Fixed Indexed Annuity

American Equity AssetShield 5

American Equity

Get my rate report

8.25%

Best S&P 500 Annual Cap

10%

Free W/D

Available jurisdictions

Product data status: September 18, 2026

Rates, state availability, rider terms, and contract language must be confirmed with a licensed financial advisor or insurance professional before purchase. Guarantees are backed by the issuing insurer.

Model this product

See what American Equity AssetShield 5 would do for you

Set your numbers and switch between growth strategies and liquidity scenarios. Index losses credit 0% — the floor — so a down market never reduces your value.

Product analyzer

Illustrative — live CANNEX rates as of September 18, 2026; not a projection or guarantee.

Premium$100,000

Your age60

Crediting strategy

Compare against

$314,889

Est. value at age 80 (American Equity AssetShield 5)

8.25%

Best S&P 500 1-yr point-to-point cap

S&P 500 Index — 11% Cap (Performance Rate Rider · Annual)

✦

How crediting works: the cap limits positive index returns; a down year credits 0%, never a loss. A cap strategy tracks the index within its terms. What is a cap vs participation? →

Assumptions: illustrative — applies American Equity AssetShield 5's published cap rate (11% on S&P 500 Index) to a standard benchmark hypothetical index path (~5.4%/yr average, including down years) with a 0% floor over 20 years. Not a projection, quote, or guarantee. Live CANNEX rates as of September 18, 2026.

Free Comparison Report

Get an American Equity AssetShield 5 rate report

See how American Equity AssetShield 5 compares for your age, state, premium, and income goals alongside other American Equity fixed indexed annuity options.

Get my rate report

rate data

Run numbers for American Equity AssetShield 5

rates, riders, crediting strategies, state availability, and contract facts stay scoped to this American Equity product.

Live product data

Rates as of September 18, 2026, from AdvisorWorld and CANNEX.

S&P 500 annual cap rate

8.25% cap on S&P 500

A short-surrender (five-year) fixed indexed annuity from an A-rated carrier, structured for accumulation rather than guaranteed income — no GLWB rider, no Protected Income Value, with a cap-, participation-, and trigger-led index menu spanning S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, Dow Jones, and several proprietary volatility-controlled indexes, plus an optional fee-bearing 'Performance Rate Rider' enhancement on most strategies.

1-year term5-year surrenderDoes not vary by premiumAdvisorWorld + CANNEX data

Best fit

Buyers who want index-linked accumulation on a short five-year surrender commitment, are comfortable choosing between a standard cap option and a fee-bearing Performance Rate Rider variant on the same index, and do not need a contractually guaranteed lifetime-income rider built into the contract.

AM Best

A Excellent

Surrender period

5 years

Free withdrawal

10%/yr

Availability

50 jurisdictions (excl. New York)

Featured crediting strategies

Caps, participation rates, and declared rates are shown separately.

