What We Will Cover in this Annuity Review
In this annuity review, we will be going over the following details regarding the Midland LiveWell Guarantee 10-Year Annuity:- Product type
- Fees
- Current rates
- Realistic long-term return expectations
- How this annuity is best used
- How it is most poorly used
Annuities can be complex. That’s where having an Annuity Investigator who loves math comes in. We make the complex, simple.
For those who may be looking for a financial product that can offer principal protection, along with a guaranteed stream of income in the future, then the Midland LiveWell Guarantee 10 Year annuity could be a good choice. This fixed Multi-Year Guarantee (MYGA) annuity provides you with safety from market downturns, as well as has a number of other guarantees that are automatically included. Yet, prior to committing to this long-term annuity option, it can be beneficial for you to get a more in-depth understanding of how this product works, as well as how it may – or may not – work in helping you to reach your ultimate financial goals. Over the past several years – and particularly since the U.S. economic recession of 2008 – fixed annuity products have become a bit more popular with retirees, and those who are planning for retirement. One reason for this is because this type of annuity will keep your hard-earned savings in-tact, regardless of what occurs in the stock market. This, in turn, can help you to avoid many sleepless nights. Due to this rise in popularity of fixed annuity products, the number of insurance and financial advisors who offer them has also risen. This, however, may not necessarily be a positive thing, For example, some advisors who offer fixed annuity may not always present them in the proper manner – i.e., showing both the positives and the potential negatives of the product. Oftentimes, this isn’t the advisor being malicious, but rather the fact that annuities can be confusing to both consumers and their financial professionals. With that in mind, it can serve you well to do a bit of additional research about annuities, and where they may fit in with your overall financial picture. This is where we come in.Annuity and Retirement Income Planning Information That You Can Trust
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If you have been seeking information regarding annuities online, it may be that you have run across some conflicting details about these products. This, however, is not entirely surprising, as there are a lot of details, as well as many opinions about annuities and how they work.
It could also be that you have recently attended an annuity seminar where the presenter went over the details about the Midland LiveWell Guarantee 10 Year annuity. This being the case, you may even have wound up here on our website as a result of seeking additional information. You also likely viewed other annuity websites.
Although there are certainly a number of good websites out there on the Internet that is devoted to marketing their annuities, the reality is that some of these sites may try to lure visitors in by making claims such as:
- Highest income payouts
- Lowest Fees
- Top-rated annuity carriers
- Guaranteed income for life
- Get your quote now!
Midland LiveWell Guarantee 10 Year Annuity at a Glance
| Product Name | LiveWell Guarantee 10 Year Annuity |
|---|---|
| Issuer | Midland National Life Insurance Company |
| Type of Product | MYGA (Multi-Year Guarantee) / Fixed Annuity |
| Standard & Poor's Rating | A+ (Strong) |
| Phone Number | (877) 586-0244 |
| Website | www.midlandnational.com |
Opening Thoughts on the Midland LiveWell Guarantee 10 Year Annuity
Midland National Life Insurance Company has been in the business of providing wealth accumulation and protection products for more than 110 years. Initially founded in 1906 as Dakota Mutual Life Insurance Company, this insurer thrived – even through the Great Depression, World War l and World War ll. Today, the company is a subsidiary of the Sammons Financial Group. As a private insurer, Midland National is not subject to the short-term earning pressures that publicly held insurance companies can often face. This insurer holds more than 1 million life insurance and annuity policies and has assets of more than $44 billion. Midland National Life Insurance Company has consistently received strong ratings from third-party rating companies, which include an A+ (Superior) from A.M. Best and an A+ (Strong) from Standard & Poor’s. While the interest in fixed and MYGA (Multi-Year Guarantee) annuities has increased over the past few years, you will learn as you go through the remainder of this review, that in order to obtain the guarantees that are offered on this type of annuity, there are oftentimes “tradeoffs” that need to be made. For example, due to the historically low-interest rate environment in the U.S. over the past decade or so, the returns that offered on fixed annuities are exceptionally low – so low in fact that you are not likely to meet, much less beat, the rate of inflation over time. This, in turn, could make it very difficult for your purchasing power in retirement to keep pace with the rising cost of the goods and services that you’ll need to buy.Before we get into the gritty details, here are some necessary legal disclosures…
This is an independent annuity product review. It is not a recommendation to purchase or to sell an annuity. Â Midland National Insurance Company has not endorsed this review in any way, nor do we receive any type of compensation for providing this review. The review is solely meant to be an independent evaluation – per the request of our readers – so that they can see our perspective when going more in-depth regarding the positives and the negatives of this specific annuity product. Before you commit to buying any type of investment or insurance product, it is essential that you conduct your own due diligence, and that you also speak with a properly licensed professional in order to ask any additional questions that relate to your situation. This is particularly important, as annuities do not offer a one-size-fits-all solution. In addition, all of the names, materials, and marks that were used in creating this review are the property of their respective owners. For more details on how you can compare fixed annuities so that you have all of the key details that you need for making an informed buying decision, click here so that you can obtain a free copy of our annuity report.How Midland National Life Describes the LiveWell Guarantee 10 Year Annuity
