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Fixed Indexed Annuity

American Equity IncomeShield 7

American Equity Investment Life Insurance Company

2.75%

Best Cap

10%

Free W/D

50

Jurisdictions

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.

GLWB lifetime withdrawal rate

7.9% lifetime payout

A seven-year-surrender fixed indexed annuity from an A-rated carrier in American Equity's income-focused IncomeShield family, built around an optional Lifetime Income Benefit Rider (with newer 'Wellbeing Benefit' variants and multiple priced options) whose lifetime withdrawal rate steps up by deferral length, backed by a crediting menu that pairs an S&P 500 annual cap with a higher-participation S&P 500 alternative and two proprietary volatility-controlled indexes.

1.1% annual rider feeAdvisorWorld + CANNEX data

Best fit

Retirement-income buyers who want a published GLWB lifetime withdrawal rate they can compare side-by-side with other rider-led income offers, prefer the shorter seven-year surrender commitment over the ten-year filings that dominate the rider-led FIA shelf, and can match rider fee to desired payout across multiple priced rider variants from an A-rated carrier.

AM Best

A Excellent

Surrender period

7 years

Free withdrawal

10%/yr

Availability

50 jurisdictions (excl. New York)

Featured crediting strategies

Index / strategyRate mechanics

S&P 500

S&P 500 Index

2.75% cap rate

S&P 500

S&P 500 Index

1,000% participation rate

Fixed Account

Fixed Account

1.7% declared rate

+ 3 volatility-controlled index options (S&P 500, BlackRock...)

Lifetime Income Riders

Income rider

Income Benefit Rider Option 2

Lifetime payout rate7.9% lifetime payout
Annual rider fee1.1% annual rider fee

Income rider

Income Benefit Rider with Wellbeing Benefit Option 4

Lifetime payout rate7.85% lifetime payout
Annual rider fee1.2% annual rider fee

Income rider

Income Benefit Rider with Wellbeing Benefit Option 5

Lifetime payout rate6.25% lifetime payout
Annual rider fee1.2% annual rider fee

Income rider

Income Benefit Rider Option 1

Lifetime payout rate5.8% lifetime payout

Income rider

Income Benefit Rider Option 3

Lifetime payout rate5.75% lifetime payout
Annual rider fee1.1% annual rider fee

Product analyst notes

How to think about this contract

Why it can stand out

  • Lifetime income is delivered through an optional, named GLWB rider — the Lifetime Income Benefit Rider, with a 'Wellbeing Benefit' health-event uplift available on the newer Option 4 and Option 5 variants — and the rider publishes a discrete lifetime withdrawal rate per deferral tier, so a buyer evaluating income can read rider rates directly off this page rather than waiting on a carrier illustration.
  • Surrender period runs seven years rather than the ten-year ladder that dominates the rider-led FIA shelf, so the income guarantee is wrapped in a meaningfully shorter lockup than most competing GLWB-rider products — a relevant lever for buyers who do not want a full decade of penalty exposure to access the rider.
  • The rider menu spans multiple priced options (Lifetime Income Benefit Rider Options 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, with Wellbeing variants on Options 4 and 5), so a buyer can match rider fee to desired payout rather than taking a single-priced rider on a take-it-or-leave-it basis, and joint-life payout is available on most variants for married buyers.
  • Crediting menu pairs a recognizable S&P 500 annual point-to-point cap with both a higher-participation S&P 500 alternative and two proprietary volatility-controlled indexes (S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Daily Risk Control 5% and BlackRock Adaptive US Equity 5%) plus a declared-rate fixed account — so the account value backing the income mechanic gets both like-for-like S&P 500 comparability and lower-vol participation alternatives inside one contract.

