Athene Annuity Review (2026)

Athene's customer service and online access

If you already own an Athene annuity, you manage the policy at athene.com through the MyAthene login, where you can review statements, update beneficiaries and check your contract's current value. Athene's customer service team answers calls Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central, and the company also takes requests by fax or by mail for anyone who would rather use paper forms. Licensed financial professionals who work with Athene clients use a separate producer login on the same site, since their access and permissions are different from a policyholder's.

Where Athene's financial strength comes from

AM Best's A+ grade is the agency's second-highest tier, one step below its top rating, and it reflects a close look at Athene's balance sheet strength, its operating performance and the overall shape of its business. S&P and Fitch land at the same A+ level, and Moody's rates the company A1, so every agency that covers Athene points the same direction. Athene's own brochures date those four ratings to July and August 2025, and AM Best affirmed its ratings of Athene in August 2026. The ratings apply to the insurance companies. The parent, Athene Holding Ltd., carries lower credit ratings of A- from S&P, A- from Fitch and a- from AM Best, which is normal for a holding company.

Behind those letter grades sits real capital. On a statutory basis, the accounting insurance regulators use, Athene Annuity and Life Company reported these figures as of December 31, 2025:

At the parent level, Athene Holding Ltd. reported $442.2 billion in total GAAP assets, $406.6 billion in total liabilities and $20.5 billion in shareholders' equity on the same date. Athene is a subsidiary of Apollo Global Management, which manages roughly $700 billion across the alternative investment world, and Apollo has owned Athene outright since it completed a full merger with the company in January 2022. One detail matters here: Athene's disclosures state that neither Apollo nor Athene Holding is responsible for paying the insurance company's contract obligations. Your guarantees rest on the company that issues your annuity.

A rating measures a company's ability to pay claims. It does not tell you whether a specific annuity product is the right fit for your goals.

Ratings are not permanent, so it is worth checking the current grade directly with AM Best before you sign anything; an insurer can be upgraded or downgraded as its business changes over time. Your state's guaranty association adds a second layer of protection on top of a carrier's own rating, often up to $250,000 for annuity contracts, though the exact dollar limit and the products it covers are set state by state rather than nationally. See our state guaranty association guide for the figure where you live, and treat that backstop as a safety net rather than a reason to skip checking a carrier's own rating in the first place.

How a 2009 startup became the top seller of fixed annuities

Athene is younger than almost every carrier it now outsells. Insurance executive Jim Belardi started the company in 2009, in the middle of the fallout from the financial crisis, with capital committed by Apollo. Rather than build a policyholder base one contract at a time the way an older mutual company might, Athene grew mostly by buying blocks of existing annuity business from other insurers and folding them into its own balance sheet. Counting those acquired companies, Athene says its roots go back more than 100 years. A handful of deals did most of the work:

• 2011: Athene bought Liberty Life Insurance Company, which gave the young carrier a functioning U.S. life and annuity operating platform instead of building one from nothing.
• 2011: In the same year, Athene added Investors Insurance Corporation's block of in-force annuity policies, growing its footprint further.
• 2013: Athene's purchase of Aviva USA, for roughly $1.8 billion, was the deal that vaulted it into the top tier of U.S. fixed annuity carriers. Aviva USA's book of business and operations were rebranded as Athene USA, and the company consolidated its main offices in West Des Moines, Iowa.
• 2022: Apollo completed a full merger with Athene in January, tying the carrier permanently to one of the largest alternative asset managers in the world.

Put together, the company most buyers know today as Athene is really several mid-sized insurers that were bought, combined and recapitalized under one roof. That structure is a meaningful part of why Athene can regularly offer competitive MYGA and fixed index annuity terms, and it is part of why LIMRA has placed Athene at the top of the individual annuity sales rankings in recent years. A newer company built this way is not automatically weaker than an old-line mutual insurer; what matters more is the current rating, the capital behind it and the terms of the specific contract you are considering.

