MYAnnuity 5X (10% Free Withdrawals) review

Yes, with a caveat. As a 5-year rate-locked contract, it does exactly what it says: a declared 5.20% for five years, with 10% of the account available penalty-free every year if you need it. The caveat is that you're paying for that liquidity — the 0% share class of the identical contract pays 0.20 points more. If you're confident you won't touch the money for five years, the 0% version is the better economic choice. If there's real odds you'll want partial access, this version earns its keep.

Someone buys this share class specifically because they don't want to choose between "locked for five years" and "no growth at all." A 5.20% declared rate for five years is a straightforward, predictable return with no market exposure. Layering in 10% annual free withdrawals means an emergency, a required minimum distribution, or simply a change of plans doesn't force a surrender charge. It's a reasonable middle ground for someone who wants MYGA-style certainty without MYGA-style rigidity.

I think this product is best for retirees or near-retirees, often funding it with qualified (IRA) money, who want a guaranteed 5-year rate but also want a standing ability to take some cash out each year without penalty — whether that's for RMDs, periodic supplemental income, or just peace of mind. It's a weaker fit for someone with a large lump sum who is certain they won't need access to it; that buyer is better off in the 0% share class earning the extra 0.20 points, or in a shorter-duration MYGA if their real goal is flexibility rather than a fixed 10% ceiling.

Strip away the "MYAnnuity" branding and this is a deferred fixed annuity: you hand Nassau a lump sum, they credit a declared rate for five years, and at the end of that term you can walk away, renew, or annuitize. The "10% Free Withdrawals" label in the product name isn't a bonus feature bolted on top — it's a structural election you make at purchase that permanently sets your rate lower than the alternative share class. There's no index, no cap, no participation rate to track. The entire value proposition is the guaranteed rate plus the withdrawal privilege, full stop.

The core feature is the 5-year rate guarantee. Nassau declares a fixed rate at issue — currently 5.20% for this share class — and that rate is locked for the full 5-year guarantee period regardless of what happens with interest rates or markets. At the end of the term, the contract offers a 30-day window during which you can withdraw any amount penalty-free or renew into a new guarantee period at whatever rate Nassau is then offering. There's no ambiguity in how interest accrues here — it's a straight declared rate, which is the appeal of a MYGA in the first place.

The secondary feature — and the actual reason this share class exists — is the 10% annual free-withdrawal privilege. Unlike many MYGAs that either offer no free withdrawal or phase it in after the first contract year, this election lets you take up to 10% of account value out every contract year starting immediately, with no surrender charge or market value adjustment (MVA — a market value adjustment, which means your surrender penalty can shrink or grow with interest-rate movement) on that portion. That matters most for RMD-funded contracts, where an annual distribution requirement could otherwise collide with a surrender schedule. The tradeoff is explicit and quantifiable: 0.20 points of rate, permanently, for that annual access. Once you elect it at issue, you cannot switch to the 0% share class later — it's a one-time decision.

You're trading five years of full liquidity for a locked rate, but this share class softens that trade more than most. The surrender schedule runs 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5% across the five contract years, and it applies only to withdrawals beyond the 10% annual free amount. So a policyholder taking out 10% or less per year never touches the surrender schedule or the MVA at all. Nassau also treats one RMD per contract year (after the first) as a free withdrawal outside the 10% limit, so IRA owners subject to required distributions get an extra layer of protection — though a second RMD-related withdrawal in the same year would fall back under the surrender/MVA rules. At the end of the 5-year term, there's a 30-day penalty-free surrender or renewal window. Anyone pulling more than 10% in a given year, or surrendering early outside that window, should expect both a surrender charge and a possible MVA on the excess.

There's no explicit rider fee here because there's no rider — this is a fee-free base MYGA contract. The real cost is structural rather than a line-item charge: the 0.20-point rate discount versus the 0% share class is effectively the price of the liquidity feature, paid every year for the life of the guarantee period. The other soft cost worth flagging is the minimum guaranteed surrender value (MGSV) floor. Nassau guarantees not less than 87.5% of premium accumulated at a Total Guaranteed Value interest rate that's set at issue and can run as low as 0.15% depending on state — a weak worst-case floor relative to some MYGA competitors that guarantee closer to the full 87.5%-to-100% range at a more meaningful minimum rate. In practice this floor rarely matters if you hold to term, but it's the downside scenario the guarantee doesn't fully protect against. Also worth noting: Nassau carries an A.M. Best rating of B++, which is a solid but not top-tier financial strength rating — relevant to how confident you should be in the multi-decade claims-paying promise behind a long-horizon annuity.

Legal Entity: Nassau Life and Annuity Company

Parent: Nassau Financial Group

A.M. Best Rating: B++