Product guide

Shield Level II Annuities

A RILA from Brighthouse · reviewed from official materials, July 2026

Brighthouse's flagship buffered annuity family: the insurer absorbs the first slice of index losses — the Shield Rate — and the rest is yours.

The decoder

Reading the quote

A Shield Rate plus a cap — and no floor beneath

Brighthouse quotes two numbers. The Shield Rate (10%, 15%, or 25%) is "the amount of any negative index performance that is absorbed by the issuing insurance company at the term end date" — their buffer. The Cap Rate is "the maximum rate that can be earned at the end of the term." Their own fact card completes the picture: "Negative index performance beyond the Shield Rate could result in a substantial loss." There is no floor, the indices are price-return (dividends excluded), and step-rate and participation variants each trade the cap differently.

Shield Level II is a registered index-linked annuity: you pick an index, a term, and a Shield Rate; Brighthouse absorbs losses up to that buffer and credits gains up to the cap (or by step/participation formulas). Because the buffer is finite and there is no floor, this is a securities product sold by prospectus with genuine downside — the design question is always whether the cap you are paid justifies the tail risk you keep.

Details that move the math: performance is credited only at term end (an interim lock feature exists, once per term, irrevocably), the indices exclude dividends — a meaningful drag versus total return — and the highest advertised caps can carry an option fee. A death benefit floor of the purchase payment applies for issue ages 80 and under.

Key structural terms

Minimum premium: $25,000, single premium
Maximum issue age: 85
Terms: 1-, 2-, 3-, or 6-year, by product version
Withdrawal charges: 6-year: 7/7/6/5/4/3%, then 0; 3-year: 6/6/5%; Advisory: none
Free withdrawal: 10% of account value per year after year one
Indices: S&P 500, Russell 2000, MSCI EAFE, Nasdaq-100 — price return, no dividends
Fees: No annual contract fee; a Shield Option Fee on certain higher-cap options

Structural terms summarized from Brighthouse's official product materials as reviewed in July 2026. Terms vary by state and change over time — confirm every detail with the carrier or its representative before acting. Current rates are deliberately not printed here.

The comparison

Against a payment stream

These are opposites. A RILA accepts market risk within defined bounds for equity-linked upside; a payment stream removes market movement from the equation entirely — a fixed schedule at a stated estimated yield, with the issuing carrier's credit as the risk that remains. Investors choose by which uncertainty they would rather own.

The family mechanics are covered in our RILA decoder; what the secondary market pays right now is on the current estimated yields page. And because Brighthouse also stands behind payment streams we list, its role as an issuer is profiled on our Brighthouse carrier page.

View Available Income Options About Brighthouse

Shield Level II Annuities questions

Can I lose money in a Brighthouse Shield annuity?

Yes. Brighthouse's own fact card states that negative index performance beyond the Shield Rate "could result in a substantial loss." The Shield Rate absorbs only the first 10–25% of a decline depending on your election; there is no floor beyond it.

What these assets are, and what they are not

Guaranteed and life-contingent structured settlement payment rights, and lottery payment rights, represent the right to receive factored payments that Pacific Structured Assets purchases and assigns to investors through a court-approved process. They are purchased at a discount to their total scheduled payments.

These payment rights are NOT annuities, NOT insurance products, and NOT securities registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. They are not bank deposits, are not FDIC-insured, and are not protected by any state insurance guaranty association. The industry term “secondary market annuity” refers to these payment rights and does not mean you are purchasing an insurance annuity contract.

You acquire the right to receive the payments, not the underlying annuity. The annuity itself does not change hands. Unlike the original structured settlement annuity, which may be shielded from creditors under applicable law, the assigned payment rights you purchase generally do not carry that creditor or bankruptcy protection.

Assigned annuities, offered as a separate product line, are existing insurance annuity contracts reassigned to a new owner through a change of ownership or an irrevocable change of payee.

These are long-term holdings with limited liquidity, and may not be suitable for every investor. There is no public trading market and no daily price. Resale or reassignment of a payment stream to another buyer may be possible, and Pacific Structured Assets can assist, but a resale is not guaranteed and the price it would bring is not guaranteed. Because the payments are fixed, that resale value moves with prevailing interest rates: an investor could realize a gain if rates have fallen since purchase, or a loss if rates have risen. These holdings are best suited to capital an investor can commit for the long term. Nothing on this website is tax, legal, financial, or investment advice. Consult your own advisors before investing.

Pacific Structured Assets, Inc. is an independent company. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or otherwise connected to any insurance company, annuity issuer, state lottery, or other payment obligor named on this website. Issuer and carrier names are used solely to identify the entity obligated to make the scheduled payments on a particular payment stream. All company names, trademarks, and service marks are the property of their respective owners; their appearance here is for identification purposes only and does not imply any partnership, agency, sponsorship, endorsement, or other business relationship. No issuer named on this website has reviewed, approved, or endorsed any of its content.

Pacific Structured Assets does not sell, distribute, or advise on Shield Level II Annuities or any newly issued insurance product. This page is independent education for investors comparing income options.

Pacific Structured Assets

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