Today the issuing company, Athene Annuity and Life Company (NAIC number 61689), is headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa, and issues annuities in 49 states and the District of Columbia. It does not issue in New York, where Athene operates through a separate company, Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company of New York.

What annuities does Athene sell?

Athene's current lineup covers three broad categories, each aimed at a different retirement goal:

• Multi-year guaranteed annuities (MYGAs): you deposit a lump sum and Athene locks in a fixed interest rate for a set term, usually 3, 5 or 7 years. It works something like a CD, but typically pays more, with tax-deferred growth along the way instead of a tax bill every year.
• Fixed index annuities (FIAs): your interest credit is tied to the performance of a market index, such as the S&P 500, but a guaranteed floor means a down year in the index never reduces your principal. Some Athene FIAs come with a built-in lifetime income rider.
• Single premium immediate annuities (SPIAs): you hand Athene a lump sum once, and the company starts sending you guaranteed income, often within about 30 days, for as long as you live or for a period you choose.

Athene also sells registered index-linked annuities (RILAs), a newer category that accepts a defined amount of downside risk, unlike a true FIA's zero floor, in exchange for meaningfully higher upside potential.

Athene's MYGA lineup

Athene sells its multi-year guaranteed annuities under the Max Rate brand, in 3, 5 and 7 year terms. Every term shares the same free withdrawal feature: up to 10% of your contract value each year, starting in year one, with no surrender charge. The minimum premium across the series is $10,000, and a deposit of $100,000 or more typically qualifies for a better rate band than a smaller deposit in the same term.

Because rates move often, sometimes more than once a month, we do not print them on this page. Use the rate box above to pull today's numbers for your state and deposit size, then run them through our MYGA calculator to see the guaranteed dollar growth over your term.

To see how the mechanics work, here is a purely hypothetical example. If a $100,000 deposit into a 5-year Max Rate contract credited a hypothetical 5% rate, compounded annually and left untouched, it would grow to about $127,628 by the end of the term, a gain of roughly $27,628. Your actual credited rate, and therefore your actual dollar growth, depends on the term, your state and your deposit size on the day you apply.

Athene's fixed index annuity lineup

Athene's FIA shelf is one of the deepest in the industry. Every product below has a 0% floor, a single premium and a withdrawal charge period, and most offer a mix of 1-year and multi-year crediting strategies, including several proprietary, volatility-controlled indexes. Bonus and rate figures come from Athene's product guides and are current only as of the effective date shown; they change, and some vary by state and age, so your strategist confirms them for your state.

Athene Performance Elite 7, 10 and 15

The Performance Elite family comes in three lengths, each in a Base and a Plus version. The Plus version includes a Liquidity Rider with a 0.95% annual charge for the length of the withdrawal charge period, which adds a larger premium bonus plus extra liquidity: free withdrawals that can build to 20% if you skip a year, a return of premium floor after year 4, and an enhanced annuitization option. Either version can use strategies with an optional 1.25% strategy charge for higher participation rates.

• Athene Performance Elite 7: a 7-year contract with charges starting at 9%. The Base version has no premium bonus; the Plus version adds a 6% bonus (5% in 21 listed states, including California and Texas) that vests through year 8. Issue ages 0 to 83, rates effective May 1, 2026.
• Athene Performance Elite 10: a 10-year contract with a premium bonus on both versions, up to 20% on Base and 23% on Plus for issue ages 0 to 70 in most states, lower at older ages and in some states. The bonus vests in years 7 to 11 in most states. Rates effective August 7, 2026.
• Athene Performance Elite 15: Athene's longest commitment, with a 15-year withdrawal charge starting at 15%. In exchange it carries the lineup's largest bonuses, 24% on Base and 27% on Plus for issue ages 0 to 70, vesting only from year 12 to year 16. Rates effective August 7, 2026.

