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Fixed Indexed Annuity

American Equity EstateShield 9

American Equity Investment Life Insurance Company

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4.25%

Best S&P 500 Annual Cap

10%

Free W/D

California

Only state

Product data status: July 11, 2026

Rates, state availability, rider terms, and contract language must be confirmed with a licensed financial advisor or insurance professional before purchase. Guarantees are backed by the issuing insurer.

Model this product

See what American Equity EstateShield 9 would do for you

Set your numbers and switch between growth, income, and liquidity. Index losses credit 0% — the floor — so a down market never reduces your value.

Product analyzer
Illustrative — live CANNEX rates as of July 11, 2026; not a projection or guarantee.
Crediting strategy
Compare against
$208,142
Est. value at age 80 (American Equity EstateShield 9)
4.25%
Best S&P 500 1-yr point-to-point cap
S&P 500 Index — 8.75% Cap (2-yr point-to-point)
✦
How crediting works: the cap limits positive index returns; a down year credits 0%, never a loss. A cap strategy tracks the index within its terms. What is a cap vs participation? →
Assumptions: illustrative — applies American Equity EstateShield 9's published cap rate (8.75% on S&P 500 Index) to a standard benchmark hypothetical index path (~5.4%/yr average, including down years) with a 0% floor over 20 years; 2-year credits are applied only at completed term anniversaries. Not a projection, quote, or guarantee. Live CANNEX rates as of July 11, 2026.

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See how American Equity EstateShield 9 compares for your age, state, premium, and income goals alongside other American Equity Investment Life Insurance Company fixed indexed annuity options.

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Live rate data

Run live numbers for American Equity EstateShield 9

Current rates, riders, crediting strategies, state availability, and contract facts stay scoped to this American Equity Investment Life Insurance Company product.

Live product data

Rates as of July 11, 2026, based on the latest AdvisorWorld scan of CANNEX data.

S&P 500 annual point-to-point cap rate

4.5% lifetime payout

A nine-year, California-only fixed indexed annuity from an A-rated carrier whose central feature is an optional GLWB income rider that packages lifetime-income withdrawals with an enhanced death benefit in a single rider election, backed by an S&P 500 annual cap plus participation-rate strategies on two proprietary volatility-controlled indexes.

AdvisorWorld + CANNEX data

Best fit

California buyers who want a rider-led FIA whose income rider also enhances the legacy benefit in one election — useful for buyers planning for both lifetime income AND a stronger payout to beneficiaries — and who can commit to a nine-year surrender period from an A-rated carrier.

AM Best

A Excellent

Surrender period

9 years

Free withdrawal

10%/yr

Availability

California only

Featured crediting strategies

Index / strategyRate mechanics

S&P 500

S&P 500 Index

4.25% cap rate

Annual cap

1-year term · 9-year surrender · Premium band not shown

S&P 500

S&P 500 Index

Monthly Point to Point · monthly sum cap

1.7% cap rate

Monthly cap

1-year term · 9-year surrender · Premium band not shown

S&P 500

S&P 500 Index

8.75% cap rate

Cap strategy

2-year term · 9-year surrender · Premium band not shown

Fixed Account

Fixed Account

2% declared rate

Fixed account

1-year term · 9-year surrender · Premium band not shown

+ 4 additional crediting options (S&P 500, BlackRock...)

Lifetime Income Riders

Income rider

LIBR with Wellbeing Benefit and Enhanced Death Benefit

Lifetime payout rate4.5% lifetime payout
Interest multiplier1.5x interest multiplier

Product analyst notes

How to think about this contract

Why it can stand out

  • Income rider bundles a death-benefit enhancement: the optional 'LIBR with Wellbeing Benefit and Enhanced Death Benefit' is a single GLWB rider that pairs lifetime-income withdrawals with an enhanced legacy benefit payable to beneficiaries — a packaging choice that is unusual on FIAs, where income riders and death-benefit riders are typically elected separately.
  • Crediting menu offers like-for-like S&P 500 cap comparability alongside higher-participation alternatives — a one-year S&P 500 annual point-to-point cap, plus participation-rate strategies on the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Risk Control 5% index and BlackRock Adaptive US Equity 5% index, with one-year and two-year terms available on each participation strategy.
  • Free-withdrawal allowance, the full nine-year surrender ladder, and the nursing-home / terminal-illness waivers are visible on this page rather than buried in the carrier brochure, so the schedule of penalty-free liquidity is transparent at the comparison-shopping stage.
  • Sales-brochure document for this exact contract is published as a structured document and appears in the documents section below.

