Athene Performance Elite Annuity Series Review
The Athene Performance Elite series is a fixed indexed annuity designed primarily for safe accumulation. It combines principal protection, premium bonus options, multiple index-crediting strategies, and optional enhanced liquidity features.
We do recommend the Athene Performance Elite series for someone whose primary goal is protected growth rather than guaranteed lifetime income. It is highly customizable, the bonuses can be substantial, and the Plus versions provide some of the better liquidity features available in a bonus FIA.
The main tradeoff is renewal-rate risk. Athene controls future caps and participation rates, and much of the product’s stronger upside potential is concentrated in engineered or manufactured indexes rather than traditional benchmarks.
Athene Performance Elite Product Details
| Product Type | Fixed Indexed Annuity |
| Primary Purpose | Accumulation |
| Available Terms | 7, 10, and 15 Years |
| Premium Bonus | Available; varies by version, premium band, state, and issue age |
| Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefit | No |
| Fixed Interest Strategy | Yes |
| Market Value Adjustment | Yes, where applicable |
| Plus Liquidity Rider | Available for a charge |
| Return of Premium | Available on Performance Elite Plus after the fourth contract year, subject to contract provisions |
Athene is an excellent annuity company. Athene comfortably exceeds our preference for using insurers rated A- or better, so our concerns with Performance Elite are about specific product features and future renewal rates rather than the financial strength of the insurance company.
Our Professional Opinion
We do recommend the Athene Performance Elite annuity series for customers looking for safe growth, especially when they also want a premium bonus or enhanced liquidity.
What we like about the series is that it is very customizable. You can choose among different surrender periods, bonus structures, index strategies, fixed-interest options, and, with the Plus version, enhanced liquidity features.
What this annuity does not have is a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit. If your primary goal is creating guaranteed retirement income for life, this is not the product we would use. Performance Elite is an accumulation annuity first.
For protected accumulation, however, we think it is a good product.
One of the biggest advantages is the premium bonus. Depending on the version you purchase, the bonus can provide an immediate increase to your Accumulated Value. That can be particularly useful when someone is replacing an older annuity that still has a surrender charge or is moving money after experiencing losses elsewhere in a retirement portfolio.
The bonus does not magically make a bad annuity good, but when the underlying product already fits the goal, it can be a meaningful additional benefit.
We also really like the liquidity available in the Performance Elite Plus versions. The Plus Liquidity Rider currently provides free withdrawals of up to 10% per year immediately, and if no withdrawal was taken in the prior year, the available free withdrawal can increase to as much as 20%, subject to the contract provisions.
Performance Elite Plus also offers a return-of-premium feature after the fourth contract year. That is a significant advantage for someone who wants an accumulation annuity but does not like the idea of being completely trapped by a long surrender schedule.
Where we become more cautious is the index menu.
Athene does offer a traditional S&P 500 strategy, which we like. However, much of the product’s more aggressive upside potential is concentrated in engineered, manufactured, or volatility-controlled indexes.
Examples include the Nasdaq FC Index, S&P 500 FC Index, AI-powered indexes, multi-asset indexes, and other proprietary strategies. Those indexes may have attractive participation rates, but a large participation rate on an engineered index should not be compared directly with a cap on the true S&P 500.
We also pay close attention to the live date of any manufactured index. Some of these indexes have historical results that were calculated before the index actually existed. Backtested performance is not the same thing as live performance.
The other major concern is renewal-rate risk. Athene can change cap rates, participation rates, fixed rates, and other crediting parameters when the applicable strategy renews, subject to contractual minimums.
If you purchase this annuity during a high-interest-rate environment and interest rates later fall, Athene may have less room to maintain the same upside potential. You need to be prepared for the possibility that the cap or participation rate you receive in year one will not still be there several years later.
That is the biggest weakness of Performance Elite for us.
If someone likes Performance Elite but also wants more certainty around future growth potential, we like the idea of splitting the money. Put a portion into Performance Elite for the bonus, customization, and liquidity, and put another portion into an annuity with a guaranteed multi-year cap lock.
