TopRidge Bonus Annuity review

It depends on the buyer's time horizon and what they think they are buying. For someone who genuinely will not need access to this money for 10 years and wants a large initial account-value boost, this is a reasonable product. The 20% bonus is applied to the account value — not a shadow benefit base — which means it actually grows with the contract. What gives me pause is the combination of a 0.95% annual base fee and a front-heavy surrender schedule. That 0.95% fee compounds over 10 years into a real drag on the credited interest. This is not a bad annuity, but the fine print around the bonus vesting and fee structure deserves careful attention.

The rational case for TopRidge Bonus is straightforward: you get an immediate 20% lift on your account value at issue. If you put in $100,000, your starting account value is $120,000. That starting advantage gives your indexed crediting a larger base to grow from. For buyers who are confident in their 10-year commitment — qualified retirement money they will not touch, for example — that head start is a real benefit. The broad index menu, including the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, Russell 2000, and MSCI EAFE alongside several managed-volatility alternatives, also gives more crediting flexibility than a basic FIA typically provides.

I think TopRidge Bonus is best for buyers in their mid-50s to late 60s who have a long-duration IRA or rollover they are confident will stay invested for the full decade, want a principal-boost strategy rather than guaranteed income, and are comfortable evaluating the net-of-fee math on the bonus before committing. It is less appropriate for buyers who might need liquidity above the free-withdrawal amount in years one through four — the 12% surrender charge plus MVA in early years can produce a real dollar loss even after the bonus. Buyers outside DE, HI, MT, NY, and VT may purchase; buyers in CA, FL, and IA should verify state-specific terms before signing.

You are buying an account-value premium bonus, a 10-year indexed accumulation contract, and a built-in Cumulative Free Withdrawal Rider — all packaged together. The 20% bonus is credited to your account value immediately at issue, so it participates in index-linked crediting from day one. You are not buying a separate benefit base that only pays out as income. You are also buying a Cumulative Free Withdrawal Rider that allows unused annual withdrawal capacity to carry over across up to two prior years, with a maximum cumulative withdrawal of 30% over the surrender period, and a Rider Charge Refund provision that credits back fees if total rider charges exceed total credited interest at surrender-period end. The 0.95% annual base fee — separate from the 0.95% rider charge — is the price of admission for all of it.

The 20% premium bonus is credited to the account value on all premiums received in the first contract year. On a $200,000 deposit, that is an immediate $40,000 added to account value before the first anniversary. From there, the account grows (or holds) based on whichever crediting strategy you select annually. The index menu includes traditional indices — S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, MSCI EAFE, Russell 2000 — alongside managed-volatility and algorithmic alternatives like the S&P 500 Dynamic Intraday TCA Index, MSCI BofA US Dualcast Index, Morgan Stanley Global Equity Allocator Index, and SG AI Navigator Index. Annual point-to-point strategies come with caps ranging from 6.00% to 6.75% (as of the brochure date). A biennial term end point strategy is also available. Participation rates range from 38% to 150% depending on index and strategy, and spreads run from 0% to 5.00%. A 3.25% fixed account is available as a conservative alternative. These rates are point-in-time figures from the brochure and will change with new business rates.

The Cumulative Free Withdrawal Rider is the secondary feature worth understanding. Standard FIA contracts typically offer 10% of contract value free per year — use it or lose it. TopRidge Bonus structures its free-withdrawal provision around 10% of total premiums paid rather than account value, and it allows unused capacity from up to two prior years to carry forward, with a 30% maximum cumulative withdrawal. For buyers who might not need distributions every year — a rollover IRA that is still accumulating, for instance — this rollover feature provides more flexibility than a flat annual provision. The Rider Charge Refund feature also offers downside protection on the fee: if the contract reaches the end of the surrender period and the total rider charges paid exceeded total interest credited, the excess charges are refunded. That does not make the fee disappear, but it limits the worst-case outcome.

The surrender schedule here is notably steep, especially in years one through four. The charges open at 12% in years one and two, drop to 11% in years three and four, and step down from there before reaching zero after year ten. An MVA — Market Value Adjustment, meaning your effective surrender cost can rise further if interest rates have climbed since you bought the contract — also applies on amounts subject to charges. That front-loading matters because the 20% bonus does not protect you from a surrender charge in early years. If you deposit $100,000, receive a $20,000 bonus, and then surrender in year two, a 12% charge on the surrender value could easily exceed the bonus benefit. RMDs attributable to the contract are not subject to surrender charges or MVA — that is standard and useful for qualified accounts.

This product carries two ongoing charges: a 0.95% annual base contract fee and a 0.95% annual Cumulative Free Withdrawal Rider charge. Combined, that is 1.90% per year in explicit fees before any index spread is applied. On a $120,000 post-bonus account value, that is roughly $2,280 in year-one fees alone. The base cap on the S&P 500 point-to-point strategy (6.00%–6.75% as of the brochure) means that in strong index years, the spread between market return and credited return is wide, and the fee load narrows the net result further. The product makes most sense if you treat the 20% bonus as an offset that covers multiple years of fees up front — and mathematically it does cover roughly 10+ years of combined fees on the original deposit. But that math requires staying the full surrender period. Exit early and you give back both the fees and some of the bonus.

Legal Entity: Security Benefit Life Insurance Company

Parent: Eldridge Industries

A.M. Best Rating: A-