Current Fixed and Bonus Annuity Rates

“Current annuity rates” are the interest or crediting terms available today on fixed annuities (MYGAs) and fixed indexed annuities (FIAs). For MYGAs, this means the guaranteed interest rate credited for the full contract term. For FIAs, it means the current caps, participation rates, or spreads available on indexed crediting strategies. Carriers update these terms — sometimes weekly, sometimes biweekly, sometimes monthly — based on movements in the broader interest rate environment and each carrier’s internal pricing decisions. A rate that is available today may not be available next week, which is one reason locking in a rate when it is attractive relative to your alternatives has real timing value.

Because rates are subject to change, the tables on this page are updated regularly, but the only way to confirm the rate available for your specific deposit, age, state, and desired term is to request a current illustration. Some carriers also tier rates by premium size — meaning a larger deposit may qualify for a modestly higher credited rate than the published minimum-premium rate shown in comparison tables.

A MYGA — Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuity — is a fixed deferred annuity that credits a single guaranteed interest rate for the full length of the contract term, which is selected at the time of purchase. Common terms range from 2 to 10 years. The credited rate is guaranteed for the entire term, not subject to annual reset based on interest markets, and growth accumulates tax-deferred inside the contract until withdrawals begin. Principal is protected from market loss — the account value never decreases due to market performance, only potential surrender charges if the contract is terminated early.

At the end of the guarantee period (the “maturity” or “surrender charge-free” date), most MYGAs offer a window during which the owner can withdraw, transfer, or roll the contract without penalty, or allow it to renew at then-current rates for a new term. Tax deferral means interest credited inside the contract is not reported as taxable income each year — taxes are deferred until withdrawals are taken, at which point gains are taxed as ordinary income. MYGAs are often compared to bank CDs for their simple guaranteed-rate structure, though the two products differ in key ways including tax treatment, liquidity rules, and the regulatory framework backing them.

FIAs — fixed indexed annuities — do not quote a single fixed credited rate. Instead, they offer indexed crediting strategies with terms that determine how much of the index’s positive performance is credited to the contract. The three most common crediting parameters are cap rates (the maximum gain that can be credited in any crediting period), participation rates (the percentage of the index’s gain that is credited), and spreads (a deducted percentage from the index gain before crediting occurs). The owner chooses from available strategies at issue and typically can reallocate at crediting anniversaries.

Like MYGAs, FIAs protect principal from market losses — if the index performs negatively in any crediting period, zero is credited rather than a loss being applied to the account value. The tradeoff for this downside protection is the cap, participation rate, or spread that limits the upside. FIA crediting terms are typically declared at the start of each crediting period (commonly one year) and can change annually, unlike MYGA rates which are fixed for the full term. This means FIA performance is inherently less predictable than MYGA performance, but the potential for higher credits in favorable index environments makes FIAs attractive for growth-oriented savers who still want principal protection.

Not automatically — and this is one of the most important cautions in annuity shopping. A higher rate almost always comes with tradeoffs that can offset or eliminate its apparent advantage. Large premium bonuses are frequently paired with longer surrender schedules, lower annual free withdrawal percentages, lower FIA caps or participation rates, or income rider fees that reduce net accumulation. A MYGA with a 6.30% rate and a 7-year surrender schedule may or may not be more valuable than a 5.75% MYGA with a 5-year schedule, depending entirely on the owner’s actual holding period and liquidity needs.

The evaluation framework for any annuity rate should include: the contract term and surrender schedule relative to how long you actually intend to hold the contract; the annual free withdrawal percentage and whether it covers your likely liquidity needs; the carrier’s financial strength rating and claims-paying history; any fees charged for optional riders that reduce net credited growth; and the total projected value at the end of the term rather than just the headline rate. In many cases, the “best rate” on a comparison table is not the best option for a specific investor’s situation — which is why personalized illustrations comparing multiple products on consistent assumptions produce better decisions than headline rate comparisons alone.

Surrender schedules for the products featuring the most competitive current rates typically range from 3 to 10 years, with longer terms generally offering higher rates as compensation for the extended commitment. A 3-year MYGA will typically offer a lower rate than a 7-year MYGA from the same carrier because the carrier has less time to deploy the premium in longer-duration investments. Shorter terms provide more frequent opportunities to reinvest at current market rates at maturity; longer terms lock in today’s rate for a longer period, which is advantageous if rates are expected to decline.

The key planning principle is matching the surrender schedule to your actual liquidity timeline. An annuity purchased for money that may be needed in three years should not be in a 7-year contract regardless of the rate differential, because surrender charges on early withdrawal can eliminate the benefit of the higher rate entirely. Most surrender schedules are graduated — highest in year one, declining to zero by the final year — so the penalty for early access is most severe in the early contract years and diminishes as maturity approaches.

