Ummm, what is a “fee credit?!”
June 17, 2026 by Sheryl J. Moore
Annuity.org: Account Value is the gross cash value of an annuity contract, which would be payable to heirs with most deferred annuities.
On the other hand, the Cash Surrender Value is the amount the annuitant would receive in the event of a cash surrender of the contract.
It also bears noting that the Benefit Base Value of a contract with a Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefit (GLWB) is also payable upon death, when it comes to many indexed annuities.
A big, glaring false assumption- on the VAST majority of indexed annuities, the rider fee ABSOLUTELY applies in the event of a “down year,” despite indexed annuities’ 0% floor.
Embedded riders may also reduce participation rates and raise spread rates; they may use forced asset allocations as well.
Has anyone heard of a GLWB with a fee that is deducted from the Benefit Base Value? Not I (said the woman who has reviewed the specimen contracts for every indexed annuity offered in the past 25 years). That doesn’t even make sense- you cannot deduct a fee from a “phantom” value?!?
“Some intermediaries offer fee credits or commission rebates that lower your first-year cost?”
Ummm…rebating is illegal in nearly every state in the nation. And WTH is a “fee credit?!?”
This is a lead generation website, posing as an annuity non-profit. So, no surprise that they are publicizing inaccurate information.
I just wish I owned the domain, so that we could rely on factual information that isn’t misleading to readers.
Re: https://www.annuity.org/annuities/types/indexed/income-rider/fees/
-sjm
