Best Annuities of 2026
Independent rankings based on rates, fees, financial strength, and contract features — not commissions. We evaluate products the same way a fiduciary would: what's actually best for the person buying it?
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Best MYGAs
Multi-year guaranteed annuities offering the highest fixed rates — like CDs, but with tax-deferred growth and typically higher yields.
Best Fixed Index Annuities
FIAs that offer the best balance of upside potential, principal protection, and contract flexibility — with or without income riders.
Best Immediate Annuities
SPIAs from carriers with the highest payout rates, strongest financial ratings, and most flexible contract options.
Rate Lock FIAs
FIAs that guarantee your cap and participation rates for the entire surrender period — not just year one. Protection from the most common complaint in fixed index annuities.
How We Evaluate Annuities
Every product we recommend goes through the same six-point evaluation. No carrier pays for placement. No product gets a pass because it pays higher commissions.
Financial Strength
AM Best rating is one input — alongside state guaranty coverage, reinsurance backing, parent company strength, and claims-paying history. Most carriers we work with are A-rated or better; well-capitalized newer carriers can also qualify when their structure warrants it.
Contract Terms
Surrender periods, free withdrawal provisions, nursing home waivers, death benefit options, and other contractual features.
Rate Competitiveness
How the product's guaranteed or credited rates compare to peers in the same category.
Fee Transparency
Hidden fees are a dealbreaker. We favor products with clear, simple fee structures — or no fees at all.
Flexibility
Can you take partial withdrawals? Add riders? Change your income start date? Flexibility matters for retirement planning.
Carrier Track Record
Claims-paying history, policyholder satisfaction, and consistency of product offerings over time.
Already own an annuity? Get a second opinion on it.
The audit checks your existing contract against these same six criteria and tells you exactly where it lands.
Why our rankings are different
Most “best annuity” lists are written by companies that sell annuities — so they rank products by commission, not by value. We rank by what actually matters to the person buying: rates, financial strength, fees, and flexibility. If a product isn't good enough for us to recommend without a commission incentive, it doesn't make the list.
Three ways forward — pick whichever fits.