Most annuity contracts allow a defined percentage of the account value to be withdrawn each year during the surrender period without triggering surrender charges or market value adjustments. The most common free withdrawal allowance is 10% of the account value annually, though some contracts allow 5% or up to 12% depending on product design. The free withdrawal provision typically becomes available after the first contract year — meaning no penalty-free withdrawal is available in the first 12 months in most designs. Exceeding the free withdrawal allowance in any year triggers surrender charges on the excess amount, calculated according to the contract’s surrender charge schedule.

It is important to understand that free withdrawal provisions vary significantly across carriers and products. Some contracts calculate the free withdrawal on the original premium rather than the accumulated account value; others calculate on the account value. Some contracts allow unused free withdrawal amounts to carry forward to future years (called “cumulative” free withdrawal provisions); others do not. Reviewing the specific free withdrawal mechanics of any contract under consideration — and modeling whether your expected liquidity needs can be accommodated within those mechanics without triggering charges — is essential due diligence before purchase. Our resource on annuity free withdrawal rules explains how these provisions work across common product structures.

A Market Value Adjustment (MVA) is a provision in some fixed annuity contracts that adjusts the surrender value — not the credited rate — when withdrawals above the free amount or full surrenders occur during the surrender period. The MVA calculates an adjustment based on the difference between current interest rates and the interest rates in effect when the contract was issued. If current rates are higher than the rates at issue, the MVA typically reduces the surrender value (negative adjustment); if current rates are lower than at issue, the MVA typically increases the surrender value (positive adjustment). The MVA essentially shares some of the interest rate risk between the contract owner and the carrier when early access is taken.

The MVA does not affect the credited rate for the term or the value at maturity — it only affects the value received if the contract is surrendered or partially surrendered outside the free withdrawal provision during the surrender period. For owners who plan to hold the contract to term and stay within free withdrawal limits, the MVA is functionally irrelevant. For owners who might need access beyond free withdrawal amounts before maturity, understanding the MVA calculation methodology and its potential magnitude in different interest rate scenarios is important before committing to an MVA contract. More details are available in our resource on annuity surrender charges and MVAs.

Many carriers offer a rate-lock window that holds the rate available at the time of application or fund receipt while paperwork is processed and the contract is issued. This is especially important for 1035 exchanges or IRA transfers, which can take several weeks to complete while funds move between institutions. Without a rate lock, the rate available when funds arrive at the new carrier may be different — higher or lower — than the rate that prompted the purchase decision. The length of the rate-lock window varies significantly by carrier, ranging from as short as 30 days to as long as 90 days or more in some cases.

Confirming the carrier’s rate-lock policy before initiating a transfer or rollover is important practical due diligence. If a rate lock is available, understanding exactly when it starts (application date vs. funds received date), how long it lasts, and what happens if the transfer takes longer than the lock period prevents unpleasant surprises. Some carriers automatically apply the lock at application; others require a specific request. Working with an independent broker who manages the rate-lock process as part of the placement reduces the risk of rates changing before the contract is issued.

Yes — MYGAs and FIAs can be purchased inside Traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs, or funded through rollovers from qualified retirement plans such as 401(k), 403(b), 457, and TSP accounts. When an annuity is held inside an IRA, the account’s tax-deferred or tax-free status (Traditional or Roth, respectively) applies to the annuity’s growth — the annuity’s own tax deferral feature is redundant inside a Traditional IRA since the IRA already provides tax deferral, but the annuity still provides principal protection, guaranteed rates, and the other contractual features that motivate the purchase. Direct rollovers from qualified plans into annuities do not trigger taxation when completed correctly.

For annuities held in non-qualified (after-tax, non-IRA) accounts, the annuity contract itself provides tax deferral on credited gains — meaning interest accumulates inside the contract without annual taxable income recognition until withdrawals are taken, at which point gains are taxed as ordinary income (LIFO — last in, first out for non-qualified annuities). Non-qualified annuities are particularly useful for savers who have already maximized tax-advantaged account contributions and want additional tax-deferred growth without further contribution limits. Our resource on how to transfer an IRA to an annuity explains the mechanics of IRA-to-annuity transfers in detail.

If an annuity is held inside a Traditional IRA or other pre-tax qualified account, the IRS required minimum distribution rules apply just as they would to any other qualified account asset. The IRA owner must begin taking RMDs by the applicable RMD starting age, and the annuity contract’s surrender charge schedule and free withdrawal provisions interact with the RMD requirement in ways that must be understood before purchase. Most well-designed annuity contracts accommodate RMDs through the free withdrawal provision — meaning the RMD amount can be taken without surrender charges — but some contracts have provisions that are less RMD-friendly, particularly in early contract years when the RMD amount may exceed the free withdrawal allowance for a large premium deposit.

