Why it earned this rating
Our assessment
Teton Bonus 14-Year sits in mixed territory because the premium bonus is genuinely large — 15% base, 20% with the optional Elevation Plus rider — but almost everything surrounding it introduces risk or friction. The carrier is rated B by A.M. Best, which is below the A- floor many financial planners use as a minimum. The surrender period is 14 years, which is among the longest on the market, and the bonus recapture provisions mean early exits are doubly costly. For a buyer who genuinely will not touch the money for 15 or more years, the math may work out. For anyone with a shorter or uncertain horizon, the tradeoffs are serious enough to warrant a look at A-rated competitors before committing.
The short version
This is a very-long-duration FIA built around a large premium bonus from a smaller, below-A-tier carrier. The 15% to 20% bonus is real money credited to your account value at issue — but it vests slowly, does not become fully yours until year 15, and is subject to recapture if you exit during the charge period. Combined with a 14-year surrender schedule starting at 14.75%, this product asks for a commitment most annuity buyers are not prepared to make. If you have genuinely long-term funds, no liquidity needs, and are comfortable with SILAC's financial strength rating, the bonus can shift the math in your favor. If any of those conditions are uncertain, this is a high-commitment product from a carrier with limited public name recognition and a rating that warrants scrutiny.
Key facts
The full review
Is SILAC Teton Bonus 14-Year a Good Annuity?
It depends, more than most. For a narrow buyer — someone with genuinely permanent retirement funds, no expectation of needing liquidity for 15+ years, and a clear-eyed view of what a B-rated carrier means — the bonus structure can make the math work. For most buyers shopping annuities, though, the combination of a 14-year surrender, below-A carrier strength, and slow bonus vesting creates a risk profile that deserves serious scrutiny before signing. The honest answer is that better-capitalized carriers offer competitive bonus FIAs in the 8-10 year range, and most buyers should exhaust those options first.
Why Someone Would Buy This Annuity
The rational case is straightforward: a 15% to 20% premium bonus is an unusually large upfront credit to account value, and for a buyer parking long-term funds with no near-term income plans, that bonus accelerates the starting balance in a way most products cannot match. The free death benefit vesting also means heirs receive the full account value including the bonus regardless of when the contract owner dies, which has legacy planning value. Buyers who have been declined or quoted poorly at A-rated carriers due to age or state restrictions may also find Teton Bonus 14 one of the few options available.
Who This Annuity Is Best For
I think this product is best suited for buyers who are older, have permanent funds they genuinely will not need to access, and are focused more on what transfers to heirs than on personal withdrawals. The death benefit provision — full account value, bonus fully vested immediately at death — makes it structurally more interesting for legacy buyers than for accumulation buyers who expect to draw down the contract themselves. It is a poor fit for anyone under 65 with even a modest chance of needing early access to principal, for anyone with a short-to-medium time horizon, or for anyone whose advisor or gut requires A-rated carriers.
What You're Really Buying Here
You are buying a long-term principal-protection contract with a large upfront credit and a restricted crediting menu. The premium bonus goes on your account value at issue — it is real — but that account value is locked behind a 14-year schedule and a vesting clock on the bonus itself. The indices are a mix of the S&P 500 (with modest cap rates) and proprietary or licensed volatility-controlled indices (Barclays Atlas 5, Bloomberg Versa 10, Nasdaq Generations 5, S&P 500 Duo Swift, S&P 500 RavenPack AI) that tend to carry higher participation rates in exchange for lower raw-index volatility. What you are not buying is liquidity, simple design, or the financial backing of an A-rated insurer.
How the Core Feature Works
The premium bonus is credited to your account value at issue — 15% of premium for buyers ages 0-70 (base contract), or 20% if you elect the Elevation Plus rider. That means a $100,000 deposit becomes $115,000 or $120,000 in account value on day one, before any index crediting. The catch is that this bonus is subject to recapture. Vesting begins in year 7 and is not complete until year 15 or later. Any withdrawal that triggers a surrender charge also triggers bonus recovery on the unvested portion. At death, the bonus is fully vested regardless of contract year, which is the only clean path to the full number for many buyers.
The crediting menu offers 12 indexed strategies plus a fixed account. The S&P 500 annual point-to-point cap strategy carries a 6.00% cap (rate as of October 2025). The proprietary indices — Barclays Atlas 5, Bloomberg Versa 10, Nasdaq Generations 5 — carry higher participation rates (up to 150% on S&P 500 RavenPack AI) because those indices are volatility-managed and tend to produce smoother but lower raw returns than the plain S&P 500. The fixed account is 3.00%. Guaranteed minimums are 100% participation at 1.50% on cap strategies and 10% minimum participation on uncapped strategies.
Why the Secondary Feature Matters
The Elevation and Elevation Plus optional riders each upgrade the free-withdrawal provision from 5% to 10% of account value annually, with a 30% cumulative carry-over. For a 14-year contract, that expanded liquidity window matters. It does not solve the fundamental illiquidity problem — you are still locked into a 14-year contract with MVA risk on amounts above the free threshold — but for buyers who need to take RMDs or occasional distributions, the 10% annual free withdrawal with carry-over is meaningfully better than the base 5%.
The Elevation Plus rider also lifts the premium bonus from 15% to 20%, which is what makes the economics of the add-on attractive for most buyers. The cost is 1.00% of account value annually, capped at interest credited — meaning in a zero-credit year, you do not pay more than the interest earned. The base Elevation rider costs 0.50% and does not boost the bonus.
