Is the Allianz Benefit Control annuity a good annuity?
It depends heavily on which rider feature you value most. Allianz Benefit Control is issued by a financially strong carrier and offers a real choice between two Protected Income Value paths, plus a care-event benefit that doubles withdrawals at no extra cost. Where it asks the most of a buyer is complexity: two rider structures, several index strategies and a 10-year commitment to sort through. If a specific rider mechanic here fits your plan, it's worth pricing. If you mainly want the highest guaranteed income or the simplest possible contract, compare it against other income-rider annuities before deciding, since caps and participation rates here are not among the most generous in the market.
Allianz Benefit Control at a glance
| Product type | Fixed index annuity with Protected Income Value (PIV) rider |
|---|---|
| Issuing carrier | Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America |
| AM Best rating | A+ (Superior) |
| S&P rating | AA |
| Surrender period | 10 years |
| Surrender charge schedule | 9.3%, 9.3%, 8.3%, 7.3%, 6.25%, 5.25%, 4.2%, 3.15%, 2.1%, 1.05% |
| Minimum premium | $20,000 |
| Income base bonus (PIV) | 25% on premium paid in the first 18 months |
| Allocation charge | 0% current on most strategies; 0.95% on annual point-to-point strategies; 2.5% maximum |
| Free withdrawal | 10% of premium a year |
| Market value adjustment | Applies to surrenders and excess withdrawals during the surrender period |
| Rider fee | None; the PIV rider is bundled with the contract |
Surrender charges, year by year
Today's rates for Allianz Benefit Control
Rates change often and vary by state, term and deposit size. Get today's numbers for your state, side by side with other top-rated carriers. Free, with no obligation.
Is Allianz Benefit Control a good annuity?
Allianz Benefit Control (often shortened to ABC) pairs a strong carrier with a genuinely complex contract. Allianz Life carries an A+ (Superior) rating from AM Best and an AA from S&P, so the company behind the guarantees is not in question. What deserves a closer look is the design: a choice between two income riders, a bundle of optional features and a decade-long surrender schedule.
None of that makes it a bad contract on its own. It means the value here comes from specific features, not from having the most competitive current crediting rates in the fixed index annuity market. For the carrier's full history and product lineup, see our Allianz Life review.
Two lifetime income rider paths
Allianz Benefit Control builds its Protected Income Value (PIV), the number used to set your future lifetime withdrawals, using one of two rider structures you choose at issue.
The Accelerated PIV rider credits half of whatever fixed or indexed interest your contract earns to the income value, and layers on a large interest bonus multiplier once you're taking withdrawals. It can also receive a premium bonus on deposits made in the first 18 months, plus an ongoing bonus tied to earned interest for as long as you own the contract. You can start single or joint lifetime withdrawals any time after age 50.
The Balanced PIV rider shares the same two bonus types, the premium bonus and the ongoing interest bonus, and the same age-50 starting point for withdrawals. Where it differs is the payout multiplier once income turns on: it uses a smaller multiplier than the Accelerated path, in exchange for crediting a larger share of earned interest along the way.
In practice, the Accelerated option tends to suit someone who already knows this contract will become their lifetime income source. The Balanced option fits someone who wants to keep that door open without committing to it up front.
The Allianz Income Multiplier
Once you've owned the contract for at least five years, the Allianz Income Multiplier can double your annual lifetime withdrawal in either of two situations: a 90-day stay, within any 120-day span, inside a facility that qualifies (think hospital, nursing home or assisted living), or losing the ability to handle at least two of the six standard daily living tasks on your own. Either trigger has to occur after your first contract year. There's no separate charge for this benefit; it comes bundled with the contract.
Treat it as a cushion for a difficult stretch rather than a substitute for dedicated long-term care coverage. Our long-term care rider glossary entry explains how purpose-built LTC riders typically compare.
How the contract works day to day
Allianz Benefit Control is a fixed index annuity, so your account value can't drop because of a bad index year; a flat or negative index simply credits zero interest that period. Once you begin lifetime withdrawals, the Income Flex Benefit gives you a way to skip an income increase in a given crediting period and instead set aside that amount as an extra withdrawal you can access on your own schedule, useful if you'd rather handle a one-time expense than take a permanent bump to your regular payment.
