Brighthouse Annuity Review (2026)

Who is Brighthouse Financial?

Brighthouse Financial is what used to be MetLife's individual life insurance and annuity division, spun off into its own publicly traded company in 2017. It carries an A (Excellent) rating from AM Best, holds more than $200 billion in assets, and ranks among the larger annuity issuers in the country. Its signature product is the Shield Level series, a registered index-linked annuity that has become one of the best-selling contracts in that category, alongside its variable annuity, fixed rate annuity, and immediate annuity lines.

Brighthouse Financial and its MetLife roots

Before 2017, MetLife was a household name in both life insurance and retail annuities. That year, MetLife carved its individual life and annuity business out into a separate public company, Brighthouse Financial, freeing MetLife to concentrate on group benefits and large institutional clients.

If you bought a MetLife annuity before that split, your contract now belongs to Brighthouse Financial or one of its subsidiaries, and every guarantee you were promised still stands. Anyone searching today for a new "MetLife annuity" is really looking for Brighthouse, since MetLife itself no longer sells retail annuities. What MetLife still writes in this space is institutional work, pension risk transfers and structured settlements, not individual contracts for retail buyers.

Nothing about the ownership change altered how existing contracts are serviced or how claims get paid. Brighthouse inherited MetLife's licensed entities, filings, and policy administration systems along with the annuity block, so the transition was structural rather than a change to the promises already on the books.

What annuities does Brighthouse Financial sell?

• Shield Level RILA series: Brighthouse's flagship and one of the best-selling registered index-linked annuities on the market. A RILA credits index-linked growth, but instead of the zero-loss floor you get with a fixed index annuity, it uses a buffer, commonly 10% or 20%, that absorbs the first slice of a market decline before your account value falls. Say you pick a 10% buffer and the index drops 15% over your term: the buffer eats the first 10 points, and only the remaining 5% touches your account. Drop further than the buffer covers, and the rest of the loss is yours. In exchange for that limited downside protection, you get access to higher upside than a typical FIA allows, since Brighthouse does not need to fund a full zero-loss guarantee.
• Variable annuities: Brighthouse carries forward MetLife's long-running variable annuity line, offering market-linked returns inside a tax-deferred structure, with optional living benefit riders for retirement income planning.
• Fixed rate annuities (MYGAs): A steadier option that credits a guaranteed rate for a set term. See how MYGAs work before comparing what is currently available.
• Single premium immediate annuities: These convert a lump sum into guaranteed lifetime payments that typically begin within a year of purchase.

Who is Brighthouse Financial best for?

• If you want more index-linked upside than a standard fixed index annuity offers and you can live with a 10% to 20% downside buffer instead of a zero-loss floor, the Shield Level series is a leading option to compare.
• If you already hold a MetLife annuity or life policy issued before 2017, your contract now sits at Brighthouse, and the same distribution and servicing carries forward into new purchases as well.
• If you want market-linked growth with the option of a guaranteed income rider, Brighthouse's variable annuity lineup continues MetLife's long history in that category.
• If you are moving a large lump sum into guaranteed lifetime income, an A-rated carrier with more than $200 billion in assets is a credible place to shop for a single premium immediate annuity.

Contact Brighthouse Financial