Retirement Resource Center · Guide
Understanding Your Annuity Statement
A plain language guide to the values, credits, and charges that appear on a typical annuity statement, so you can read yours with more confidence.
Written for people who already own an annuity and want to understand their statement, or who are considering one and want to know what the numbers mean. Features, charges, restrictions, and guarantees depend on your specific contract, so always read your own contract and consult a qualified professional about your situation.
The Terms That Matter Most
Contract Value or Accumulation Value
The value of your contract based on premiums paid plus interest credited, minus any withdrawals and charges. This is the number most statements feature most prominently.
Surrender Value
The amount you would receive if you ended the contract today. It is often lower than the contract value because surrender charges may apply, especially in the early years of a contract.
Income Benefit Base
A figure used by some contracts with income riders to calculate future income payments. It is often a bookkeeping value used to calculate benefits, not cash available to withdraw. It may grow at a stated rate, but you generally cannot take it as a lump sum.
Interest Credits
The interest added to your contract. Fixed contracts credit a declared rate. Fixed indexed contracts credit interest linked in part to the change in a market index, subject to caps, spreads, or participation rates. An index linked interest credit is different from directly investing in an index: you do not own the index or its stocks, and your credited rate is usually limited by the contract terms.
Rider Charges
Optional benefits such as income or enhanced death benefit riders usually carry an annual charge, often a percentage of a contract value or benefit base. These charges reduce your contract value over time.
Withdrawals
Money you take out of the contract. Withdrawals may be subject to surrender charges, may reduce values and benefits, and may have tax consequences. Many contracts allow a limited free withdrawal amount each year.
Death Benefits
The amount payable to beneficiaries if the contract owner dies. Depending on the contract, this may be the contract value or an enhanced amount, and rider charges may apply for enhanced benefits.
A Note on Guarantees
Any guarantees in an annuity contract depend on the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance company. They are not backed by any government agency. Before relying on a guarantee, review the contract and consider the strength of the insurer behind it.
Questions to Ask About Your Statement
- Which value on my statement is available to me as cash, and which is used only to calculate benefits?
- What surrender charges apply today, and when do they end?
- What riders am I paying for, what do they cost each year, and what do they provide?
- How was my most recent interest credit calculated?
- What happens to each value if I withdraw money, annuitize, or pass away?
Watch the Walkthrough
Reading Your Annuity Statement
Video coming soon
Related Resources
Want a second set of eyes on your statement? Bring it to a Retirement Conversation and we will walk through it together, line by line.
Schedule a Retirement ConversationDraft for review. Last reviewed: October 23, 2026