Integrity Life Insurance Company Review

The AnnuiQuest Single Premium Deferred Annuity (SPDA) is for investors who are seeking stability. Like a certificate of deposit (CD), this annuity pays a set interest rate for a guaranteed period of up to seven years. You have access to your money, but you’ll face varying surrender charges starting at 7% on withdrawals within the guaranteed period and up to seven years.

You can purchase this SPDA if you’re between the ages of 18 to 85. The minimum premium is $5,000 for non-qualified accounts and $2,000 for tax-qualified accounts. During the first year, the company provides a rate enhancement. Then, you’re guaranteed the initial rate less the enhancement for the remaining guarantee period. 

At the end of your guaranteed period, you can withdraw your nest egg, renew for another guaranteed period, transfer your money to another kind of annuity or annuitize. You can choose to receive payment for life or for life with a period certain of 10 years (should you die before the period is over, your beneficiary would receive your remaining payments). 

This annuity can be issued as a traditional individual retirement account (IRA), Roth IRA or SEP IRA. You may also be able to roll over a tax-qualified plan to it.

Fees 

Deferred annuities typically don’t come with internal contract fees. But you will face withdrawal charges according to the following schedule.

In addition, you’ll owe the federal government a 10% early withdrawal penalty if you take money out of your annuity before reaching age 59.5. You’ll also owe income tax on earnings and any pre-tax dollars.

Realistic Expectations of Returns

This annuity likely offers a better interest rate than even top CDs, but only by a little. So if there is any chance you may need to access your money during the guaranteed period, you may want to get a CD instead. With CDs, the penalty is often 90 days of interest, leaving your principal intact.

The Indextra Series Single Premium Deferred Fixed Indexed Annuity also offers stability, but with the potential for more growth than the AnniQuest provides. With this annuity, you choose crediting interest strategies for your money to grow. Your options are a fixed interest rate and rates linked to the performance of the S&P 500, the J.P. Morgan Strategic Balanced Index or the GS Momentum Builder Multi-Asset Class Index. Each indexed interest strategy is guaranteed to protect your principal from losses. Should the market be down, you will simply have no earnings that year.

This annuity comes with a death benefit. Should you die before you annuitize, your beneficiary will receive the greater of the account value and the nonforfeiture value (which is 87.5% of your deposit, adjusted for withdrawals and 1% credited interest). 7- and 10-year contracts also come with a guaranteed minimum account value benefit. This roughly guarantees that you’ll earn at least 1% every year.

When it’s time to annuitize, you can choose payments for your lifetime or for your lifetime with a period certain of 10 years. You can do this for single or joint policies. For an extra cost and if you are 45 to 80 years old, you can add a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit (GLWB). This guarantees the amount you’ll be paid out, regardless of the account value, as long as you don’t withdraw more than the annual lifetime payout amount.

You can purchase an Indextra annuity if you’re between the ages of 18 and 85. The minimum initial premium is $15,000. The maximum initial premium is $1 million if you’re between the ages of 18 and 75, and it’s $750,000 if you’re between the ages of 76 and 85. 

Fees 

The Indextra Annuity doesn’t involve annual contract fees. However, the GLWB rider comes with a 0.95% annual fee.

Also, you may face withdrawal fees if you take out more than the allowed 10% of your account value each year during the guaranteed period. The surrender fees start at 9% the first year, and generally decreases 1% every year of the guaranteed period. Here are the schedules for seven-year and 10-year contracts:

Plus keep in mind that you’ll face a 10% IRS penalty on withdrawals made before you reach age 59.5. This is in addition to ordinary income taxes you’ll owe. 

Realistic Return Expectations 

Your return depends on the performance of the index and your participation rate. On average, the S&P 500 has seen an annualized total return of about 10% over the past 90 years. However, what it will do each year is impossible to predict. Also, remember that the tradeoff for protecting your principal from losses is growth that’s more limited than if you’d invested in the market directly.