Two products we would compare are the Oceanview CapLock and the Sagicor Sage Accumulator. Oceanview is especially interesting because its guaranteed cap strategies can use the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, or Russell 2000, while Sagicor provides a straightforward S&P 500 cap-lock structure.
You could also skip Performance Elite entirely and use a cap-lock FIA if knowing your future upside potential cannot be reduced is more important to you than receiving the bonus.
There is one additional niche where we like the bonus structure. For an older or unhealthy buyer who believes they may have a shorter life expectancy, the combination of a large initial bonus and the fixed-interest strategy can be interesting for legacy planning.
Rather than relying exclusively on index performance, that buyer can allocate to the fixed account and receive a declared rate while maintaining the bonus-enhanced Accumulated Value. If death occurs before the surrender period ends, the death-benefit provisions can make the premium bonus substantially more meaningful than it would be for someone voluntarily surrendering the contract early. State-specific death-benefit and bonus treatment should always be confirmed on the illustration before purchase.
Our bottom line: Performance Elite is a good accumulation annuity with excellent bonus and liquidity features, but we would not ignore the renewal-rate risk. If you are comfortable with that risk, we like the product. If you want more certainty, combine it with—or replace it with—a cap-lock annuity.
What We Like
- Good Safe-Growth Product: The series is designed specifically for accumulation rather than trying to do every job inside one annuity.
- Strong Premium Bonuses: Bonus versions can provide an immediate increase to the Accumulated Value.
- Highly Customizable: Choose among 7-, 10-, and 15-year versions, multiple crediting strategies, fixed interest, and different liquidity options.
- Performance Elite Plus Liquidity: The Plus rider provides enhanced access to the account value.
- Immediate Free Withdrawals on Plus: Up to 10% can be available immediately under current Plus provisions.
- Potential 20% Enhanced Withdrawal: If no withdrawal is taken in the previous year, the following year’s available free withdrawal may increase to as much as 20% under the rider provisions.
- Return of Premium: Performance Elite Plus currently provides return-of-premium protection after the fourth contract year, subject to the rider terms.
- Traditional S&P 500 Option: Buyers are not completely forced into engineered indexes.
- Fixed Interest Strategy: Provides an alternative for someone who wants a declared interest rate instead of an indexed strategy.
- Strategy Preset: Athene offers automated allocation options for buyers who do not want to manually manage several index strategies.
- Strong Insurance Company: Athene comfortably meets our A- or better carrier requirement.
- Principal Protection: Negative index performance does not directly reduce the Accumulated Value due to market losses.
What We Don’t Like
- No GLWB: There is no guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit, so this is not our choice when lifetime income is the primary objective.
- Renewal Rate Risk: Athene can change future cap rates, participation rates, fixed rates, and other crediting terms subject to contractual minimums.
- No Multi-Year Cap Lock: The product does not provide the type of full-term upside guarantee we prefer when accumulation certainty is the top priority.
- Heavy Engineered-Index Exposure: Much of the stronger headline upside is attached to manufactured or volatility-controlled indexes.
- Backtested Index Results: Historical results from before an index’s actual launch date should not be treated like live performance.
- Bonus Vesting: Premium bonuses are subject to vesting or recapture rules if you surrender or take excess withdrawals too early.
- Strategy Charges: Some higher-rate strategies require an additional annual charge.
- Long Surrender Periods: The 10- and especially 15-year versions require a meaningful long-term commitment.
Performance Elite 7 vs. 10 vs. 15
The current Performance Elite series is available with three primary surrender-period choices:
- Performance Elite 7: Shortest commitment and generally best for someone who prioritizes flexibility.
- Performance Elite 10: Middle-ground version that may offer stronger bonus or crediting economics in exchange for a longer commitment.
- Performance Elite 15: Longest surrender period and generally designed for buyers willing to sacrifice liquidity for potentially stronger contract features.
We would not automatically choose the longest version because the bonus looks larger. Compare the bonus, surrender schedule, crediting rates, liquidity, and realistic holding period together.
