Fixed Indexed Annuity

Athene Performance Elite 15

Name: Athene Performance Elite 15
Brand: Athene Annuity and Life Company

Athene Annuity and Life Company

Best S&P 500 Annual Cap

Free W/D

Available jurisdictions

Product data status: July 17, 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 Athene Performance Elite 15 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 17, 2026; not a projection or guarantee.

Premium$100,000

Your age60

Crediting strategy

Compare against

$243,782

Est. value at age 80 (Athene Performance Elite 15)

Best S&P 500 1-yr point-to-point cap

S&P 500 Index — 9.5% Cap (Strategy Fee Included · Annual · 1.25% fee)

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How crediting works: the cap limits positive index returns; a down index year credits 0% before the annual strategy fee; fees can reduce account value. A cap strategy tracks the index within its terms. What is a cap vs participation? →

Assumptions: illustrative — applies Athene Performance Elite 15's published cap rate (9.5% 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. Net growth deducts the 1.25% annual strategy fee listed for this strategy. Not a projection, quote, or guarantee. Live CANNEX rates as of July 17, 2026.

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See how Athene Performance Elite 15 compares for your age, state, premium, and income goals alongside other Athene Annuity and Life Company fixed indexed annuity options.

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Live rate data

Run live numbers for Athene Performance Elite 15

Current rates, riders, crediting strategies, state availability, and contract facts stay scoped to this Athene Annuity and Life Company product.

Live product data

Rates as of July 17, 2026, from AdvisorWorld and CANNEX.

S&P 500 annual cap rate

7% cap on S&P 500

A fifteen-year, accumulation-only fixed indexed annuity from a four-agency-rated carrier, pairing a recognizable S&P 500 cap option with a broad lineup of proprietary participation-rate strategies in both 1-year and 2-year cadences, and a large premium bonus that vests on a back-end schedule beginning in year twelve.

1-year term15-year surrenderDoes not vary by premiumAdvisorWorld + CANNEX data

Best fit

Accumulation-focused buyers who can commit to a fifteen-year deferral, want a recognizable S&P 500 cap option alongside a broad menu of proprietary participation-rate strategies from a large multi-agency-rated carrier, and intend to hold the contract through the back-end bonus vesting schedule rather than surrender early.

AM Best

A+ Superior

Surrender period

15 years

Free withdrawal

5%/yr

Availability

34 jurisdictions (restricted footprint)

Featured crediting strategies

Caps, participation rates, and declared rates are shown separately.

Index / strategyRate mechanicsCreditingSurrenderPremium

S&P 500

S&P 500 Index

7% cap rate

Annual cap

1-year term · 15-year surrender · Does not vary by premium

1-year term

15-year surrender

Does not vary by premium

S&P 500

S&P 500 Index

Strategy Fee Included

9.5% cap rate

Annual cap

Strategy fee: 1.25%/yr

1-year term · 15-year surrender · Does not vary by premium

1-year term

15-year surrender

Does not vary by premium

Fixed Account

3.7% declared rate

Fixed account

1-year term · 15-year surrender · Does not vary by premium

1-year term

15-year surrender

Does not vary by premium

+ 24 additional crediting options (BNP Paribas, Nasdaq FC, AI Powered...)

Product analyst notes

How to think about this contract

Why it can stand out

Carrier financial strength is published by four agencies — A.M. Best A+, Fitch A+, Moody's A1, and Standard & Poor's A+ all appear on this page, so the strength view is multi-sourced rather than single-agency.
Crediting menu pairs a recognizable S&P 500 annual point-to-point cap with a broad lineup of proprietary participation-rate indexes — BNP Paribas Multi Asset Diversified 5, Nasdaq FC, AI Powered US Equity, AI Powered Global Opportunities, UBS Innovative Balanced, and S&P 500 FC Decrement — so a buyer can hold a like-for-like S&P comparison alongside several volatility-controlled strategies in the same contract.
Most index strategies are offered in both a 1-year and a 2-year crediting cadence, and most are also offered in a no-fee version and a higher-rate 'Strategy Fee Included' version, so a buyer can choose the crediting cadence and the fee posture that fits their plan rather than being locked into one mechanic.
Free-withdrawal allowance, the full fifteen-year surrender ladder, the no-MVA flag, the nursing-home waiver, and the terminal-illness waiver are all visible directly on this page rather than gated behind a sales brochure.
Contract publishes guaranteed minimum rates on the page — a minimum cap, a minimum guaranteed fixed-account interest rate, and a minimum participation rate — so a buyer can see the floor the carrier is contractually bound to honor at renewal if current rates are cut, instead of relying only on today's posted rates.

What to confirm

Surrender lockup runs a full fifteen years — the longest surrender term in Athene's current Performance Elite lineup and longer than most accumulation FIAs on this site. The first-year surrender charge is steep and the schedule does not finish stepping down until year fifteen, so this contract assumes the buyer can leave the principal locked beyond the free-withdrawal allowance for the duration of the schedule.
The contract carries a large headline premium bonus, but vesting does not begin until year twelve and finishes in year sixteen — past the end of the surrender schedule. A buyer who surrenders before vesting begins loses the entire bonus, and a buyer who surrenders mid-vesting loses the unvested portion — confirm the recapture math with the carrier and treat the bonus as recoverable only if you hold the contract through the full surrender period plus the vesting tail.
This is NOT a guaranteed-lifetime-withdrawal product. The live feed shows no income riders attached — Performance Elite 15 is built for accumulation, not guaranteed lifetime withdrawals. A buyer who needs a contractually guaranteed lifetime payout should look at a rider-led product instead.
Several index options are proprietary volatility-controlled excess-shows indexes. Their participation rates can look high in absolute terms — particularly on the 2-year strategies — but are not directly comparable to an S&P 500 cap, and several have shorter live-track histories than the S&P 500 itself. Evaluate each on its own merits.
Several strategies are sold as 'Strategy Fee Included' versions with a higher cap or participation rate. The strategy fee is deducted from the account value regardless of index performance, so the higher headline rate is not free — read the fee column on the strategy table before reading the rate.
State availability is narrower for this 15-year contract than for the 7-year and 10-year siblings in the Performance Elite lineup — confirm filing in the state of issue before assuming this contract is offered. The standard death benefit also pays cash surrender value rather than account value or a rolled-up income base, so heirs receive what a buyer would receive on a non-penalty surrender.

Not ideal for

Buyers who need a contractually guaranteed lifetime withdrawal rate from a GLWB rider, want short-surrender liquidity, expect to surrender before the bonus vesting begins, prefer a simple MYGA-style declared rate, or require an account-value-based death benefit — none of those are what this contract is structured to deliver.

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All crediting strategies

View rate listings (27 strategies)

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

Par: 215% · 1-yr

BNP Paribas Multi Asset Diversified 5 Index

Strategy Fee Included · participation