EverGuard Aspire 7-Year review

Yes, for the buyer it's built for. This is a good annuity for someone who wants principal-protected accumulation, likes having several ways to pursue index-linked interest inside one contract, and can commit the money for a full seven years. It is not a good fit for someone who needs an income rider, wants short-term liquidity, or lives in California or New York, where this product isn't approved.

The core appeal is a broad crediting menu paired with real principal protection. Someone rolling over an IRA or moving non-qualified savings out of low-yield cash wants upside potential without direct market risk, and this contract offers four indices and two crediting methods to choose from, plus two ready-made allocation models for buyers who don't want to build their own mix. The included death benefit and illness waivers add a modicum of flexibility without an extra line-item fee, which matters to buyers who want simplicity over a rider they'd have to actively manage.

I think this product is best for someone in their late 50s through 70s, likely retired or near retirement, who has non-immediate-need savings — qualified or non-qualified — and wants growth potential with a floor under it rather than a fixed CD-like rate. It's a reasonable fit for someone who already has an income plan in place (Social Security, a pension, or a separate income annuity) and is using this contract purely to grow a slice of savings. It is a poor fit for anyone who might need meaningful access to the money in the next seven years, or who wants the option to add lifetime income later without buying a new contract.

You're not buying stock market exposure. You're buying an insurance contract where Talcott credits interest annually based on how a chosen index performs, subject to a cap or participation rate, with your principal protected from direct index losses. If the index goes down, you're credited zero for that strategy that year — not a loss, just no gain. If it goes up, you get a portion of that gain, limited by whichever cap or participation rate applies to the strategy and allocation you picked. The two preset Allocation Models simplify this further: Model 1 locks in guaranteed cap and participation rates for the entire seven-year surrender period, while Model 2 leans more heavily into S&P 500 exposure with an enhanced cap that isn't locked for the full term. You can't combine a model with individually elected strategies beyond what the model itself contains — it's model or manual, not both.

The primary crediting method is Annual Point-to-Point, measuring index growth on each contract anniversary and crediting interest up to a stated cap or at a stated participation rate — 9.25% to 12.00% and 64% to 100% respectively, depending on the strategy and allocation model, as of the 11/3/2025 rate sheet. There's also a Fixed Interest Option currently paying 4.00%/4.25%, which acts as a conventional fixed-rate bucket inside the same contract. The four available indices are the S&P 500, the S&P 500 Engle 15% VT TCA Index, the Invesco BofA QQQ Balanced FC Index, and the Goldman Sachs Enhanced Multi-Asset Index — the latter two are lesser-known "managed volatility" style indices that are common in newer FIA designs and tend to smooth out swings in exchange for potentially different long-run credited amounts than a plain S&P 500 strategy. Rates on manual strategy selections and Model 2 are not guaranteed beyond the current one-year term and can be reset by Talcott going forward; only Model 1 locks its rates for the full surrender period.

The standard death benefit and the chronic-illness/terminal-illness waivers are the secondary features worth noting, and both come included rather than as paid riders. The death benefit pays the greater of the full account value or the Minimum Guaranteed Surrender Value, free of withdrawal charges and MVA — so a beneficiary isn't penalized by the surrender schedule that would apply to a living owner. The Nursing Home/Hospital Confinement and Terminal Illness waivers, both active after the first contract anniversary, let the owner access money without surrender charges or MVA if a qualifying health event occurs. These are meaningful safety valves for a seven-year commitment, and notably, Talcott's own 5-year EverGuard Aspire sibling in this series does not appear to carry them — so the extra two years of commitment on this version comes with a real feature upgrade, not just a longer lockup.

You're trading seven years of full liquidity for the crediting structure above. The free withdrawal allowance is 10% of contract value annually, available starting after the first contract anniversary and based on the value at the start of the most recent contract year — so new money doesn't get a free withdrawal in year one. Anything withdrawn beyond that 10%, or a full surrender, triggers the schedule below, and a market value adjustment can apply on top of the surrender charge during the same window, meaning the penalty can move against you if interest rates have risen since issue. Required Minimum Distributions get better treatment: RMDs can be taken free of both withdrawal charges and MVA starting in the first contract year, and in later years they simply count toward the standard 10% free amount. The chronic-illness and terminal-illness waivers described above are the other way to access more than the free amount without a penalty, if a qualifying event occurs.

There's no stated explicit annual base contract fee or income rider fee on this product — because there's no income rider, there's nothing to charge a rider fee against. The real cost isn't a line-item fee; it's the cap and participation limits on the index strategies, which mean you never capture the full move of the underlying index even in a strong year. The Minimum Guaranteed Surrender Value — 87.5% of premium accruing at 0.15% to 3% depending on state — is the contractual floor if you surrendered on day one and interest rates never moved, and it's a normal structure for this product type, not a red flag. The main trade to understand: you're giving up unlimited upside and immediate full liquidity in exchange for a credited-interest floor of zero (never negative from the index itself) and a menu broad enough to diversify your crediting approach inside one contract.

Legal Entity: Talcott Resolution Life and Annuity Insurance Company

A.M. Best Rating: A-