How do I know if I have the right annuity?

Answer eight simple questions about your contract: what type it is, what fees you pay, your surrender charge, your lifetime income amount, your death benefit, the last time it was reviewed, whether you use your riders, and whether your carrier is still A+ rated. If you can answer seven or eight with confidence, you are likely in good shape. If you struggle on four or more, a formal audit is worth the two weeks.

What is a good score on this 8-point check?

Seven to eight confident yes answers means your contract is likely serving you well. Four to six means it is worth a closer look. Zero to three means you should schedule a formal audit as soon as possible.

Should I switch annuities if I do not pass this self check?

Not automatically. A low score means you should investigate further, not that you should switch. Sometimes the numbers show your contract is still the best available. Other times a 1035 exchange to a stronger contract makes sense. Only a side-by-side comparison across the top A+ rated carriers gives you a real answer.

Does it cost anything to review my annuity?

No. The Annuity Audit is free and independent. We pull your contract details, compare them against the top A+ rated carriers, and deliver a written recommendation. If your annuity wins, we tell you to keep it.

What if my carrier is no longer A+ rated?

A drop in carrier rating is one of the strongest signals to review your contract. Your guarantees are only as strong as the company backing them. If your carrier has been downgraded, a 1035 exchange to a higher-rated carrier may protect your money without a tax event.

Do I Have the Best Annuity for Me? A Simple 8-Point Self-Check

Q: How often should I review my annuity?

Every three to five years at minimum. Rates, riders, and carrier ratings all change. A contract that was competitive when you bought it may have fallen behind, and an independent side-by-side comparison is the only way to know.

Most annuity owners have no idea whether they own a good contract or a bad one. That is not a failure of intelligence. It is the way the industry is built. Annuities are sold with big brochures and complex language, then filed in a drawer and forgotten. Years go by. Rates change. Riders change. Carriers change. And the owner has no easy way to check if the contract is still doing its job.

The good news is that you can get a very useful first read on your own. You do not need an actuarial background. You just need a few pieces of information from your statement and about five minutes.

Below are the eight questions we use as a starting point on every real annuity review. If you can answer most of them with confidence, your contract is likely in good shape. If you struggle on more than a few, it is time to take a closer look.

Before you start

Grab your most recent annual statement and, if you can find it, your original contract or prospectus. You will not need much, but having them nearby will let you answer with facts instead of guesses. If you cannot find either, that is question one answered for you.

The 8-point self-check

1. Do you know what type of annuity you own?

There are four main types: MYGA, SPIA, fixed index, and variable. Each one works differently. Each one has different fees, different growth potential, and different rules. If you cannot say with confidence which type you own, you are not in a position to judge whether it is working for you.

Concerning answer: You are not sure, or you think you own one type and your statement shows another. This is one of the most common issues we see.

2. Do you know all the fees you're paying?

Every annuity has costs, but they show up in different places. A variable annuity can carry M and E charges, rider fees, sub-account fees, and admin fees that add up to 3% or more per year. A fixed index annuity usually has one rider fee. A MYGA often has no explicit fees at all.

Concerning answer: You have no idea what your total annual cost is, or the number your carrier quotes you does not match what your statement shows.

3. Do you know your current surrender charge, if any?

Most annuities have a surrender period, usually 5 to 10 years, during which you pay a charge to take out more than the free withdrawal amount. The charge starts high and steps down each year. Knowing where you are on that schedule tells you how much flexibility you actually have.

Concerning answer: You are inside your surrender period and did not know it, or you assumed the surrender charge was zero when it is not.

4. Do you know your guaranteed lifetime income amount?

If your annuity has an income rider or is set up to provide lifetime income, there is a specific dollar amount you can turn on at a given age. Your statement usually shows the income base. Your contract shows the payout percentage. Multiply the two and you have your guaranteed annual income for life.

Concerning answer: You bought the annuity for income and cannot state the monthly amount you would receive if you turned it on today.

5. Do you know your death benefit and beneficiary?

Every annuity has a death benefit. Sometimes it is simply the account value. Sometimes it is enhanced by a rider that pays your beneficiary more than the account is worth. And every annuity has a named beneficiary on file with the carrier. Both matter, and both change over time.

