Our Athene Agility Annuity Review
Athene Agility 7 and Agility 10 are fixed indexed annuities that combine protection from index losses, future lifetime income, and an enhanced death benefit in one contract.
We do not think all three of those uses are equally good. We would not choose either Agility 7 or Agility 10 for someone whose primary goal is predictable future lifetime retirement income. Where these annuities get much more interesting is estate planning and leaving money to beneficiaries.
- Product Type: Fixed Indexed Annuity
- Issued By: Athene Annuity and Life Company
- Products Reviewed: Athene Agility 7 and Athene Agility 10
- Withdrawal Charge Period: Seven years for Agility 7; ten years for Agility 10
- Issue Ages: Generally 40–83 for Agility 7 and 40–80 for Agility 10
- Minimum Premium: $10,000 in most states
- Income and Death Benefit Rider: Included with no additional rider charge
Athene is a great annuity company. Athene Annuity and Life Company has an A+ (Superior) AM Best financial-strength rating, above our A− minimum.
Athene Agility 7 vs. Athene Agility 10
Both annuities include the Income and Death Benefit Rider at no additional rider charge. The key trade-off is the shorter commitment versus the benefit-base bonus offered with the ten-year version. Compare the actual death benefit and payout period, not just the bonus percentage.
| Feature | Agility 7 | Agility 10 |
|---|---|---|
| Withdrawal charge period | 7 years | 10 years |
| Lifetime income waiting period | 7 years and at least age 50 | 10 years and at least age 50 |
| Benefit Base bonus | 35%; confirm your contract and state | 55%; confirm your contract and state |
| Benefit Base interest enhancement | 200% of the dollar amount credited as interest to the accumulated value | 200% of the dollar amount credited as interest to the accumulated value |
| Issue ages | Generally 40–83 | Generally 40–80 |
The bonus percentages apply to the rider’s Benefit Base, not the cash you can withdraw. The illustrated bonuses are examples, not permanent offers. Crediting provisions and product availability can vary by state and contract, and the insurer can change terms offered on new contracts. Compare your actual illustrations before applying.
Our Professional Opinion
Our opinion of Athene Agility 7 and 10 is pretty straightforward: we would not use either for predictable future lifetime income, but we really like them for several niche estate-planning situations.
The biggest problem is the way future lifetime income is determined. You must complete a seven-year waiting period with Agility 7 or ten years with Agility 10 and be at least age 50 before you can start lifetime withdrawals. During the wait, the future income amount depends heavily on how the annuity performs.
Athene can change future cap rates and participation rates, subject to contractual minimums. That means the insurance company has considerable control over how much interest is credited during the waiting period. Because those interest credits help determine your future lifetime income, you are allowing future renewal decisions by the insurance company to influence a critical part of your retirement plan.
We don’t like that at all. We would not choose a performance-based lifetime income rider when your primary objective is predictable retirement income. Too much can happen over seven or ten years. If the contract underperforms, future caps are reduced, or participation rates become less competitive, your eventual income can be materially lower than you originally expected.
That can screw up an entire retirement income plan. If you are counting on the income to pay essential living expenses, we would rather use an annuity with a contractually guaranteed income roll-up. With that type of rider, you know the contractual income growth available while you wait, subject to the rider’s terms and limits.
Where Athene Agility gets much better is estate planning. We think this can be a great product for someone who is uninsurable, someone who wants to leave qualified retirement money to beneficiaries, or a high-net-worth retiree taking RMDs they do not need. In those situations, the Benefit Base bonus and 200% interest-credit enhancement can make the enhanced death benefit very attractive. Agility 7 has a shorter commitment, while Agility 10 can offer a larger starting bonus. The actual bonus depends on the version and state.
What We Like
- Enhanced Death Benefit: This is the main reason we like the product.
- Benefit Base Bonus: The rider starts with an increase to the Benefit Base. The applicable bonus differs between Agility 7 and 10 and by state.
- 200% Interest Credit Enhancement: The Benefit Base receives 200% of the dollar amount of interest credited to the accumulated value.
- Useful for Someone Who Is Uninsurable: It can provide a meaningful estate-planning alternative when traditional life insurance is not available.
- Good for Leaving Qualified Retirement Assets: The enhanced death benefit can help increase the gross amount ultimately left to beneficiaries.
