Secure Term Choice Fixed Annuity II 7-Year review

Yes, for the right buyer. If your goal is a guaranteed return, zero market risk, and confidence in the insurer behind the contract, this is a well-structured product from the highest-rated carrier in the MYGA space. It is less compelling if you want shorter commitment, income guarantees, or access to index-linked growth.

The main reason to buy this annuity is rate certainty paired with carrier quality. New York Life's A++ rating from A.M. Best is not marketing — it reflects a balance sheet and claims-paying history that most competitors cannot match. For a buyer who already knows they want a MYGA and is comparing issuers, that distinction is real. The tiered rate structure is also a practical reason: buyers depositing $100,000 or more get a meaningfully higher rate, which makes larger IRA rollovers or NQ lump sums a natural fit. The Return of Premium benefit adds a recovery option most MYGAs do not include at no extra cost.

I think this product fits a conservative saver, typically within ten years of or already in retirement, who has a clear block of money they do not expect to need for seven years. Qualified accounts — IRA rollovers, inherited IRAs — are an obvious match given the wide issue age range and RMD-friendly free-withdrawal rules. It also suits a non-qualified buyer who wants to shelter interest earnings from annual taxation while earning more than a CD. It is not a good fit for someone who may need the principal before year seven, lives outside the fourteen available states, or wants an annuity that participates in market upside.

You are buying a promise from New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation — a subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Company — to credit a fixed rate of interest to your contract for seven years and return your full account value at the end. There is no index, no variable component, and no rider attached unless you elect the optional Performance-Triggered Interest Opportunity Rider. Your money does not go into the market. Interest accrues at the guaranteed rate, and surrender charges protect the carrier from early exits while your rate is locked in. The contract is simple by design.

The product credits a single fixed rate for the entire 7-year surrender period. New York Life publishes tiered current rates depending on deposit size — the brochure lists five rate bands ranging from the $5,000 minimum up to the highest tier, with each step up in deposit rewarded with a slightly higher rate. The rate bands reported in the brochure are 4.15%, 4.35%, 4.55%, 4.80%, and 4.80%, guaranteed for seven years. Those figures are snapshots from the time of the brochure and will vary with market conditions — ask your agent for the current declared rate at the time of application.

The optional Performance-Triggered Interest Opportunity Rider, if elected, reduces the initial fixed rate by either 0.15% (Option 1) or 0.25% (Option 2) in exchange for potential additional interest if a specified performance trigger is met. Buyers who want a pure locked rate and no variability should skip the rider; the base contract is clean on its own.

The Return of Premium benefit is the secondary feature worth understanding. Starting on the second policy anniversary — or immediately for buyers aged 86 to 90 — you are guaranteed that your contract value will never fall below premiums paid minus any withdrawals you have taken. New York Life offers this at no charge, and it does not reduce the fixed rate. It is not a marketed selling point so much as a genuine backstop: even if you encounter an emergency and need to surrender, your loss is capped at the interest you would have earned. Surrender charges will never exceed total interest credited to the contract. For buyers who are nervous about locking up money for seven years, that protection is more meaningful than it might first appear.

The free-withdrawal provision is tiered by deposit size. For contracts funded with $5,000 to $99,999, you can withdraw up to 10% of the account value each year without charges. For contracts of $100,000 or more, you get the greater of 10% of account value or 100% of interest earned — the latter provision is meaningful in lower-rate environments where interest accumulates slowly. You must leave at least $2,000 in the contract after any withdrawal.

No Market Value Adjustment applies on this product, which is a notable positive compared to many MYGAs. Surrenders in excess of the free amount are subject to the following schedule:

Seven years is a meaningful commitment. The charges start firm and step down in the back half, but they do not evaporate quickly. Treat this as truly long-term money. The absence of an MVA is a real advantage — it means your penalty is fixed and predictable, not subject to interest-rate swings at the time of surrender.

There are no base contract fees. There are no rider fees unless you elect the optional Performance-Triggered Interest Opportunity Rider, and even then the cost is expressed as a rate reduction rather than an explicit annual charge. The tradeoffs are structural, not fee-driven.

The main structural tradeoffs are commitment length and state availability. Seven years is longer than many competing MYGAs in the 5-year band. If rate flexibility or liquidity matters, that is a real cost even without explicit fees. The product is only available in fourteen states — California, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington — so buyers in other states cannot access it at all.

Legal Entity: New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation

Parent: New York Life Insurance Company

A.M. Best Rating: A++

New York Life Insurance Company holds an A++ (Superior) rating from A.M. Best, the highest rating the agency assigns. This is not a common designation among annuity carriers. New York Life is a mutual company — it is owned by its policyholders, not public shareholders — which shapes how it manages capital and honors long-term obligations. That context matters for a 7-year contract where you are relying on the issuer's financial strength for the full term.