People shopping for an annuity in Connecticut will not have as many choices as those in other states. In fact, Connecticut is one of the most restrictive annuity states in the country (Not counting NY). As a result, you will need to look a little harder to find the best offers.
Some of the better annuities available today are being offered from Security Benefit (SIA and Total Value), Aviva (through Annexus), American Equity (Retirement Gold and others) and National Western (Global Lookback). They have some of the highest paying income riders and most advantageous crediting accounts. The problem is that none of them are available to Connecticut residents. There are way to access them on a cross border basis but for most they would not be available.
There are still some good products in Connecticut. The first is the Equitrust Builder Bonus 6 product which has a true 6% bonus, strong crediting options and a full return of premium feature built into the base product. It is the largest bonus product available in Ct.
Security Benefit Secure Income annuity is now available (a bit watered down) in CT. The product has a 2% bonus instead of the 8% bonus it carriers in other states such as MA and FL. Even with the lowered bonus this product has the highest paying income rider of any indexed annuity.
National Western has the Global Lookback which does not have a bonus but more importantly, has an uncapped index crediting strategy. The accounts provide some variety as the utilize foreign index accounts.
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