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Fixed Indexed Annuity

American Equity EstateShield 9

American Equity Investment Life Insurance Company

4.25%

Best Cap

10%

Free W/D

California

Only state

Product data status: May 29, 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.

Live product data

Rates as of May 28, 2026, based on the latest AdvisorWorld scan of CANNEX data.

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

4% 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

S&P 500

S&P 500 Index

1.7% cap rate

S&P 500

S&P 500 Index

8.75% cap rate

Fixed Account

Fixed Account

2% declared rate

+ 4 volatility-controlled index options (S&P 500, BlackRock...)

Lifetime Income Riders

Income rider

LIBR with Wellbeing Benefit and Enhanced Death Benefit

Lifetime payout rate4% lifetime payout

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.

All crediting strategies

View rate listings (16 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

Par: 110% · 1-yr

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

Par: 110% · 1-yr

BlackRock Adaptive US Equity 5% Index

Cap: 4.25% · 1-yr

S&P 500 Index

Fixed: 2% · 1-yr

Fixed Account

Cap: 1.7% · 1-yr

S&P 500 Index

Monthly Point to Point

Par: 160% · 2-yr

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

Par: 160% · 2-yr

BlackRock Adaptive US Equity 5% Index

Cap: 8.75% · 2-yr

S&P 500 Index

Income riders

Income rider

LIBR with Wellbeing Benefit and Enhanced Death Benefit

Lifetime withdrawal rate4%
Annual rider feeNot shown
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed0 years
Issue age50 — 120

GLWB

Income rider

LIBR with Wellbeing Benefit and Enhanced Death Benefit

Lifetime withdrawal rate3.5%
Annual rider feeNot shown
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed0 years
Issue age50 — 120

GLWB

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.

Strategy guarantee

Minimum guaranteed cap: 0.50%

Strategy guarantee

Guaranteed minimum interest rate (fixed): 0.50%

Strategy guarantee

Minimum guaranteed participation: 10.00%

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 distinct indexed or fixed crediting choices across 16 current rate listings, including S&P 500 Index and S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Daily Risk Control 5% Index (USD) Excess Return, with 2 volatility-controlled index options grouped separately. These choices matter because caps, participation rates, fixed accounts, spreads, and renewal terms are different mechanics and should not be ranked as one simple rate list.

  • S&P 500 Index: 4.25% cap
  • S&P 500 Index: 1.7% cap
  • S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Daily Risk Control 5% Index (USD) Excess Return: 110% participation

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% 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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