Performance Elite Plus Liquidity Rider
The Plus versions are where Performance Elite becomes especially interesting for someone who wants a bonus FIA but still values liquidity.
The Liquidity Rider is available for an additional charge and currently provides several enhanced features.
- Immediate Free Withdrawals: Up to 10% annually can be available beginning in the first contract year.
- Enhanced Withdrawals: If no withdrawal was taken during the prior year, the following year’s free amount may increase to as much as 20%.
- Return of Premium: Available after the fourth contract year under the current Plus rider provisions.
- Enhanced Annuitization: Additional settlement benefits may also be available through the Plus rider.
These are unusually good liquidity features for a bonus-oriented fixed indexed annuity.
How the Premium Bonus Works
The Performance Elite premium bonus is credited when the contract is issued and increases the Accumulated Value immediately.
The bonus percentage varies based on the version, premium band, state, and potentially the buyer’s age.
Do not confuse an immediate bonus credit with fully vested walkaway money. Performance Elite uses a Premium Bonus Vesting Percentage Schedule. A surrender or withdrawal above the free amount during the surrender period can cause Athene to recapture some of the unvested bonus and related value.
This is why we evaluate the bonus together with the surrender schedule rather than simply buying whichever annuity advertises the largest percentage.
When We Particularly Like the Bonus
There are several situations where the Performance Elite bonus can be especially useful.
- Replacing an Older Annuity: The bonus may help offset an existing surrender charge when an exchange otherwise makes financial sense.
- Recovering From Market Losses: Someone moving a portion of retirement savings away from market risk may appreciate an immediate increase to the new annuity’s Accumulated Value.
- Older or Less-Healthy Buyers: A large initial bonus combined with the fixed account can create an interesting legacy-oriented strategy when long-term accumulation is less important than preserving value for beneficiaries.
The last scenario should be illustrated carefully because death-benefit provisions, bonus vesting, and state variations matter. But it can create a very different outcome than simply placing all of the money into a traditional MYGA.
Index Options and Growth Potential
Athene provides a large index menu. That gives the buyer plenty of choices, but it also adds complexity.
The series currently includes the traditional S&P 500 plus several custom indexes, including:
- Nasdaq FC Index
- S&P 500 FC Index
- AI Powered Global Opportunities Index
- AI Powered US Equity Index
- BNP Paribas Multi Asset Diversified 5 Index
- UBS Innovative Balanced Index
We do not automatically dislike a custom index. We simply want to know when it actually launched and how much of the historical performance shown is live versus backtested.
We are especially cautious when almost all of the attractive participation rates are attached to indexes that were created specifically for insurance products.
The traditional S&P 500 gives buyers a simpler alternative, but its cap or participation rate may not be as aggressive as the headline rates attached to some of the custom indexes.
Strategy Preset
Athene’s Strategy Preset feature automatically spreads money across several available index strategies and rebalances the renewing portions on contract anniversaries.
Current presets include Conservative, Balanced, and Growth approaches.
The Conservative version emphasizes one-year strategies. Balanced combines one- and two-year strategies. Growth also combines one- and two-year strategies but can use strategy charges in exchange for higher stated crediting potential.
We prefer the simplicity of one-year strategies whenever the economics are competitive. We generally do not want to commit to longer crediting terms just to chase a larger participation rate.
Renewal Rate Risk
This is the biggest issue buyers need to understand with Performance Elite.
The annuity may look extremely attractive when it is purchased because Athene can offer competitive cap rates and participation rates.
Those rates are not necessarily guaranteed for the entire surrender period. When a strategy renews, Athene may declare a different cap, participation rate, fixed rate, or other applicable parameter, subject to the minimums contained in the contract.
If safe accumulation is your goal, this matters because a lower renewal rate directly reduces your future earning potential.
That is why we like pairing Performance Elite with a cap-lock FIA—or using a cap-lock FIA instead—when certainty about future upside is especially important.
Does Performance Elite Provide Guaranteed Lifetime Income?
No. The Performance Elite series does not include a Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefit.