What to confirm

  • This is the California-only filing of American Equity's EstateShield chassis (one-state availability). Buyers outside California must purchase the EstateShield 10 sibling, which is the corresponding 47-state filing on a ten-year surrender ladder — confirm jurisdiction before requesting an illustration.
  • The death-benefit enhancement is delivered THROUGH the optional income rider, not the base contract — without electing 'LIBR with Wellbeing Benefit and Enhanced Death Benefit', the legacy benefit is the standard death benefit (account value subject to contract terms, withdrawals, and rider elections). Rider election carries a rider fee deducted from the account value, so the enhanced death-benefit story is not free.
  • Two of the index strategies are proprietary volatility-controlled excess-return indexes (S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Daily Risk Control 5%, BlackRock Adaptive US Equity 5%). Their participation rates look high in absolute terms but are not directly comparable to an S&P 500 cap — evaluate each on its own historical and forward characteristics rather than the participation number alone.
  • A 2-year S&P 500 cap and a monthly point-to-point S&P 500 cap appear in the strategy menu. Neither is the right number to compare against another FIA's headline cap — the 2-year cap covers a different look-back window, and the monthly-sum cap is structurally weaker than its label suggests once monthly negatives are netted in.

Not ideal for

Buyers outside California (the EstateShield 10 sibling is the corresponding 47-state filing), buyers who want a pure no-rider PIV-style built-in income chassis, buyers who need short-surrender liquidity, or buyers who want an enhanced death benefit without paying a rider fee on the income side — none of those are what this contract is built to deliver.

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All crediting strategies

View rate listings (8 rows)

These are the current crediting strategy listings returned for this product. Use the filters to narrow by index, term, premium band, or rate type.

Par: 110% · 1-yr

S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Daily Risk Control 5% Index (USD) Excess Return

participation

9-yr surrender

Par: 110% · 1-yr

BlackRock Adaptive US Equity 5% Index

participation

9-yr surrender

Cap: 4.25% · 1-yr

S&P 500 Index

cap

9-yr surrender

Fixed: 2% · 1-yr

Fixed Account

fixed

9-yr surrender

Cap: 1.7% · 1-yr

S&P 500 Index

Monthly Point to Point · monthly_sum_cap

9-yr surrender

Par: 160% · 2-yr

S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Daily Risk Control 5% Index (USD) Excess Return

participation

9-yr surrender

Par: 160% · 2-yr

BlackRock Adaptive US Equity 5% Index

participation

9-yr surrender

Cap: 8.75% · 2-yr

S&P 500 Index

cap

9-yr surrender

Income riders

Income rider

LIBR with Wellbeing Benefit and Enhanced Death Benefit

Lifetime withdrawal rate4.5%
Annual rider feeNot shown
Income multiplier1.5× multiplier

GLWB

Common questions about American Equity EstateShield 9

● Can I lose money in American Equity EstateShield 9?

A negative index return by itself does not reduce the contract's account value: American Equity EstateShield 9 credits 0% — the floor — for that indexed period. The account value can still decrease from applicable rider fees, Performance Rate Rider or other strategy charges, administrative charges, withdrawals, surrender charges, or other contract-specific deductions. In years with no credited interest, those deductions can reduce the account value. Up to 10% of your value can be withdrawn each year without a charge; withdrawals above the penalty-free amount during the surrender period can incur a surrender charge.

● Is the LIBR with Wellbeing Benefit and Enhanced Death Benefit income rider worth it?