- Useful for High-Net-Worth RMD Planning: Someone taking RMDs they do not need may be able to satisfy required withdrawals while maintaining a substantial enhanced death benefit.
- No Separate Rider Fee: The Income and Death Benefit Rider is included automatically.
- Strong Insurance Company: Athene comfortably clears our A- or better financial-strength preference.
- Useful Liquidity Features: The contract includes annual free withdrawals, terminal illness provisions, confinement provisions, and a bailout feature.
What We Don’t Like
- Performance-Based Lifetime Income: We would not use this product when predictable future lifetime income is the primary objective.
- Income Waiting Period: You must wait seven years for Agility 7 or ten years for Agility 10, and be at least age 50.
- Renewal Rate Risk: Future cap rates and participation rates can change, subject to contractual minimums.
- The Insurance Company Controls Part of the Outcome: Renewal decisions affect how much interest is credited and therefore how much the Benefit Base grows.
- Benefit Base Is Not Cash: The large Benefit Base should never be confused with money you can surrender and withdraw.
- Enhanced Death Benefit Is Not a Lump Sum: The larger rider death benefit is generally paid to beneficiaries over a period of years.
- Not Our Favorite for Pure Accumulation: We prefer accumulation FIAs with competitive multi-year cap locks.
- Enhanced Income Benefit Ends at Depletion: The doubled income benefit does not continue indefinitely once the accumulated value reaches zero.
- Seven- or Ten-Year Commitment: Either surrender period can feel long if your needs change.
Where Athene Agility Can Be a Great Option
An Alternative to Life Insurance for Someone Who Is Uninsurable
This is probably one of our favorite uses for Athene Agility.
Let’s say you have an illness or medical condition that prevents you from qualifying for traditional life insurance. Athene Agility does not require the same type of medical underwriting normally associated with buying life insurance.
You can reposition money into the annuity and receive a bonus on the Benefit Base used to calculate the rider’s enhanced death benefit. The bonus applies to the Benefit Base, not the cash surrender value.
For example, if you deposit $200,000 into an Agility 7 with a 35% Benefit Base bonus, the initial Benefit Base is $270,000. With an Agility 10 offering a 55% Benefit Base bonus, it would be $310,000. These are examples of bonus terms; actual percentages vary by contract and state.
That is an additional $70,000 or $110,000 added to the Benefit Base, depending on the example, before any future interest credits. It is not a bonus you can cash out.
After that, the Benefit Base receives 200% of the dollar amount of interest credited to the accumulated value. If the contract continues earning interest, the potential enhanced death benefit can continue increasing.
There is an important distinction: the Benefit Base is not cash. You cannot surrender the contract and withdraw $270,000 or $310,000 just because you deposited $200,000. The Benefit Base is used to calculate rider benefits.
The enhanced death benefit is generally paid to beneficiaries over a declared payout period instead of as one immediate lump sum. For example, a five-year payout would divide the benefit into five annual payments. The declared period can change, but the rider guarantees it will not exceed ten years. Eligibility and state limits apply.
For someone who cannot qualify for life insurance but has money available to reposition, we think this can be a great estate-planning alternative.
Leaving Qualified Retirement Accounts to Beneficiaries
Another situation where we like Athene Agility 7 and 10 is someone whose primary objective is leaving qualified retirement money to children or other beneficiaries.
This could include money from a traditional IRA, 401(k), 403(b), or another qualified retirement account.
If that money is transferred into Athene Agility, the applicable Benefit Base bonus creates a larger starting value for calculating the enhanced death benefit. Future interest credits can increase it further, but withdrawals can reduce it proportionally.
This can matter because beneficiaries who inherit traditional retirement assets generally have to pay income taxes as those inherited funds are distributed.
Neither version of Athene Agility eliminates those taxes. What it can do is create a larger gross inheritance that may help offset some of that tax burden.
For somebody who does not need to maximize lifetime withdrawals and instead wants to maximize what ultimately reaches the family, this is where Agility becomes much more attractive.
High-Net-Worth Retirees Taking RMDs They Don’t Need
The third niche is a high-net-worth retiree who has to take required minimum distributions from qualified retirement accounts but does not actually need the RMD money for living expenses.
These individuals may already have enough income from Social Security, pensions, investments, real estate, or other sources. Their bigger concern is preserving wealth for their family.
Athene Agility can generally accommodate applicable RMD withdrawals under the contract provisions. Depending on the size of those withdrawals and how the annuity performs, it may be possible to satisfy those RMD obligations while still preserving a substantial enhanced death benefit for beneficiaries.