The Annuichoice Variable Annuity gives you the opportunity to grow your savings more than a fixed annuity or fixed-indexed annuity by investing your money in the market. As with all annuities, your money will grow tax deferred until you turn your nest egg into an income stream. Your investment options include products from investment companies like Franklin Templeton, Morgan Stanley, BlackRock, Invesco and more.

For extra fees, you can add the following riders:

• Guaranteed Lifetime Income Advantage (GLIA) or Guaranteed Lifetime Income Advantage Plus (GLIA Plus): This sets a minimum payout when you annuitize, regardless of your value account. GLIA is available to people ages 50 to 80, while GLIA Plus is available to those aged 45 to 80. This rider must be added at the time that you buy the annuity. 
• Enhanced Death Benefit: For your death benefit, this pays the greater of your highest account value on any contract anniversary prior to your 76th birthday, adjusted for any withdrawals, or the standard death benefit, which is the greater of your total contributions (adjusted for withdrawals), account value when you die or account value on the seventh contract anniversary (adjusted for withdrawals).
• Enhanced Earnings Benefit: This pays an additional amount meant to offset the potential tax liability or other expenses your beneficiaries may face. The amount is a percentage of gains and depends on your age when the contract is issued (must be younger than 80).

This annuity is flexible premium, which means you can make additional deposits. The minimum initial contribution is $10,000 and the maximum is $1 million if you’re between the ages of 18 and 75 and $500,000 if you’re between ages 76 and 85. You must be younger than 85 to buy this annuity.

Fees 

For this annuity, Integrity Life Insurance Company charges an annual administrative fee of $30. However, it can be waived for accounts valued at more than $75,000. The annual mortality and expense risk charge, which is only applied to money in your investment subaccount, is 1.15%. There are also variable investment fees that depend on where you put your money.

As for the optional riders, the annual fee for GLIA is 0.90% for individuals and 1.15% for spousal coverage. The annual charge for GLIA Plus is 1.35% for individuals and spouses. The annual charge for the Enhanced Death Benefit is 0.20%, and for the Enhanced Earnings Benefit, it ranges from 0.20% to 0.50%, depending on your age at contract issue.

Also, should you need to make an early withdrawal that exceeds the 10% allowed each year, you’ll face surrender charges that start at 8% and decrease roughly 1% every year of the guaranteed period. If these withdrawals are made before age 59.5, you’ll also incur a 10% IRS penalty and income taxes.

Realistic Return Expectations 

The return on your AnnuityChoice depends on the market, of course. Our investment calculator can help you estimate how much your nest egg may grow, based on varying interest rates, contributions and time horizons. That said, the tradeoff for protection from losses is a lower potential for growth than if you had invested directly in the stock market.

As its name suggests, the IncomeSource Single Premium Immediate Annuity is for people ready to turn their nest egg into an income stream right away.

You can choose to receive payments on a monthly, quarterly, semiannual or annual basis via direct deposit. They can be for a set period (5 to 30 years), for life, for life with a period certain (5 to 30 years), life with a cash refund or life with installment refund. You can make this a joint contract if you have a spouse.

If you need access to your cash in case of emergencies, you can receive a lump-sum payout as a commutation benefit under certain circumstances. The commuted value equals the current value of future payouts. You can receive this benefit multiple times as allowed by your contract. 

This annuity also has an inflation benefit, which provides for either a 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% or 5% increase compounded annually. There is no fee for this benefit, though the percentage increase you choose will affect your benefit amount. 

Annuitants can sign up for this immediate annuity if they’re between the ages of 18 and 95. The minimum initial premium is $10,000.

Fees 

As with most immediate annuities, you won’t face sales or annual maintenance fees..

Realistic Return Expectations

Whether or not you get back your money depends on how long you live. Adding a period certain will increase the likelihood that at least your beneficiary will receive whatever remains of your deposit, but in exchange, you will receive less money every year. Adding a refund guarantee will reduce your benefit even more.