Premier Advisory Variable Annuity review

Yes, but only in a specific context. This is a good annuity for someone who is already paying an advisor a flat asset-management fee and wants a tax-deferred place to hold market investments without the surrender lockup and commission that come with a traditional variable annuity. It is not a good fit for someone shopping on their own, someone who wants principal protection, or someone who would be better served by simply investing in a taxable brokerage account or maxing out a Roth or 401(k) first.

The rational reason to buy Premier Advisory is tax deferral without the usual variable-annuity baggage. A fee-based advisor can place a client's money here, manage the subaccount allocation as part of the broader portfolio, and bill the advisory fee directly out of the contract — and because there is no surrender schedule, the client can move the money at any time if circumstances change. For a high-balance investor who has already used up other tax-advantaged space and wants more room to defer gains, the low base cost and full liquidity make this a cleaner wrapper than a commission variable annuity. The catch is that the value of tax deferral has to outweigh the layered fees, which is a math problem worth running before committing.

I think Premier Advisory is best for a client in an established fee-based or fee-only advisory relationship — typically someone in their 50s or 60s, with a sizable portfolio, who has maxed out their qualified retirement accounts and wants additional tax-deferred growth they can invest in the market. It works for both qualified and non-qualified money, though the tax-deferral logic is strongest with non-qualified dollars (an IRA is already tax-deferred). It is least appealing for a do-it-yourself investor, anyone who needs guaranteed principal protection, or a younger saver who has not yet filled up cheaper tax-advantaged accounts.

Strip away the "advisory" label and you are buying a tax-deferred investment account that happens to be structured as an insurance contract. Your money goes into variable subaccounts that behave like mutual funds, so the value rises and falls with the market and your principal is not protected. What the insurance wrapper adds is tax deferral — gains aren't taxed until you withdraw them — plus a death benefit and access to optional living-benefit and enhanced-death-benefit riders. What makes it "advisory" is that it carries no sales commission and no surrender charge, so it is designed to be billed and managed by an advisor who is already charging you a separate fee, rather than sold for a one-time payday.

The core of Premier Advisory is the subaccount lineup and the low, tiered cost. You allocate your premium across up to 18 variable investment subaccounts, with net subaccount expense ratios running roughly 0.28% to 1.34% depending on the fund. On top of that sits the base mortality-and-expense (M&E) charge, which is tiered by account value: 0.40% on the first $500,000, 0.35% from $500,000 to just under $1 million, and 0.30% at $1 million and above. That M&E is low by variable-annuity standards — commission products often run 1.00% or more — which is the whole point of the advisory design. The contract also lets your advisor's asset-management fee (up to 1.00% per year) be deducted directly from the account value without that deduction being treated as a taxable withdrawal, which is a meaningful administrative convenience inside a managed account.

The optional Investment Preservation Rider (Advisory) V is the feature that turns this from a pure accumulation wrapper into something closer to a protected-income or protected-principal vehicle. It carries a 1.00% current fee (2.00% maximum) and provides an annual step-up to the benefit base tied to a waiting period — the materials describe a 7-to-15-year waiting structure with the benefit base growing to roughly 100% to 130% over that window. These rider figures are medium-confidence in the source materials, so anyone considering the rider should confirm the current step-up percentages and waiting-period mechanics directly. There is also an optional Annual Death Benefit Reset II (Highest Anniversary Value) enhancement at 0.25% current (1.00% maximum) for buyers who want the death benefit to lock in market highs. The key thing to understand is that these features are bolt-ons, not built-in — the base product is accumulation-only, and each rider you add layers another fee on the stack.

Liquidity is the standout here. There is no surrender charge and no market value adjustment at any point, so you can move or withdraw your money whenever you want without a contract penalty. The contract references free withdrawals of up to 1.00% of account value annually plus the ability to pull up to 1.00% per year to cover the advisory fee, but the practical headline is that the absence of a surrender schedule means full access to your money. The usual annuity tax rules still apply — withdrawals of gains before age 59½ can trigger a 10% IRS penalty on top of ordinary income tax — and required minimum distributions are accommodated, which the spec flags as RMD-friendly (medium confidence). One quirk worth noting: subsequent premium payments are only allowed until age 85, and if you elect the Investment Preservation Rider, additional premiums are only permitted in the first policy year.

The fee story is the whole story with an advisory product. The good news is the base contract is cheap: a 0.40% M&E that tiers down to 0.30% at $1 million, with no surrender charge to claw back. The tradeoff is that the all-in cost is the sum of several layers — the base M&E, the subaccount expense ratios (0.28% to 1.34%), your advisor's separate asset-management fee (up to 1.00%, billable from the contract), and any optional riders (1.00%-2.00% for the Investment Preservation Rider, 0.25%-1.00% for the enhanced death benefit). Add those up and a fully loaded position with an income rider can carry a meaningful annual drag. None of that is hidden, and it is still typically cheaper than a commission variable annuity, but the math means the tax-deferral benefit has to be real and the advisory relationship has to be worth its fee. For non-qualified money in a long-horizon managed account, that case can be made; for qualified money or short horizons, it is harder.

Legal Entity: New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation

Parent: New York Life Insurance Company

A.M. Best Rating: A++

New York Life carries an A++ from A.M. Best, the highest financial-strength tier the agency assigns, and is one of the largest and oldest mutual insurers in the country. For a variable annuity — where the carrier's guarantees on death benefits and optional riders matter — that level of strength is about as reassuring as it gets. Note that Premier Advisory is issued by New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation (NYLIAC), the subsidiary, and is not approved for sale in New York itself.