Equitable BrightLife Grow IUL Review (2026)

How BrightLife Grow works

BrightLife Grow is indexed universal life insurance. It pays a death benefit when the insured dies. While the insured is alive, part of each premium builds a cash value that can earn interest tied to stock indexes. Equitable says the policy "is designed to accumulate wealth, potentially produce retirement income and fund the death benefit." It is the only IUL Equitable lists for sale. For the company's ratings, its pending merger with Corebridge and its record with existing owners, see our Equitable company review.

Two companies issue it. Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company issues it in New York and Puerto Rico. Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company of America, an Arizona company, issues it everywhere else. Both are rated A (Excellent) by AM Best, A+ by S&P and A1 by Moody's, and since late March 2026, right after the merger was announced, all three agencies have had those ratings on watch.

Here is the money flow in plain terms:

1. You pay a premium. Premiums are flexible: within limits, you choose how much and when. Premium charges come off what you pay.
2. You split the money among four index options and a fixed account called the Guaranteed Interest Account. You can change your allocation at any time without fees or taxes, according to Equitable's brochure.
3. Every month, Equitable deducts the cost of insurance and other charges from your account.
4. At the end of each index segment, each index option earns a credit based on how its index moved, up to a cap. The credit is never below 0%.
5. Later, you can borrow against or withdraw from the cash value, often to supplement retirement income.

The key point: the 0% floor protects the interest credit, not your cash value. Equitable's brochure says that if index returns are negative, "your cash value will not decrease due to performance." That is true of the credit only. Monthly charges still come out in a 0% year, so the cash value can shrink. Equitable's own disclosures say plainly that cost of insurance, premium charges and other charges "will also impact your cash values."

You also choose a death benefit option. Under Option A, the death benefit generally equals the face amount. Under Option B, it generally equals the face amount plus your account value, which usually means a higher cost of insurance but lets the death benefit grow with the cash value. See IUL death benefit options.

This is life insurance, not an investment account. If you are weighing it against one, read is IUL a good investment first.

Index options and current rates

BrightLife Grow offers four index options plus the Guaranteed Interest Account. Equitable does not publish current caps for any of them in a public consumer document we could find. Its consumer materials describe how the options work, and that is what the table below shows. Current caps are available on request.

The fact card is dated June 2025, more than a year ago. Treat the 100% participation it describes as a description of the design, and confirm it on your illustration. Equitable's brochure says it can change the cap and participation rate "for new indexed options," but "these rates will never be less than the minimums stated in the policy." It does not publish those minimums. Ask for them in writing, because they are the only part of the crediting formula that is guaranteed.

What the indexes are

• S&P 500: 500 large U.S. companies.
• Russell 2000: about 2,000 smaller U.S. companies. Small-company stocks tend to swing more than large ones.
• MSCI EAFE: stocks in developed markets in Europe, Australasia and the Far East.

All three are price return versions, which leave out dividends. Equitable's brochure notes that the S&P 500 figures in its example do not include dividends, and its consumer page says the indexed options do not pass dividends through to you.

A plus: these are well-known indexes you can follow in the newspaper. Some IULs use custom volatility-controlled indexes designed by banks, which are harder to judge and can show high participation rates that mean less than they appear to. See volatility-controlled indexes.

The 3-year option

The 3-year S&P 500 option measures the index over three years instead of one. Longer terms can smooth out a single bad year, but they also tie your money to one segment for longer. Equitable's consumer materials do not explain when the 3-year credit is applied or what happens to it if you surrender, take a loan or the insured dies before the term ends. Ask before you put money there.

Hypothetical crediting example

Equitable's own brochure illustrates the design with a hypothetical 10.5% cap on the 1-year S&P 500 option. It is not a current or promised rate. Using that hypothetical cap, before any charges:

In strong years you give up everything above the cap. In a down year the floor is what you get, and your monthly charges still come out. Our guides to IUL cap rates and participation rates go deeper.

The Guaranteed Interest Account

The Guaranteed Interest Account credits a rate Equitable sets, with a 2% guaranteed minimum. It can make sense for money you want steady, such as the portion you plan to borrow against soon. Equitable does not publish the current rate in its consumer materials; ask for it and for how it is shown on your illustration. See fixed account.

Charges

Equitable's consumer materials name BrightLife Grow's charges but do not give amounts. They say that "cost of insurance, premium charges and other charges will also impact your cash values," and that surrender charges "run 15 years or longer." Ask for every amount, current and guaranteed maximum, on a signed illustration before you apply.

The cost of insurance deserves the closest look. It is the charge a universal life insurer can raise on an existing policy, up to the guaranteed maximum in the contract. Equitable did that in 2016 on some universal life policies (not IULs) issued in the mid-2000s to people 70 and older with $1 million or more of coverage, which led to a class action settled in 2023. Our company review has the details. Compare the guaranteed column of the illustration, not just the current one. See IUL fees and charges and IUL surrender charges.

