Secure Term MVA Fixed Annuity 3-Year review

Yes, for the right buyer. This is a good annuity for someone who wants a guaranteed rate from one of the most financially secure carriers in the country and is confident they will not need to surrender early. It is less appealing for anyone who needs flexibility during the term, dislikes interest-rate-dependent surrender costs, or is comparing it to the non-MVA Secure Term Choice 3-Year and deciding whether the rate premium justifies the added complexity.

The primary reason to choose this product over the non-MVA sibling is the rate advantage. The tiered rate structure runs from 4.05% at the low band up to 4.70% at $100,000 or more — modestly above what the Choice 3-Year offers at comparable deposit levels (as of the brochure date). For a buyer putting in $100,000 or more and genuinely planning to hold to maturity, that extra yield is a real benefit with minimal practical downside. The A++ carrier rating is also a genuine differentiator — very few carriers in the MYGA market can match it, and for a buyer placing a meaningful sum for three years, counterparty quality matters.

I think Secure Term MVA 3-Year is best for buyers who have true three-year money — not money they might need in year two for an unexpected expense — and who are shopping for a combination of yield and carrier quality rather than maximum yield alone. It fits a retiree or near-retiree rolling a maturing CD or a prior annuity who wants a clean, predictable three-year hold. The $15,000 minimum is higher than the non-MVA siblings, so it is not the right product for smaller accounts. The issue age ceiling of 85 (vs. 90 for the Choice line) is worth noting for older buyers.

It is a poor fit for anyone who might realistically need the principal back before maturity, anyone uncomfortable with a variable surrender cost, or anyone in a state outside the fourteen on the availability list.

You are buying a tax-deferred contract that credits a fixed rate guaranteed for three years, issued by one of the most financially solid insurance companies in the United States. The rate does not change during the term. At maturity, you can withdraw, renew, or exchange. The 0.05% minimum guaranteed annual return is the contractual floor — but the actual declared rate is the one that matters.

The MVA is the structural wrinkle that separates this product from a plain MYGA. A market value adjustment is a formula that increases or decreases your surrender proceeds if you exit before the end of your term. When interest rates have risen since you funded the contract, the MVA typically reduces your payout — because the carrier must now reinvest at a higher rate and needs compensation for releasing your funds early. When rates have fallen, the MVA can work in your favor. The key point is that the MVA makes early surrender costs unpredictable in a way that a straight surrender-charge schedule does not. Over a three-year term, rate moves can be meaningful, so this is not a theoretical risk.

The product credits a single declared fixed rate, locked at issue and guaranteed for the full three-year term. Rates are tiered by deposit size, with bands at $25,000, $50,000, $100,000, and $1.5 million. The brochure shows current rates of 4.05% at $15,000–$24,999, rising to 4.70% at $100,000 or more (the $100,000 and $1.5 million tiers share the same rate). Interest compounds daily based on the declared rate.

At the end of the three-year term, a new rate is declared for renewal, or you take your money elsewhere without surrender charge.

The free-withdrawal provision is more generous than it first appears. For contracts below $100,000, you can withdraw 10% of account value without surrender charges or MVA starting immediately — not after a waiting period. For contracts at $100,000 or more, you can take the greater of 10% of account value or 100% of all interest earned. In a contract where the declared rate is over 4%, accumulated interest on a large deposit can represent a meaningful amount before the three-year term ends.

The surrender charge waivers for nursing home, disability, unemployment, and home health care are also meaningful. They are broader than the nursing-home-only waivers that many simpler designs offer, and they provide a legitimate emergency exit path without the usual penalty — though the MVA would still apply in most states under these waivers unless your state's version carves it out.

This annuity carries a flat 7% surrender charge in each of years one through three, dropping to zero in year four. On top of that charge, the MVA — Market Value Adjustment — can increase or decrease your surrender proceeds based on how interest rates have moved since you funded the contract. If rates have risen meaningfully, the MVA can add a material cost on top of the 7% charge. If rates have fallen, it can offset some of the charge.

For a three-year contract, that rate-sensitivity is a real consideration. Over a longer surrender period, the MVA has time to work in both directions. In a three-year window, a sharp rate move in either direction can have a larger per-year impact. Buyers who are confident they will hold to maturity do not need to worry about this — the MVA only matters if you exit early. But buyers who have any doubt should consider whether the non-MVA Secure Term Choice version is a better fit even at a slightly lower rate.

The $2,000 minimum account balance must be maintained after any withdrawal.

There are no base contract fees and no rider fees on this product. As with any MYGA, the carrier earns its margin through the spread between what it earns on its investment portfolio and what it credits to your account. That spread is implicit and is not separately disclosed — that is standard for fixed annuities and is not a concern unique to this design.

The real tradeoffs are structural. The MVA is the central one: it introduces interest-rate variability into your exit cost that the non-MVA version does not have. The flat 7% charge across all three years is less forgiving than a tapering schedule would be. The $15,000 minimum is higher than the $5,000 minimum on the Secure Term Choice line, which limits it to buyers with a larger initial commitment. And the fourteen-state availability means most of the country cannot access it.

The rate advantage over the non-MVA line is real but modest. Whether it justifies the MVA tradeoff depends entirely on how confident you are in your hold-to-maturity intention.

Legal Entity: New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation

Parent: New York Life Insurance Company

A.M. Best Rating: A++

New York Life's A++ rating from A.M. Best is the agency's highest grade, and very few carriers in the MYGA market can match it. The rating reflects the company's financial reserves, its long operating history, and its mutual ownership structure — there are no outside shareholders whose interests could diverge from policyholders. For a buyer placing a significant sum and leaving it untouched for three years, counterparty quality is not an abstraction. The carrier story here is one of the strongest available.