising-rate environments.
Product snapshot
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Product Type | Fixed Annuity |
| Surrender Period | 7 years |
| Issue Ages | 0-90 |
| Minimum Premium | $20,000 |
| Crediting Methods | Fixed-Rate Annuity |
| Free Withdrawal | 10% of beginning-of-year accumulation value annually after issue date |
| MGSV | 87.5% of premiums at 1-3% |
| Death Benefit | Full accumulation value paid to beneficiaries in lump sum or installments; may avoid probate |
| Income Rider | Not available |
| Premium Bonus | None |
| Availability | Not available in ID, NY, OR |
Carrier snapshot
Legal Entity: North American Company for Life and Health Insurance
Parent: Sammons Financial Group
A.M. Best Rating: A+ (Superior)
Final take
Max Elite Guarantee 7-Year is a clean product for what it is. If you have 7-year money, want a guaranteed rate from a financially strong carrier, and do not need income rider bells and whistles, this fits the bill. The A+ carrier rating, the nursing home waiver, and the tiered rate structure for larger deposits all add genuine value.
Where it is not the right fit: if there is any real possibility you need more than 10% per year before year 8, the combination of surrender charges and MVA can make early exit costly in ways that are not fully visible from the schedule alone. And if your primary goal is growing guaranteed lifetime income, this product has nothing to offer on that front — there is no GLWB or income rider of any kind.
For accumulation-focused buyers with a clear 7-year timeline and enough in the account to capture the high band, this is a well-structured MYGA worth including in a comparison set.