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Midland National Annuity Review

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This review was produced by SmartAsset based on publicly available information. The named firm and its financial professionals have not reviewed, approved, or endorsed this review and are not responsible for its accuracy. Review content is produced by SmartAsset independently of any business relationships that might exist between SmartAsset and the named firm and its financial professionals, and firms and financial professionals having business relationships with SmartAsset receive no special treatment or consideration in SmartAsset’s reviews. This page contains links to SmartAsset’s financial advisor matching tool, which may or may not match you with the firm mentioned in this review or its financial professionals.

Midland National Life Insurance Company offers annuities and life insurance policies. The company has a lineup consisting of three different types of annuities, including fixed indexed annuities, multi-year guarantee annuities (MYGAs) and single-premium immediate annuities (SPIAs). Midland has been in business for well over 100 years and is based out of West Des Moines, Iowa. Consult with a financial advisor if you have specific questions about how an annuity can help you plan for retirement.

Annuity Fees Annuity Type Minimum Initial Premium More Information
MNL IncomeVantage® Pro Find an Advisor

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  • No annual fee
Fixed indexed annuity $20,000

Annuity Type

Fixed indexed annuity

Minimum Initial Premium

$20,000
MNL RetireVantage® Find an Advisor

Read Review

  • No annual fee
  • 0.90% annual fee for optional benefits rider
Fixed indexed annuity $20,000

Annuity Type

Fixed indexed annuity

Minimum Initial Premium

$20,000
Guarantee Ultimate® Find an Advisor

Read Review

  • No annual fee
Multi-year guarantee annuity $10,000

Annuity Type

Multi-year guarantee annuity

Minimum Initial Premium

$10,000
Direct Income® Find an Advisor

Read Review

  • No annual fees
Immediate annuity $25,000

Annuity Type

Immediate annuity

Minimum Initial Premium

$25,000

According to Midland National’s website, the company currently manages more than one million active life insurance policies and annuity contracts. It has also received A+ grades from three of the top ratings agencies - A.M. Best, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) and Fitch. These grades rank as “superior,” “strong” and “stable,” respectively.

MNL IncomeVantage® Pro

The MNL IncomeVantage® Pro fixed indexed annuity from Midland National requires a $20,000 initial investment with a maximum issue age of 79 years old. As a fixed indexed contract, you are free to allocate as much of your assets as you want to either a selection of index-following strategies or a fixed interest account.

This product comes with a lifetime payment amount (LPA) feature that includes a guaranteed roll-up credit that increases by 1.5% of your total benefit base, as well as 150% of your contract's percentage change to its accumulation value. You can even choose increasing or level versions of this feature, and it still applies during year where you've taken a withdrawal.

Fees

There are no annual fees associated with the IncomeVantage Pro annuity from Midland. In fact, the only charges you’ll need to keep an eye out for are withdrawal fees. These only apply to accounts that surpass the allotted annual withdrawal limit of 5% of its accumulation value, beginning during the second year of ownership. Just remember that the IRS may charge you a 10% income tax surcharge if you begin payments from your annuity before you're 59.5 years old.

Withdrawal Fee Schedule
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11+
10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 9% 8% 6% 4% 2% 0%

Realistic Return Expectations

When it comes to fixed rates, Midland does not release what it's currently offering for this annuity. As far as index-based returns go, these are largely unpredictable, as they rely on market performance.

MNL RetireVantage®

You’ll need to have at least $20,000 ready to invest in the MNL RetireVantage® annuity. This annuity comes in two variations: a 10-year withdrawal fee schedule and a 14-year withdrawal fee schedule. For the former, the maximum issue age is 79, while the latter's maximum issue age is 75.

There are 10 index-based allocations you can pick from with this contract, giving you a surprising amount of choice for a fixed indexed annuity. You can also allocate money to a separate account that grows based on a fixed interest rate.

For an extra charge, you can get four other benefit riders on your contract. The first will give you a five-year window to earn premium bonuses of either 5% on the 10-year contract or 8% on the 14-year contract. In addition, if you select a payout option after your contract ends, you'll receive a 4% payout bonus. After your third year, you’ll also gain access to 20% fee-free withdrawals compared to the standard 10%. Lastly, your contract will have a return of premium feature to help you protect your money for the long term.

Fees

While Midland does not charge an annual fee for this annuity, you will need to pay a 0.90% annual rate if you choose to add the optional benefits rider onto your contract. Outside of this, there are withdrawal charges for anyone who exceeds the 10% withdrawal limit in year two or later. These rates generally shrink by at least 1% each year, culminating in a 0% fee at the end of the initial period.

If you decide to take out money from your account before you reach age 59.5, the IRS will levy a 10% income surtax on you. This is in addition to the standard income tax rate.

Realistic Return Expectations

Again, Midland does not release what kind of rates it pays for the RetireVantage annuity, but it is dependent on how much you invest and when you open it. The company also provides a sizable bonus on your premium total for your first five years, should you subscribe to the benefit rider.