Index / strategyRate mechanicsCreditingSurrenderPremium

S&P 500

S&P 500 Index

unknown

8.25% cap rate

Annual cap

1-year term · 5-year surrender · Does not vary by premium

1-year term

5-year surrender

Does not vary by premium

S&P 500

S&P 500 Index

Performance Rate Rider · unknown

11% cap rate

Annual cap

PRR fee not shown

1-year term · 5-year surrender · Does not vary by premium

1-year term

5-year surrender

Does not vary by premium

S&P 500

S&P 500 Index

Monthly Point to Point · unknown

1.8% cap rate

Monthly cap

1-year term · 5-year surrender · Does not vary by premium

1-year term

5-year surrender

Does not vary by premium

S&P 500

S&P 500 Index

Monthly Point to Point with Performance Rate Rider · unknown

2.7% cap rate

Monthly cap

PRR fee not shown

1-year term · 5-year surrender · Does not vary by premium

1-year term

5-year surrender

Does not vary by premium

S&P 500

S&P 500 Index

unknown

4.5% trigger rate

Performance trigger

1-year term · 5-year surrender · Does not vary by premium

1-year term

5-year surrender

Does not vary by premium

S&P 500

S&P 500 Index

unknown

40% participation rate

Participation

1-year term · 5-year surrender · Does not vary by premium

1-year term

5-year surrender

Does not vary by premium

S&P 500

S&P 500 Index

Performance Rate Rider · unknown

50% participation rate

Participation

PRR fee not shown

1-year term · 5-year surrender · Does not vary by premium

1-year term

5-year surrender

Does not vary by premium

S&P 500

S&P 500 Index

unknown

Rate detail not shown

Annual crediting

1-year term · 5-year surrender · Does not vary by premium

1-year term

5-year surrender

Does not vary by premium

S&P 500

S&P 500 Index

Performance Rate Rider · unknown

Rate detail not shown

Annual crediting

PRR fee not shown

1-year term · 5-year surrender · Does not vary by premium

1-year term

5-year surrender

Does not vary by premium

S&P 500

S&P 500 Index

Monthly Point to Point · unknown

Rate detail not shown

Monthly cap

1-year term · 5-year surrender · Does not vary by premium

1-year term

5-year surrender

Does not vary by premium

S&P 500

S&P 500 Index

Monthly Point to Point with Performance Rate Rider · unknown

Rate detail not shown

Monthly cap

PRR fee not shown

1-year term · 5-year surrender · Does not vary by premium

1-year term

5-year surrender

Does not vary by premium

Nasdaq-100

Nasdaq-100 Index

unknown

7% cap rate

Annual cap

1-year term · 5-year surrender · Does not vary by premium

1-year term

5-year surrender

Does not vary by premium

Nasdaq-100

Nasdaq-100 Index

unknown

6.25% trigger rate

Performance trigger

1-year term · 5-year surrender · Does not vary by premium

1-year term

5-year surrender

Does not vary by premium

Nasdaq-100

Nasdaq-100 Index

unknown

Rate detail not shown

Annual crediting

1-year term · 5-year surrender · Does not vary by premium

1-year term

5-year surrender

Does not vary by premium

Dow Jones

Dow Jones Industrial Average

unknown

6.75% cap rate

Annual cap

1-year term · 5-year surrender · Does not vary by premium

1-year term

5-year surrender

Does not vary by premium

Dow Jones

Dow Jones Industrial Average

unknown

6% trigger rate

Performance trigger

1-year term · 5-year surrender · Does not vary by premium

1-year term

5-year surrender

Does not vary by premium

Dow Jones

Dow Jones Industrial Average

unknown

Rate detail not shown

Annual crediting

1-year term · 5-year surrender · Does not vary by premium

1-year term

5-year surrender

Does not vary by premium

+ 31 additional crediting options (Index not, S&P 500, BNP Paribas...)

Product analyst notes

How to think about this contract

Why it can stand out

Short five-year surrender term — unusually brief for an FIA with a recognizable S&P 500 cap option, which keeps the buyer's liquidity commitment well under the seven-to-ten year window typical of this category.
Index menu spans recognizable benchmarks (S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, Dow Jones Industrial Average) alongside several volatility-controlled and sector indexes (BNP Paribas Patriot Technology, NYSE Premier, Nasdaq Premier, BlackRock Adaptive US Equity, S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Daily Risk Control 5%), with cap, participation-rate, and performance-trigger crediting mechanics all available on a single contract.
Annual free-withdrawal allowance plus three surrender-charge waivers (bail-out provision, nursing-home waiver, terminal-illness waiver), so multiple penalty-free exit paths are written into the base contract.
Carrier financial-strength is rated by more than one independent agency (A.M. Best and S&P both at 'A'), so the strength view is not a single-source read.

What to confirm

This contract is NOT an income product. There is no optional GLWB rider attached and no Protected Income Value mechanism — the only optional features are surrender-charge waivers for nursing-home and terminal-illness events, which waive the penalty on withdrawals but do not guarantee a lifetime income stream. Buyers needing a contractually guaranteed lifetime withdrawal rate should look at American Equity's IncomeShield series instead.
Many of the publicly headlined rates are 'Performance Rate Rider' (PRR) variants — a fee-bearing enhancement that pays a higher cap or participation rate on the same index in exchange for an allocation charge against the account value. The PRR cap is NOT directly comparable to a standard cap on the same index, and the rider charge can materially reduce the realized credit in a flat-or-down index year — evaluate the standard strategy and the PRR variant as two distinct trades.
Several of the alternative indexes are proprietary, volatility-controlled, or sector-concentrated (BNP Paribas Patriot Technology, BlackRock Adaptive US Equity 15%, S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Daily Risk Control 5%, S&P 500 Advantage 15% VT TCA). Their participation rates look high in absolute terms but are not directly comparable to an S&P 500 cap — evaluate each strategy on its own merits.
The guaranteed-minimum cap floor and guaranteed-minimum declared rate are very low — caps and the fixed-account rate can reset down toward those floors at each renewal, and the buyer carries that renewal risk for the full five-year surrender term. The death benefit is the standard cash-surrender-value design with no roll-up or step-up.

Not ideal for

Buyers who need a contractually guaranteed lifetime withdrawal rate from a GLWB rider (look at the IncomeShield series instead), a premium bonus to offset a longer surrender term, a death-benefit roll-up beyond cash surrender value, or a contract written in New York — none of those are what this contract is built to deliver.

Free Comparison Report

Get an American Equity AssetShield 5 rate report

See how American Equity AssetShield 5 compares for your age, state, premium, and income goals alongside other American Equity fixed indexed annuity options.

Get my rate report

All crediting strategies

View rate listings (48 strategies)

These are the current crediting strategies available for this product. Use the filters to narrow by index, term, premium band, or rate type.

Par: 175% · 1-yr

S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Daily Risk Control 5% Index (USD) Excess Return

Performance Rate Rider · unknown