Index Lock
Rather than waiting for a crediting period to close before locking in a gain, Index Lock lets you freeze a positive index reading the moment you see one you like. Whatever the index does for the rest of that period no longer matters once you've exercised the lock. Allianz doesn't advise on timing; the decision, and its outcome, is entirely yours.
Multi-year point-to-point crediting
For buyers with a longer time horizon, the contract also offers 2-year and 5-year point-to-point crediting options. Whichever term you choose, the participation rate is locked for that full period rather than resetting annually, though Index Lock is still available if you'd rather cash in a gain before the term ends.
Available indexes
The crediting menu includes the S&P 500, the Nasdaq-100 and the Russell 2000, each on a 1-year point-to-point basis, along with several proprietary options: the Morgan Stanley Strategic Trends 10 ER Index, the Bloomberg US Dynamic Balance III ER Index, the PIMCO Tactical Balanced ER Index, and a Blended Futures Index built from four sub-indexes covering U.S. equity futures, international equity futures, U.S. 10-year note futures and small-cap futures. Caps, spreads and participation rates on all of these move regularly and vary by state, so we don't print current numbers here; use the rate box on this page for what's available today.
Allocation charge
Certain crediting strategies, including annual point-to-point and the 2-year and 5-year multi-year point-to-point options, carry an allocation charge deducted annually from both your accumulation value and your guaranteed minimum value. That charge can be adjusted only under specific contract conditions and is capped at 2.5%. It never applies to the Protected Income Value itself.
Surrender schedule and access to your money
| Contract year | Surrender charge |
|---|---|
| Year 1 | 9.30% |
| Year 2 | 9.30% |
| Year 3 | 8.30% |
| Year 4 | 7.30% |
| Year 5 | 6.25% |
| Year 6 | 5.25% |
| Year 7 | 4.20% |
| Year 8 | 3.15% |
| Year 9 | 2.10% |
| Year 10 | 1.05% |
| Year 11+ | 0% |
A Market Value Adjustment can also apply to surrenders and excess withdrawals during that 10-year window, and it can raise or lower the amount you receive depending on how rates have moved since you funded the contract. Outside of a full surrender, you can take out up to 10% of premium paid, minus prior withdrawals, each year without a charge, MVA or penalty, up to your cash surrender value.
Additional premium
You can add money during the first 18 contract months, in amounts between $25 and $25,000 unless Allianz approves a larger deposit. You can't add premium in any year you've taken a partial withdrawal or an RMD, and additional deposits stop entirely once lifetime withdrawals or annuitization begin.
Death benefit
Before annuitization, your beneficiaries choose between two payouts. One option pays the greater of the accumulation value, the guaranteed minimum value or the cumulative withdrawal amount as a lump sum, though it excludes any premium or interest bonus. The other pays the full Protected Income Value, bonuses included, spread across payments over at least five years, capped at 250% of the accumulation value (the exact cap can vary by state).
What we like and what gives us pause
The flexibility of choosing between two income rider structures is a genuine strength here, and the Income Multiplier's care-event benefit adds real value at no extra cost. Index Lock and the multi-year crediting options give you more control over timing than a plain annual reset would.
What gives us pause is the combination of moving parts and current crediting levels. Running two rider options, several index strategies and optional add-ons through a full comparison takes real time, and the caps and participation rates on offer here are not, at the moment, among the most competitive in the fixed index annuity market. The Accelerated PIV path in particular only credits half of earned interest to the income value, a design choice worth weighing carefully against simpler alternatives.
Who is Allianz Benefit Control best for?
This contract fits a buyer who has a specific reason to want a choice between two income rider paths, likes the idea of a built-in care benefit, and is comfortable spending the time to understand how each moving piece works. It's a weaker fit for someone who wants the single highest guaranteed income figure available today, or who would rather have the simplest possible contract structure. In either of those cases, a more conventional income-rider FIA or a multi-year guaranteed annuity is usually the more direct path.
