Midland National Endeavor 12 Annuity Review
This review is meant to show you the strengths and weaknesses of the Midland National Endeavor 12 Annuity. As with all annuities, they work very well doing some aspects and poorly at other aspects. I’ll walk through the details of how this annuity works, so you can know what to expect.
- Product Type
- Fees
- Investment options that are available and their realistic long term investment return expectations
- Understanding the income rider
- How it can best help you as part of your financial plan
- How it’s most poorly used as part of your financial plan
Midland National Endeavor 12 Annuity Quick Facts
| Product Name | Endeavor 12 Fixed Index Annuity |
| Issuer | Midland National Life |
| Type of Product | Fixed Annuity |
| Standard & Poor’s Rating | “A+” (Strong) |
| Phone Number | 1-877-586-0244 |
| Website | https://www.midlandnational.com/why-annuities |
Did your agent say you’ll get 6% Guaranteed Growth no matter what the market does?
If so keep reading this review.
Some of it is, but we must understand the details of how it works, things aren’t always what they seem.
First of all, we’ll understand the base annuity and the investment options that are available. This will help us put the pitch of market similar growth with zero downside to the test. Then, we’ll walk through the income rider and guaranteed 6% increase in the income base. So we see exactly how it works and you can compare with what you’ve been told.
Midland National Endeavor 12 is a long term commitment with high penalties if you take your money out early.
There are a few ways that Agents might pitch this product.
- To get guaranteed Lifetime income
- Get uncapped market growth with zero downside
- To create an inflation adjusted lifetime income
- To receive a 6% guaranteed Growth
Is any of this true?
In a broad sense it is, there are important details you should be aware of. In this review we will help you understand the numbers you need to consider.
Retirees have been forced into risky investments due to low interest rates. These annuity guarantees however come at a cost. Often these costs are worth it but in others they’re not. It can depend on your risk tolerance, financial objectives, and time frame. This review is designed to help give you more information so you can decide whether it’s worth it for you.
Welcome to AnnuityEdu where you can find unbiased annuity reviews, a perspective you can trust.
If it happens that you’re on this website for the first time, we’re dedicated to helping you with a second opinion viewpoint. So to help you see through some of sales pitches that aren’t what they seem. We hope with the information we provide you’ll be better educated to make an informed decision before you buy.
Before we go into detail, here is an important legal disclosure.
This review of Midland National Endeavor 12 Annuity is meant to be an independent review at the request of readers, in addition, so they could see my perspective when breaking down the positives and negatives of this particular model annuity. This is an independent product review, not a recommendation to buy or sell an annuity. Midland National has not endorsed this review in any way, nor do I receive any compensation for this review. Before purchasing any investment product be sure to do your own due diligence and consult a properly licensed professional, should you have specific questions, as they relate to your individual circumstances. This is not meant to be specific advice and your advisor may know more about your circumstances to make an appropriate recommendation. All names, marks, and materials used for this review are property of their respective owners.
Information on Midland National
Today, Midland National is one of the leading insurance companies in the U.S. The company grew steadily during the early years, even as it faced the economic challenges of World War I, the Great Depression and World War II. In 1925, the company assumed its current name – Midland National® Life Insurance Company. With its continued emphasis on providing quality products and excellent service, the Company looks forward to celebrating many more milestones in the years to come.
Does the Midland National Endeavor 12 Annuity really earn 6% Guaranteed Growth with the Income Rider?
The Income Base of the Midland National Endeavor 12 Annuity guarantees to increase by 6% every year you delay taking income.
Wait…did you say 6% guaranteed!? Sign me up. Hold on! it’s not really earning 6% guaranteed!
While this guaranteed amount of increase can seem tempting, understand how it fits into your financial plan and what is the return it truly adds.
What I mean is, even though it increases 6% every year, it’s only after you lose 100% of annual income first. Every year, we all get 1 year closer to passing away, so the insurance companies are using mortality tables to determine that their promise to pay us is getting less every year, so they’ll guarantee 6% more for every year we don’t take income.
Before you make a long-term decision, understand 6% guaranteed increase is in income base. Which is money you can’t just walk away with. Nor money your beneficiaries get, or go make another investment with, or spend at once, and not even in a few years. You must take income with the specified withdrawal rate in the contract. What is the real return that 6% gives you? I’ll break down the significant aspects you need to know.
