Why it earned this rating
Our assessment
The Premier P Series is a clean, conservative variable annuity from the highest-rated carrier you can buy, but it is built around a striking limitation — you get exactly two investment choices, and one of them is a money market. That narrowness, combined with a fee stack that starts above 1.20% before fund costs, keeps it in niche territory. It is a fine wrapper for a specific kind of cautious investor, but it asks a lot in fees for what is essentially a single balanced portfolio.
The short version
This is a tax-deferred wrapper for one balanced mutual-fund portfolio, sold mostly to Fidelity advisory clients who want the New York Life name and balance sheet behind their money. The headline draw is carrier strength — New York Life carries an A++ rating from A.M. Best, which is as high as that scale goes. The catch is that you are paying variable-annuity-level fees for an investment menu of just two funds, so the value depends entirely on whether you actually want this exact portfolio inside an insurance wrapper rather than holding it directly.
Key facts
The full review
Is New York Life Premier Variable Annuity P Series a Good Annuity?
It depends, and the honest answer leans toward "only for a narrow buyer." This is a good annuity for someone who is already working with a Fidelity advisor, wants the strongest possible carrier behind a tax-deferred account, and is genuinely happy holding a single balanced portfolio. It is a poor fit for anyone who wants to build their own allocation, minimize fees, or generate guaranteed lifetime income, because the two-fund menu and layered charges work against all three of those goals.
Why Someone Would Buy This Annuity
The main reason to buy the Premier P Series is the combination of tax deferral and carrier strength inside a simple, hands-off structure. Someone in the target audience already trusts their Fidelity advisor to pick the fund, wants their money in a New York Life contract for the A++ balance sheet, and likes the idea of a death benefit and optional rider that protect against downside. In practice, this is the annuity someone buys when simplicity and security matter more than investment flexibility or cost.
Who This Annuity Is Best For
I think the Premier P Series is best for a conservative investor in their late 50s to early 70s, working through a Fidelity advisor, who wants tax-deferred growth in a balanced portfolio and prioritizes carrier strength over everything else. It works in both qualified accounts, where the rules cap issue ages at 75, and non-qualified money. It is least appealing for younger accumulators who want broad fund choice, fee-sensitive buyers who could hold the same balanced fund directly for a fraction of the cost, and anyone whose main goal is guaranteed lifetime income — this contract is not built for that.
What You're Really Buying Here
Strip away the variable-annuity label and you are buying a tax-deferred insurance wrapper around essentially one investment. The Fidelity VIP FundsManager 60% Portfolio is a balanced fund that holds roughly 60% stocks and 40% bonds, and the only alternative inside the contract is a government money market for parking cash. So the real product is not a "variable annuity" in the choose-your-own-portfolio sense most people picture — it is a single managed allocation, with an insurance company guaranteeing the death benefit and offering an optional floor rider on top. The tradeoff you are accepting is annuity-level fees in exchange for tax deferral and those guarantees.
How the Core Feature Works
The core of the contract is the investment account, and here the design is deliberately spare. Your premium goes into one of two subaccounts. The Fidelity VIP FundsManager 60% Portfolio is the growth engine — a fund-of-funds that targets a 60/40 stock-to-bond mix and carries a net expense of about 0.63%. The Fidelity VIP Government Money Market is the safety bucket, with a net expense of roughly 0.28%, used mainly to hold cash. Your account value rises and falls with the FundsManager portfolio's performance, less the contract's daily charges. There are no caps or participation rates as you would find in an indexed annuity — this is direct market exposure, which means real growth potential and real downside, cushioned only by the death benefit and any rider you add.
