Mini Feature MYGA

By: Dr K C Gupta, YBB Personal Finance

CONTRARIAN INDICATORS
AAII Bull-Bear Spread -1.6% (below average)
CNN Fear & Greed Index 67 (greed)
NYSE %Above 50-dMA 62.20% (positive)
SP500 %Above 50-dMA 54.80% (positive)

ICI Fund Allocations (Cumulative), 3/31/26
OEFs & ETFs: Stocks 60.49%, Hybrids 4.01%, Bonds 17.98%, M-Mkt 17.53%

INTEREST RATES

CME FedWatch
Cycle peak 5.25-5.50%
Current 3.50-3.75%
FOMC 6/17/26+ hold
FOMC 7/29/26+ hold

Treasury

T-Bills 3-mo yield 3.68%, 1-yr 3.73%; T-Notes 2-yr 3.88%, 5-yr 4.02%, 10-yr 4.39%; T-Bonds 30-yr 4.97%;
TIPS/Real yields 5-yr 1.33%, 10-yr 1.91%, 30-yr 2.67%
FRNs Index 3.623%

Bank Rates 
www.depositaccounts.com/


Stable-Value (SV) Rates, 5/1/26
TIAA Traditional Annuity (Accumulation) Rates
Restricted RC 5.25%, RA 5.00%
Flexible RCP 4.50%, SRA 4.25%, IRA-101110+ 3.50%
TIAA MYGA 4.15% (3-yr), 4.30% (5-yr), 4.40% (7-yr)
TSP G Fund 4.50% (previous 4.375%)

India Fear & Greed MMI 63.69 (greed)
Weekly ETFs: INDA -0.93%, INDY -0.62%, EPI -0.23%, INDH +0.71%, SPY +0.94%

The data above are as of Sunday preceding the publication date.

ECONOMY

India is the 6th largest economy in the new annual IMF data for $GDP. Weak rupee & GDP base & benchmark revisions by India were responsible for this rank decline. The unofficial claims for #4 were premature. However, India remains the fastest major economy.
Top 10: #1-US, #2-China, #3-Germany, #4-Japan, #5-UK, #6-INDIA, #7-France, #8-Italy, #9-Russia, #10-Brazil.

FINANCIAL

Bharat Maritime Insurance (BMI) Pool of $1.4 billion for 10 years, renewable for another 5 years, has been initiated. Based in GIFT City (IFSC), it would be managed by GIC Re. It will provide insurance coverage for Indian-flagged vessels, Indian-controlled ships & vessels carrying cargo to or from India. India has so far relied on foreign insurers that can raise premiums suddenly or withdraw insurance on short notices.

US I-Bonds rate, 5/1/26 – 10/31/26, 4.26% (previous 4.03%).

INDUSTRIAL

Austrian company Getzner Werkstoffe (GW) has opened a new manufacturing for railroad vibration-isolation systems in Baramati (near Pune) expanding its local presence in India. Global GW specializes in vibration isolation solutions for transportation (railroads), construction & industrial applications.

German printing ink & coating company Seigwerk is buying Hi-Tech Inks, India, to expand capabilities in specialized inks used for printing on packaging. It bought Swiss SICPA’s packaging inks division in 2005.

GEOPOLITICAL

UK shelved Diego Garcia deal for this session of the parliament. The planned UK deal involved the handover of Diego Garcia Island to Mauritius & get a 99-yr leaseback to be subleased for the US base there. But US switched from initial support to being critical of the deal. Without US formal commitment, UK has shelved the deal for now. Mauritius will press on its claim on the Island in other ways.

SPECIAL TOPIC – MYGA

MYGA are multiyear (3-10 years) guaranteed annuities that can be viewed as tax-deferred CDs from insurers or fixed-annuities (typically with longer-terms & for higher amounts) tailored for bank CD buyers. The guarantee is from the insurer (regulated by states), not FDIC, so stick with highly rated insurers. If the insurer goes under, the resolution may take a long time or there may be steep haircuts for quick withdrawals.

MYGA money stays within the annuity wrapper with related restrictions – penalties for withdrawals before 59.5; on the other hand, earnings are tax-deferred until withdrawn. There may also be early surrender charges (early withdrawal penalties for bank CDs are less severe).

At maturity, you can rollover to another MYGA or another form of annuity from the same insurer/ vendor, or can use 1035 transfer/exchange to another insurer/ vendor. Higher rates than bank CDs are offered because insurers consider MYGA captive money.

MYGAs can also be bought within IRAs although IRAs already have tax-deferral (T-IRA) or are tax-free in retirement (R-IRA). Those are subject to additional requirements such as RMDs from T-IRAs & have additional features such as QCDs from T-IRA (although possible from R-IRAs too, but there isn’t much benefit from that). You may also be familiar with IRA CDs that look similar but are from banks (not insurers) & FDIC insured; these have lower rates compared to MYGAs.

MYGAs have been around at least since 1990s, but became popular in 2022 that was historically the worst year for allocation/balanced funds as both stocks & bonds had bad year. Surprisingly, MYGA sales have remained strong since then.

Annuities are complex products with several bells & whistles that are sold with very long prospectuses. Unless you have special needs, stick with basic annuities – MYGA, immediate-annuities, etc. Beware that agents get very high commissions for complex annuities, so be prepared to ask for what you want.

For more information, see ybbpersonalfinance.proboards.com/