Future Select 5 review

Depends on how much weight you put on carrier rating versus contract terms. Judged purely on structure — fee-free, a generous free withdrawal, a strong MGSV, no MVA — Future Select 5 is a well-built 5-year MYGA. Judged on carrier strength, B++ is a step below what many MYGA shoppers use as a screening threshold. It's a reasonable product for someone who has already vetted the carrier and is comfortable with it, less so for someone using carrier rating as a hard filter.

The main reason to buy Future Select 5 is the combination of a locked five-year rate and unusually flexible terms for a MYGA. Someone who wants to move money out of market exposure for five years, values being able to access 15% of the annuity value annually without penalty, and wants the strongest possible principal guarantee this structure offers has a reasonable case for this product over MYGAs with skimpier free-withdrawal provisions or lower MGSV floors. The absence of any base contract fees also means the credited rate is the return, full stop.

I think Future Select 5 is best for a conservative saver, generally near or in retirement, who wants a simple locked-rate annuity and places more weight on liquidity and MGSV strength than on holding the highest-rated carrier available. The 0-90 issue age range is unusually broad, which makes this workable for inherited IRA and legacy-planning situations as well as typical retail buyers. It's less suited for someone who screens strictly on A- or better carrier ratings, or who is chasing the single highest available MYGA rate rather than the strongest contract terms.

You're buying Western United Life's promise to credit a fixed 4.20% rate on your premium every year for five years, with no market exposure and no possibility of the rate declining during the guarantee period. At the end of five years, you can renew into a new declared rate, annuitize, or take your money. In exchange for that certainty, you give up any upside if interest rates rise during your term, and early access beyond the free-withdrawal allowance triggers a surrender charge. There are no moving parts beyond that — no index crediting, no participation rate, no rider fee.

The core feature is the declared fixed rate. Western United Life's current 5-year guarantee period rate is 4.20% (per Wink data as of 9/29/2025), locked for the entire five-year term — not a first-year teaser that resets lower afterward. Once the initial guarantee period ends, the company declares a new rate annually, but that renewal rate can never fall below a 1.00% guaranteed minimum interest rate; the company's own fact sheet cites a 1-3% guaranteed floor for contract years six and beyond, though the exact renewal floor going forward is a company declaration and isn't locked in at issue the way the initial 4.20% is. Rates shown here are a snapshot and will differ for new contracts issued today.

The secondary feature worth noting is the guaranteed minimum surrender value, which is unusually strong for this category. Future Select 5's MGSV returns 100% of premiums paid, minus any withdrawals taken, plus a 1.00% guaranteed minimum annual interest rate. Many MYGAs set their statutory floor closer to 87.5% of premium — Western United Life's contract guarantees the full premium back at minimum, which meaningfully reduces the worst-case downside compared to peers with a lower MGSV floor. Paired with the fact that there's no market value adjustment on this product, the downside case here is about as clean as a MYGA gets.

This is a five-year commitment, but the free-withdrawal terms are more generous than most MYGAs in this duration band. You can withdraw up to 15% of the annuity value per calendar year starting in the very first contract year — no one-year waiting period, and a higher percentage than the 10% that's typical elsewhere. Withdrawals must be set up via EFT and can be structured as monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual periodic distributions, which gives some flexibility for someone drawing income informally without annuitizing. Withdrawals above the free amount during the surrender schedule — 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4% across years one through five — are charged, and there's no MVA to compound that cost. Still, this product is built for five-year money, not a short-term parking spot.

There are no fees to account for on this contract — no sales charges, no set-up fees, and no administrative expenses deducted from premium. That's a genuine positive: the credited rate is what you get, undiluted. The tradeoff isn't a fee, it's the carrier. Western United Life's B++ A.M. Best rating means the company's claims-paying ability, while rated "Good," sits below the A- and higher tier that many advisors treat as a floor for a product whose entire value rests on a multi-year promise to pay.

Legal Entity: Western United Life Insurance Company

Parent: ManhattanLife

A.M. Best Rating: B++