Summit Journey 10 review

Yes, for the right buyer. Summit Journey 10 is a solid income-focused FIA for someone who wants protected lifetime income built into the contract from the start and can commit to a 10-year product. It is not the right fit for someone whose primary goal is accumulation, who wants to avoid ongoing rider fees, or who anticipates needing access to significant portions of the contract value during the surrender period.

The primary reason to consider Summit Journey 10 is the built-in income rider with a meaningful roll-up rate. A 7.5% simple-interest annual increase to the benefit base for up to 10 years gives buyers a concrete way to size up their future guaranteed income floor before turning withdrawals on. The secondary reason is the multi-index crediting menu, which offers more strategy choices than many income-first FIAs. For buyers who want both a lifetime income guarantee and some flexibility in how their accumulation value can grow, that combination is genuinely useful.

I think Summit Journey 10 is best suited for someone between their late 40s and mid-70s who is placing long-term retirement money they do not expect to need for at least a decade, wants a guaranteed lifetime income option locked in from day one, and values the simplicity of having the rider built into the contract rather than elected separately. It is particularly useful for someone who is still several years from drawing income and wants the benefit base growing during that deferral window. It is less appropriate for someone with a shorter time horizon, a strong preference for accumulation over income guarantees, or someone who finds the 1.25% annual cost difficult to justify given their specific retirement picture.

You are not buying market returns. You are buying an insurance contract that protects your principal from direct index losses and, more importantly, that locks in a guaranteed income calculation from the day you fund it. The accumulation value and the benefit base are two separate figures. Your accumulation value grows based on whichever crediting strategies you choose. Your benefit base — the number used to calculate your future guaranteed withdrawals — grows at 7.5% simple interest annually, regardless of how the index strategies perform. Those two numbers can diverge significantly, and the benefit base is often the more important one for income-planning purposes. When you eventually activate the rider and begin lifetime withdrawals, the income amount is calculated from that benefit base, not from your accumulation value.

The Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefit IV rider is built into Summit Journey 10 and cannot be removed. The rider charges 1.25% of the benefit base annually, deducted from accumulation value. Before income activation, the benefit base grows at 7.5% simple interest each contract year, for up to 10 years. After 10 years of deferral, you stop receiving additional simple-interest credits, but the benefit base you have accumulated remains the foundation for your lifetime withdrawal calculation.

When you are ready to turn income on, your annual withdrawal amount is determined by applying an age-based payout percentage to the benefit base at activation. The contract does not specify exact payout factors in the available materials, so confirming those figures with a current rate sheet before purchase is important. Lifetime withdrawals continue regardless of how the accumulation value performs afterward — that is the guarantee.

The most meaningful secondary feature is the care-related rider language. Summit Journey 10 includes a nursing home confinement waiver alongside a long-term personal assistance (LPA) multiplier for qualifying activities of daily living impairment. In plain terms, if you meet the qualifying conditions, the contract may allow enhanced or penalty-free access to funds beyond the normal free-withdrawal provisions. For a 10-year product that buyers typically hold well into their retirement years, a feature that addresses potential long-term care needs is a genuine practical benefit, not just a footnote.

Summit Journey 10 is a 10-year commitment, and that is not a suggestion — it is the structure of the product. After the first contract year, you can access 10% of the beginning-of-year accumulation value annually without incurring surrender charges. Anything above that is subject to the withdrawal-charge schedule shown below, and a market value adjustment (MVA) can also apply. An MVA means your effective surrender cost can be higher or lower depending on the interest-rate environment at the time you withdraw — that introduces a variable you cannot fully control.

RMDs that exceed the available penalty-free amount have surrender charges and MVA waived under current company practice. That is a meaningful provision for contract owners in qualified accounts, but note that "current company practice" language means it is not guaranteed in perpetuity — verify this in the current contract before purchase.

The dominant cost is the GLWB IV rider fee: **1.25% of the benefit base annually**, deducted from accumulation value. That fee is ongoing for as long as the rider is active. Over a 10-year deferral period, this is a meaningful drag on accumulation value, particularly if your index strategies produce modest returns in some years. The base contract itself does not carry an explicit annual product fee.

Beyond the rider fee, the structural tradeoff in any FIA applies here. Upside is limited by caps, participation rates, or spreads depending on which strategy you choose. The crediting note in the spec indicates cap rates ranging from 0.50% to 5.50% and participation rates from 35% to 175% across strategies, though these figures are point-in-time snapshots as of the brochure date and will vary over time. Certain strategies also carry a 4.00% index margin (spread), which effectively offsets a portion of any index gain before interest is credited. The combination of the rider fee and structural crediting limits means this product will generally deliver lower accumulation growth than a comparable fee-free FIA — that is the intentional tradeoff for the income guarantee.

Legal Entity: Midland National Life Insurance Company

Parent: Sammons Financial Group

A.M. Best Rating: A+

Midland National is part of Sammons Financial Group, a large privately held financial services company. An A+ rating from A.M. Best is near the top of the scale and reflects strong financial strength. Midland National has been in the annuity business for decades and the Summit Journey product line is a core part of their FIA offering.