Mutual Trust Life Insurance Company Annuity Review

The Immediate Annuity from Mutual Trust is designed to provide annuitants with guaranteed income for a set number of years or for life. You can sign up for an annuity contract with a minimum premium of $2,000 and a maximum premium of $1 million. There are no sales or maintenance charges involved with this immediate annuity. 

Issue ages depend on the type of payout option you choose. Below, we detail your choices along with the corresponding issue date ranges.

• Life only: issue ages 15-70
• 10 year certain and life: issue ages 15-90
• 20 year certain and life: issue age 15-80
• Installment refund: issue ages 15-85
• Joint and survivor installment refund with 100%, 2/3 or 1/2 to survivor: minimum issue age 15

The Mutual Trust Single Premium Immediate Annuity is not available in Washington, D.C., Mississippi, South Dakota and West Virginia. 

Fees 

As with most immediate annuities, the Immediate Annuity from Mutual Trust doesn’t involve annual contract fees. It also has no administrative fees.

Realistic Return Expectations 

Whether or not you’ll get your money back - and then some - depends on how long you live and the type of payout option you choose. If you’re not sure which option makes the most sense given your circumstances, consider consulting a financial advisor, who can help you assess and manage your risk.

The IntegrityPlus Flex I product is a fixed deferred annuity that protects your initial investment and offers a guaranteed minimum interest rate of 1.00%. 

You can sign a contract for the IntegrityPlus Flex I annuity with as little as $300. The “Flex” in its name means you can pay subsequent premiums. The maximum issue age is 90. And you have access to your funds at all times. In fact, you can withdrawal up to 10% of your account size each year without incurring a Mutual Trust fee. 

With this annuity, you have the following payout options: 

• Period certain: 5-, 10- or 20-year period
• Life income with period certain (whichever is longer)
• Joint life and survivorship option 

The annuity comes with a standard death benefit, which means your beneficiary gets your full account value should you die before you annuitize. 

The Mutual Trust IntegrityPlus Flex I annuity is not available in Alabama and New Jersey.

Fees 

While you won’t face sales or maintenance charges with a IntegrityPlus Flex I annuity, you’ll incur a surrender charge if you take more than 10% of your account value before the end of the guaranteed period. The surrender charge starts at 5% the first year and decreases 1% every year, until year six, when you are free to renew your contract or withdraw your money.

However, Mutual Trust may waive the withdrawal charge if you’re confined to a state-licensed hospital or a state-licensed inpatient nursing facility for at least 30 consecutive days. 

Additionally, because earnings are tax-deferred, any withdrawals before age 59.5 will be subject to a 10% IRS penalty, on top of income taxes.

Realistic Return Expectations  

Your return depends on the fixed interest rate, of course. If it’s between 2% and 3%, you’ll likely keep pace with inflation, or maybe do a little better. But if there’s even a slight chance you’ll need to tap more than 10% of the money in the next six years, you may be better off going with a certificate of deposit (CD). Top CD rates are comparable, while the penalty for early withdrawalsis generally only 90 days of interest and does not touch your principal.

The Mutual Trust IntegrityPlus Flex II annuity product pays a higher interest rate than the Flex I, but has a higher surrender charge. In most ways, though, it is quite similar to the Flex I. You can sign up for one with as little as $300 as long as you’re younger than age 95. It’s also a fixed annuity that currently provides a guaranteed minimum rate of 1.00%. 

You also have the following payout options: 

• Period certain for a 5-, 10- or 20-year period
• Life income with period certain (whichever is longer)
• Joint life and survivorship option
• Like the Flex I, this annuity comes with the standard death benefit. So your beneficiary can receive the full account value in the event you pass away before you annuitize. 

The Mutual Trust IntegrityPlus Flex II annuity is not available in Alabama and New Jersey. 

Fees 

As with most fixed annuity products, the IntegrityPlus Flex II annuity doesn’t require any annual contract fees. But you’ll face a withdrawal charge if you access more than 10% of your account any year during the guaranteed period. This is where the Flex II is slightly different from the Flex I. While the surrender charge for the Flex I starts at 5%, it starts at 8% with Flex II. Here’s the current annuity withdrawal-fee schedule: 

Note that these charges don't include the 10% early withdrawal penalty from the IRS if you access your retirement savings before reaching age 59.5. The IRS would also levy ordinary income tax on your earnings.

