Secure Savings 5-Year review

It depends, and the answer is mostly no for buyers who have alternatives. If you are shopping among A-rated or better carriers in the 5-year MYGA space, the Secure Savings 5-Year is hard to justify at 3.45% from an A.M. Best B-rated carrier. The product itself is structurally sound, but the yield doesn't compensate for the carrier-quality gap. It may fit a narrow situation — a state where better-rated carriers haven't filed this product, or a buyer who specifically needs the wide issue-age range (up to 90) and has already considered the carrier risk.

The main rational case is simplicity combined with wide availability by age. The Secure Savings 5-Year accepts applicants up to age 90, which is broader than many MYGA competitors. The $10,000 minimum is accessible. The structure is uncomplicated — a single guaranteed rate, no allocation decisions, no riders to evaluate. If someone wants a no-frills 5-year rate lock and SILAC is available to them when other carriers aren't, this does the mechanical job. The secondary reason is RMD friendliness — required minimum distributions are exempt from surrender charges and MVA, which matters for qualified money holders in drawdown.

I think this product is best suited to an older buyer — say, late 70s to 90 — who needs a very simple guaranteed-rate vehicle, holds a qualified account that requires RMDs, and is working with a distribution channel where SILAC is among the available options. It is not well-suited to a buyer who is primarily rate-shopping (better rates exist at stronger carriers), who is investing a large sum (the B rating warrants more scrutiny at higher premium amounts), or who wants the maximum principal safety that fixed-rate insurance is supposed to provide.

A MYGA is insurance company paper. You hand the carrier your premium, they owe you a contractual interest rate plus your principal back. The entire value proposition rests on the carrier's ability to honor that obligation five years from now. That's why a B rating matters more for a MYGA than for, say, an income annuity where the payout is ongoing — the MYGA structure concentrates counterparty risk at maturity. SILAC Insurance Company is a smaller regional carrier operating mostly in certain Midwestern and Southern states. An A.M. Best B rating means Best views the carrier's ability to meet obligations as "fair" — which is a notch below the "good" rating (B+) that most professional standards treat as a floor for annuity placement. That's not a red flag, but it is a real tradeoff buyers should weigh against any rate differential.

The Secure Savings 5-Year credits a single fixed interest rate — 3.45% as of the current brochure — guaranteed for the full five-year term. There are no indexes, no caps, no participation rates, no allocation decisions. At the end of the surrender period, the full account value (principal plus accumulated interest) is available without charge. The guarantee is backed entirely by SILAC Insurance Company's general account, so the strength of that guarantee depends on SILAC's ongoing financial health.

Free withdrawals are limited to interest-only in Year 1, then the greater of 5% of account value or accumulated interest in Years 2 through 5. That's slightly more restrictive than some competitors who allow 10% in all years, though the interest-only provision in Year 1 keeps the growth accessible from the start. Any withdrawal beyond the free amount triggers the surrender charge schedule (starting at 9% in Year 1) and may trigger a Market Value Adjustment — which means the actual penalty can be higher or lower than the schedule depending on interest rate movements at the time of withdrawal.

The most practically useful secondary feature for this product is the RMD exemption. Required minimum distributions from qualified accounts — IRAs, 401(k) rollovers — are treated as free withdrawals, meaning they don't trigger surrender charges or the MVA. That's standard in MYGAs but worth confirming here because some older or simpler contracts handle RMDs differently. For a retiree holding IRA money who wants a 5-year rate lock but needs to take annual RMDs, this feature prevents the MYGA structure from creating an annual surrender charge problem.

The surrender schedule runs 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5% across years one through five. That's a standard to slightly aggressive 5-year schedule — some competitors use 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%. More importantly, SILAC applies a Market Value Adjustment (MVA) to withdrawals subject to surrender charges. An MVA — Market Value Adjustment — means the effective surrender penalty fluctuates with interest rates. If rates have risen since you bought the contract, the MVA works against you, making an early exit more expensive than the schedule alone suggests. The stateNote data in the spec flags that this product is not available in Minnesota, New Jersey, or New York.

There is no base contract fee and no required rider fee — the product is fee-free in the conventional sense. The "fee" is structural: the carrier holds your money, invests the spread, and returns the guaranteed rate while keeping the margin. At 3.45%, that spread is wide by current market standards, which is part of why the carrier can offer a guaranteed return at a lower headline rate.

The income rider listed as "available" in the materials came without a disclosed fee, name, or rollup rate in the available brochure documents. That limits any evaluation of its value. If you are considering this product for income purposes, ask for the specific rider terms before deciding — the generic availability flag isn't enough information to evaluate the income-rider option.

Legal Entity: SILAC Insurance Company

A.M. Best Rating: B

SILAC Insurance Company is a smaller, regional insurance carrier. An A.M. Best B rating places it below the B+ or better minimum that most financial planning standards suggest for annuity placement. That's not a disqualifying factor for all situations, but it is a meaningful data point for a product whose entire value is a guaranteed payment from a carrier five years in the future. Buyers placing significant qualified-account balances with any B-rated carrier should do additional due diligence on the carrier's reserve position and market footprint.