Guarantee Ultimate®

Midland National’s Guarantee Ultimate® annuity is a multi-year guarantee contract that’s funded by a single premium of at least $10,000 for nonqualified accounts or $2,000 for qualified accounts. The maximum issue age for this contract is 90 years old.

This annuity comes in 3-, 5-, 7- and 10-year variations, with these time frames representing how long your initial guaranteed interest rate period will last. The rate you’ll receive is dependent upon a number of factors, including how long your rate period is and how much you’re investing.

If you are in a nursing home after your first contract anniversary, you'll receive increased free withdrawal amounts. These will raise another 10% each year you remain in a nursing home.

Fees

You will not be required to pay an annual fee to keep the Guarantee Ultimate annuity.

For penalty-free withdrawals, Midland will allow you to take out anything up to your total interest earned for the current contract year, beginning in your second year. If you go over this amount, you may need to pay withdrawal charges.

Withdrawal Fee Schedule
Term Length Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11+
3-Year 9.3% 8.4% 7.5% 0%              
5-Year 9.3% 8.4% 7.5% 6.6% 5.7% 0%          
7-Year 9.3% 8.4% 7.5% 6.6% 5.7% 4.75% 3.8% 0%      
10-Year 9.3% 8.4% 7.5% 6.6% 5.7% 4.75% 3.8% 2.85% 1.9% 0.95% 0%

Beware that if you withdraw from your account before you turn 59.5, the IRS will charge you a 10% income tax surcharge, as well as the standard income tax rate.

Realistic Return Expectations

When you sign up for a Guarantee Ultimate annuity, Midland National will assign you a preset interest rate. This rate will apply throughout the entirety of your guaranteed interest rate period. What percentage you receive will be dependent on a number of factors, like the size of your premium, the state of the market and more.

Direct Income®

Midland National’s single-premium immediate annuity (SPIA), the Direct Income® annuity, has a $25,000 minimum initial premium and a variable maximum issue age. The latter is dependent on which of the company’s several payout methods you select, with life options and period-certain options adhering to 85- and 93-year-old maximum ages, respectively.

When you open your account, Midland lets you pick between monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual payments. The death benefit associated with this contract is equal to either your remaining annuity payments or a lump sum payment as specified by the annuity payout option you selected at contract issue.

Your payout options for this contract include period certain only, single life only, single life and period certain, single life with installment refund, single life with cash refund, joint life with survivorship and joint life with survivorship and period certain.

Fees

There are no annual fees or withdrawal charges associated with the Direct Income immediate annuity.

One thing to be mindful of is that if you start taking withdrawals from your account prior to reaching age 59.5, the IRS will levy a 10% income surtax. You’ll also need to pay the standard income tax on top of this.

Realistic Return Expectations

The returns of an immediate annuity are tough to gauge, as they are heavily reliant on the size of your premium, the payout option you select and the frequency of your payments. As far as how you receive your payments, Midland offers seven different methods that you can choose from, allowing you to pick the best for your personal financial situation.

Tips to Help You Plan for Retirement

  • Wondering whether an annuity should play a role in your retirement income plan? It’s a good idea to work with a financial advisor who can help you navigate the annuity landscape. Finding the right financial advisor that fits your needs doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with financial advisors in your area in 5 minutes. If you’re ready to be matched with local advisors that will help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
  • Don’t forget to include Social Security payments in your retirement income calculations. If you’re unsure of how much you’re likely to receive from the government, check out SmartAsset’s Social Security calculator.

All information is accurate as of the writing of this article.

Best Places for Small Business Owners

SmartAsset analyzed data to find the best places for small business owners in the country. This interactive map shows the best counties for small business owners in the U.S. and in each state. Zoom between states and the national map to see the top spots in each region. Also, scroll over any county to learn about that region's small business statistics.

Least
Most
Rank County Small Business Returns Small Business Income Income Taxes

Methodology Which places are best for small businesses owners? To answer this question, we considered three factors: the proportion of people in a county with small business income, how much business income those people reported and the amount of tax a potential resident must pay on their income.

To determine how attractive a region is for small business owners, we compared the number of tax returns that report small business income compared to the total tax-filing population of the region. Next, we compared the total amount of small business income to the overall amount of income reported in each region.

Small businesses are typically incorporated as pass-through entities, meaning that the business owners pay income taxes on the company profits rather than the company itself paying income tax. Because of this, income taxes can play a major role in determining the financial success of a given small business. To determine income tax burdens across counties, we used the national median household income. We then applied relevant deductions and exemptions before calculating federal, state and local income taxes for each location.

These three factors were then indexed and equally weighted to yield our small business index. Places with the highest small business index are the places which ranked the highest in the study.

Sources: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), US Census Bureau 2018 American Community Survey, Government Sources, SmartAsset