Delaware Life At a Glance: Rates, Products and Reviews

Today’s Best Delaware Life Annuity Rates

Term	Product	AM Best Rating	Rate
5 Years	Apex MYGA	A-	5.05 %
5 Years	Pinnacle Plus MYGA	A-	5.00 %
7 Years	Apex MYGA	A-	4.95 %

Compare Delaware Life Annuity Rates

Additional Products Offered by Delaware Life

Delaware life offers four annuity products — two fixed annuities, a fixed index annuity and a variable annuity:

• Apex MYGA® — a fixed multi-year guaranteed annuity
• Pinnacle Plus^SM MYGA fixed annuity
• Growth Pathway® fixed index annuity
• Accelerator Prime® variable annuity

Delaware Life offers detailed descriptions of its products in brochures and annuity rate sheets on its website for people looking to buy an annuity. It does not offer immediate annuities.

Delaware Life Apex MYGA Fixed Annuity

Delaware Life’s Apex MYGA® fixed annuity allows people aged 18 to 85 to save for three, five or seven years with a $10,000 minimum initial premium. 

You can withdraw 10% in the first year and then 10% of your savings each year thereafter without extra charges. Plus, you can take out money without extra charges if you’re sick or in a nursing home after a year. 

It also offers options for regular payments or turning your savings into a steady income later in life.

Delaware Life Pinnacle Plus Fixed Annuity

Delaware Life’s Pinnacle Plus^SM annuity is open to people aged 18 to 85 with a minimum initial premium of $25,000. 

You can choose from different term options and take out up to 10% after the first year without extra charges. 

Surrender charges decrease over time and options are available to get money regularly or as steady income when you’re older, providing flexibility.

Growth Pathway Fixed Index Annuity

Delaware Life’s Growth Pathway® fixed index annuity is a tax-deferred savings plan that offers protection from market volatility. 

You can choose from four index options and one fixed account option to make it unique.

It requires a $10,000 minimum initial premium. Withdrawals are flexible but may incur a federal tax penalty if taken before you turn 59 1/2.

Delaware Life Accelerator Prime Variable Annuity

Delaware Life’s Accelerator Prime® variable annuity offers three income protection options: Income Boost, Income Control and Armor^SM. 

These options cater to different financial goals and come with 90+ investment choices. 

The annual costs are 1.35% for income options and 0.80% for Armor^SM, providing a comprehensive solution for diverse financial needs.

About Delaware Life

Delaware Life is licensed in 49 states plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. The company sold $2,727,865,137 in annual direct annuity premiums in 2022, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Annuities account for roughly 95% of all policies Delaware Life issued.

Delaware Life’s market share of premiums is about 0.96% of the U.S. annuity market. The company had about $23.5 billion in assets and roughly $2.25 billion in capital and surplus in 2022, according to the NAIC.

Delaware Life specializes in retirement services. It is a relatively new company, founded in 2013 as a subsidiary of Group 1001. In 2023, Delaware Life reported having sold more than $20 billion in annuities since its inception.

Credit Ratings

Knowing how credit ratings work for annuity providers is crucial when making a long-term commitment such as buying an annuity. These ratings indicate a provider’s financial strength and stability but be aware that rating scales may vary across rating companies.

Delaware Life Credit Ratings

Rating Company	Credit Rating
AM Best	A-
Fitch	A-
S&P	BBB+

What Customers Are Saying About Delaware Life

The NAIC tracks consumer complaints that each state’s insurance commission receives each year. These are used to compile a company’s NAIC Complaint Index.NAIC Complaint IndexDetermined by dividing the company’s share of complaints in the U.S. market by the company’s share of premiums in the U.S. market. The National Complaint Index is always 1.00, so a score of 2.00, for example, is twice as high as expected in the market.

Delaware Life’s index is above the national baseline for annuities but below the baseline for overall policies sold.

NAIC Complaint Index for Delaware Life

All Policy Types	0.07
Individual Annuities Only	1.57

These numbers indicate that Delaware Life received significantly more complaints than the industry average.

Delaware Life Pros & Cons

You should weigh the pros and cons of annuity providers when shopping for an annuity. Among the pros for Delaware Life is a wide variety of investment options in some of its products and wide availability through most of the U.S.

Pros of Delaware Life Products

Future Income Security

Delaware Life provides various options to help you secure your future income, according to your financial preferences. Whether you want to maximize your profits, maintain a balanced growth or protect against potential losses, they have you covered.

Ability To Choose Your Investments

You can choose from over 90 investment options with certain products to tailor your portfolio to your specific needs and risk tolerance. These investment options are managed by experienced companies, so you can trust that your money is in good hands.

Wide Availability

Delaware Life is licensed to operate in 49 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, though not all products may be available in all states.

Bonus Features

Some annuity options offer bonus features, such as a simple interest bonus of up to 7.25%, which can help enhance the growth potential of your investments.

Flexibility

While there may be charges and penalties for early withdrawals, the annuities offer flexibility with options for periodic withdrawals, providing liquidity when needed.

The downside of Delaware Life annuity products include fees, tax implications and complexity in figuring out which product may be right for you.

Cons of Delaware Life Annuity Products

Fees

These fees are 1.35% for income options and 0.80% for certain protection options.

Age Restrictions

Older individuals may not be able to make ongoing contributions after they reach a certain age.

Tax Implications

There’s a potential penalty for taking out money before a certain age. This can affect the amount of money you get to keep.

NAIC Complaint Index Over the National Baseline

Though Delaware Life received only seven consumer complaints in 2022, this was above the index for companies with its share of the U.S. annuity market.

Provider Rating Methodology

Annuity.org created a fact-based methodology to analyze the strength, security and reach of different annuity providers. Companies were assessed based on their availability, the amount of direct premiums sold, their AM Best Financial Strength Rating and their NAIC Complaint Index score.

Providers received a rating on a scale of five stars for each of these categories, with the complaint index and financial strength ratings being weighed as the two heaviest variables. Then, using a weighted average, each company was assigned an overall star rating.

Annuity.org’s Top-Ranked Providers

Provider	Annuity.org Star Rating
Mass Mutual
New York Life
Pacific Life
Midland National
North American
Western & Southern

Our Rating Panel

Annuity.org spoke with several different annuity experts to learn more about what is important to customers when searching for a provider and what factors play a role in making a company reliable. While Annuity.org designed the methodology, these experts provided feedback during the process and consulted on what factors can be best used to compare providers in a way that is beneficial to readers.