Our Professional Opinion on the Integrity Life MultiVantage Annuity
MultiVantage is worth comparing if you want a fixed interest guarantee and access to part of your money from day one, but its first-year rate enhancement can make the offer look better than it really is. The extra interest lasts only one year. We would compare the guaranteed account value at the end of the full term, not just the rate advertised for the first year.
Integrity Life Insurance Company is a great insurer with an A+ (Superior) AM Best rating, comfortably above our A− minimum. National Integrity Life Insurance Company, which issued New York contracts, also holds an A+ rating. A great insurer matters, but it does not guarantee MultiVantage will beat another fixed annuity.
We like the immediate 10% free withdrawal and the automatic move to a one-year rate after the initial guarantee, with no new surrender charge or market value adjustment. What stinks is that an early withdrawal above the free allowance can face both a surrender charge and a market value adjustment. Compare its full-term result with fixed annuity rates from other strong insurers before choosing.
What We Like
- Great insurance company: Integrity Life has an A+ AM Best rating.
- Four initial guarantee choices: The four-, five-, seven-, and ten-year options let you choose a timeline.
- Access from the first year: Up to 10% of account value can be withdrawn each contract year without a surrender charge or MVA.
- No automatic new multiyear charge: At the end of the initial term, doing nothing moves the money to a one-year guarantee without a new withdrawal charge or MVA.
- A full account-value death benefit: The death benefit does not carry a surrender charge or MVA before annuitization.
What We Don’t Like
- First-year enhancement ends: The extra interest rate is not paid in every year of the selected guarantee.
- A new surrender period if you renew long term: Choosing another multiyear guarantee starts a new withdrawal charge period.
- Potentially costly early exit: Withdrawals beyond the free amount can trigger a charge and an MVA.
- Health waivers have limits: Qualifying health waivers are unavailable in California, and the confinement waiver has a waiting period.
MultiVantage Annuity Overview
MultiVantage is a single-deposit deferred fixed annuity with an initial guaranteed rate period. The initial rate includes a one-percentage-point enhancement in the first year; the base rate continues for the rest of the selected term. It is a rate enhancement, not a bonus credited upfront to your deposit.
- Issuer: Integrity Life Insurance Company; National Integrity Life issued New York contracts.
- Minimum deposit: $20,000.
- Issue ages: Generally ages 0–89.
- Initial guarantee periods: Four, five, seven, or ten years.
- Free withdrawals: Up to 10% of account value each contract year, beginning immediately, subject to contract rules.
- Early withdrawal: A withdrawal charge and MVA can apply to amounts above the free allowance.
- Renewal: A new multiyear guarantee can create a new withdrawal charge period; the one-year default does not.
- Funding: Eligible IRA and other retirement money can be used, including certain IRA transfers and rollovers.
New MultiVantage contracts are not available in New York. Existing National Integrity contracts can have different surrender and renewal provisions.
How the First-Year Interest Enhancement Works
For the first contract year, MultiVantage adds one percentage point to its base interest rate. After that first year, the enhancement falls away and the base rate is guaranteed for the rest of the selected initial period. The enhancement is interest earned over time; it does not give you a larger deposit on day one.
That distinction matters. A first-year rate can look impressive even when another annuity produces more money over the complete four-, five-, seven-, or ten-year term. We would ask for the guaranteed value at the end of the chosen term and compare the same deposit, term, and withdrawal assumptions. Do not pick a ten-year commitment just because the first-year rate catches your eye.
Free Withdrawals and Surrender Charges
You can withdraw up to 10% of account value each contract year without a withdrawal charge or MVA starting immediately. The allowance does not carry over if unused. Partial withdrawals must generally leave at least $2,000 in the contract. That first-year access is better than contracts that make you wait a year for an ordinary free withdrawal.
Above the free amount, withdrawal charges apply during the selected guarantee period. Outside California and New York, the charge starts at 8% in each of the first two years; later percentages depend on the term. California and existing New York contracts have different schedules. A 10% allowance is useful, but it is not a substitute for an emergency fund.
If you plan to live on the interest, compare the payment with an annuity offering a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit (GLWB). Taking interest from MultiVantage does not itself guarantee a paycheck for life. Compare the same deposit, covered lives, and income start date.
If you want withdrawals without a lifetime-income guarantee, compare an annuity that credits an upfront bonus to actual account value. A larger starting balance can sometimes leave more money after the same withdrawals even at a lower rate; compare accessible values and charges. MultiVantage’s first-year rate enhancement is not an upfront premium bonus.
If you are in poor health or planning for a shorter retirement, compare an annuity with a bonus that fully vests and is payable upon a qualifying death. It could leave more to your beneficiaries, depending on withdrawals and the contract’s death-benefit rules. MultiVantage pays its applicable death benefit, but it does not pay interest that was never earned.
How the Market Value Adjustment Works
During a multiyear guarantee period, a market value adjustment can increase or decrease the amount received on withdrawals above the free allowance and can apply when money is converted to an annuity income option. It generally reduces the value when comparable offered interest rates rise and increases it when they fall. The withdrawal charge is applied after the adjustment.
The adjustment does not apply to the 10% free withdrawal, the death benefit, or during the last 30 days of the guarantee period. It also does not apply in the one-year default period. The final 30-day MVA exception does not by itself eliminate any applicable surrender charge.
Health and Required Minimum Distribution Waivers
Qualifying required minimum distributions can be taken without the withdrawal charge and MVA. The contract also provides waivers for a qualifying terminal illness and confinement to a nursing home, hospital, or licensed health care facility. The confinement waiver requires at least 60 consecutive days and is available on or after the first anniversary. The terminal illness must be diagnosed after the contract date with a life expectancy of 12 months or less.
The health waivers are not available in California. These provisions can help in a crisis, but they are limited access to your own annuity money, not long-term care insurance.
What Happens When the Guarantee Ends?
At the end of the initial guarantee, you can elect a new available multiyear guarantee at the rate then offered. The new period brings a new surrender-charge schedule and a new first-year rate enhancement. One multiyear renewal is guaranteed; later renewal availability can vary.
If you do nothing, the money moves to a one-year guarantee at the then-current rate, without a withdrawal charge or MVA in that period. We like this default because you are not automatically locked into another multiyear surrender schedule. Check the new rate: it can be different from the one you had before. A ten-year renewal is not available on National Integrity contracts.
Death Benefit and Spousal Continuation
Before a full annuity option is elected, a surviving beneficiary receives the account value when the death claim is processed. No surrender charge or MVA applies to that death benefit. That is a useful protection if you die while your money is still in the contract.
An eligible spouse may have spousal continuation options depending on the contract and beneficiary arrangements. Spousal continuation and a joint lifetime income option are different choices.
Who Should Consider MultiVantage?
Consider it if you want a predictable fixed-rate period, value the first-year access, and are comfortable holding the annuity through your selected term. Compare the full-term guaranteed result first. The strongest argument for MultiVantage is its combination of a highly rated insurer, free access immediately, and no automatic new multiyear surrender period.
We would look elsewhere if you expect to withdraw more than 10% soon, want an upfront account-value bonus, or need lifetime income as your primary goal. The first-year rate enhancement does not make this a lifetime income product, and the MVA can make a large early withdrawal painful.
What We Recommend
MultiVantage has good features, but we would not buy it for the first-year rate alone. Compare the guaranteed money at the end of the same term, the withdrawal allowance, and the impact of an early exit. If another insurer with an A− or better rating offers a stronger full-term result and comparable flexibility, we would choose the better contract.
Contact The Annuity Expert for free annuity quotes and a personalized comparison of MultiVantage and other fixed annuities.
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