In some situations, most or even all of the original amount deposited may still ultimately be represented in the death benefit. That is not guaranteed. Withdrawals reduce the accumulated value and can also reduce the Benefit Base.
There is another opportunity here. Instead of simply spending an RMD you do not need, you could use those after-tax dollars to strengthen other parts of your estate plan. Long-term care insurance can help protect assets from the cost of home health care, assisted living, or nursing home care, while a hybrid life and long-term care policy can combine a death benefit with long-term care protection.
RMDs from traditional retirement accounts are generally taxable regardless of what you do with the money afterward. Once the required distribution has been taken and taxes are addressed, you can decide how those dollars fit into the rest of your estate plan.
How the Enhanced Death Benefit Works
- Benefit Base Bonus: Agility 7 and Agility 10 use different bonus percentages. The bonus increases the Benefit Base, not the account value available as cash.
- 200% Interest Credit Enhancement: The Benefit Base receives 200% of the dollar amount credited as interest to the accumulated value.
- No Separate Rider Charge: The Income and Death Benefit Rider is included automatically with no additional rider fee.
- Enhanced Death Benefit: The Benefit Base can be used to calculate the rider death benefit under the contract provisions.
- Beneficiary Choice: Beneficiaries can generally choose the actual accumulated value as a lump sum or the enhanced death benefit paid over the declared payout period.
The bonus sounds great, but it is important to understand what it actually is. It is a Benefit Base bonus, not a cash bonus that you can withdraw.
For someone specifically looking for an annuity with an enhanced death benefit, Athene Agility is a product we would absolutely consider.
That is not a guaranteed 200% return or a fixed annual roll-up. If no interest is credited to the accumulated value, that interest-credit enhancement adds nothing for that period. Withdrawals reduce the Benefit Base proportionally.
If your spouse is the beneficiary, ask whether spousal continuation is available and how it would affect the rider before choosing a payout. The spouse’s options depend on the contract and beneficiary designation.
How the Lifetime Income Works
Athene Agility does provide guaranteed lifetime withdrawals, but the amount of future income is influenced by how the Benefit Base develops before income begins.
Agility 7 has a seven-year waiting period and Agility 10 has a ten-year waiting period before lifetime income withdrawals can begin. You must also be at least age 50. Once eligible, you can elect single-life or joint-life withdrawals for spouses.
The income amount can potentially increase after income begins when the contract receives positive interest credits. Lifetime withdrawals continue under the rider rules even if covered withdrawals reduce the accumulated value to zero; excess withdrawals or related charges that exhaust the account can end the guarantee.
Our problem is not that the contract fails to provide lifetime income. Our problem is that somebody buying it today cannot know with enough certainty what that future income will ultimately look like. Index performance and future renewal crediting terms both matter.
Compare Athene Agility Income Payouts
If your primary goal is lifetime income, we would skip the performance-based guesswork and compare the actual guaranteed income available from A- or better-rated insurance companies. Agility 7 has a shorter wait than Agility 10, but its future income is still influenced by credited interest and Athene’s renewal decisions.
The highest-paying income annuity depends on your age, state, premium amount, whether the income is for one or two lives, and when you want the income to begin. It also changes as insurance companies adjust their payout rates.
Contact us, and we will create a custom annuity income heat map based on your age, state, premium amount, and when you want income to start. This lets us compare actual guaranteed income instead of relying on bonuses, roll-up percentages, or marketing illustrations. The comparison is free, and there is no obligation to buy anything.
The Enhanced Income Benefit
Athene Agility can double the Lifetime Income Withdrawal amount when the contract’s Qualified Care Facility requirements are met.
The problem is that the enhanced amount is tied to eligibility requirements and the accumulated value. The doubled amount stops when the accumulated value reaches zero.
We consider that weaker than certain competing annuities that can continue an enhanced care benefit for a defined period even after the account value has been depleted.
This feature is also not actual long-term care insurance. It is an annuity benefit with specific qualification requirements.
Is Athene Agility Good for Accumulation?
It is just OK for pure accumulation.
The account is protected from direct stock-market losses, and credited interest cannot later be lost because the market declines. That part is good.
But when accumulation is the goal, we prefer fixed indexed annuities that let you lock a competitive cap for multiple years. Two of our favorites are the Oceanview CapLock and the Sagicor Sage Accumulator.
