SmartSelect 3-Year review

Yes, for the right buyer. If you want a short-term guaranteed rate from a financially strong carrier and you are comfortable with the bank channel, this is a competent MYGA. It is less attractive if you are comparing it aggressively across carriers — the bank-only channel means you likely will not encounter it alongside direct competitors — or if you might need more than 10% in any given year.

The main reason to buy SmartSelect 3-Year is simplicity and safety: a locked rate for 36 months, no moving parts, immediate partial liquidity, and full access at the end of the term without any penalty. The rate banding at $100,000 is a practical detail — someone putting in $100,000 or more gets a guaranteed 4.00%, a step up from the 3.75% below that threshold. The renewal flexibility at the end of the GRO period is also genuinely useful: you can surrender without penalty, roll into a new GRO of your choosing (3 through 7 years), or do nothing and land in a 1-year no-charge renewal period while you decide.

I think SmartSelect 3-Year is best suited for someone in or near retirement who has a clear 3-year time horizon for a portion of their savings, wants certainty over that window, and is working with a bank advisor rather than an independent agent. It is well-matched to qualified (IRA) money because of the RMD waiver — required distributions come out charge-free regardless of amount. It is less suited to someone who wants more than basic liquidity, is actively shopping the MYGA market across carriers, or is primarily focused on income generation rather than accumulation and preservation.

You are buying a contract with a single crediting mechanism — a Guaranteed Rate Option, or GRO — that locks a stated annual interest rate for exactly three years. Western & Southern credits interest daily, expressed as annual effective rates. The rate you get at issue is the rate you get through the end of the term. There is no index participation, no cap structure, no spread to erode returns, and no rider fees. The simplicity is the point. At the end of the GRO period, the contract does not auto-renew into the same terms; you have a decision window, which is a feature rather than a nuisance.

The GRO is a single fixed interest rate guaranteed for the full 3-year surrender period. Western & Southern applies rate banding: contracts below $100,000 earn a different (lower) rate than contracts at or above that threshold. As of the data snapshot in May 2026, the split was 3.75% (below $100,000) versus 4.00% ($100,000 or more). Those rates are set at issue and do not change during the initial GRO period.

At the end of the 3-year term, the contract reaches a decision point. The policyholder can surrender the full value without withdrawal charges or MVA, elect a new GRO of any available term (3, 4, 5, 6, or 7 years — though the 7-year is not available in New York), or take no action and let the account roll into a 1-year renewal period with no withdrawal charge and no MVA. That no-action fallback is an important protection against accidental locking — if you miss the renewal window, you are not trapped in a new multi-year charge period.

The guaranteed minimum interest rate (GMIR) outside New York is 0.05%, a regulatory floor rather than a practical expectation. In New York, it is 1.00%, and it resets on GRO re-election for contracts purchased on or after June 10, 2024.

The most meaningful secondary feature is the waiver package. The Confinement Waiver and Limited Life Expectancy Waiver provide meaningful liquidity access beyond the standard 10% free amount in circumstances where the money is genuinely needed. The confinement waiver activates after 60 consecutive days of confinement following the first contract anniversary. The life expectancy waiver applies if a terminal diagnosis (12 months or fewer to live) is made after the contract date. These do not change the product's daily utility, but for a retirement-savings contract held by buyers in their 60s, 70s, or 80s, having an out in a health crisis matters. Note that the life expectancy waiver is not available in California.

The death benefit treatment is also worth noting: the full account value passes to the beneficiary on the day the claim is processed, without withdrawal charges, MVA, or probate. That is clean.

SmartSelect 3-Year allows 10% of account value free in each contract year, starting from day one — no waiting period before the first free withdrawal, which is a better provision than many MYGAs in this peer group. The $250 minimum on free withdrawals is a minor practical constraint.

Amounts above the free 10% are subject to a flat 7% charge in each of the three years. That charge does not step down — it is 7% in year one, 7% in year two, and 7% in year three. For a 3-year MYGA, a flat 7% is on the higher side compared to products that use a declining schedule (e.g., 5% / 3% / 1%). An MVA — Market Value Adjustment — also applies to surrenders within the charge period, meaning the effective surrender cost can move higher or lower depending on where interest rates are at the time you exit.

RMDs attributable to the contract waive both the withdrawal charge and the MVA, which makes this a clean choice for IRA money.

There are no annual contract fees, no rider fees, and no spread on the crediting method. The cost is entirely structural: locked principal for 3 years with a 7% penalty on excess withdrawals.

The MVA is the less obvious tradeoff. If you need to exit when rates have risen significantly above your contract rate, the MVA will add to the effective surrender cost. If rates have fallen, it may reduce it. Either way, the MVA creates surrender cost uncertainty beyond the stated 7%, which is worth understanding before signing.

In Florida, for buyers aged 65 or older at issue, withdrawal charges are not permitted after 10 contract years — a state-specific rule that limits which GRO terms are practically available for re-election in that scenario.

Legal Entity: Western-Southern Life Assurance Company

Parent: Western & Southern Financial Group

A.M. Best Rating: A+