Concerning answer: You cannot name the current beneficiary on your contract, or you have had a life change (marriage, divorce, a death in the family, a new grandchild) since you last updated it.

6. Has your contract been in force 5+ years without review?

Five years is a long time in the annuity market. New products launch. Rider payouts get better or worse. Fee structures shift. Carriers merge, get downgraded, or leave the market entirely. A contract that was competitive when you bought it may have quietly fallen behind.

Concerning answer: No one has looked at your contract since you bought it, or your last review was with the same person who sold it to you and did not include a comparison to other carriers.

Not sure how to answer even one of these?

A free annuity audit answers all eight for you in writing. We pull your carrier data, itemize your fees, calculate your income, and compare your contract to the top A+ rated carriers. No cost, no pressure.

Start My Free Audit

7. Are you paying for riders you don't understand or won't use?

Riders are optional add-ons that come with their own fees. Common ones include income riders, enhanced death benefits, and long-term care riders. Each rider might cost 0.15% to 1.65% per year. If you are paying for a feature you do not plan to use, that fee is money leaving your account for nothing.

Concerning answer: You are paying rider fees for benefits you cannot describe, or for a benefit that no longer fits your plan (like an income rider you never plan to turn on).

8. Is your carrier still A+ rated?

Your guarantees are only as strong as the company backing them. Carriers get rated by firms like A.M. Best, Standard and Poor's, and Moody's. An A+ or A++ rating means the carrier is in strong financial shape. A downgrade to A- or below is a signal worth taking seriously.

Concerning answer: Your carrier has been downgraded since you bought the contract, or you cannot find a current rating at all.

Score your answers

Give yourself one point for every question you answered with a confident "yes, I know that." Add up your total.

Your Score	What It Means	What to Do
7 to 8	You are in good shape. You know your contract and it likely fits your plan.	Set a calendar reminder to review it again in 2 to 3 years.
4 to 6	Worth a look. You have gaps that could hide better options or unnecessary costs.	Schedule a free audit to fill in the missing pieces.
0 to 3	Definitely audit. You are flying blind on a contract that may or may not serve you.	Schedule a free audit this week. Two weeks of paperwork can save years of underperformance.

A low score is not a problem, it is information

Scoring low on this check does not mean your annuity is bad. It just means you do not have enough information to know. That is exactly what an audit fixes. Sometimes the answer is "keep what you have." Sometimes it is "here is a better contract, and here is exactly why." Either way, you get to stop guessing.

What to do based on your score

If you scored 7 or 8

Congratulations. You are already ahead of most annuity owners. Keep your annual statement and contract in one place. Note the surrender expiration date on your calendar. And plan to run this same check every two to three years, or any time your carrier sends you a notice about product changes, mergers, or rating updates.

If you scored 4 to 6

You are in the middle zone. Your annuity might be fine, and it might be underperforming quietly. The gaps in your knowledge are exactly where problems hide. A free audit will pull your carrier data, itemize your fees, calculate your income options, and compare all of it to today's market. If your contract wins the comparison, we tell you to stay put. If it does not, you decide what to do with the information.

If you scored 0 to 3

You should not wait. Every year you spend not knowing is a year the fees keep coming out, the surrender clock keeps ticking, and any better options in today's market stay hidden. A two-week audit gives you a full written picture. If everything checks out, you have peace of mind. If it does not, you have a decision to make with real numbers in front of you.

The bottom line

You do not have to be an expert to get a useful read on your own annuity. Eight questions, five minutes, and a stack of your own statements is enough to tell you whether you are in good shape or whether it is time for a closer look.

What you cannot do on your own is compare your contract to the top A+ rated options in the market today. That takes access to carrier illustrations, current rate cards, and side-by-side income calculations across the industry. That is where a professional audit picks up where this self-check leaves off.

The best outcome of an audit is often "keep what you have." The next best is knowing exactly what to change and why. Either way, you get to stop wondering.

Turn your self-check into a real answer

Whatever you scored, our free audit gives you the full picture. We pull your data, run the comparisons, and deliver a written recommendation. If your annuity is the best option, we say so. If a better one exists, we show you exactly what and why.