Confirming that a specific contract’s free withdrawal provision adequately accommodates the projected RMD amounts for the owner’s age and account balance before purchasing is essential due diligence for qualified money purchases. This typically requires running a simple calculation: compare the expected RMD as a percentage of the account balance against the contract’s free withdrawal percentage. For owners near or past RMD age, this comparison is especially important because the RMD percentage increases each year as the owner ages, potentially eventually exceeding what the free withdrawal provision allows without charges. Our resource on transferring an IRA to an annuity addresses RMD coordination as part of the transfer planning process.

Often, yes — a 1035 exchange allows the tax-free transfer of one non-qualified annuity contract into a new annuity contract without recognizing the accumulated gain as taxable income at the time of transfer. This provision makes it possible to move from an older, lower-yielding annuity contract into a new contract with a higher current rate without triggering a taxable distribution. The 1035 exchange must be executed as a direct transfer between carriers — the owner cannot take constructive receipt of the funds — and the receiving contract must be a qualifying annuity under IRC Section 1035.

Before executing a 1035 exchange to capture a better rate, several factors must be evaluated. The surrendering contract’s current surrender charge schedule must be checked — if the contract is still within its surrender period, surrender charges and potentially an MVA will apply to the transferred amount, reducing the net value moving to the new contract. The relative rate benefit of the new contract must be weighed against the surrender cost. The new contract’s surrender period and liquidity provisions must be evaluated against the owner’s actual needs. And state-specific rules regarding 1035 exchanges should be confirmed. In cases where the existing contract has no remaining surrender charges, the 1035 exchange is typically straightforward and cost-free, making it a clean mechanism for capturing improved rates at maturity.

MYGAs frequently offer rates competitive with — and in many current market environments, higher than — multi-year bank CDs for comparable terms. The comparison between MYGAs and CDs involves several dimensions beyond the headline rate. CDs are FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per depositor per institution — the government guarantee is the strongest available form of principal protection. Annuities are backed by the insurance carrier’s claims-paying ability and are regulated at the state level, with state guaranty association protection typically covering up to $100,000 to $300,000 per annuity owner per carrier (varying by state) — a meaningful but different form of protection than FDIC insurance.

Tax treatment is a significant difference: CD interest is typically reportable as ordinary income in the year earned (for non-IRA CDs), while annuity credited interest is tax-deferred until withdrawal. For savers in higher tax brackets accumulating over multiple years, this tax deferral differential can produce meaningfully better after-tax outcomes from annuities even when the gross rates are similar. Liquidity rules differ as well: CDs typically have defined early withdrawal penalties, while annuities have surrender charge schedules that may be more complex. The relative weighting of these factors — safety guarantee type, tax treatment, rate, and liquidity — determines which instrument is more appropriate for a specific saver’s situation and goals.

Base MYGA contracts generally carry no explicit annual fee — the credited rate is a net rate after the carrier’s internal cost structure, and no separate fee is deducted from the account value. The rate you see is the rate that accrues. This makes MYGA fee analysis straightforward: the main cost considerations are the opportunity cost of the surrender schedule (limited access during the surrender period) and potential surrender charges on early access, not ongoing annual fees.

FIAs and indexed products may carry optional rider fees when guaranteed income riders, enhanced death benefit riders, or other contractual guarantees are added. These fees — commonly expressed as a percentage of the account value or benefit base charged annually — reduce net accumulation compared to the same contract without the rider. Guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit (GLWB) riders are the most common fee-carrying riders, and their fees typically range from 0.50% to 1.50% or more of the benefit base per year. The question is not whether fees exist, but whether the guaranteed benefit provided by the rider justifies the cost over the owner’s expected holding period and usage pattern. Income rider fees should be modeled explicitly in any annuity comparison that includes riders to show the net impact on accumulation and income outcomes.

Minimum premium requirements for annuity products typically range from $10,000 to $100,000 depending on the carrier and the specific product. Most MYGA products have minimum premiums in the $10,000 to $25,000 range; some premium products require $50,000 or $100,000 minimums. FIAs generally have minimums in the $10,000 to $25,000 range for most products, though some premium designs require higher minimums.

Rate tiering by deposit size is common across the annuity market — carriers often offer modestly higher credited rates for larger deposits that cross defined thresholds (for example, a higher rate for deposits of $100,000 or more versus deposits below that threshold at the same carrier for the same product and term). This tiering means that comparing rates based on the minimum deposit amount may understate what a larger deposit would actually earn. When requesting illustrations, confirming whether your specific deposit amount qualifies for any enhanced rate tier produces a more accurate comparison than published minimum-deposit rates. The deposit-size interest rate examples linked throughout this page provide context for how credited rates or income potential can vary by premium level across common deposit sizes.