The Cash Value Plus Rider, at an extra charge, reduces the surrender charge and may partly refund some deductions if you surrender in the first 8 policy years. It can matter if there is any chance you will need to walk away early. Ask what it costs and how much it adds to early cash values.

Loans and withdrawals

Equitable's fact card describes two loan types. You can borrow up to the net cash surrender value.

Equitable does not publish the loan interest rates, the rate credited on borrowed money, or how an alternate loan works in its consumer materials. The difference matters. With some loan designs, the borrowed amount stops earning index credits; with others, it keeps earning them while interest is charged, which can help or hurt depending on the index. Ask for both loan types to be shown on your illustration, with the current and maximum loan rates. See IUL policy loans and loans vs withdrawals.

Withdrawals: available after the first policy year and before the policy anniversary at age 121. Each withdrawal must be at least $500 and cannot reduce the face amount below $50,000. Under death benefit Option A, a withdrawal reduces the face amount. Withdrawals during the surrender period can reduce what you have left, so ask how surrender charges apply.

Taxes. Withdrawals up to your premiums paid are generally not taxed, though Equitable's materials note exceptions for partial withdrawals in the first 15 years. Loans are not taxed while the policy stays in force and is not a modified endowment contract (MEC). A policy that takes too much premium too fast in its first seven years becomes a MEC; then loans and withdrawals are taxed as gain first, with a possible 10% extra tax before age 59 and a half. The biggest risk is a lapse: if the policy lapses or is surrendered with a loan outstanding, the loan balance is generally treated as a taxable distribution. See IUL taxes.

Riders and built-in features

Long-Term Care Services Rider (extra charge). It pays part of the death benefit early to cover qualified long-term care expenses. Monthly payments can be up to 3% of the death benefit when payments begin. You must qualify medically for the rider separately from the policy, and it cannot be combined with the return of premium rider. Every dollar paid reduces the death benefit. See IUL long-term care riders.

No-Lapse Guarantee Rider (included). The policy will not end for 10 years, or until age 90 if that comes first, regardless of performance, as long as you pay the required premiums and loans with interest do not exceed the account value. With the return of premium rider, the guarantee lasts 5 years. Paying only the minimum builds little cash value. See no-lapse guarantee rider.

Return of Premium Death Benefit Rider (extra charge). Adds a death benefit equal to a percentage of premiums paid.

Charitable Legacy Rider (no charge). Adds a benefit of 1% of the base face amount, up to $100,000, for up to two qualified charities.

Other riders: disability waiver of monthly deductions (the disability must begin before the policy anniversary nearest age 60, with a narrower benefit after that), children's term insurance, and an option to buy more coverage on set dates without new medical evidence.

Overloan protection. Equitable's consumer materials do not describe an overloan protection rider for BrightLife Grow. Such a rider can keep a heavily borrowed policy from lapsing late in life, which prevents a surprise tax bill. If you plan to take loan income, ask whether any such feature applies and on what terms. See overloan protection.

How the illustration is built

You will decide on this policy by reading an illustration, a year-by-year projection of premiums, cash values and death benefits. The guaranteed column assumes maximum charges and the guaranteed minimum credits. The non-guaranteed column assumes today's charges and an illustrated rate held level for decades.

The NAIC's AG 49-A limits how high that illustrated rate can be and how much benefit loan arbitrage can show in the projection. Equitable does not publish BrightLife Grow's maximum illustrated rate in its consumer materials, so ask for it on your illustration. Our own rule for hypotheticals is to stay at or below the AG 49-A limit and never above 6.5%. We also suggest running a second illustration 1 to 2 points lower. Real crediting varies year to year, and the order of good and bad years matters once loans begin.

Because Equitable does not publish BrightLife Grow's caps or charges, the illustration is the only place you will see them. Ask for the guaranteed minimum caps, the guaranteed maximum cost of insurance, and both loan types. Our guide on how to read an IUL illustration walks through each column.

Who BrightLife Grow fits

• You need permanent life insurance and have used cheaper tax-advantaged options first, such as a 401(k) match and an IRA. See IUL vs 401(k).
• You can fund the policy well for at least the 15-year surrender period. That is what max-funded IUL means.
• You want simple, public indexes, including small-company and international options, over custom indexes.
• You value a 2% minimum on the fixed account and a long-term care rider on the same policy.
• You are comfortable with a carrier whose ratings are on watch until its merger with Corebridge settles.

Who should look elsewhere

• You may need the money within 15 years. Surrender charges last at least that long.
• You want to compare published caps before you meet anyone. Equitable does not post BrightLife Grow's rates.
• You mainly want a death benefit at the lowest cost. Term insurance or guaranteed universal life is built for that.
• You plan heavy loan income late in life and want an overloan protection rider spelled out in the sales materials.
• You cannot commit to steady premiums. Underfunded accumulation IULs are the ones that lapse. See IUL lapse risk.
• You want a carrier with stable ratings. All three agencies have had Equitable on watch since the merger was announced in March 2026.

To see how BrightLife Grow stacks up against other accumulation designs, compare it in our IUL comparison tool or see the best IUL for cash accumulation.