Annuity Transparency Tool

Is Your Annuity Ripping You Off? — The Annuity X-Ray Report

Turn an opaque annuity contract into a simple question: after fees, lockups, and surrender friction, is this contract actually paying enough to justify what it is costing you?

Treasury and modeled CD benchmarks
Opportunity-cost estimate
Fee and surrender transparency
Retirement Shield Tool
Step 1 of 3
See what the annuity is really paying after the parts salespeople skip.
This report compares the contract’s effective yield against current outside benchmarks and turns the fee stack into an annual drag estimate.
Step 1 of 3
What kind of annuity are we looking at?
These inputs establish the core yield math and the tone of the transparency analysis.
If using payout mode, enter the annual dollar income. If using rate mode, enter the annual percentage rate.
Why this matters
Many retirees know they own an annuity but cannot explain whether the contract is earning enough to justify the lockup.
What this catches
Low credited rates, weak income relative to value, and surrender periods that trap the owner even when the yield is uncompetitive.
What this avoids
This tool does not recommend a new product. It just measures transparency, drag, and opportunity cost.
Step 2 of 3
What fees and penalties are attached to the contract?
Optional fields are okay, but the more of the fee stack we know, the more honest the x-ray becomes.
Step 3 of 3
What context should shape the final report?
This final step frames what the user is worried about and saves the benchmark snapshot with the report so the portal document is stable when reopened.
Building Your Annuity X-Ray
Pulling benchmark rates, translating fees into drag, and measuring opportunity cost.
1
Calculating the contract’s gross and net effective yield...
2
Pulling Treasury-based benchmark data and building comparison rates...
3
Translating fees and surrender terms into annual and lockup drag...
4
Saving the report to your portal so it appears in Documents like the other tools...
Annuity Transparency Report
The Annuity X-Ray Report
A saved annuity benchmark comparison showing effective yield, fee drag, and lockup cost.
Prepared for —
Contract type —
Generated —
Headline
Your contract’s net yield is under review.
The saved report summary appears here.
Benchmark View
How it stacks up against simple outside options
Current Treasury and modeled CD comparisons appear here.
Net Effective Yield
0.0%
After disclosed fees
Annual Opportunity Cost
$0
Vs matched Treasury benchmark
Current Lockup Drag
$0
Based on surrender charge
Quick Comparison
The alternatives your contract should at least be compared against
This is not a product recommendation. It is the basic comparison any annuity owner deserves to see.
Benchmark set
Fee Breakdown
What each fee bucket is costing the contract
Where possible, the tool converts percentage fees into annual dollars against the contract value.
Fee stack
Flags
The parts of the contract that deserve real attention
Flags are built around underperformance, opacity, and lockup risk rather than product sales.
Transparency scan
The annuity callout appears here after generation.
Saved to your portal Documents tab when generated. Edit Inputs lets you rerun the analysis with better contract details later.

Important Disclosures: This annuity transparency tool is for educational purposes only and does not constitute insurance, investment, tax, legal, or financial advice. Benchmark rates shown here are general market comparisons drawn from Treasury-based sources and modeled alternatives, not personalized recommendations or replacement illustrations. Opportunity-cost, fee-drag, and surrender analyses are planning estimates based on user-entered information and may differ from the actual contract language, rider structure, or insurer crediting methodology. Always review annuity contracts, surrender schedules, tax consequences, and replacement considerations with a qualified professional before taking action. © 2026 Retirement Shield. All rights reserved.