What to confirm

  • The income story is a rider, not a base-contract guarantee. The Lifetime Income Benefit Rider variants carry an annual rider fee deducted from the account value for as long as the rider is attached — the fee on the higher-paying Wellbeing Benefit options runs above the fee on the older Option 1 / Option 2 / Option 3 variants, and the higher payout is not free upside. Read the rider fee column alongside the withdrawal-rate column on every rider row, and compare the rider-fee-adjusted payout across variants before electing one.
  • The headline withdrawal rate is the longest-deferral tier, not the day-one rate. The top published payout requires deferring rider income for roughly a decade after issue — a buyer who plans to turn on income immediately will receive a materially lower percentage of the income base, and the rider is not RMD-friendly in the live feed, which complicates qualified-money planning where required minimum distributions are mandatory.
  • Several of the index options are proprietary, volatility-controlled designs (S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Daily Risk Control 5% and BlackRock Adaptive US Equity 5%). Their participation rates can look high in absolute terms but are not directly comparable to an S&P 500 annual cap — evaluate each strategy on its own merits and historical behavior rather than reading the participation number against a cap.
  • Standard death benefit on this contract is the account value with no roll-up or step-up beyond the rider's own income-base mechanics — heirs receive what a buyer would receive on a non-penalty surrender (less any unrecovered surrender charge inside the seven-year ladder), not an enhanced amount, so the legacy story is whatever account value remains net of charges.

Not ideal for

Buyers who need a built-in Protected Income Value income mechanism without a separate rider fee, plan to turn on income immediately at the headline rate (the headline is the longest-deferral tier), need an RMD-friendly rider for qualified money, want a plain MYGA-style declared rate, require an enhanced or rolled-up death benefit, or want a no-rider accumulation-only chassis (look at the AssetShield family instead) — none of those are what this contract is built to deliver.

All crediting strategies

View rate listings (12 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: 1000% · 1-yr

S&P 500 Index

participation

7-yr surrender

Par: 80% · 1-yr

BlackRock Adaptive US Equity 5% Index

participation

7-yr surrender

Par: 65% · 1-yr

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

participation

7-yr surrender

Cap: 4.5% · 1-yr

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

cap

7-yr surrender

Cap: 2.75% · 1-yr

S&P 500 Index

cap

7-yr surrender

Fixed: 1.7% · 1-yr

Fixed Account

fixed

7-yr surrender

Par: 1000% · 1-yr

S&P 500 Index

Par: 80% · 1-yr

BlackRock Adaptive US Equity 5% Index

Par: 65% · 1-yr

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

Cap: 4.5% · 1-yr

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

Cap: 2.75% · 1-yr

S&P 500 Index

Fixed: 1.7% · 1-yr

Fixed Account

Income riders

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider Option 2

Lifetime withdrawal rate7.9%
Annual rider fee1.1%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed10 years
Issue age40 — 80
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider Option 2

Lifetime withdrawal rate7.9%
Annual rider fee1.1%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed10 years
Issue age50 — 120
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider with Wellbeing Benefit Option 4

Lifetime withdrawal rate7.85%
Annual rider fee1.2%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed10 years
Issue age40 — 80
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider with Wellbeing Benefit Option 4

Lifetime withdrawal rate7.85%
Annual rider fee1.2%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed10 years
Issue age50 — 120
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider Option 2

Lifetime withdrawal rate7.4%
Annual rider fee1.1%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed10 years
Issue age40 — 80
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider Option 2

Lifetime withdrawal rate7.4%
Annual rider fee1.1%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed10 years
Issue age50 — 120
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider with Wellbeing Benefit Option 4

Lifetime withdrawal rate7.35%
Annual rider fee1.2%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed10 years
Issue age40 — 80
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider with Wellbeing Benefit Option 4

Lifetime withdrawal rate7.35%
Annual rider fee1.2%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed10 years
Issue age50 — 120
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider Option 2

Lifetime withdrawal rate6.9%
Annual rider fee1.1%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed0 years
Issue age40 — 80
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider Option 2

Lifetime withdrawal rate6.9%
Annual rider fee1.1%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed0 years
Issue age50 — 120
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider with Wellbeing Benefit Option 4

Lifetime withdrawal rate6.85%
Annual rider fee1.2%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed0 years
Issue age40 — 80
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider with Wellbeing Benefit Option 4

Lifetime withdrawal rate6.85%
Annual rider fee1.2%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed0 years
Issue age50 — 120
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider Option 2

Lifetime withdrawal rate6.4%
Annual rider fee1.1%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed0 years
Issue age40 — 80
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider Option 2

Lifetime withdrawal rate6.4%
Annual rider fee1.1%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed0 years
Issue age50 — 120
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider with Wellbeing Benefit Option 4

