What We Will Cover in this Annuity Review
In this annuity review, we will be going over the following details regarding the Sagicor Life Insurance Company’s Milestone MYGA 3 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.
Purchasing an annuity is a big financial decision. These financial vehicles – provided that they are purchased properly – can help you to ensure that you’ll have a guaranteed income for the remainder of your lifetime, regardless of how long you may need it. Unlike several decades ago, many people are living much longer these days. So, knowing that you have ongoing income in retirement can be a big relief.
However, even though annuities can offer many benefits, there can also be some drawbacks to consider with regard to the products themselves, as well as the way in which they are sold by insurance and financial professionals. On top of that, annuities are pretty confusing products, so unless you read the “fine print” very carefully, an annuity may not necessarily perform the way that you anticipated it to.
This is where the Annuity Gator can help!
Annuity and Retirement Income Planning Information You Can Trust
If this the first time you have visited our website, please allow us to personally welcome you here. We are a team of experienced annuity experts who focus on providing comprehensive yet unbiased annuity reviews online.
We have been doing this for quite some time – and much longer than our competitors have. Because of this, we have come to be known as a highly trusted source of annuity information online. Over the past several years or so, however, many “copycat” websites have started to pop up on the Internet. So, while that can be somewhat confusing for consumers, we take it as somewhat of a compliment. After all, imitation is the highest form of flattery!
While you’ve been researching annuities online, it’s likely that you have run across some highly conflicting details about these products. This really isn’t surprising, though, as there are many different opinions about them – some good, and some not so good.
This is yet another reason why it is so important to get a good handle on how annuities work so that you can decide for yourself whether or not an annuity will truly fit in with your financial goals and needs.
If you would like to know more about the Sagicor Life Milestone MYGA 3 fixed annuity, you are definitely in the right place. In fact, we dare state that the Annuity Gator’s website is the only place online where you’ll see all of the important details that you need for making a well-informed decision.
One reason for this is because we aren’t going to paint a rosy picture for you and focus on only the good stuff. Rather, we provide the whole picture – good, bad, and yes even the ugly. But this can help you in determining whether or not this MYGA 3-year fixed annuity is right for you.
Before we get started, though, and in order to be clear here, we want to state for the record that we believe that annuities can be a great addition to your portfolio. But that is, only provided that you’re purchasing the annuity for the right reason(s).
So, if you’re ready to get started, let’s jump in!
Sagicor Life Milestone MYGA 3 Annuity at a Glance
| Policy Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % Charge | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 0 |
Opening Thoughts on the Sagicor Life Milestone MYGA 3 Annuity
Sagicor Life Insurance Company – a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sagicor Financial Corporation Limited – has been in the business of offering wealth building and protecting tools since 1954. The company is licensed in 45 states, as well as the District of Columbia.
Based on the company’s financial strength and stability, it has maintained an A- (Excellent) rating from A.M. Best Company. It also has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Sagicor Life offers several annuity options in its product line up, including a Single Premium Immediate Annuity, a Single Premium Deferred Annuity, several fixed indexed annuity options, and the Milestone MYGA (multi-year guaranteed) fixed annuity products.
The need for fixed/MYGA annuities – which are always backed by life insurance carriers – has been growing fairly steadily throughout the past few years, particularly as more of today’s workers are retiring without having the stability of a traditional “defined benefit” pension for future retirement income. But, by choosing the lifetime income stream on an annuity, you can essentially “replace” a defined benefit pension plan.
If you have a “defined contribution” retirement plan, such as a 401(K), then upon retirement, you will need to have an idea of what you want to do with the money you’ve saved in it – as well as a way to convert those dollars over into a stable and reliable income stream (ideally that will last for the remainder of your life – regardless of how long that may be).
One possibility would be a fixed or MYGA (Multi-Year Guaranteed) annuity. This is because these financial vehicles can provide you with a set return and safety of your principal (regardless of what happens in the stock market), as well as with a lifetime income that you can count on.
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. Sagicor Life Insurance Company has not endorsed this review in any way, nor do we receive any type of compensation for providing this review. This annuity review is meant solely to be an independent review at the request of our readers so that they may see out perspective when breaking down the positives and the negatives of this particular annuity. Before purchasing any type of insurance and/or investment product, it is important that you do your own due diligence, and that you consult a properly licensed professional if you should have any specific questions that relate to your individual situation. All of the names, marks, and materials that were used for this annuity review are the property of their respective owners.
For more information on how to compare annuities, and how to determine which one – if any – may be the best for you, to obtain our free annuity report.
How Sagicor Life Describes the Milestone MYGA 3 Annuity
According to the Sagicor Life Insurance Company’s website, the Milestone MYGA 3 is a single premium deferred fixed annuity.
With this annuity, you can garner a number of nice benefits, including:
- Guaranteed Interest Rates
- Tax-Deferred Growth
- Principal Protection
- Access to Funds (with some exceptions)
The Milestone MYGA 3 annuity offers a guaranteed fixed rate of interest for three years – regardless of what happens in the market. At the end of this guarantee period, you can withdraw all of your money without incurring a surrender charge.
(Note that you need to do so within 30 days of the initial guarantee period’s end. Otherwise, the money will be placed into another set guaranteed rate period – and another surrender period will begin again, too). The Milestone MYGA annuity also has a five-year and a seven-year guaranteed interest rate option.
Alternatively, at the end of the first three years, you could opt to convert the funds in your Milestone MYGA annuity into an income stream – one of which is a lifetime income option, which will continue to pay out income for the remainder of your life.
The Milestone 3 Year MYGA annuity from Sagicor Life offers some other nice features, too, such as a death benefit. Here, for instance, in the event of your death, a named beneficiary (or multiple named beneficiaries) will be paid a death benefit that is equal to the accumulation account value of the annuity, without incurring a surrender charge or a market value adjustment. Your beneficiary(ies) may choose to receive this death benefit either as a single lump sum or as multiple payouts over a set period of time.