The problem with using Agility strictly for accumulation is that you can be locked into a seven- or ten-year surrender period while Athene retains the ability to change future renewal caps and participation rates within the contract’s guarantees.
We would rather know that a competitive cap is locked when possible.
If accumulation is your primary goal, compare today’s best fixed indexed annuity rates and cap-lock options before choosing Agility.
Liquidity
Athene Agility allows annual penalty-free access to a portion of the contract. The current contract allows the greater of 10% of the initial premium or 10% of the accumulated value, subject to the contract provisions.
- Annual Free Withdrawals: Access to a portion of the contract without a withdrawal charge or MVA.
- Required Minimum Distributions: Applicable RMDs can generally be accommodated under the contract provisions.
- Confinement Waiver: Up to 100% of accumulated value may be available when qualifying facility-confinement requirements are met.
- Terminal Illness Waiver: Up to 100% of accumulated value may be available after a qualifying terminal illness diagnosis.
- Bailout Feature: If the one-year S&P 500 cap falls below the contract’s bailout cap, the owner receives a limited window to leave without the applicable withdrawal charge or MVA. The feature depends on the contract and may never be triggered.
The confinement and terminal illness provisions are examples of penalty-free crisis waivers. Eligibility requirements and state availability apply.
Surrender Charges and Market Value Adjustment
Both versions are long-term contracts, but their schedules differ. Agility 7 has a seven-year withdrawal-charge period; Agility 10 has a ten-year period. The standard Agility 7 schedule is shown below. California and other state terms can differ.
| Contract year | Agility 7 withdrawal charge |
|---|---|
| 1 | 8% |
| 2 | 8% |
| 3 | 7% |
| 4 | 6% |
| 5 | 5% |
| 6 | 4% |
| 7 | 3% |
| 8 and later | 0% |
The standard Agility 10 schedule begins at 9% in years one and two and declines over ten contract years. Review the schedule and state-specific provisions for the version you are considering.
If you withdraw more than the penalty-free amount during the surrender period, you may be subject to both surrender charges and a Market Value Adjustment.
That means Agility is not a good place for money you expect to need in the next few years.
Who Should Consider Athene Agility?
We think the best Athene Agility buyers are people who care more about transferring wealth than maximizing retirement income.
- Someone Who Is Medically Uninsurable: You want an enhanced death benefit but cannot qualify for traditional life insurance.
- Someone Leaving Qualified Retirement Money to Beneficiaries: Your primary objective is increasing the potential inheritance rather than maximizing withdrawals for yourself.
- A High-Net-Worth Retiree Taking RMDs They Don’t Need: You want to satisfy required distributions while maintaining an enhanced death benefit for your family.
- Someone Comfortable With a Seven- or Ten-Year Commitment: You do not expect to need substantial access to the money during the selected surrender period.
Who Should Probably Buy Something Else?
If your primary goal is predictable guaranteed lifetime income, we would buy something else. We prefer a contractually guaranteed income roll-up where the future Benefit Base growth is known when the contract is issued.
If your primary goal is maximum accumulation, we would also generally look elsewhere. Cap-lock FIAs can provide more certainty about future growth potential.
If you need substantial liquidity during the next several years, either surrender schedule may be the wrong fit regardless of how attractive the death benefit looks.
What We Recommend
If your goal is predictable lifetime retirement income, we would skip both Athene Agility 7 and Agility 10.
We would rather use an annuity with contractually guaranteed income growth so we know what the retirement income plan is built on from day one.
If your goal is leaving money to beneficiaries, Athene Agility becomes a completely different conversation.
For somebody who is uninsurable, wants to leave qualified retirement assets to family, or is taking RMDs they do not need, we think the enhanced death benefit can make this a great niche product.
The difference comes down to what job you are asking the annuity to perform. Do not buy Athene Agility because the Benefit Base looks big on an illustration. Buy it because you specifically want the enhanced death benefit and understand how that benefit works.
Compare Athene Agility Before You Buy
There is no reason to guess whether Athene Agility is the right annuity for your situation. We can compare its enhanced death benefit, accumulation potential, liquidity, and future income against competing products.
Use our annuity calculator or contact The Annuity Expert for a free side-by-side comparison.
Our service is free, and there is no obligation to buy anything. If you already own Athene Agility and want another opinion, request a free annuity second opinion.
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