MNL Income Planning Annuity Review (2026)

Is the MNL Income Planning Annuity worth it?

Midland National built the Income Planning Annuity around a single job: turning a lump sum into the largest guaranteed lifetime paycheck its age-banded withdrawal table allows, once you activate it. This fixed index annuity comes from an A+ rated carrier that shares a parent company, Sammons Financial Group, with North American, so shoppers researching one of these two contracts usually end up comparing both.

The two products solve the income problem differently. Income Pay Pro 10 uses a compounding roll-up to grow its benefit base every year before activation. Income Planning skips that step entirely: the benefit base always equals your premium, and income grows only because the withdrawal percentage assigned to your activation age climbs the longer you wait. This review walks through that math, using a 60-year-old buyer planning to activate at 70 as the working example, and shows where the structure fits and where it does not.

The headline: what $100,000 can guarantee at age 70

Take a 60-year-old depositing $100,000 into the contract on a non-qualified basis, choosing to activate lifetime income exactly ten years later at age 70. The contract's stated withdrawal percentage at that age is 17.16%, applied to the $100,000 benefit base, which never grew past the original premium because there is no roll-up. That produces $17,160 a year, guaranteed for life, a 17.16% income-to-premium ratio.

That check does not depend on the account value staying positive. Even in a scenario where index credits are modest enough that the accumulation value eventually runs down to nothing years into retirement, the carrier keeps paying the guaranteed amount for as long as the annuitant lives. Curious what a different deposit, age or activation date would guarantee for you? Our income rider calculator works through that math before you ever request a formal illustration.

How that stacks up against the alternatives

For a similar deposit and a similar ten-year deferral, this contract's payout rate sits near the top of what age-banded, no-roll-up structures in the A-rated category currently offer. The closest comparison is its own sibling contract, North American's Income Pay Pro 10, which grows its benefit base through a fixed annual compounding rate instead of an age-based table and charges a touch less for the rider; check that contract's own review for the specific figures if you want the two lined up directly. Set against a plain deferred income annuity or a straight withdrawal plan pulled from invested savings over the same stretch, both Sammons contracts tend to come out ahead, since neither of those alternatives guarantees a payout that climbs the way an age-banded or roll-up structure does.

The no-roll-up structure, explained

Many income riders on competing fixed index annuities advertise a 7%, 8% or 10% compounding roll-up on the benefit base. Income Planning has none of that. The benefit base is simply your premium, full stop, whether you look at it in year one or year sixteen.

Instead, the withdrawal percentage assigned to each activation age does the work a roll-up would normally do elsewhere:

At age 70, the math is a straight $100,000 times 17.16%, equaling $17,160. Between ages 65 and 70 alone, the withdrawal rate climbs from 10.65% to 17.16%, a jump of more than 61% in five years, and that increase is entirely what stands in for the roll-up other contracts use. The practical takeaway: this contract rewards buyers who are confident they will not need income before their mid-sixties, and it rewards waiting even longer beyond that. Buyers eyeing an earlier start, in their early sixties, are better off pricing a different contract, because the percentages at that end of the table are far weaker.

The 1.25% rider fee

The rider costs 1.25% of the initial premium every year, deducted from the accumulation value regardless of how that value performs. On a $100,000 contract, that comes to $1,250 a year, or $12,500 across a ten-year deferral. That sits above the 1.15% Income Pay Pro 10 charges, and above the 0.95% to 1.10% range several other competing riders run.

The extra cost buys two things: a steeper age-banded percentage table than the sister product's compounding roll-up produces at the same activation age, and the enhanced payment feature described below. Buyers should treat the fee as the price of the guarantee rather than something to avoid, since it comes out of the accumulation value every year whether or not the rider is ever activated.

Enhanced payments for ADL impairment

One feature sets Income Planning apart from many income riders: lose the ability to independently handle two out of six standard daily-living tasks, and the guaranteed withdrawal doubles. Some agents call this kind of feature a nursing home doubler out of habit, though Midland National's trigger is the functional impairment itself, not admission to any particular facility.

Two conditions apply. You need a clean bill of health across all six activities on the day the contract is issued, since anyone who already needs help with one is locked out of the enhancement for good. Filing a claim later also means passing medical certification and clearing a waiting period that starts after issue.