Athene Aviator 5 and 10

Aviator is Athene's no-fee growth line, built around multi-year crediting on three custom indexes that use Bank of America's Fast Convergence technology. Features include Index Lock, which lets you lock in a strategy's gain for the rest of its term once per term, and Free Withdrawal Gains, which credits index growth to date on a free withdrawal. Neither Aviator contract is sold in California or New York.

• Athene Aviator 5: the shortest commitment in the lineup, with withdrawal charges of 9% down to 5% over 5 years, no premium bonus and no rider charge. Issue ages 0 to 85, $10,000 minimum, rates effective May 1, 2026.
• Athene Aviator 10: the 10-year version, with charges from 10% down to 1% and slightly higher participation rates than the Aviator 5 in exchange for the longer term. Issue ages 0 to 80.

Athene Ascent Pro 10 Bonus

Athene Ascent Pro 10 Bonus: Athene's income-focused FIA. It pays a 10% premium bonus into your accumulated value (vesting over the contract), and its built-in income rider starts the income base 25% above your premium and adds 10% simple interest a year for up to 20 years, for a 1.00% annual charge on the income base. Lifetime income can start at age 50, with level, earnings-indexed or accelerated payout options. Rates effective August 28, 2026.

Athene AccuMax 7

Athene AccuMax 7: a 7-year growth contract with one unusual promise: every fixed and indexed crediting rate is set at issue and guaranteed for the full withdrawal charge period, so there is no renewal rate risk. It leans on 7-year point-to-point strategies with high participation rates. Charges run from 9% down to 3%, rates effective August 28, 2026.

Athene Agility 10

Athene Agility 10: a 10-year FIA with a built-in lifetime income rider at no extra charge and a 20% bonus to the income benefit base. It suits buyers who want growth now and a path to income later without paying a rider fee. Athene's current brochures that we reviewed do not cover the Agility 10, so its details come from our separate review.

Which Athene annuity fits you

Athene fixed index annuities compared

"Up to" bonuses are for the youngest issue ages in most states. Performance Elite strategies can also carry an optional 1.25% strategy charge. Bonuses vest over time, so a full surrender before the vesting schedule ends forfeits part of the bonus.

Who is Athene best for?

• Conservative savers, roughly ages 55 to 72, who want a guaranteed MYGA rate and are comfortable leaving the money alone for 3 to 7 years.
• Growth-focused savers who want index-linked upside with a 0% floor and can pick the commitment that fits, from 5 years on the Aviator 5 to 15 years on the Performance Elite 15.
• Pre-retirees planning future income, with at least 10 years before they expect to start withdrawals and an interest in an FIA that carries a lifetime income rider. Ascent Pro 10 Bonus and Agility 10 both fit this goal well.
• Rollover clients moving money out of a 401(k) or IRA into a tax-deferred annuity; Athene's $10,000 minimum premium works for a smaller rollover as comfortably as a larger one.
• Buyers almost anywhere in the country, since Athene Annuity and Life Company issues annuities in 49 states and D.C. New York residents are the exception.

Athene is a weaker match if your single priority is locking in the absolute highest MYGA rate available on a given day in a given term. Athene is consistently competitive, but it is not always first place, so it is worth comparing it against other A-rated carriers using our MYGA rate guide before you commit any money. It is also a poor fit for any money you may need in full before a contract's withdrawal charge period ends, since charges on its FIAs start between 9% and 15% in year one.

How to reach Athene

Athene sells only through licensed insurance professionals and financial institutions, not directly to individual buyers online. That means the phone numbers above are best used for servicing an existing policy rather than starting a new purchase. A licensed strategist can pull Athene's current lineup alongside other top-rated carriers, confirm what is actually available in your state, and let you compare the real numbers side by side before you decide. Request an Athene quote to get started.

Tax Free Wealth Plan is appointed to offer Athene annuities and may be paid a commission by Athene when you buy one. That does not change what you pay.