Secure Term MVA Fixed Annuity 5-Year review

Yes, for the right buyer. It is a strong annuity for a conservative saver with a clear five-year time horizon who wants a locked guaranteed rate and values carrier strength above almost everything else. It is less appropriate for anyone with an uncertain timeline, because the MVA — the market value adjustment — means early surrender is harder to predict than with a standard fixed annuity.

The main reason is rate certainty from a carrier that nobody worries about failing. New York Life's A++ A.M. Best rating is the highest possible and belongs to very few carriers. For a buyer moving money out of CDs, treasuries, or a savings account and wanting a guaranteed return without market risk, the structure is exactly right: one rate, one term, no moving parts, no annual fees. The tiered rate structure also means buyers committing $100,000 or more access the upper rate bands, which adds a natural incentive for larger placements.

I think Secure Term MVA 5-Year is best for a retiree or near-retiree in their 60s or 70s who has money they will genuinely not need for five years — a defined savings bucket rather than an emergency reserve. It works well inside a qualified account as a rate lock on rollover IRA money, and equally well in a non-qualified account for someone who wants tax-deferred growth on otherwise taxable savings. It is less appropriate for someone who considers the money semi-liquid or is uncertain whether five years is truly workable.

You are buying a contractual guarantee from New York Life to pay a specified fixed rate on your premium for exactly five years. There is no indexing, no variable component, no rider complexity, no annual fee. The simplicity is the point. What makes this different from a bank CD is the tax treatment (deferred until withdrawal), the insurance wrapper (death benefit at full account value), and the regulatory framework (state insurance guaranty association coverage, not FDIC). The MVA is the structural trade: New York Life takes on the interest-rate mismatch risk from your guaranteed rate and passes some of that exposure back to you if you surrender early while rates have moved.

The product credits a fixed declared interest rate for the full five-year guarantee period. As of the brochure date (May 2026), New York Life was offering tiered rates — 4.05%, 4.25%, 4.45%, or 4.70% — banded by premium size, with the higher rates available for larger deposits. Once set at issue, that rate is locked for the entire five-year term. Interest compounds throughout and is credited to the account value. At the end of the surrender period, the full accumulated value is accessible without charge. The simplicity of this structure is its strength: there are no renewal-rate surprises during the initial term, no crediting strategy decisions to monitor, and no annual cost eating into the guaranteed return.

The most meaningful secondary feature is the waiver provisions. Secure Term MVA 5-Year allows surrender charge-free access in the event of nursing home confinement, disability, unemployment, and home health care. These waivers exist specifically because even a five-year commitment can run into real-life complications. They do not eliminate all MVA risk in every state, but they provide meaningful liquidity relief for the scenarios most likely to force an early exit. For a retiree holding this inside a rollover IRA, the nursing home and home health care waivers are particularly relevant.

This is a five-year commitment, and the surrender schedule is firm: 7%, 7%, 7%, 6%, 5% across contract years one through five, respectively. But the bigger liquidity consideration on this product is the MVA — the market value adjustment.

The MVA means that when you surrender early, your net payout is adjusted up or down based on the difference between current interest rates and the rates in effect when you bought the contract. If rates have risen since you purchased, the MVA adjustment reduces your surrender value — sometimes significantly, on top of the stated surrender charge. If rates have fallen, the MVA can work in your favor. This is not unusual for a commission-channel MYGA with a declared rate, but it is a real distinction from New York Life's non-MVA Secure Term versions. Buyers who want full predictability on any early exit should consider those alternatives instead.

Free withdrawals are available up to 10% of account value immediately for premiums of $15,000–$99,999. For premiums of $100,000 or more, the free-withdrawal allowance is the greater of 10% of account value or 100% of interest earned. A minimum balance of $2,000 must remain in the account. RMD treatment was not specified in the available materials — buyers with qualified accounts should confirm RMD handling with their advisor before purchase.

There are no annual contract fees, no rider fees, and no spread or cap eating into credited interest. What you see in the rate illustration is what you earn, assuming you hold to maturity. The cost of this product is structural, not line-item: the surrender schedule, the MVA, and the five-year illiquidity of principal beyond the free-withdrawal window are the real price you pay for the guaranteed rate.

The tradeoff between this product and the non-MVA Secure Term version is worth naming directly. The MVA version typically offers a somewhat better guaranteed rate in exchange for the added interest-rate risk on early surrender. If you are highly confident you will hold to maturity, the MVA version is likely worth it. If you have any real doubt about the timeline, the non-MVA version or a shorter-term product is the more conservative choice.

Legal Entity: New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation

Parent: New York Life Insurance Company

A.M. Best Rating: A++

New York Life is a mutual insurance company — owned by its policyholders, not shareholders — and has held the A++ A.M. Best rating continuously for over 40 years. That structure and financial strength rating are genuine differentiators in the annuity market, where most carriers sit in the A– to A+ range. For buyers who consider carrier solvency a primary factor, New York Life is one of a very small group that consistently tops the list.