Why the Secondary Feature Matters
The most meaningful secondary feature is the optional Investment Preservation Rider. For a current fee of 0.70% per year (which can rise to a maximum of 1.80%), the rider sets a benefit base equal to 105% of the premiums you pay in the first year. That base then defines a protected floor over the rider's term, so even if the market falls, you have a contractual minimum you can step into at the end of the period. This matters because it converts a plain market-exposed annuity into something with a hard floor — useful for a buyer who wants growth potential but cannot stomach finishing below their starting point. The cost is that the rider fee stacks directly on top of the 1.20% M&E charge, so adding it pushes your total annual drag well past 2% before fund expenses. Whether that is worth it depends entirely on how much you value the floor relative to the fee.
Liquidity and Surrender Schedule
This is a seven-year commitment, and the surrender schedule reflects it. Withdrawal charges start at 7% in years one and two, then step down through 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, and 2% before reaching zero after year seven. The free-withdrawal provision is reasonably generous — in the first year you can take the greater of 10% of premiums, your earnings, or 10% of account value, and in later years the 10% is measured against the prior anniversary value. There is no market value adjustment on this contract, which removes one layer of surrender complexity that many fixed and indexed annuities carry. Required minimum distributions for qualified money are typically accommodated, though you should confirm RMD handling against the contract since the materials reviewed did not spell out the RMD-versus-surrender-charge interaction in detail. As with any annuity, this is retirement money, not an emergency fund.
Fees and Tradeoffs
The fee story is the central tradeoff here, so it is worth being plain about it. The base contract charges a 1.20% mortality-and-expense fee assessed daily, and that figure drops to 1.00% beginning in year eight — a nice feature, but one you only reach after the surrender period ends. On top of the M&E charge, you pay the fund expense, which runs about 0.63% for the FundsManager portfolio or 0.28% for the money market. Add the optional Investment Preservation Rider at 0.70% current (up to 1.80% maximum) and a buyer using both the growth fund and the rider is looking at well over 2.5% in total annual cost before any market return. To the contract's credit, there is no separate product fee, administration charge, or annual contract fee, so the stack is at least transparent. But the math is unavoidable — you are paying a premium for the wrapper and the carrier, and the single-fund menu means you cannot shop within the contract to lower your fund cost.
Product snapshot
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Product Type | Variable Annuity |
| Surrender Period | 7 years |
| Issue Ages | IRA/Roth IRA: 18-75; NQ: 0-75 |
| Minimum Premium | $25,000 |
| Crediting Methods | Variable Subaccounts |
| Free Withdrawal | Year 1: greater of 10% of premiums paid, earnings, or 10% of account value. Years 2+: greater of 10% of previous account anniversary value, earnings, or 10% of account value at time of withdrawal. |
| MGSV | N/A |
| Death Benefit | Greater of full account value, premiums paid adjusted for withdrawals, or the account value on the policy anniversary at the end of the surrender charge period, adjusted for withdrawals |
| Income Rider | Optional |
| Income Rider Fee | 0.70% current; 1.80% maximum |
| Premium Bonus | None |
| Availability | Variations approved in CA, FL, ND, NJ, NY |
Carrier snapshot
Legal Entity: New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation
Parent: New York Life Insurance Company
A.M. Best Rating: A++
New York Life is one of the oldest and most highly rated insurers in the United States. The A++ rating from A.M. Best is the top of that scale, and for a buyer whose primary concern is the financial strength of the company standing behind the contract, that strength is the single best argument for this product.
Final take
The Premier P Series is a fit when carrier strength and simplicity are your top priorities and you are genuinely comfortable holding one balanced portfolio inside a tax-deferred wrapper. The A++ rating is real, the death benefit and optional preservation rider add meaningful downside protection, and the absence of a market value adjustment keeps the surrender mechanics clean. But the limitations are just as real. Two subaccounts is not an investment menu — it is a single allocation with a cash bucket — and the fee stack is steep for what you get. If you want to actually invest across a range of funds, a typical variable annuity with a broad subaccount lineup will serve you better. If you mainly want guaranteed lifetime income, this is the wrong tool entirely. For the specific buyer who values the New York Life name above flexibility and cost, it is a niche fit that does exactly what it sets out to do.