Lifetime withdrawal rate6.35%
Annual rider fee1.2%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed0 years
Issue age40 — 80
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider with Wellbeing Benefit Option 4

Lifetime withdrawal rate6.35%
Annual rider fee1.2%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed0 years
Issue age50 — 120
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider with Wellbeing Benefit Option 5

Lifetime withdrawal rate6.25%
Annual rider fee1.2%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed10 years
Issue age40 — 80
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider with Wellbeing Benefit Option 5

Lifetime withdrawal rate6.25%
Annual rider fee1.2%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed10 years
Issue age50 — 120
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider Option 1

Lifetime withdrawal rate5.8%
Annual rider feeNot shown
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed10 years
Issue age40 — 80
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider Option 1

Lifetime withdrawal rate5.8%
Annual rider feeNot shown
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed10 years
Issue age50 — 120
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider Option 3

Lifetime withdrawal rate5.75%
Annual rider fee1.1%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed10 years
Issue age50 — 120

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider with Wellbeing Benefit Option 5

Lifetime withdrawal rate5.75%
Annual rider fee1.2%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed10 years
Issue age40 — 80
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider with Wellbeing Benefit Option 5

Lifetime withdrawal rate5.75%
Annual rider fee1.2%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed10 years
Issue age50 — 120
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider Option 1

Lifetime withdrawal rate5.3%
Annual rider feeNot shown
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed10 years
Issue age40 — 80
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider Option 1

Lifetime withdrawal rate5.3%
Annual rider feeNot shown
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed10 years
Issue age50 — 120
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider Option 3

Lifetime withdrawal rate5.25%
Annual rider fee1.1%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed10 years
Issue age50 — 120

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider Option 1

Lifetime withdrawal rate4.8%
Annual rider feeNot shown
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed0 years
Issue age40 — 80
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider Option 1

Lifetime withdrawal rate4.8%
Annual rider feeNot shown
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed0 years
Issue age50 — 120
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider Option 3

Lifetime withdrawal rate4.75%
Annual rider fee1.1%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed0 years
Issue age50 — 120

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider with Wellbeing Benefit Option 5

Lifetime withdrawal rate4.4%
Annual rider fee1.2%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed0 years
Issue age40 — 80
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider with Wellbeing Benefit Option 5

Lifetime withdrawal rate4.4%
Annual rider fee1.2%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed0 years
Issue age50 — 120
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider Option 1

Lifetime withdrawal rate4.3%
Annual rider feeNot shown
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed0 years
Issue age40 — 80
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider Option 1

Lifetime withdrawal rate4.3%
Annual rider feeNot shown
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed0 years
Issue age50 — 120
Joint availabilityJoint life

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider Option 3

Lifetime withdrawal rate4.25%
Annual rider fee1.1%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed0 years
Issue age50 — 120

GLWB

Income rider

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider with Wellbeing Benefit Option 5

Lifetime withdrawal rate3.9%
Annual rider fee1.2%
Withdrawal-base growthNot shown
Deferral assumed0 years
Issue age40 — 80
Joint availabilityJoint life

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: 1.00%

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

9.2%

Yr 2

9%

Yr 3

8%

Yr 4

7%

Yr 5

6%

Yr 6

4%

Yr 7

2%

After

0%

Nursing home waiver, Terminal illness waiver, Surrender waivers

Documents

product guide

American Equity IncomeShield 7 Sales Brochure.pdf

Confidence: highReviewed Apr 2, 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 IncomeShield 7 currently shows 6 distinct indexed or fixed crediting choices across 12 current rate listings, including S&P 500 Index and S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Daily Risk Control 5% Index (USD) Excess Return, with 1 volatility-controlled index option 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: 2.75% cap
  • S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Daily Risk Control 5% Index (USD) Excess Return: 4.5% cap
  • S&P 500 Index: 1,000% participation

Income rider language

What to look for before treating the rider as income

Lifetime Income Benefit Rider Option 2 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.

  • 7.9% withdrawal rate
  • 1.1% rider fee
  • 10 deferral years
  • Joint life availability

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
  • 7 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 IncomeShield 7 Sales Brochure.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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