Realistic Return Expectations  

The returns of a fixed annuity like the IntegrityPlus Flex II depend compeltely on the interest rate that you're provided by annuity company. And while Mutual Trust doesn't release its interest rates publicly, you'll want to make sure the rate you receive can keep pace with inflation. If you have any concerns about needing the money you deposit, though, you may want to consider a CD.

The IntegrityPlus Single III annuity from Mutual Trust is a single premium deferred annuity. This means you sign up for it by making a one-time premium investment and defer your payments into the future. You can sign up for a contract with a minimum premium payment of $5,000. Accounts are typically funded with money rolled over from a pre-tax investment vehicle like a traditional 401(k) or individual retirement account (IRA).

The current guaranteed minimum interest rate for the IntegrityPlus SIngle III annuity is 1.00%. The maximum issue age for this annuity is 95. Like Mutual Trust's other deferred annuities, it comes with the standard death benefit. This means the full account value will be transferred to your stated beneficiary should you die before you annuitize. 

Once you turn your nest egg into an income stream, you can choose to receive your payments as a lump sum, at fixed intervals or as a lifetime stream of income. These are the payout options: 

• Period certain: guaranteed income for a set period of years
• Life income with period certain: guaranteed income stream for a set number of years or for your lifetime (whichever is longer). If you die before the set number of years, your beneficiary will receive payments for the remaining amount of time.
• Joint life and survivorship option: guaranteed income stream for your life and the life of your survivor (usually a spouse). After the first death, payments will continue according to the plan you have chosen. 

The Mutual Trust IntegrityPlus Single III annuity is not available in Alabama and New Jersey. 

Fees 

Buying the IntegrityPlus Single III annuity doesn’t involve sales or maintenance charges. However, you’ll get hit with a withdrawal charge if you take out more than the allowed 10% of your account value any year during the guaranteed period. Below is the current surrender charge schedule:

Plus, if you take out any money before reaching age 59.5, you’ll face a 10% early withdrawal penalty tax from the IRS. This would be in addition to income tax you'll owe on your earnings. 

Realistic Return Expectations 

As long as Mutual Trust remains financially stable, your principal and minimum 1% interest rate are guaranteed. Mutual Trust does not publish its interest rates, so you'll need to reach out to the company to find out more. The longer your money stays in the account, the more it can benefit from compound interest. 

But if there’s any chance you’ll need to access your money, you may want to consider a certificate of deposit (CD) instead. Top CD rates may be slightly lower and the penalty for early withdrawals is significantly lower. With most CDs, you’ll forfeit, at most, 90 days of interest - and not touch your principal.

The IntegrityPlus Single IV annuity is yet another fixed deferred annuity contract offered by Mutual Trust. You can sign up for one with a minimum initial premium of $10,000. In exchange for the larger minimum premium, your minimum guaranteed fixed interest rate will be higher than it would be with the Single III annuity. 

The maximum issue age for this annuity is 95. It offers the following payout options: 

• Period certain: guaranteed income for a set period of years
• Life income with period certain: guaranteed income stream for a set number of years or your lifetime (whichever is longer)
• Joint life and survivorship option: guaranteed income stream for your lifetime and the lifetime of your survivor (usually a spouse). After the first death, payments will continue according to the plan you have chosen.

This annuity comes with the standard death benefit. This means Mutual Trust will pay the full value of your annuity to a beneficiary you designated should you die before you annuitize. 

The Mutual Trust IntegrityPlus Single IV annuity is not available in Alabama and New Jersey.

Fees 

There are no sales or maintenance charges associated with the IntegrityPlus Single IV annuity. And the company won’t charge you a fee for withdrawing up to 10% of your account value any year during the guaranteed period. But if you breach that limit, you’ll face surrender charges according to the schedule below: 

The above withdrawal fee schedule is one of the major ways the IntegrityPlus Single IV contract differs from the IntegrityPlus Single III annuity. Surrender fees may be waived, though, if you’re confined to a state-licensed hospital or state-licensed inpatient nursing facility for at least 30 consecutive days. 

Also, withdrawals made before you reach age 59.5 may be subject to a 10% penalty from the IRS. You would also owe ordinary income tax on any earnings.

Realistic Return Expectations 

You’ll know your interest rate and how much your nest egg will earn when you sign your contract. Generally, you’d want more than 2% to get ahead of inflation. If you annuitize, your rate of return depends on how long you live, of course.