The contract can ultimately provide lifetime payments through annuitization, but that is different from a GLWB and generally requires converting the account into an irrevocable income stream.
If guaranteed lifetime income is your primary objective, we would use an annuity specifically designed for that job.
Death Benefit
The Performance Elite death benefit generally reflects the applicable contract value payable to beneficiaries under the contract provisions.
Because a premium bonus increases the Accumulated Value when the contract is issued, it can make the death-benefit treatment particularly interesting for an older or unhealthy buyer who may not expect to hold the contract through the entire surrender period.
This is one of the niche uses we like for Performance Elite. The exact death-benefit amount and treatment of the premium bonus should be verified on the state-specific illustration before purchase.
Nursing Home and Terminal Illness Waivers
Performance Elite provides qualifying nursing-home or convalescent-care and terminal-illness provisions that can provide access to contract value without the normal surrender charges when applicable conditions are met.
These waivers are useful, but they are not a replacement for actual long-term care insurance. Someone who wants true extended-care protection should evaluate dedicated LTC coverage or a hybrid life and long-term care policy.
Who Should Consider Athene Performance Elite?
- Someone Seeking Safe Accumulation: You want growth potential without direct stock-market losses.
- Someone Who Values a Premium Bonus: The bonus solves a specific problem such as replacing an older annuity or rebuilding account value.
- Someone Who Wants Extra Liquidity: The Plus version’s withdrawal and return-of-premium features are important to you.
- Someone Comfortable With Engineered Indexes: You understand that much of the upside potential comes from custom index strategies.
- Someone Comfortable With Renewal Risk: You understand that future caps and participation rates can change.
- An Older or Less-Healthy Buyer: You value the combination of a premium bonus, fixed-interest option, and death benefit more than decades of long-term growth.
Who Should Probably Buy Something Else?
If guaranteed lifetime income is your main objective, we would buy an annuity with a competitive GLWB instead.
If you want the highest level of certainty about future accumulation potential, we would favor an accumulation FIA with a multi-year cap lock.
If you dislike engineered indexes or do not want to monitor renewal rates, a simpler accumulation annuity may also be a better choice.
If all you want is a known guaranteed interest rate, compare MYGAs rather than paying for features you do not need.
What We Recommend
We like the Athene Performance Elite series for safe accumulation.
The premium bonuses are attractive, the Plus versions provide excellent liquidity compared with many bonus annuities, Athene is a strong insurance company, and the product gives buyers a large amount of flexibility in how they allocate their money.
The two things we would watch carefully are the engineered indexes and the renewal rates.
If the current rates are competitive and you understand that Athene can lower future caps and participation rates, Performance Elite is a good accumulation annuity.
If renewal-rate risk bothers you, either split the money between Performance Elite and a cap-lock FIA or skip Performance Elite and use the cap-lock product entirely.
And if lifetime income is the goal, use a different annuity. Performance Elite does one job well: protected accumulation with customizable bonus and liquidity options.
Compare Athene Performance Elite Before You Buy
Before purchasing Performance Elite, compare the current bonus, cap rates, participation rates, fixed rate, surrender period, liquidity provisions, and alternative cap-lock products from A- or better-rated insurance companies.
Contact The Annuity Expert for free quotes and a no-obligation side-by-side comparison. We can compare Athene Performance Elite against other accumulation FIAs and determine whether the bonus and liquidity are worth accepting the future renewal-rate risk.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to annuitize Performance Elite when the surrender period ends?
No. Once the surrender period ends, you can generally continue the contract, withdraw the available value, or transfer it elsewhere. Annuitization is optional.
Does Athene Performance Elite provide guaranteed lifetime income?
No. Performance Elite is designed for accumulation and does not include a GLWB. Lifetime income is available through annuitization, but we generally prefer a dedicated income annuity when lifetime income is the goal.
What is the main advantage of Performance Elite Plus?
Performance Elite Plus adds enhanced liquidity, including immediate free withdrawals, potential enhanced withdrawal amounts, and return-of-premium protection after the applicable waiting period.