Protect your retirement savings with guaranteed interest rates, predictable growth, and available retirement income options. Compare fixed annuities from multiple insurance companies.
Aaron Polk, NPN 21216745
Golden Shield Life Insurance · Georgia Agency License 242517
A fixed annuity is an insurance contract that credits interest at a stated rate for a set period. You deposit part of your savings, the interest grows tax-deferred, and your money is not tied directly to the stock market. When the rate period ends, you can renew at a new rate, withdraw the money, or turn it into income that can last for life.
You did the hard part: you saved. Now you may want part of that money to grow without riding every market swing. A fixed annuity can earn a stated rate, grow tax-deferred, and later provide income that can last for life.
Fixed Annuities Explained 10:26
A fixed annuity works in three simple steps:
You make a lump-sum deposit into a fixed annuity issued by an insurance company.
The insurer credits interest according to the contract. With a MYGA, the rate is guaranteed for a specified number of years.
At the end of the guarantee period, depending on the contract, you may withdraw your money, renew at an available rate, transfer the value, or choose an income option.
A fixed annuity can be funded two ways, and the source of the money decides how it is taxed later.
Money transferred or rolled over from an IRA, 401(k), or another retirement account. It was never taxed going in, so withdrawals are generally taxed as ordinary income.
Money from savings that has already been taxed. Your original deposit is not taxed again; only the earnings are taxable when distributed. There is no annual IRS contribution limit, though the insurer may cap what it accepts.
Either way, interest grows tax-deferred inside the contract. Taxable withdrawals before age 59½ may carry an additional federal tax.
Guarantees are the main reason people buy a fixed annuity. Here is exactly what is guaranteed and what is not.
A fixed annuity credits interest at a rate the insurance company sets and guarantees, so your contract value does not fall when the market does. A variable annuity is invested in market subaccounts, so its value can rise or fall, including below what you paid. Variable annuities are securities, and FINRA regulates the companies and salespeople who sell them. Golden Shield Life Insurance focuses on fixed and fixed indexed annuities.
Fixed annuities can be built for predictable interest, index-linked growth, or future retirement income. The right type depends on what you want the money to do and when you expect to use it.
A multi-year guaranteed annuity, or MYGA, earns a stated interest rate for a chosen number of years. It may fit money from a maturing CD, retirement account, or savings you want to grow predictably without direct stock-market exposure.
When the term ends, you may renew, withdraw the money, or choose an available income option.
A growth-focused fixed indexed annuity credits interest through a fixed option, one or more market indexes, or both. Your money is not invested directly in the index, and a market decline does not directly reduce your contract value.
Interest depends on the contract’s cap, participation rate, spread, or other crediting terms.
An income-focused fixed indexed annuity helps turn part of your savings into future retirement payments. The contract can earn fixed or index-linked interest while an income benefit calculates the amount available for lifetime withdrawals.
The income base used to calculate payments is separate from the contract value available for withdrawal.
These are common fixed annuity designs, not official product classifications. Rates, terms, crediting methods, riders and availability vary by carrier and state.
A fixed annuity can give part of your retirement savings a more predictable purpose. Depending on the contract, it can earn interest, grow tax-deferred, avoid direct market losses, and provide future income.
Predictable GrowthA fixed-rate annuity earns a stated interest rate for a set period. You know the rate and guarantee period before purchasing the contract, making future values easier to estimate.
No Direct Market LossesYour contract value is not invested directly in stocks. Market declines do not directly reduce its value, and credited interest is not lost because an index later falls.
Tax-Deferred InterestInterest is not taxed while it remains in the annuity. This keeps the credited amount in the contract where it can continue to compound.
Retirement IncomeA fixed annuity can provide scheduled payments for a chosen period or for life. Some contracts also provide lifetime withdrawals through an income benefit.
Beneficiary ProtectionYou name a beneficiary to receive the remaining contract value, subject to the contract terms, generally outside probate.
Access to Your MoneyMany contracts permit limited withdrawals each year without a surrender charge. Available amounts and charges for additional withdrawals depend on the contract.
A multi-year guaranteed annuity, or MYGA, pays a stated rate that the insurer guarantees for the full term.
Earn up to
6.35%
That is 1.35 percentage points more each year.
Top rates from our Georgia MYGA rate sheet dated November 10, 2026. The 6.35% rate is from a B++ rated insurer; the top 5-year rate from an A-rated insurer was 6.20%. CD rate: highest 5-year CD APY reported by NerdWallet on October 23, 2026. CDs are FDIC insured within limits; annuities are not. Minimum deposits vary.
Insurers set rates mostly from what they can earn on bonds and other fixed-income investments. The rate leader changes by term, so a 2-year, 5-year and 10-year annuity may each have a different top company. The highest rate is not always the right choice, so compare the contract terms with the rate.
Each term is priced on its own. Compare contracts with the same number of years.
Higher-rated companies (A+ or A++) often pay slightly less. Lower-rated companies may pay more to attract deposits.
Larger deposits, often $100,000 or more, can earn a higher rate on the same contract.
Robert is 65 and recently retired. His $100,000 CD just matured, and he will not need the money for five years. He places it in a hypothetical five-year fixed annuity paying 5.00% a year and makes no withdrawals.
Each year the insurer credits interest, and that interest earns interest of its own. After five years his contract is worth about $127,628, so he earned about $27,628. When the term ends, he can take the money, renew at a new rate, or choose an income option.
How to calculate it
Future Value = Deposit × (1 + Interest Rate)N
N is the number of years
Example: $100,000 at 5% for 5 years
$100,000 × (1.05)5 = $127,628
Hypothetical example for education, assuming annual compounding and no withdrawals or charges. It is not a current offer.