Midland National Life Insurance Company describes the LiveWell Guarantee Annuity as a product that provides a guaranteed, predictable return, as well as competitive interest rates. There are several different guarantee periods available, so for the 10 Year option, your guaranteed interest rate would last for ten full years after your initial purchase. At the end of the initial guarantee period, you will then have a choice of what to do next. At that point in time, you can either elect to receive a lump-sum payment from the annuity, or choose to begin receiving regular periodic payments (either on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis). Alternatively, you could renew the annuity for another available guarantee period. (If you don’t make a selection, the insurance company will automatically renew your annuity for a certain period of time that is outlined in the contract). Similar to with other annuities, your earnings within the LiveWell Guarantee 10 Year annuity account will grow tax-deferred. This means that there is no tax due on the gain until the time of withdrawal. There is also a death benefit included whereby if the annuitant dies, a beneficiary will receive the remainder of the contract value without any surrender fees applied.How Your Financial or Insurance Advisor Might “Pitch” this Annuity
If your current financial or insurance advisor has approached you regarding the Midland National LiveWell Guarantee 10 Year annuity, then it could be that they keyed in on some of this annuity’s best features like its guaranteed interest rate for ten full years, as well as the guaranteed stream of lifetime income it can provide for you. Because insurance companies do a great job of ensuring that their products sound appealing, it is possible that you have already made your decision about this annuity as it appears that it can provide you with the “best of both worlds.” However, don’t do anything yet until you know, as the late radio host Paul Harvey would say, “the rest of the story.” In the case of the Midland LiveWell Guarantee 10 Year Annuity, the interest rate that is offered is extremely low. And because of that, what you give up in return for this “safety” and guarantees, you basically “pay for” in terms of diminishing purchasing power in retirement. In addition to that, the interest rate that you receive is actually dependent on the single premium payment that you place into the annuity. Here, the premiums are “banded” where:- Band 1 is a deposit of $25,000 to $99,999.99
- Band 2 is a deposit of $100,000 to $249,999.99
- Bank 3 is a deposit of $250,000 or more
What Fees are Associated with the LiveWell Guarantee 10 Year Annuity from Midland National?
As is the case with many MYGA annuity products, the length of the surrender charge period is the same as the length of the interest rate guarantee period you choose. Therefore, with the Midland National LiveWell Guarantee 10 Year annuity, you will incur surrender charges for an entire decade if you withdraw more than 5% of the contract’s value. The amounts of these surrender charges are as follows:| Contract Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charge % | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.50 | 0 |
On top of being hit with a surrender charge, if you make such withdrawals when you are under the age of 59 1/2, you will also incur an additional 10% “early withdrawal” penalty from the IRS. This can make the amount that you actually net out of a withdrawal very small.
When dealing with MYGA annuities, you also have to be aware of the fact that you may be required to start a new surrender charge period each time you renew the annuity. This is the case with the Midland LiveWell Guarantee 10 year product. So, you also need to be sure to consider that this annuity is a long-term financial endeavor (as is really the case with any and all annuities).
The Annuity Gator’s End Take on the Midland LiveWell Guarantee 10 Year Annuity
Where it works best: This particular annuity will typically work the best for those who are looking for the following benefits:- An interest rate guarantee – in this case, ten full years
- Safety of principal
- Guaranteed lifetime income
- Want access to most or all of your funds during the surrender period
- Do not intend to use the lifetime income feature
In Summary
There are many criteria that you should consider when you are in the process of deciding whether or not a particular annuity will be right for you. For example, in addition to these products being long-term commitments (particularly one like this annuity that incurs a 10-year surrender period), you should keep your short- and long-term financial goals and objectives in mind. If you are considering an MYGA / fixed annuity, then the good news is that you can be sure that your principal will be protected, and if you choose the lifetime income option, you will be able to count on a stream of income for as long as you need it. So, when you think about the Midland National LiveWell Guarantee 10 Year Annuity, there are some nice features to take note of. However, even so, it could also fall somewhat short – and quite frankly, there may be some better alternatives that are available to you. This is especially true if your goal is to obtain ongoing lifetime income in retirement, along with the opportunity for growth while you wait. In reality, the only way to truly know how this annuity might perform for you is to have it tested. We can perform this testing for you, based on your specific financial parameters. So, if that is something that interests you, then please contact us here through our secure online contact form.Have Any Additional Questions? Did You Notice Any Mistakes in this Review?
Knowing that this annuity review was a bit on the lengthy side, we thank you for sticking with us thus far. Our thought is, though, that we would much prefer to provide you with a bit “too much” information on annuities than not enough. With that in mind, if you found this annuity review to be helpful, please feel free to forward it on and share it with anybody else who you think might also benefit from it. Also, we know just how frequently the information about annuities can change. So, if you happened to notice any mistakes or outdated information in this annuity review, please let us know so that our team can go in and make the proper updates. Are there any other annuities you would like to have us review? Because there are so many annuities available out in the marketplace, we are always looking for more suggestions for reviews. Therefore, if there is any other annuity (or annuities) that you would like to see reviewed on our site, just let us know that, too, and our experienced annuity review-creating “geeks” will get to it! Best, The Annuity Gator
Edwin Napoleoni
MNL IndexBuilder 10.
Midland National Life Insurance.
Annuity Gator
Hi Edwin – Thank you for your email. We are always open to suggestions for additional annuity reviews. We will add the Midland National MNL IndexBuilder to our list, so please check back shortly. And, if we can help further, please feel free to reach out to us directly at (888) 440-2468 or through our secure online contact form at http://www.annuitygator.com/contact/. Best! The Annuity Gator