Multi-Choice Annuity 5 (Interest-Only Withdrawals) review

It depends on whether the interest-only withdrawal feature is something the buyer will actually use. If someone wants a straightforward 5-year rate lock and plans to let the contract compound untouched, the fully-locked version of this same product pays more for the identical surrender schedule and MGSV. If someone specifically wants the ability to draw off interest annually — for supplemental income, tax planning, or just peace of mind — this variant earns its keep. Either way, the rate itself is not exceptional next to the broader 5-year MYGA field, so this is a reasonable option rather than a standout one.

The rational buyer here is someone who wants a fixed, guaranteed rate for exactly five years and also wants a built-in way to take money out along the way without paying a surrender charge or triggering a market value adjustment. Someone drawing supplemental retirement income who doesn't want to annuitize, or someone who simply doesn't trust themselves to leave interest untouched for five years, gets a cleaner mechanism here than relying on an ad hoc withdrawal that might eat into a standard free-withdrawal allowance. The nursing home and terminal-condition waivers add a modest safety net on top, in case circumstances change mid-term.

I think this fits savers in their late 50s through 70s who have already decided on a 5-year time horizon, have at least $15,000 (and ideally $100,000-plus, to clear the better rate band) to commit, and want scheduled access to interest earnings rather than a fully locked box. It works for both qualified and non-qualified money. It's a weaker fit for anyone chasing the highest possible guaranteed yield, since the top of the current 5-year MYGA market runs well ahead of this contract's declared rate, and for anyone who has no real intention of tapping interest along the way — they'd do better with The Standard's own no-withdrawal configuration of this same product.

Strip away the product name and this is a single-premium deferred annuity that credits one declared interest rate, fixed for five years, with no index exposure, no participation rate, and no cap to track. The insurer sets the rate at issue based on premium size — 4.55% under $100,000, 4.85% at or above it — and that rate doesn't move for the full term regardless of what happens to interest rates elsewhere. The only mechanical wrinkle versus a plain MYGA is the withdrawal provision: instead of the usual flat percentage-of-value free withdrawal, this SKU limits penalty-free access to interest actually credited, paid out on the schedule the owner selects.

The core feature is the declared-rate crediting itself. Premium is banded at $100,000 — below that threshold the current rate is 4.55%, at or above it, 4.85% — and whichever rate applies is guaranteed for the entire five-year term, regardless of where market rates move in the interim. At the end of the five years, the surrender-charge clock resets and a new rate is declared based on then-current conditions; the owner gets a 30-day window to walk away penalty-free or let the contract renew. Rates on this product, as with any MYGA, are a snapshot — these figures are current as of the brochure date and will not reflect what a buyer sees if they shop this product later.

The secondary feature — and the reason this SKU exists as a distinct configuration — is the interest-only free-withdrawal provision. After the first 30 days, the owner can withdraw credited interest, and only credited interest, free of both surrender charge and MVA, every contract year, on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual schedule. That's meaningfully different from the more common "10% of contract value" free-withdrawal structure other MYGAs use: it caps access to what the money has actually earned rather than a flat percentage of principal, which protects the insurer's guarantee but also means the dollar amount available varies with the rate and shrinks in early years before interest has had time to accumulate. This is the tradeoff that defines the product — and it's not free. The Standard's own fully-locked Multi-Choice Annuity 5, which offers no optional withdrawal provision at all beyond the standard waivers, currently pays 4.75%/5.05% — roughly 20 basis points higher across both premium bands than this interest-only variant. So the liquidity here is real, but it comes directly out of the rate rather than being layered on top of it.

Outside of the interest-only provision, this is a genuine five-year commitment. The surrender-charge schedule runs 9.4%, 8.5%, 7.5%, 6.5%, 5.5% across the five contract years — on the steeper side for a 5-year MYGA — and a market value adjustment applies on top of that in every state except California, meaning early withdrawals beyond the interest-only allowance can be penalized further if interest rates have risen since issue. Required minimum distributions, the first 30 days of each renewal period, and withdrawals tied to a documented terminal condition or 30-plus days of nursing home residency (after the first contract year) are always surrender-and-MVA-free regardless of which optional withdrawal election is on the contract. Outside those carve-outs, this is money that should be earmarked for the full five-year term.

There's no explicit rider fee here — there's no optional living-benefit or income rider on this product at all, so there's nothing to unbundle on that front. The real tradeoff is the one described above: the interest-only withdrawal feature is purchased with a lower declared rate than the no-withdrawal version of the same contract carries. The brochure materials don't disclose an explicit base-contract fee, so that field is treated as not confirmed rather than assumed to be zero. Buyers should also weigh the MVA exposure and the relatively steep first-year surrender charge (9.4%) against the fact that this is, at its core, a rate-lock product — the fee story is less about explicit charges and more about the opportunity cost of the rate itself.