EverGuard Aspire 10-Year review

Yes, with a caveat. For someone who already knows they want a full decade of tax-deferred, principal-protected growth and doesn't want to pay for an income rider they may never use, this is a competitive contract — a strong cap range, no disclosed fees, and useful waivers built in at no extra cost. The caveat is that a buyer should confirm they actually need 10 years of illiquidity, because Talcott's own Aspire 5-Year and 7-Year contracts offer nearly the same crediting terms with a shorter commitment.

The rational case here is straightforward: a buyer wants meaningful upside participation in equity index performance, wants principal protected from market losses, and doesn't want to pay a rider fee for an income guarantee they aren't sure they'll use. The cap range (up to 12.00% on some strategies) and a fully-vested death benefit make this a reasonably clean accumulation vehicle. Buyers who elect Model 1 also get the reassurance of locked crediting terms for the entire surrender period, which removes the "rates could get cut next year" uncertainty that hangs over most annually-reset FIAs.

This fits someone in their 50s to mid-60s with qualified or non-qualified money they're confident they won't need for a full 10 years — money earmarked for later retirement or legacy planning, not an emergency fund or a near-term income source. It also suits someone who specifically wants to avoid rider fees and is comfortable managing their own index allocation, or delegating it to one of the two preset models, rather than having an income stream built into the contract. It's a poor fit for anyone in California or New York, where it isn't approved, or anyone who wants a guaranteed lifetime income stream baked into the same contract.

You are not buying stock market exposure. You're buying an insurance contract that credits interest annually based on the performance of an index — or one of two preset baskets of indices — capped or scaled by a participation rate, while your principal is fully protected from index losses. A bad year on the S&P 500 credits you 0%, not a loss. In exchange for giving up unlimited upside and locking your money up for 10 years, subject to a market value adjustment (MVA, meaning your surrender penalty can move with prevailing interest rates) on withdrawals beyond the free amount, you get guaranteed principal, a locked minimum guaranteed surrender value floor, and no rider fees eating into your growth.

The crediting engine offers three approaches: Annual Point-to-Point with a Cap (you get index gains up to a stated ceiling, currently 9.25%-9.50% on some strategies), Annual Point-to-Point with a Participation Rate (you get a percentage — currently 64%-100% — of the index's gain with no hard ceiling), and a Fixed Interest Option (currently 4.00%/4.25%, rate-banded at $100,000, for buyers who'd rather have a guaranteed rate than index exposure). Buyers can also elect Model 1 (Balanced Rate Guarantee), which locks caps and participation rates for the entire 10-year surrender period, or Model 2 (Equity Focused), which reaches for higher potential but only guarantees its current terms one year at a time. Manually selected individual strategies also reset annually and aren't guaranteed beyond the current 1-year term — worth knowing before assuming today's 9.25%-12.00% cap range is locked in for a decade.

The second notable piece is what's bundled in at no extra cost: a Nursing Home/Hospital Confinement Waiver and a Terminal Illness Waiver, both of which let you access contract value without surrender charges or MVA under qualifying conditions. Many FIAs charge an explicit rider fee for this kind of liquidity backstop; here it appears to come standard. The death benefit is similarly clean — the greater of full Contract Value or the Minimum Guaranteed Surrender Value, paid free of withdrawal charges or MVA, so a beneficiary isn't penalized for the timing of a death claim.

You can withdraw up to 10% of Contract Value annually, penalty-free, starting after your first Contract Anniversary, based on the value at the start of that contract year. Anything beyond that during the 10-year surrender period triggers a withdrawal charge starting at 9% in years 1-2 and stepping down to 1% by year 10, plus an MVA that can add to or subtract from that charge depending on how interest rates have moved since issue. RMDs get more favorable treatment: in the first contract year they're exempt from withdrawal charges and MVA entirely, and in later years they count toward — rather than stack on top of — your 10% free-withdrawal amount, so a buyer using this inside an IRA generally won't be penalized for taking required distributions on schedule. Outside of RMDs and the waiver triggers, this contract is designed to be left alone for a decade — treat any premium here as money you won't need.

There is no base contract fee and no rider fee disclosed in the available materials — a genuine plus, since many FIAs with an income rider carry a 0.95%-1.25% annual charge that this contract simply doesn't have. The real cost here is opportunity cost rather than an explicit fee: electing Model 2 or a manual strategy mix means your crediting terms aren't locked, so Talcott can adjust caps and participation rates downward at each renewal. Model 1 avoids that by locking rates for the full 10 years, likely at the cost of somewhat lower current caps than the more aggressive Model 2 or manual options — the brochure doesn't spell out the exact rate difference between the two, so a buyer comparing them should ask for the current side-by-side rate sheet before choosing.

Legal Entity: Talcott Resolution Life and Annuity Insurance Company

A.M. Best Rating: A-