Other annuities to consider
If you're weighing Allianz Benefit Control, these are worth comparing it against:
- Allianz 222: Allianz's other major income-rider FIA, built around a single roll-up structure instead of a choice between two
- Nationwide Peak 10: another fixed index annuity worth pricing side by side on current caps and participation
- Athene Performance Elite 7: a shorter-term FIA from a different top-rated carrier
- MYGA rates guide: for buyers who would rather lock in a simple guaranteed rate than manage index strategies and rider choices
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Pros and cons
Pros
- A choice between two Protected Income Value riders, so you can weigh a bigger interest bonus against a bigger annual roll-up multiplier.
- Index Lock lets you freeze a positive index reading mid-period instead of waiting for it to close.
- The Allianz Income Multiplier can double your lifetime withdrawal if you're confined to a qualifying facility or lose the ability to perform daily living tasks, at no extra charge.
- A wide menu of indexes and crediting methods to choose from.
- Lifetime withdrawals can keep increasing after you turn income on, tied to credited interest.
- The PIV rider itself carries no separate fee; it's built into the base contract.
Cons
- Two income rider choices plus several optional riders add real complexity to compare and explain.
- Cap, spread and participation rates here tend to run below what more competitive fixed index annuities currently offer.
- The Accelerated PIV path only credits half of the interest earned to the income value, which narrows its advantage once the trade-offs are weighed.
- The Balanced PIV path grows income more slowly in exchange for a smaller upfront bonus multiplier.
- A 10-year surrender period and multiple moving parts make this a longer commitment to fully understand.
- Selecting certain crediting strategies adds an allocation charge on top of everything else.
Frequently asked questions
Is Allianz Benefit Control a good annuity?
It's a legitimate contract from a highly rated carrier, but it rarely wins a head-to-head matchup on growth potential, simplicity or liquidity against a straightforward MYGA or a cleaner income-rider FIA. Where it can win is for a buyer who specifically wants the flexibility of choosing between two PIV structures or values the built-in care benefit.
What are the main trade-offs with Allianz Benefit Control?
You're trading simplicity and top-of-market crediting rates for a bundle of rider features: two income paths, an Index Lock option, multi-year strategies and a care-event doubling benefit. Each feature adds value for some buyers and adds a decision point for everyone else.
How does Allianz Benefit Control's crediting compare with the S&P 500?
Like every fixed index annuity, this contract credits a portion of index gains rather than owning the index outright, and caps, spreads and participation rates limit how much of a strong market year actually reaches your account. That gap between the index and the credited rate is built into the FIA structure, not unique to this contract, though this product's current caps and participation rates sit on the lower end of what's available today.
What do the guaranteed values and surrender values tell me?
They show limited downside paired with limited upside and restricted access during the surrender period. If your top priority is a guaranteed number and easy liquidity, a MYGA or a contract with a larger free withdrawal allowance is usually the simpler fit.
Who should consider Allianz Benefit Control?
Someone who has a clear reason to want one of the two PIV structures, values the care-event doubling feature, and is comfortable with added complexity in exchange for those specifics. Buyers chasing the highest guaranteed income or the fewest moving parts usually find a better match elsewhere.
What alternatives are worth comparing against Allianz Benefit Control?
Multi-year guaranteed annuities for buyers who want a simple, fixed, guaranteed rate, and other income-rider fixed index annuities with more competitive current caps and participation rates for buyers who still want market-linked growth. Which one wins depends on your age, state, time horizon and how much liquidity you need.
Are there significant fees or surrender charges?
The PIV rider itself carries no separate fee, but choosing certain indexed crediting strategies adds an allocation charge, and a 10-year surrender schedule applies to withdrawals beyond the free amount. Review the full schedule with your strategist before funding the contract.
Written and reviewed by
James Forren Warren
Licensed Retirement Income Strategist · License #20551202
James Forren Warren is a licensed Retirement Income Strategist with Tax Free Wealth Plan. For the past five years he has helped individuals and families turn their savings into retirement income they can count on. He writes and reviews the annuity research on this site and keeps it plain: what a product does, what it costs you, and who it actually fits.
Sources
Educational only, not investment, tax or legal advice. Tax Free Wealth Plan LLC is a licensed insurance agency, not a registered investment adviser or broker-dealer. Annuities are not bank deposits, are not FDIC insured and are not guaranteed by any government agency. Guarantees are backed solely by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Features, rates and availability vary by state and change over time; the contract and disclosure documents govern.
