Why it earned this rating
Our assessment
The underlying mechanics here — no annual contract fee, a standard 87.5% Minimum Guaranteed Surrender Value, and a normal 5-year surrender schedule — are clean and would ordinarily land this product in the middle of its peer group. But Sagicor appears to have largely stopped filing this exact contract in favor of Milestone Max MYGA 5-Year, which credits a higher rate at every premium band and adds waiver benefits this version lacks. A solid MYGA structure sitting behind a product that its own carrier has effectively superseded is why this lands in "mixed" territory rather than a clean recommend.
The short version
This is a five-year, fixed-rate MYGA for someone who wants a CD-like commitment with tax-deferred growth and no annual costs. The trouble is that Sagicor has a newer version of essentially the same contract — Milestone Max MYGA 5-Year — that credits a meaningfully higher rate (4.95%/5.20% versus 4.45%/4.90%/5.15% here, as of the November 2025 rate sheet) and is filed in nearly every state, while this base version's own carrier data suggests it's not approved in the large majority of jurisdictions. The mechanics of this contract are fine on their own terms; they just aren't the best version of themselves currently on the market.
Key facts
The full review
Is Sagicor Milestone MYGA 5-Year a Good Annuity?
It depends on what's actually available to you. The contract mechanics — no fees, a straightforward 5-year rate lock, a standard nonforfeiture floor — are perfectly reasonable for a MYGA. But if you have access to Sagicor's Milestone Max MYGA 5-Year instead, that product currently credits a higher rate at comparable premium levels and adds surrender-charge waivers for nursing home confinement and terminal illness that this version doesn't offer. I wouldn't call this a bad annuity, but I also wouldn't shop for it specifically when a better-credited sibling from the same carrier likely exists.
Why Someone Would Buy This Annuity
The rational case for this specific contract is narrow: you want the lowest possible entry point into Sagicor's Milestone MYGA line ($15,000 versus Milestone Max's $25,000), you're in a state where this exact form is still filed, and the rate difference between it and Max isn't large enough to change your decision. For someone who simply wants a locked five-year rate with no fees and modest capital to commit, the structure does the job.
Who This Annuity Is Best For
This fits a conservative saver — likely closer to or in retirement, non-qualified or qualified money either way — who wants a defined five-year commitment, values the lower $15,000 minimum over Milestone Max's $25,000 floor, and either doesn't have access to Milestone Max or has already compared the two and prefers this version's terms. It's a poor fit for anyone shopping purely on rate, since the sibling product currently beats it, or anyone who needs the chronic-illness surrender waiver Milestone Max includes.
What You're Really Buying Here
Strip away the branding and this is a single-premium deferred annuity that credits one declared interest rate, guaranteed not to change, for five years. You're not buying market exposure or an index-linked formula — the entire return is the stated rate, banded by how much you deposit. In exchange for giving up access to your full principal for five years, the insurer guarantees the rate and defers taxes on the growth until you withdraw it. It's functionally closer to a bank CD than to an investment product, with the tradeoffs (illiquidity, no FDIC insurance, reliance on the insurer's claims-paying ability) that come with that comparison.
How the Core Feature Works
The crediting is as simple as MYGAs get: Sagicor declares one fixed rate for the full five-year guarantee period, and the rate you get depends on how much you deposit. As of the November 4, 2025 rate sheet, that was 4.45% below $50,000, 4.90% at the $50,000 band, and 5.15% at $100,000 and above — those are point-in-time figures that will move with the rate environment, not a permanent feature of the product. Whatever rate applies at issue is locked for the full term; there's no annual reset risk during the guarantee period, which is the entire appeal of a MYGA over a fixed indexed annuity for someone who just wants certainty.
