Oak Elite Advisory RILA review

Yes, for the right buyer. This is a good annuity for a fee-based advisory client who wants buffered market exposure inside an annuity wrapper without surrender handcuffs and without paying a commission load. It is less appealing for someone who wants true principal protection, someone who does not work with an advisor (since this is an RIA-only contract), or someone who lives in a state where it is not yet approved.

The main reason to buy Oak Elite Advisory is to get higher growth potential than a fixed indexed annuity offers while still keeping a defined level of downside protection through a buffer or floor. The secondary reason is cost and flexibility: the base insurance charge is only 0.25% a year, advisory fees up to 1.50% can be withdrawn without any penalty, and there is no surrender schedule locking the money in place. For an advisor managing a fee-based account, that combination is hard to get in a commission product.

I think Oak Elite Advisory is best for a client already working with a fee-only or fee-based advisor (RIA), with at least $50,000 to commit, who wants market-linked growth with a protective floor or buffer and dislikes the idea of being locked into a surrender period. It works for both qualified and non-qualified money. It is less attractive for a do-it-yourself buyer (the product is not sold on commission to the general public), for someone who cannot tolerate any principal loss, or for someone in a state where it has not been approved.

You are not buying direct stock ownership, and you are not buying full principal protection either. You are buying a contract that links your return to an index, applies a buffer or floor to limit how much you can lose, and caps or participates in how much you can gain. The "RILA" label matters: unlike a fixed indexed annuity, a RILA can lose money in a down market once losses exceed the buffer or fall below the floor. What you are really paying for is a structured tradeoff between upside potential and a defined amount of downside protection, wrapped in an annuity with tax deferral and almost no insurance-company fee on the base contract.

The core feature is the index-linked crediting through what Midland National calls Cycle options. You allocate money to a strategy tied to one of three indices, the S&P 500, MSCI EAFE, or the Dimensional US Equity Core Plus Index, and choose a term length of one, three, or six years. Each strategy uses a point-to-point measurement: the index level at the start of the Cycle is compared to the level at the end, and the result is credited based on the strategy's cap or participation rate, after the buffer or floor is applied. According to the spec, participation rates range widely (roughly 90% to 195%) and caps range even more widely (roughly 14.5% to 250%) depending on the strategy and term, with rates dated March 24, 2026. Those are snapshots, not permanent terms, and they reset each Cycle, so anyone shopping this should ask the advisor for the current rate sheet rather than relying on a single number. The contract also offers variable separate-account subaccounts (with fund fees of roughly 0.49% to 1.05%) for clients who want true market participation alongside the structured strategies.

The most meaningful secondary feature is the optional Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefit (GLWB) rider. It is not built in, and it is not the point of this contract, but it lets a client convert the accumulation account into a stream of lifetime income later without giving up control of the money. There are two versions in the materials: a contract-value style at 0.95% a year and a return-of-premium style at 1.15% a year. The materials do not specify the roll-up rate or benefit-base mechanics, so anyone weighing the income rider should get those details directly before paying for it. There is also a chronic-illness feature, the Health-Activated Income Multiplier (HAIM), that can increase income under qualifying health conditions; the fee for that feature was not stated in the available materials.

Liquidity is one of this contract's strongest points. There are no surrender charges at all, on either partial or full withdrawals, which is unusual and reflects its advisory-channel design. Advisory fees, up to 1.50% of contract value per year, are treated as partial surrenders but carry no penalty. There is no market value adjustment. The one nuance to understand is the variable subaccounts: systematic withdrawals can be taken from them, but once a subaccount reaches zero those withdrawals stop, and they can only resume if re-elected and drawn from the structured strategies. Because there is no surrender penalty, this product does not trap money the way a commission RILA with a six- or seven-year charge schedule would. The materials do not specifically address RMD handling beyond the general no-penalty withdrawal framework, so confirm RMD treatment with the carrier if that applies to you.

The base insurance cost is genuinely low: 0.25% a year total (0.15% mortality and expense plus 0.10% administrative). That is far below what a typical variable annuity charges. The real cost layer here is the advisory fee, up to 1.50% a year, which is the price of the fee-based relationship rather than a product charge, but it still comes out of the same contract value. On top of that, the optional income rider costs 0.95% or 1.15% a year if elected, an enhanced death benefit costs 0.15% (return of premium) or 0.40% (annual ratchet) if elected, and the variable subaccounts carry their own fund fees of roughly 0.49% to 1.05%. Stack the advisory fee, a rider, and subaccount costs together and the all-in expense can climb past 3% a year, which is the trade you have to watch. The base contract is cheap; the total cost depends entirely on how many optional layers you add.

Legal Entity: Midland National Life Insurance Company

Parent: Sammons Financial Group

A.M. Best Rating: A+