To see the Sagicor Life Milestone MYGA annuity consumer brochure, go HERE. Or, if you’d like to view the product details at a glance, you can check out the Sagicor Multi-Year Guaranteed Annuity product guide HERE.
How an Insurance or Financial Advisor Might “Pitch” this Annuity
If you are approaching retirement, it is possible that you are torn between going with financial vehicles that have more risk in order to increase your opportunity for growth, or instead going with something “safer” so that you don’t lose any of your hard-earned principal in the event of a market “correction”.
With so many pre-retirees being concerned about not losing what they’ve already saved, having certain guarantees can be comforting – so if you have been presented the Sagicor Milestone 3 MYGA annuity by an insurance or financial advisor, it is likely that they zeroed in on the safety features of this product, along with the ability to earn a higher return if or when rates rise in the near future. So, in many ways, this annuity can allow you to potentially increase the returns on your “safe money.”
Maybe…
But there are some tradeoffs that you need to be mindful of, too. For instance, with the Milestone MYGA 3 annuity from Sagicor Life, once the initial three-year rate guarantee period has elapsed, you will have the option of renewing for another guaranteed period (at the then-current interest rate). This, however, may not necessarily be beneficial for you.
That is because, since we have been in a historically low-interest rate period for quite some time now, you could end up locking up a large portion of your money for a long period of time (again) – which in turn means that you could be giving up the ability to take advantage of other financial opportunities that just might provide you with a better rate.
Are There Any Fees on the Sagicor Life Milestone MYGA 3 Fixed Annuity?
Although annuities can provide some very nice benefits, the truth is that, just like most other types of insurance and financial vehicles, you will likely run into some fees. In the case of the Sagicor Milestone MYGA 3 fixed annuity, you could run into surrender charges if you take out more than 10% of the contract’s value during the surrender period.
In this case, the surrender charge is three years – which correlates to the annuity’s rate guarantee period. But, if you renew for another guaranteed rate period, guess what happens – the surrender period starts all over again. (Note that the same holds true if you opt for any of the other Milestone MYGA annuities).
Sagicor Life Milestone MYGA Annuity Surrender Charge Schedule
| Policy Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % Charge | 9 | 9 | 7.75 | 6.5 | 5.25 | 0 |
In addition to being hit with a surrender penalty, if you make a withdrawal before you reach age 59 ½, you could also incur an additional 10% “early withdrawal” penalty from the IRS. So, given all of these possible penalties, you could end up netting out far less than you had hoped for if you need this money during the annuity’s surrender.
With that in mind, you really need to consider this (or any) annuity as a long-term endeavor and know that the money you put into it could be locked up for quite some time before you can use it.
The Annuity Gator’s End Take on the Sagicor Life Milestone MYGA 3 Fixed Annuity
Where this annuity works best:.
While the Sagicor Life Milestone 3 Year Multi-Year Guarantee annuity may not be right for everyone, it could be a good option for those who are seeking the following:
- Guaranteed growth (at least three years, and then again for another guarantee period once the initial period has elapsed)
- Protection of principal
- Lifetime income in retirement
Where it works the worst:
This annuity may not be right for you if:
- You want the opportunity to earn an even higher rate of return in order to keep better pace with future inflation
- You want to access more than just 10% of the contract’s value each year during the surrender period
- You do not plan to use the lifetime income feature
In Summary
If you’ve been thinking about how to best position your savings for the future, there are a number of criteria that you should be considered. As an example, with annuities, you need to make sure that the product allows you the opportunity to earn a nice return (at least enough to meet or beat inflation), while also keeping your money safe in any type of market environment. Similarly, if you are seeking a future retirement income stream, you also need to know how the annuity will pay out when you need to convert the funds into an ongoing income stream.
With all of that in mind, if you are still considering a purchase of the 3 Year MYGA fixed annuity from Sagicor Life Insurance Company, you can rest assured that your money will be safe, no matter what goes on with the stock market, or even in the economy overall. You can also count on an ongoing income stream in the future, alleviating the concern about running out of money before you essentially “run out of time.”
On the other hand, however, even though the Sagicor Milestone MYGA 3 annuity can provide you with a nice array of features, the truth is that this product might still fall somewhat short, and quite honestly, there could be a better alternative out there for you. This is particularly the case if you have been looking for a way to keep your principal safe, yet still, have the opportunity to earn a higher amount of return.
In any case, the only way to really know how this (or any other) annuity may perform – based on your specific situation – is to have it tested. We can do this for you by running the numbers through our annuity calculator, and we can then provide you with a spreadsheet of the results. In order to receive this information, just simply contact us through our secure online form here and let us know.
Do You Have Any Additional Questions Regarding the Sagicor Life MYGA 3 Annuity? Are There Any Other Annuities You Would Like Us to Review?
While we know that this annuity review was a tad bit on the longish side, we feel that providing “too much” information is much better than not enough. That being said, we appreciate you sticking with us through to the end.
We also realize that, because all investors’ situations can be quite different, there may have been some questions that went unanswered in this review. If this is the case and you still have any additional questions or concerns regarding the Sagicor Life Insurance Company’s Milestone MYGA 3 annuity, please feel free to reach out to us here.
In addition, if you found this annuity review to be helpful, please forward it to anyone else that you feel might also benefit from it, as there is a lot of misconception out there about annuities and how they work.
Is there any other annuity you would like to see us review?
If so, we will get our team of annuity “geeks” right on it!
Best,
The Annuity Gator
P.S If you would like to read more of our Sagicor Life annuity reviews here are some links to check out:
