Corebridge Power Select Builder Annuity Review (2026)

What is the Corebridge Power Select Builder?

The Power Select Builder is a fixed index annuity issued by American General Life Insurance Company, the carrier that operates under the Corebridge Financial brand. Unlike many FIAs on the market, it was designed around a single purpose: growing a lump sum on a tax-deferred basis without bundling in a lifetime income rider.

That single-purpose design shows up in the pricing. Because there is no rider to fund, Corebridge does not charge a rider fee on this contract, in any amount, under any option. In exchange, you give up the ability to convert this specific contract into guaranteed lifetime income later. If income is even a possibility for you down the road, weigh that trade-off carefully before you fund this contract instead of an income-focused alternative. For the carrier's full history, ownership structure and broader product lineup, see our Corebridge company review.

Is Corebridge Financial a good annuity company?

American General Life Insurance Company has been in the life and annuity business since 1919, and Corebridge Financial, its parent, is one of the larger annuity issuers in the country. Corebridge went public in 2022 after separating from AIG, and in 2026 it announced a planned merger with fellow insurer Equitable.

That is a strong lineup across all four major agencies. One caveat: AM Best placed Corebridge's rating under review once the Equitable merger was announced, which is a routine step when a carrier's ownership structure is about to change, not a downgrade in itself. Confirm the live rating before you buy, since a rating under review can move in either direction once the deal closes.

A rating measures the company's ability to pay claims. It does not tell you whether a specific contract, like the Power Select Builder, fits your situation.

For more on how Corebridge's ownership history shapes the ratings picture, and how it compares with other top carriers, read our full Corebridge review.

The crediting menu: caps, participation rates and tiered fees

Corebridge built one of the widest crediting menus available on an A-tier accumulation FIA. Roughly twenty index strategies are on offer, split between one-year and two-year reset periods, alongside a traditional fixed account for buyers who want a guaranteed declared rate on part of their premium.

Most of the indexed strategies use a participation rate, which means you receive a set share of whatever the index gains with no upper cap, rather than a capped point-to-point design. A smaller number use a straightforward cap, including a strategy tied to the S&P 500. Two-year reset strategies measure index performance over a longer stretch before crediting anything, which typically lets the carrier offer a higher participation rate in exchange for that longer wait between credits.

The standout feature of this menu is its tiered, opt-in fee structure on a couple of the strategies. You can stick with the standard version at no extra cost, or you can pay a modest annual fee for access to a materially higher crediting rate on that same index, with a second, higher-fee tier available for an even stronger rate. Nobody is locked into paying a fee: the choice, and the trade-off between cost and potential upside, is entirely yours.

As with every fixed index annuity, we are not printing today's caps and participation rates here, because Corebridge can and does reset them at each contract anniversary, and a number that is accurate this week will likely be stale by the time you read this. Use the rate box on this page, or ask a licensed strategist, for what each strategy is actually crediting in your state right now. For a deeper explanation of how caps, participation rates and fee tiers work across the FIA category, see our FIA crediting methods guide.

What the guaranteed floor looks like if the market gives you nothing

Every fixed index annuity has to guarantee something even in a worst-case scenario where every index credits zero for the entire surrender period, and this contract is no exception. The guaranteed minimum cash surrender value sits at 87.5% of your premium (90% in New Jersey), and that floor grows at a guaranteed 2.45% a year regardless of index performance.

Do the arithmetic on a $100,000 deposit: 87.5% of that comes to $87,500, and compounding $87,500 at a guaranteed 2.45% for a decade lands you near $111,460 (take $87,500, multiply by 1.0245, and repeat that ten times). That figure is yours regardless of how the market behaves during your surrender window. Your accumulation value, meanwhile, would just sit at the original $100,000 in this same worst case, since nothing gets credited but nothing gets taken away either.

