Select Choice Plus 7-Year review

Depends on your situation. For a buyer who genuinely does not need any access to principal for seven years and wants the certainty of a locked fixed rate with no MVA risk, this is a reasonable choice. For a buyer who might need even a modest emergency withdrawal, the base contract's illiquidity is a real problem — and paying 0.10% per year to add the PFW rider erodes the rate advantage the product is selling.

The core reason to consider this product is the combination of a guaranteed fixed rate for the full seven-year term and no MVA. In a rising-rate environment, many MYGA buyers are burned by MVA adjustments that make early exits more expensive than the stated surrender charge suggests. Select Choice Plus avoids that entirely. For someone who has set-aside money they will not touch for seven years and wants the simplicity of a single locked rate — think of it as a tax-deferred CD — this product does what it advertises.

I think this product is best for someone in their late 50s or early 60s who has non-core savings they genuinely do not plan to access before retirement, wants certainty over growth potential, and has a preference for simplicity. It works well in qualified accounts where RMDs are the primary liquidity concern — those are specifically exempt from surrender charges. It is less suited for someone who values any flexibility during the term, someone who might need an emergency draw, or someone who finds a seven-year commitment uncomfortably long relative to their planning horizon.

You are buying a guaranteed interest contract, not an investment. S.USA Life promises to credit a fixed declared rate every year for seven years, and at the end of the term you can walk away, surrender with no charge, or roll into a new guarantee period. The insurer is taking on interest-rate risk in exchange for having use of your premium; you are taking on credit risk against S.USA Life (part of Prosperity Life Group, rated A- by AM Best) in exchange for a rate that will likely beat most bank CDs of comparable duration. The insurance wrapper also gives you tax deferral during accumulation and a death benefit that passes outside of probate — which can matter at certain estate sizes.

The crediting mechanism is as simple as MYGA crediting gets. One declared fixed rate applies to your full accumulation value for the entire seven-year guarantee period. There are no index calculations, no caps, no participation rates, and no annual reset decisions to make. The rate is set at issue and does not change.

Rate banding applies: the $100,000-or-more tier earns 4.85%, while the lower band (under $100,000) earns 4.60% as of the September 2025 rate sheet. That 0.25% difference at scale is meaningful over seven years. The guaranteed minimum rate is 1% — a floor that has been standard in the MYGA market and only matters if rates collapse dramatically during the guarantee period, which the product structurally protects against by locking the rate at issue.

Optional riders modify the base rate. Adding the 10% Penalty-Free Withdrawal rider reduces your credited rate by 0.10%. Adding the Return of Premium rider reduces it by 0.15%. Selecting both riders together reduces it by 0.25%, so you are crediting 4.60% or 4.35% depending on band and rider elections rather than the headline rate. That trade-off is worth pricing carefully before selecting riders.

The no-MVA structure is the most important secondary feature, and it is worth understanding what it means. Many MYGAs apply a Market Value Adjustment on withdrawals — a calculation tied to how much interest rates have moved since issue. If rates rise significantly after you buy, an MVA can substantially increase the effective cost of an early exit beyond the stated surrender charge. Select Choice Plus eliminates that variable. Your surrender cost is exactly what the schedule says — 9% in year one declining to 3% in year seven — with no hidden rate-movement penalty layered on top. That clarity matters most for buyers who are less than completely confident in their seven-year commitment or who might face an unexpected financial event.

The base contract, called Select Choice Plus 1, has no penalty-free withdrawal provision. If you need money during the surrender period and have not purchased a rider, you pay the full surrender charge plus applicable state premium tax recapture, though not an MVA.

The optional PFW rider (Select Choice Plus 3 or Plus 4 depending on whether you also carry ROP) adds a 10% annual penalty-free withdrawal amount starting after year one. Unused amounts do not carry over to the next year — it is a use-it-or-lose-it provision. That rider costs 0.10% off your credited rate for the life of the contract.

For qualified accounts, RMDs attributable to the contract are exempt from surrender charges and MVA — a meaningful carve-out for buyers funding an IRA or 403(b) who need to begin distributions at 73.

At the end of the seven-year guarantee period, there is a 30-day window to surrender without charges or to roll into a new guarantee period. Missing that window matters, so mark the calendar.

There is no base contract fee — the carrier earns its spread from the difference between what your premium earns in their general account and the declared rate credited to you. That is standard MYGA economics.

The rider fees come in the form of rate reductions rather than explicit annual charges. The PFW rider costs 0.10%, ROP costs 0.15%, and together they cost 0.25%. That is a permanent reduction for the full seven-year term, not a one-year expense. On a seven-year $100,000 contract at 4.85%, choosing both riders drops you to 4.60% — which narrows the gap between the upper and lower rate bands to zero. Buyers who want both riders and have under $100,000 to invest will earn 4.35%, which is meaningfully lower than the headline.

The minimum premium of $2,000 is unusually low for a MYGA, which makes this accessible to smaller accounts that many carriers exclude.

One gap in the available materials: the minimum guaranteed surrender value (MGSV) — the floor your contract value cannot fall below — is not disclosed in the brochures sourced for this review. That figure matters for understanding your worst-case outcome if you need to exit early. Ask your agent or request the policy form directly from S.USA Life before purchase.

Legal Entity: S.USA Life Insurance Company, Inc.

Parent: Prosperity Life Group

AM Best Rating: A-

S.USA Life is part of Prosperity Life Group, a mid-size insurance holding company. The A- AM Best rating reflects adequate financial strength for a MYGA purchase — comparable to a number of other regional carriers active in the guaranteed-rate market. Prosperity Life Group does not carry the name recognition of a Nationwide or Allianz, which is worth noting for buyers who prioritize carrier brand as part of their decision.