Why the Secondary Feature Matters
The feature worth understanding here is what happens at the end of the five years. A one-time, 30-day penalty-free window opens at the start of contract year six, during which you can take some or all of your money out — principal and interest — without a surrender charge or market value adjustment. If you don't act during that window, Sagicor automatically rolls the contract into a brand-new five-year guarantee period at whatever rate is then being offered, and you're back inside a fresh surrender schedule. That auto-renewal is convenient if you want to stay invested, but it also means inertia works against you: if you miss the window, you're locked in again at a rate you may not have chosen deliberately.
Liquidity and Surrender Schedule
This is a five-year commitment, and the free-withdrawal terms reflect a normal MYGA structure rather than a generous one. There's no free withdrawal in year one at all — access to 10% of the accumulation value per year (minimum $500 withdrawal) doesn't start until the second contract year. Anything withdrawn above that 10% during the surrender period triggers both a surrender charge (starting at 9% in year one, stepping down to 5% by year five) and a market value adjustment, which can move the penalty up or down depending on where interest rates have gone since issue. The maturity window described above is the one point where you get full, unrestricted access without either charge.
Fees and Tradeoffs
There's no annual contract fee and no rider fee, since there's no optional rider to attach — the entire cost of this product is opportunity cost, not an explicit charge. The Minimum Guaranteed Surrender Value floor is standard for the category: 87.5% of premium accumulated at a 1%–3% nonforfeiture rate, net of withdrawals and any surrender charges. The real tradeoff isn't a fee line item — it's that you're accepting a lower credited rate and, per the carrier's own comparative data, a contract that's largely not approved outside a small number of states, when a newer version of the same product from the same carrier currently credits more and is filed almost everywhere.
Product snapshot
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Product Type | Fixed Annuity |
| Surrender Period | 5 years |
| Issue Ages | 15 days to 90 years (age last birthday), applies to both Owner and Annuitant |
| Minimum Premium | $15,000 |
| Crediting Methods | Fixed interest rate, guaranteed for the 5-year guarantee period |
| Free Withdrawal | Beginning in the second contract year, the Owner may withdraw up to 10% of the accumulation value per year without a surrender charge (minimum withdrawal $500). Additionally, a one-time 30-day penalty-free window opens at the start of the sixth contract year (following the 5-year initial surrender charge period), allowing a partial or total withdrawal of principal and earned interest without surrender charge or MVA. If no action is taken during that window, the contract automatically renews for a new 5-year guarantee period at a new credited rate, subject to surrender charge and MVA. |
| MGSV | 87.5% of premiums accumulated at the nonforfeiture rate (nonforfeiture rate range 1%-3%), adjusted by net withdrawals plus surrender charges, if any |
| Death Benefit | Greater of full account value or Minimum Guaranteed Surrender Value, paid as a lump sum or an available settlement option; no surrender charge or MVA applies at death |
| Income Rider | Not available |
| Premium Bonus | None |
| Availability | This is the base/national version, Contract Form ICC173008 (interstate compact form). A separate California-specific version of Milestone MYGA exists under Contract Form 3008CA with different terms: 90.80% Guaranteed Surrender Value (vs. 87.5% base), no MVA (vs. MVA applies on base), a different surrender charge schedule (8.40/8.35/7.35/6.30/5.30% vs. 9/8/7/6/5% on base), and a $1,000,000 maximum premium (vs. $750,000 on base). Do not conflate the two. |
Carrier snapshot
Legal Entity: Sagicor Life Insurance Company
A.M. Best Rating: A-
Final take
If you're comparing MYGAs and Sagicor's Milestone Max MYGA 5-Year is on the table, take that version instead — same carrier, same basic structure, a higher credited rate at every premium band, added surrender-charge waivers for nursing home and terminal illness events, and filed in far more states. This base Milestone MYGA 5-Year isn't a poorly built product; the fee structure, MGSV, and free-withdrawal terms are all standard and reasonable for the category. But it reads like a legacy contract that Sagicor has moved past, and buying the older, lower-rate version of your own carrier's current lineup rarely makes sense unless the lower $15,000 minimum premium is the deciding factor for you.