Prudential Fixed Annuity with Daily Advantage Income Benefit review

Yes, for someone whose primary goal is guaranteed lifetime income. This is a focused, competently engineered income annuity from a highly rated carrier. Where it falls short of "great" is that the fixed base earns a modest return — the product is designed to deliver income, and it does that well, but it is not a growth vehicle. If income protection is the goal and you are comfortable with a fixed crediting rate and a 7-year surrender commitment, this deserves a serious look.

The main reason is to create a guaranteed income floor that grows every day until you need it, without being forced to pick a start date in advance. Most income annuities credit growth only on contract anniversaries — if you want to start income mid-year, you leave some growth behind. Daily Advantage Income Benefit eliminates that problem entirely. The secondary reason is the Income Reserve feature, which lets you take less than your available income in any year, store the unused amount, and draw on it later — or convert it into a permanently higher income amount.

I think this product is best for someone who is within 5-10 years of retirement (or already retired), has decided to dedicate a portion of assets to guaranteed income rather than growth, values flexibility around income start timing, and prefers a fixed annuity's predictability over a market-linked product's variability. It is less attractive for someone who primarily wants accumulation, has a short time horizon, or needs more than 10% annual liquidity access during the surrender period.

You are buying a guaranteed income delivery system. The underlying fixed annuity is the funding vehicle — it earns a current rate of 2.50% (guaranteed for 7 years, renewable annually after that), accumulates with compound daily crediting, and provides a minimum guaranteed surrender value floor. On top of that sits the Daily Advantage Income Benefit, which is the reason someone buys this product. The rider tracks a Guaranteed Income Amount that grows by 8.50% simple interest per year (credited daily) until you activate Lifetime Withdrawals. At activation, your age-based Withdrawal Percentage is applied to the Guaranteed Income Amount to determine your annual guaranteed income for life.

At issue, Prudential assigns a Guaranteed Income Amount equal to your total purchase payments multiplied by your age-based Withdrawal Percentage. For example, at age 65 with $100,000 invested on a single-life basis, the initial Guaranteed Income Amount would be approximately $7,500 per year. Every day you defer, that $7,500 grows by the daily credit equivalent of 8.50% annualized simple interest — roughly $1.74 per day in this example. The daily mechanism matters because when you eventually activate income, your Guaranteed Income Amount includes every day of growth up to that point, with no rounding to the nearest anniversary.

Once income begins, the Income Reserve feature engages. If you take less than your available Guaranteed Income Amount in a given year, the unused portion is stored as Stored Income within your account value. You can draw on Stored Income at any time without penalty (as long as account value remains), or you can use a one-time option to convert accumulated Stored Income into a permanently higher Guaranteed Income Amount.

The Withdrawal Percentage used for that one-time step-up conversion is based on your age at the time of the increase — older equals higher percentage — so delaying the conversion can increase the permanent income bump you receive.

The Income Reserve is the secondary feature that makes Daily Advantage Income meaningfully more flexible than a plain vanilla GLWB. Most income riders set a fixed annual payment — you take it or lose it. Income Reserve lets you use only what you need, bank the rest, and either draw it later as a lump sum or convert it to a higher guaranteed payment. For someone whose income needs are variable year to year — travel one year, medical expenses the next — that flexibility is genuinely valuable.

A secondary consideration is the spousal continuation option. The single/joint election can be changed any time before Lifetime Withdrawals begin, which reduces the pressure to predict your situation at purchase. At joint activation, the Withdrawal Percentage is based on the youngest designated life's age.

This is a 7-year surrender contract. Free withdrawals are 10% of total premiums in year one and 10% of the prior contract anniversary account value in subsequent years. Amounts above the free withdrawal allowance during the 7-year period are subject to surrender charges (7% declining to 1%) and a Market Value Adjustment. The MVA can work in either direction — if rates have risen since issue, the MVA may reduce the amount received; if rates have fallen, it may increase it.

Required minimum distributions that Prudential calculates are exempt from surrender charges and MVA. Medically related surrenders and death benefit proceeds are also exempt from MVA. There are no separate extended-care or terminal illness waivers called out in the available materials, so buyers who may need early full access should factor that in.

The primary ongoing fee is the **0.95% annual rider charge** assessed against the account value on each contract anniversary. This is a meaningful cost — on a $100,000 initial premium, that is roughly $950 per year coming out of the account value, every year, for as long as the contract is in force. The rider can be voluntarily canceled after the 5th contract anniversary (the final charge is prorated upon cancellation), but canceling removes the income benefit entirely.

There is no separate product fee, mortality charge, or administration charge. The base annuity is the only other economic cost, expressed as opportunity cost — the fixed crediting rate (currently 2.50%) is modest, and buyers who want market-linked growth will not find it here.

The 0.95% rider charge creates a drag against the 2.50% fixed rate. In practical terms, the net return on the account value is roughly 1.55% per year, which is low. The income growth (8.50% simple on the Guaranteed Income Amount) is calculated separately from the account value and is not directly affected by the rider charge — but the account value itself shrinks relative to what it would be without the charge, which reduces the death benefit and the free withdrawal base over time.

| Feature | Details |

|---|---|

| Issuing Company | Pruco Life Insurance Company / Prudential Annuities Life Assurance Corporation |

| Product Type | Fixed Annuity with Built-In GLWB |

| Surrender Period | 7 years |

| Surrender Schedule | 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1%, then 0% |

| MVA | Yes — on withdrawals above free amount during charge period |

| Issue Ages | 45-85 |

| Minimum Premium | $25,000 qualified or non-qualified |

| Maximum Premium | $1,000,000 (above requires prior approval) |

| Free Withdrawal | 10% of premiums year 1; 10% of prior anniversary AV thereafter |

| MGSV | 87.5% of net premiums, growing at 1-3% annually |

| Fixed Crediting Rate | 2.50% (current, guaranteed 7 years; renewable annually after) |

| Rider | Daily Advantage Income Benefit XI (built-in, cannot be declined) |

| Rider Fee | 0.95% of Account Value annually (max 1.50%) |

| Income Growth Rate | 8.50% simple, credited daily until Lifetime Withdrawals begin |

| Withdrawal % Age 65 | 7.50% single / 7.00% joint |

| Bonus | None |

| Death Benefit | Greater of account value, MGSV, or Stored Income (if applicable) |

| State Exclusions | Not available in New York |

Pruco Life Insurance Company and Prudential Annuities Life Assurance Corporation are subsidiaries of Prudential Financial, Inc., one of the largest and most recognized names in U.S. financial services. The carrier holds top-tier financial strength ratings: A.M. Best A+ (Superior), Standard & Poor's AA- (Very Strong), and Fitch AA-. With over $1 trillion in assets under management and more than 145 years in the industry, Prudential brings strong claims-paying credibility to the income guarantees embedded in this product.