Allianz 222 Annuity Review (2026)

What is the Allianz 222 annuity?

The Allianz 222, sold today as the Allianz 222+, is a fixed index annuity built around a rider called the Protected Income Value, or PIV. The base contract grows through indexed interest crediting, and the PIV runs alongside it as a separate number that exists for one purpose: setting your guaranteed lifetime income once your wait period ends.

The 2025 update kept the two-year point-to-point crediting design that made the original 222 one of the most widely sold FIAs in the country, then layered in a wider index lineup, an Index Lock feature, and an Income Flex Benefit for after you start income. If someone is quoting you the Allianz 222 today, they mean the 222+.

What sets this contract apart from many income-rider annuities is how the income value grows. Instead of a fixed annual roll-up percentage that applies no matter what happens in the market, the PIV grows by 150% of whatever interest the contract actually credits. That can compound into a much larger income value than a fixed roll-up over a full decade, but only if the indexes cooperate. For the carrier's full history, ownership and product lineup, see our Allianz Life review.

How strong is Allianz Life?

Allianz SE, the German insurance group, owns the company that would actually issue your contract: Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America. That U.S. entity keeps its own books and reserves, so what pays your claims is the American operation, not the parent overseas.

AM Best rates Allianz Life A+ (Superior) and S&P rates it AA, putting the carrier among the highest-rated names selling fixed index annuities. A rating measures the company's ability to pay claims, not whether a specific product is the right fit for you, so read the rest of this review before you decide. For more on how ratings work and where Allianz sits against other top carriers, see our Allianz Life review.

How the Protected Income Value rider works

The PIV is calculated separately from your accumulation value, and it exists only to determine your guaranteed lifetime income once the wait period ends. It comes with the contract at no extra fee.

The 52% premium bonus

Any premium you pay in the first 18 months gets a 52% bonus added straight to the PIV. Put in $100,000, and your starting income value is $152,000 before a single dollar of interest is credited. That bonus applies to the PIV only, not your accumulation value, which still starts at your actual premium. Because it lands on the income value rather than the cash value, the bonus itself has no separate vesting schedule tied to it.

The 150% interest roll-up

This is the feature that makes the 222+ different from a standard fixed-roll-up income rider. In any contract year where the indexes credit positive interest, the PIV grows by 1.5 times that credited rate. Credit 5% in a given year, and the PIV grows by 7.5%. Credit 10%, and it grows by 15%. Compounded across a 10-year deferral, that can add up to real growth in the income value, but the mechanic only works in the years the index actually earns something. A year with zero credited interest adds nothing to the PIV that year, which is the trade-off against a rider that guarantees a set percentage every year regardless of the market.

The 10-year wait

You cannot start lifetime withdrawals from the PIV until contract year 11. Once that wait period passes, you can activate the PIV as either single or joint lifetime income.

Guaranteed lifetime income by activation age

Here is the guaranteed floor for the PIV, using a $100,000 premium at issue, activation ages starting in year 10, and the contract's baseline scenario in which the indexes never credit positive interest during the entire deferral. Every dollar figure below is 5.5% (or 5.0% at the earliest age) of the guaranteed $152,000 PIV, math you can check yourself.

Those numbers assume zero index credits for the whole deferral, which is the worst case, not a prediction. Any year the indexes credit positive interest, the PIV grows by 150% of that credit, and your eventual income would be higher than the figures above. Nobody, including Allianz, can tell you in advance how much higher that will be, because it depends on index performance nobody can guarantee.

Index crediting strategies

The 222+ offers several ways to allocate your premium, each crediting interest differently:

Caps and participation rates move over time and vary by state and allocation. Use the rate box on this page to see what each strategy is offering today rather than relying on numbers that will already be out of date by the time you read them.

Index Lock

A crediting period usually only pays out based on where the index sits at the very end, but Index Lock breaks that rule. Notice the index has climbed 8% three months into the year? Freeze it there, and that 8% is what gets credited when the period closes, whatever the index does between now and then. Allianz caps you at one freeze per period and stays out of the decision entirely; reading the market is on you.

Income Flex Benefit and increasing income

Once you turn on lifetime withdrawals, the Income Flex Benefit lets you set aside part of your income growth as an extra withdrawal amount you can access whenever you need it, rather than automatically taking it as a permanent increase to your regular payment. Paired with the contract's standard increasing-income feature, which grows your lifetime payment each year by 150% of any positive credited interest, the 222+ is built for people who expect to draw income for 20 to 30 years and want a shot at that payment growing with the market along the way.

Allianz Income Multiplier for care events

Two situations trigger a doubled withdrawal under the Allianz Income Multiplier: a stay of 90 days or more, inside any 120-day stretch, in a nursing home, hospital or assisted living facility, or losing the ability to handle at least 2 of 6 daily living tasks on your own. Either one has to happen after your first year in the contract, and Allianz does not charge extra for carrying this protection. Treat it as a cushion for a rough stretch, not a replacement for a real long-term care rider or standalone policy.

Death benefit

If you pass away, your beneficiaries choose between two payouts. They can take the Protected Income Value spread across annuity payments over at least five years, or they can take a lump sum equal to the accumulation value, or if greater, the guaranteed minimum value or the cumulative withdrawal amount. Taking the larger PIV number means accepting it as a payment stream rather than a lump sum.

Twelve states put a ceiling on that PIV death benefit instead of paying it in full: Alaska, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Washington. There, beneficiaries get whichever is larger: 125% of the cash surrender value, or the premium paid growing at a 10% annual rate, though neither can push the total past 250% of premium once withdrawals are subtracted out. Our death benefit glossary entry walks through how that compares with other annuity contracts.

Who the Allianz 222 is best for

This contract fits someone roughly age 55 to 65 who has ten or more years before they need income, already has other guaranteed income covering essentials such as Social Security or a pension, and is comfortable treating the deferral period as tax-deferred growth with a possible upside on income rather than a locked-in number. It also suits buyers who specifically want Allianz's Index Lock feature and its lower-volatility custom indices, and who weigh the carrier's A+ rating heavily in the decision.

It is a weaker fit if you want the highest guaranteed lifetime income you can get on the day you sign, if you would rather have the simplest possible contract structure, if you live in New York or Oregon, or if you need income to start before contract year 11.

Other annuities to consider

If you are weighing the Allianz 222, these pages can help you compare it:

• Allianz Life company review: the carrier's full history, ownership and ratings
• Athene vs Allianz annuities compared: a side-by-side look at how the two carriers approach income riders
• Corebridge Power Select Builder review: another income-focused FIA with no rider fee
• Income riders explained: how GLWB-style riders work and what they typically cost

How to buy an Allianz 222 annuity

Allianz sells the 222+ only through licensed insurance professionals; you cannot buy it directly from the company. The process typically looks like this:

1. Decide on a premium amount and review your state's availability.
2. Go through the contract with a licensed strategist, paying particular attention to how the Protected Income Value rider credits interest and to your free look period.
3. Sign the application and fund it by check, transfer or 1035 exchange if you are moving money from an existing annuity.
4. Most applications are issued within a few business days of the carrier receiving your funds.

Tax Free Wealth Plan is a licensed independent insurance agency, appointed with 25 companies. We can compare the Allianz 222 with other top-rated carriers side by side so you can see the trade-offs for yourself before you commit.