It depends on whether you will use the guaranteed income. If you are accumulating only, you can skip it. If you want guaranteed lifetime income later, the 4.5% withdrawal rate can make it worthwhile — model it in the Income tab of the analyzer above.

● When can I access my money without a surrender charge?

Up to 10% of your account value each year is penalty-free. The surrender period runs 9 years; after that you reach full liquidity. The Liquidity tab of the analyzer shows the year-by-year surrender charge.

● How do American Equity EstateShield 9's crediting strategies compare?

Use "Compare against" in the analyzer to overlay another current American Equity EstateShield 9 strategy on the same premium, age, years, and hypothetical index path. The control labels the strategy type, rate, index, and context so caps, participation rates, triggers, spreads, and fixed-account choices are not treated as interchangeable.

Key Features

Free withdrawal

10%/yr

Annual amount that may be available without surrender charges, subject to contract terms.

Surrender waivers

2

Nursing home waiver, Terminal illness waiver

Death benefit

Standard Death Benefit

Beneficiary value depends on contract terms, withdrawals, and rider elections.

Cap-rate floor

0.50%

Minimum guaranteed cap for cap-based indexed strategies.

Fixed account guarantee

0.50%

Guaranteed minimum interest rate for the fixed account.

Participation-rate floor

10.00%

Minimum guaranteed participation rate for participation-rate indexed strategies.

Annuitization options

Single and joint

Contract conversion options should be confirmed before purchase.

Fund types

Non-qualified, Qualified

Availability can vary by state and product terms.

Surrender schedule

Yr 1

8%

Yr 2

8%

Yr 3

7%

Yr 4

6%

Yr 5

5%

Yr 6

4%

Yr 7

3%

Yr 8

2%

Yr 9

1%

After

0%

Nursing home waiver, Terminal illness waiver, Surrender waivers

Documents

product guide

American Equity EstateShield 9 Sales Brochure_compressed.pdf

Confidence: highReviewed Apr 5, 2026

Direct link not published — request the document from the carrier.

Carrier Ratings

AM BestA
S&PA
S&PA

Contract notes from product data

Crediting design

How the interest-crediting choices are framed

American Equity EstateShield 9 currently shows 8 indexed or fixed crediting options, including S&P 500 Index and Fixed Account, with 4 volatility-controlled index options grouped separately. These choices matter because caps, participation rates, fixed accounts, spreads, renewal terms, and fee-bearing rider variants are different mechanics and should not be ranked as one simple rate list.

  • S&P 500 Index: 4.25% annual cap
  • S&P 500 Index: 1.7% monthly point-to-point cap
  • S&P 500 Index: 8.75% 2-year cap
  • Fixed Account: 2% fixed account rate

Income rider language

What to look for before treating the rider as income

LIBR with Wellbeing Benefit and Enhanced Death Benefit is the main income-rider entry returned for this product. Rider terms can affect the tradeoff between future lifetime withdrawals, contract value, beneficiary value, and cost, so the exact state version and rider election should be confirmed before comparing it to annuitization or income-only contracts.

  • 4.5% withdrawal rate

Liquidity terms

Why access rules deserve as much attention as rates

A fixed indexed annuity can preserve more control than an income-only contract, but access is still governed by the surrender schedule, free-withdrawal terms, and waiver language. Those details are where many product comparisons become more meaningful than a simple rate list.

  • 10%/yr free withdrawal
  • 9 surrender years
  • Nursing home waiver
  • Terminal illness waiver

Verification note

Use carrier materials as term evidence, then confirm the current version

Carrier materials such as American Equity EstateShield 9 Sales Brochure_compressed.pdf help explain the contract language behind the data on this page; the latest document activity we see is Apr 8, 2026. For the current brochure, rate sheet, or specimen contract, confirm the state-specific version with the carrier or a licensed financial professional.

  • Rates and rider terms can vary by state and issue age
  • Carrier guarantees depend on claims-paying ability
  • Current contract forms should be confirmed before purchase

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See how American Equity EstateShield 9 compares for your age, state, premium, and income goals alongside other American Equity Investment Life Insurance Company fixed indexed annuity options.

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