Let’s break down an example so you can understand how the income rider works.
Let’s Assume you’re age 65 years old and you’re going to invest $250,000. You plan to defer the Midland National Endeavor 12 annuity for 5 years while it increases 6% each year with the Guaranteed Income Rider. On the beginning of the 6th year you begin to pull lifetime income. At that point your Guaranteed minimum income value is $354,630 and you’re lifetime payment percentage of 5.8% for life. This equates to $20,569 annually. Therefore, by the time you’re 85 you’ve pulled $308,535 in income. At this point you’re above the average life expectancy. You’ve withdrawn $58,000 above your initial investment of $250,000 which is a total return of 20% in 20 years. Under 1% compounded annually! This shows that you really didn’t earn 6% in those years.
Understanding the Surrender Charge
| Contract Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| Withdrawal Charge | 10% | 10% | 10% | 10% | 10% | 9% | 8% | 7% | 6% | 5% | 4% | 2% |
Does this match up to what you’ve been told?
It’s important to compare the opportunity cost of utilizing other assets to satisfy income needs in the years you are deferring. You or your adviser may be selling the wrong assets first in retirement based on the wrong return assumptions. For example, if you truly believe that this Midland National Endeavor 12 annuity is earning 6%, you may defer it for a long time and sell assets that are truly earnings 3-5% real rate of return. This can damage your ability to maintain your lifestyle in retirement and may be forced to downsize. Has your adviser understood the internal rate of return these annuity guarantees provide? It’s typically less then 6%. Ask and double check before investing. It’s something we do free at AnnuityEdu. If you’d like us to calculate the true rate of return, just reach out and ask.
Now that we’ve learned how the income rider works for Midland National Endeavor 12.
What type of Performance can I expect from the options?
Note that rates may change. Rates discussed here may be higher or lower then the rates discussed below due to the potential of changing participation rates. If you’re being told about uncapped market upside with zero downside. You’re being recommended the uncapped Risk Control index 5%. However, note even though the name of this index has the S&P 500 index in it, it’s not the same as being in the S&P 500. It has less upside because of it’s volatility controlled index.
Historical S&P 500 5% Risk Control Returns
In the most recent 10 years, this index with a spread of 1.5% and income rider costs of 1.05% has done 3.59% annually.
Highest 10 year period averaged 5.83%.
Where it works best:
- Producing a pension like lifetime guaranteed income stream
- Looking for conservative growth and want to have a guarantee on their principal over a 10 year investment.
- To guarantee a lifetime income stream in the future
Where it works Worst:
- Those looking for moderate to high Capital appreciation
- For those who need liquidity.
- If you’re looking to outperform inflation by a large degree to maintain your retirement lifestyle
Annuity Edu’s Summary on the Midland National Endeavor 12 Annuity
Overall this annuity is alright but doesn’t seem to jump out at me as anything special. The Income rider of the Midland National Life and the index options aren’t anything to brag about. It’s definitely likely to be much better than a cash investment but there are better annuities out there.
Buying an Equity Indexed annuity is a long-term commitment and it’s important to test this annuity versus various others to see which one fits your goals and objectives the most. Typically these annuities earn nowhere near the return of the guaranteed 6% rollup income rider that agents’ brag about.
To Conclude
If your financial plan says you need 6% annually in retirement don’t think you can buy this annuity and earn 6% guaranteed and that all the investing and retirement planning you need to do is done. You’ll need a comprehensive retirement income analysis that factors inflation, taxes, and your investment positioning to see if the annuity adds value to your retirement. You need a Retirement Income Analysis done before buying. It’s something we do for free here at Annuityedu.com.
Click here to receive an AnnuityEdu Retirement Income Analysis. (Done by Annuityedu’s CFP Professional) This will show the true rate of return of the annuity in your specific circumstance, and help you understand your retirement strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities.
Need help?
This will help you decide whether an annuity is right for you and which annuity types are best for your needs. If you’re within 1-10 years of Retirement this type of Analysis is important and a must for anyone who is serious about retirement. Don’t have an insurance agent plan your retirement and if you did at least get a 2nd opinion.
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We hope you found it helpful as you’re conducting your own research on Midland National Endeavor 12 annuity. We wish you all the best in your retirement journey!
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