Fidelity Security Life Annuity Review (2026)

Two Fidelitys, one big mix-up

Search "Fidelity annuity" and you will land on two entirely different companies. One is Fidelity Investments, the Boston brokerage most people mean when they say Fidelity. The other is Fidelity Security Life Insurance Company, a much smaller, independently owned insurer in Kansas City, Missouri, chartered in 1969. This page is about the second one. FSL is a legitimate, A-rated carrier in its own right, but the name overlap is real enough that buyers sometimes research one company and end up purchasing from the other without realizing it.

Fidelity Security Life versus Fidelity Investments

The two companies do not share an owner, a product, a rating or a headquarters. Fidelity Investments (legal name FMR LLC) is a Boston asset manager founded in 1946. FSL is a Kansas City insurance carrier that has been writing policies since 1969. FSL is not a trillion-dollar brand name, it is a solidly capitalized, mid-size independent insurer that stands entirely on its own financial strength. Once buyers understand the two are unrelated, FSL tends to hold up well: an A-rated carrier with a real surplus position and a track record stretching past five decades.

One wrinkle worth knowing: Fidelity Investments does offer annuities through its own brokerage platform, but those contracts are issued by other, unrelated carriers, not by Fidelity Security Life. Buying an annuity "through Fidelity" and buying one "from Fidelity Security Life" are two different transactions with two different issuing companies behind them.

How strong is Fidelity Security Life financially?

FSL's A grade from AM Best rests on solid capitalization, well north of $350 million held in surplus, a spread-out mix of business lines, and more than five decades running as its own independent company. That places FSL in the same tier as American National, one notch below A+ names such as Pacific Life and Protective Life. If your screen requires A+, look at those carriers instead. Confirm FSL's current rating directly with AM Best before you commit any money, since ratings can move.

Your state's guaranty association adds another layer of protection on top of the carrier's own rating, up to a state-set limit. See our state guaranty association guide for the figure where you live.

What does Fidelity Security Life sell?

FSL's entire annuity shelf runs through its TaxVantage series of MYGAs, plus a traditional fixed deferred annuity line. TaxVantage comes in 3, 5 and 7-year terms, each locking a fixed rate for the full period with a single premium.

Unlike a lot of competing MYGAs, TaxVantage credits compound interest, meaning interest is calculated on your full account balance each year, including interest you already earned, not just your original deposit. Standard contracts allow a 10% penalty-free withdrawal of account value each year after your first contract anniversary, with surrender charges applying to anything above that.

Each term serves a slightly different buyer. The 3-year TaxVantage suits someone who wants certainty for a short stretch, maybe while deciding on a longer-term plan or waiting out a specific life event. The 5-year is the most commonly chosen term for a rollover, long enough to make compounding meaningful without locking up money for the better part of a decade. The 7-year rewards buyers with the longest time horizon and, typically, the highest rate on FSL's shelf, at the cost of the longest surrender period. FSL also offers a traditional fixed deferred annuity outside the TaxVantage brand, which functions similarly but carries its own renewal rate structure once the initial guarantee period ends.

Here's the difference compounding makes in real numbers. A hypothetical $150,000 deposit at 5.5% for 7 years grows to about $218,200 with compound interest, versus $207,750 if the same rate were credited as simple interest instead, a gap of roughly $10,450 on the identical stated rate. That is the practical value of TaxVantage's compounding structure over a multi-year term. Our compound interest calculator will run the math for your own numbers.

Who fits a TaxVantage MYGA?

FSL suits buyers who want a plain, compound-interest MYGA from an independent carrier with a long track record and no private equity or asset manager ownership behind it. A 60-year-old rolling $200,000 into a 7-year TaxVantage gets a fixed rate, full compounding, and a maturity date at age 67, lining up neatly with Social Security and Medicare eligibility.

FSL is a weaker fit if you need income immediately, since there is no single premium immediate annuity in the lineup, or if you want index-linked upside, since FSL does not sell fixed index annuities. Buyers who require A+ or better should compare Pacific Life, Protective Life or Midland National instead.

FSL's ownership structure is also worth weighing on its own terms. It answers to no private equity sponsor and no credit-focused asset manager, unlike some newer, fast-growing MYGA carriers built on that model. For a buyer who specifically wants to avoid that ownership structure, and is comfortable at A rather than A+, that independence is itself a selling point, separate from the rate on the page.

What TaxVantage means for taxes

The name is a nod to a real tax feature. Interest credited inside a non-qualified (after-tax) TaxVantage contract is not taxed the year it is earned, it compounds tax-deferred until you take a distribution. For a non-qualified deposit, that beats a bank CD, where interest is reportable every year whether or not you touch it. This deferral benefit is mostly redundant for IRA money, since an IRA is already tax-deferred on its own. Withdrawals are still taxed as ordinary income on the earnings portion when they come out, and a withdrawal before age 59 and a half can trigger a 10% IRS penalty on top of income tax. Talk to a tax professional about your own situation before deciding how and when to take distributions.

How to buy a Fidelity Security Life annuity

TaxVantage MYGAs are sold through licensed independent agents and select institutional partners, not directly to the public. The process is simple: pick a 3, 5 or 7-year term, confirm your premium and minimum with your agent, and review the surrender schedule and free look period before you sign. For an IRA rollover, your agent coordinates a direct, trustee-to-trustee transfer from your current custodian so the money moves without triggering a taxable event or unwanted withholding. A licensed strategist can put FSL's current TaxVantage rates next to other A-rated MYGA carriers so you can compare the real numbers before committing.

Other annuity companies to consider

If FSL is on your list, these carriers are worth comparing it against:

• American National: also A-rated, longer public track record
• Pacific Life: A+ rated, one tier above FSL
• Kansas City Life: another independent, mid-size carrier in the same city