Security Benefit's Blueprint annuity lands on Barron's 2026 best list

Security Benefit's Blueprint fixed index annuity, launched in June, has been named to Barron's 100 Best Annuities for 2026. The Topeka, Kan., insurer announced the honor Aug. 18. Barron's ran its screen on a hypothetical $200,000 investor, using a pricing database from Cannex. The field was limited to insurers with an AM Best financial strength rating of A- or better.

The list arrives early in the product's life. Dave Byrnes, head of distribution, pitches Blueprint as a principal-protected alternative to CDs, Treasuries, and money market funds, and as a part of a fixed income ladder. Doug Wolff, the CEO, said in the announcement that advisors can use the contract to adapt plans to clients' goals.

Surrender length is the product's distinguishing feature. Barron's lists the contract with a five-year surrender and guarantee period. Security Benefit goes shorter: it says Blueprint is among the industry's only fixed index annuities offering guarantee-period fixed account rates and index account caps inside a three-year surrender charge period. A three-year charge period shortens the client's commitment, and the insurer argues that lowers renewal-rate concern.

RIAs working the insurance channel can use the Barron's listing as a third-party reference point to show clients. Security Benefit also points advisors to its results in the J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Life & Annuity Distribution Partner Experience Study. The three-year term does the actual work here: it cuts the commitment indexed annuities usually demand, leaving more room to reposition a plan when rates move.

The actual test comes after the surrender period ends, when renewal behavior gets set. Blueprint's three-year design brings that moment sooner.