For someone worried about a long-term care event but unwilling to buy a standalone policy, this feature works as a partial cushion. It is not a substitute for real long-term care coverage.

Index crediting strategy

The contract's default crediting option allocates to a one-year point-to-point participation rate strategy tied to the S&P 500 price index. There is no cap; the participation rate itself is the only limiter on how much of the index's gain gets credited, and a 0% floor means a down year in the index credits nothing rather than a loss.

Because the participation rate moves with the market and can change at each contract anniversary, this page does not print today's number. Check the rate box above for the current rate in your state, and see our FIA participation rate guide for exactly how that crediting method calculates interest.

Withdrawals, surrender and liquidity

Penalty-free withdrawals are available starting in the first contract year, capped at 5% of the initial premium annually, below the 10% that is standard on many competing fixed index annuities. Buyers who expect to need meaningful access to principal beyond their guaranteed income should weigh that limitation carefully.

The ten-year surrender schedule is also steeper than average in the early years: 10% in each of the first five years, then stepping down to 9%, 8%, 6%, 4% and 2% through year ten. On top of that schedule, a market value adjustment can add to or subtract from what you would get on surrender, depending on how rates outside the contract have moved since you signed. Current carrier practice generally exempts required minimum distributions above the free withdrawal amount from both of those charges. See our surrender charges guide for how these mechanics typically work across the industry.

Four places are off limits entirely: Guam, New York, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Death benefit

The death benefit equals the accumulation value, paid to beneficiaries either as a lump sum or in installments. Before income activation, that value tracks fairly closely with the contract's growth. Once lifetime withdrawals begin and exceed what the contract credits in interest, the accumulation value declines, and the death benefit declines along with it.

If leaving an inheritance is the priority, look at a different Midland National or Sammons Financial Group contract instead. Several of those keep a benefit tied to what you paid in, even once income withdrawals are underway, rather than one that follows the accumulation value down.

Midland National's financial strength

Sammons Financial Group, a privately held company based in West Des Moines, Iowa, sits above Midland National in the ownership chart. That same parent underwrites annuities through a second carrier too, North American Company for Life and Health Insurance, and combined, the pair rank among the country's larger fixed annuity operations.

An A+ rating sits one step below AM Best's highest grade, in the same tier as carriers like Pacific Life and Lincoln Financial. Your state's guaranty association adds a second layer of protection up to a set limit, commonly $250,000 depending on where you live; check your own state's number before depositing more than that with any single carrier. See our Midland National review for the carrier's full ratings, ownership history and product lineup.

Who should buy MNL Income Planning?

This contract fits a fairly specific profile:

• Buyers roughly age 55 to 65 who plan to activate income in their late sixties or early seventies, where the withdrawal table pays the most.
• Buyers who will not need to touch the principal beyond the 5% penalty-free allowance, since the surrender schedule punishes early access.
• Buyers who prioritize the size of the guaranteed check over leaving an inheritance, given the accumulation-value death benefit.
• Buyers who like having a built-in ADL enhancement without buying a separate long-term care policy.
• Buyers comfortable with a 1.25% rider fee in exchange for a strong payout at later activation ages.

It is a weaker fit for anyone under 60 who wants income sooner than the mid-sixties, anyone who values liquidity highly, and anyone focused on maximizing what is left for heirs. New York residents cannot buy this contract at all.

Other annuities to consider

• North American Income Pay Pro 10: the sister product from the same parent company, using a compounding roll-up instead of an age-banded table
• Midland National company review: the carrier's full ratings and product lineup
• Sammons Financial Group review: the ownership structure behind both Midland National and North American
• Athene Ascent Pro 10 Bonus: a bonus-and-roll-up income rider from a different top-rated carrier

How to buy an MNL Income Planning annuity

Midland National sells this contract only through licensed independent insurance professionals. The process usually runs like this:

1. Decide on a premium amount, your planned activation age, and confirm your state allows the contract.
2. Review the contract with a licensed strategist, paying close attention to the age-banded withdrawal table, the 1.25% rider fee, and your free look period.
3. Sign the application and fund it by check, transfer or 1035 exchange.
4. Applications are typically 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 quote the Income Planning Annuity next to its sister product and other top-rated income riders so you can see exactly how the numbers change with your own age and deferral timeline.