Liquidity and Surrender Schedule
This is one of the most restrictive surrender structures on the FIA market. The 14-year schedule starts at 14.75% and steps down 1% per year, reaching 2% in year 14. A market value adjustment — which means your penalty fluctuates with interest rates — also applies to amounts subject to surrender charges. In a rising-rate environment, the MVA can add to the penalty on top of the stated charge.
The base free-withdrawal provision is 5% of account value per year after year 1, with year 1 limited to RMDs only. With Elevation or Elevation Plus, that rises to 10% with carry-over. Both amounts are exempt from surrender charges, MVA, and bonus recovery. RMDs attributable to the contract are also exempt in year 1 and thereafter. The nursing home, terminal illness, and home health care waivers may provide additional penalty-free access in qualifying situations — but those are last-resort provisions, not a substitute for a flexible surrender schedule.
| Contract Year | Surrender Charge |
|---|---|
| 1 | 14.75% |
| 2 | 13.75% |
| 3 | 12.75% |
| 4 | 11.75% |
| 5 | 10.75% |
| 6 | 10% |
| 7 | 9% |
| 8 | 8% |
| 9 | 7% |
| 10 | 6% |
| 11 | 5% |
| 12 | 4% |
| 13 | 3% |
| 14 | 2% |
Fees and Tradeoffs
The base contract carries no annual fee. The Elevation rider is 0.50% of account value per year; Elevation Plus is 1.00% per year. Both are capped at interest credited, so in a flat year the fee does not compound into the principal — but it does mean those years produce zero net credited growth. Neither rider is available after issue; you elect at signing or not at all.
The deeper cost is structural. The bonus recapture provision means that exiting before year 15 forfeits the unvested bonus on top of any surrender charge and MVA. The S&P 500 cap rate of 6.00% is modest for a 14-year commitment — you are trading a very long lockup for a relatively capped upside on the plain S&P 500 strategy. The proprietary indices offer higher participation rates but operate with built-in volatility controls that can dampen returns in strong equity markets.
The carrier financial strength rating is also a real cost. A.M. Best B means SILAC is below the level that most fee-only planners and institutional buyers require. That does not mean the company is at risk of failure — but it does mean the contractual guarantees are backed by a smaller, less-capitalized insurer, and buyers should be comfortable with that tradeoff before committing to a 14-year contract.
Product snapshot
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Product Type | Fixed Indexed Annuity |
| Surrender Period | 14 years |
| Issue Ages | 0-80 (max age 64 in FL; max age 56 in CA) |
| Minimum Premium | $10,000 |
| Indices | S&P 500, Barclays Atlas 5 Index, Bloomberg Versa 10 Index, Nasdaq Generations 5, S&P 500 Duo Swift, S&P 500 RavenPack Artificial Intelligence |
| Crediting Methods | Annual Point-to-Point with Cap, Annual Point-to-Point with Participation Rate, Annual Point-to-Point with Spread, Monthly Averaging with Participation Rate, Monthly Point-to-Point with Cap, Fixed Account |
| Free Withdrawal | 5% of Account Value after year 1 (year 1: RMDs only); one non-systematic free withdrawal per year. With Elevation or Elevation Plus rider: 10% annually with 30% cumulative carry-over. |
| MGSV | 87.5% of premiums at 1–3% |
| Death Benefit | Full Account Value paid to beneficiary(ies); premium bonus fully vested at death; spousal continuation available. |
| Income Rider | Not available |
| Premium Bonus | 15% (ages 0-70); 13% (ages 71-80). With Elevation Plus: 20% (ages 0-70); 18% (ages 71-80). |
| Availability | Not approved in AK, CT (14-yr), DE, ID, MA, MD (14-yr), MN, MO, MT, NJ (pending), NV, OH, OR, PA, SC, TX, UT, WA. Variations (CA, FL) apply. Max issue age 64 in FL; max issue age 56 in CA; max issue age 85 in IN. |
Carrier snapshot
Legal Entity: SILAC Insurance Company
A.M. Best Rating: B
SILAC Insurance Company is a smaller regional carrier. Its A.M. Best B rating places it below the A- floor that many advisors and institutional buyers treat as a minimum threshold for annuity placements. Buyers should understand that a lower financial strength rating means the contractual guarantees — including the premium bonus, the minimum guaranteed surrender value, and the death benefit — are backed by a less-capitalized insurer than they would be at a major carrier. That does not make the contract worthless, but it is a material factor for a product asking for a 14-year commitment.
Final take
Teton Bonus 14-Year is a product that makes a compelling first impression — a 15% to 20% premium bonus is an unusually large upfront credit — but the fine print significantly narrows the audience for whom it makes sense. The 14-year surrender period is genuinely extreme. The bonus vests slowly, with recapture provisions that punish early exits doubly. The carrier is rated B, not A. And the free-withdrawal provision on the base contract is a lean 5% with no access in year 1 except for RMDs.
For a buyer with permanent funds, a long horizon, and a specific reason to prioritize the upfront bonus — perhaps because of the death benefit provision, or because options at A-rated carriers are limited — Teton Bonus 14-Year can be a defensible choice. For most buyers, I think the more honest path is to compare this against 8-10 year bonus FIAs from A-rated carriers and ask whether the extra bonus percentage is worth the extra years of lockup and the reduction in carrier strength. Often, it is not.