Any indexed crediting the contract actually produces on top of that guaranteed floor depends entirely on future market performance, which nobody, including Corebridge, can promise in advance. Treat marketing illustrations built on past index returns as sales exhibits rather than forecasts, and use our fixed annuity calculator to model your own assumptions instead.

Surrender charges, free withdrawals and waivers

The surrender schedule runs a full 10 years, starting near 9% in year 1 and stepping down roughly a point a year until it reaches 1% in year 10. A handful of states use a slightly different glide path, and California's schedule runs only 9 years. Check your own state's exact schedule with a strategist before you buy.

Once you are past your first policy year, the contract lets you pull as much as a tenth of its value each year, based on your most recent anniversary, with neither a surrender charge nor a market value adjustment attached. That very first year works a little differently: the 10% figure is based on premium rather than value. Pull out more than that free amount while you are still inside the surrender window, and both the surrender charge and a market value adjustment kick in together, and the adjustment itself can swing the cost up or down depending on how rates have moved since you funded the contract.

Three charge waivers ride along with the contract at no extra cost, subject to state availability: a nursing home waiver, a terminal illness waiver and an extended care waiver, each of which can let you access your full contract value without a surrender charge or market value adjustment if you qualify. Review the contract disclosure for the exact triggering conditions in your state. For more on how surrender periods work across the industry, see our surrender charges guide.

Who the Power Select Builder is best for

This contract fits an accumulation-focused buyer, generally somewhere between age 50 and 70, whose retirement paycheck is already spoken for some other way, be that Social Security, a pension, a separate income annuity or a planned withdrawal strategy from other accounts, and who simply wants a tax-deferred growth vehicle with a real guaranteed floor underneath it. If your goal for this specific dollar is growth and nothing else, not having to pay for a rider you would never use is a genuine advantage.

It also suits someone who wants to actively manage their own crediting strategy across a wide menu and is comfortable revisiting that allocation at each contract anniversary. A buyer who prefers simplicity can put the whole premium into a single strategy and still be shopping one of the more competitive menus in its category.

It is a weaker fit if you want guaranteed lifetime income built into this same contract, if you need access to more than the annual free withdrawal within the surrender period, if you live in New York or Idaho, or if you would rather own a mutual carrier than a publicly traded one.

How it compares to other accumulation FIAs

The Power Select Builder competes most directly with other A-tier accumulation contracts, including Athene's accumulation-focused FIAs. A few points of real distinction: the crediting menu here is unusually deep for the category, the tiered opt-in fee structure gives buyers more control than a fixed, one-size-fits-all crediting rate, and the complete absence of a rider fee sets it apart from contracts that bundle in an income rider whether or not you plan to use it.

The clearest trade-off against a rider-included contract like the Allianz 222 is exactly that rider: the 222 keeps its Protected Income Value benefit bundled at no separate charge, so a buyer who might eventually want income has an option Corebridge does not offer here at all. Choosing between the two comes down to whether income optionality is worth carrying, even unused, versus a contract built purely for growth. For a broader look at how FIA carriers stack up against each other, see our Athene Performance Elite 7 review and our income riders guide.

How to buy a Corebridge Power Select Builder annuity

Corebridge sells this contract only through licensed, independent insurance professionals, so you cannot purchase it directly from the company. In practice, the process looks like this:

1. Decide on a premium amount and confirm the contract is available in your state.
2. Review the disclosure with a licensed strategist, paying particular attention to how the crediting menu and tiered fee options work, 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 contract.
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 Power Select Builder with other top-rated accumulation FIAs side by side, so you see exactly how the guaranteed floor and crediting menu stack up before you commit to one.

Other annuities to consider

If the Power Select Builder is on your list, these reviews are worth reading next:

• Corebridge company review: the carrier's full history, ownership and product lineup
• Allianz 222 review: an income-rider FIA with a bundled bonus, for buyers who want income optionality
• Athene Performance Elite 7 review: another accumulation-focused FIA at the A tier
• FIA crediting methods explained: how caps, participation rates and fee tiers actually work