The best SPIA company depends on the payout form you elect. Age, gender, state, premium band, and period certain all move the check. The issuer that leads a five-year period certain can sit out a seven-year board entirely.
At Local Life Agents, we compare SPIA illustrations across 30+ A-rated carriers before clients irrevocably elect a payout form. The ranking below is who we open with on the September 13, 2026 Ohio case we published. Full $100k / $250k / $1M boards are on the SPIA rates page.
Key Takeaways
- Form first. Life-only, joint-life, and period certain are different products. Pick the election, then rank issuers.
- One pick per lane. Each ranked entry is our starting issuer for a 5-year paycheck, 7-year paycheck, small-premium competitiveness, consistency, or form menu.
- Premium band shifts rank. The $100,000 column does not always match the $250,000 ranking.
- Period certain ends. These boards are not lifetime income. A lifetime rider on a deferred annuity is a different illustration.
- The election is hard to undo. After issue, carrier service matters less than the math you signed.
How we picked the best SPIA companies
We ranked issuers on identical assumptions: male, age 65, Ohio, non-qualified, single life with period certain, first payment the month after the quote date. We sorted on the $250,000 column and noted where $100,000 tells a different story.
| Shopping lane | Our top pick |
|---|---|
| 5- and 10-year period certain | Athene |
| 7-year period certain | Integrity (W&S) |
| Smaller premium competitiveness | Nationwide |
| Consistent top-five presence | Minnesota Life |
| Payout-form flexibility | Penn Mutual |
Figures on the cards below are monthly income on $250,000 from that Ohio snapshot. Your state, gender, and joint-life election will change the number. Re-quote when rates move.
Expert Tip: Quote joint-life both ways when ages differ
On joint SPIAs I run the case twice when spouses are different ages—once with each name as primary. Some issuers price more favorably depending on who sits first on the application. That spread is often larger than the gap between third and fourth on a single-life board.
—Ryan Wood
Best SPIA companies by shopping lane
Rank 1: 1. Athene
- 5-year monthly
- $1,688.86
- 10-year monthly
- $1,653.52
- 7-year board
- Did not quote
- Leads the five-year and ten-year period-certain boards we published
- Absent from the seven-year board on that same quote date
- A one-carrier quote would have missed the seven-year leader entirely
- Same brand may appear on FIA shortlists—do not reuse this payout rank for an indexed contract
Athene is the first five- and ten-year illustration we run on this design. It is not a universal SPIA winner. On the seven-year board we published, Athene did not quote—Integrity did. That is the point of shopping more than one name.
Best for: Single-life period certain at five or ten years when Athene is filed in your state.
Consider if: You need seven years, joint-life, or a refund option. Re-rank. Do not force the five-year winner onto a different election.
Rank 2: 2. Integrity
- 7-year monthly
- $1,663.62
- 5-year rank
- Second on $250k
- 10-year rank
- Second on $250k
- Leads the seven-year period-certain board we published on $250,000
- Nationwide is a few cents behind on that column and leads $100,000
- Stays in the top two on five- and ten-year $250,000 rankings
- Useful when Athene is not filed or not quoting the term you need
Integrity (Western & Southern) is the seven-year starting point on the snapshot we published. Nationwide sits close enough that a $100,000 premium can flip the order. We illustrate both.
Best for: Seven-year period certain, and as the backup on five- and ten-year when Athene is unavailable.
Consider if: You are writing $100,000. Check Nationwide on the same form before you assume Integrity still leads.
Rank 3: 3. Nationwide
- Role
- $100k column competitor
- 7-year $250k
- $1,663.18
- Pattern
- Leads some $100k rows
- Leads the $100,000 column on several boards where it trails at $250,000
- Seven-year $250,000 payout sits $0.44 behind Integrity on the snapshot we published
- Drops to fourth on the ten-year $250,000 ranking
- Required compare whenever premium is at the low band
Nationwide is the reason we never rank SPIAs on one premium column. A buyer with $100,000 and a buyer with $250,000 can get different winners on the same form and quote date.
Best for: Premiums near $100,000, and as the second seven-year illustration next to Integrity.
Consider if: You are funding $250,000 or $1 million at ten-year period certain. Start with Athene, then Integrity.
Rank 4: 4. Minnesota Life
- Pattern
- Top five on all three terms
- 5-year $250k
- $1,667.98
- Role
- Stability compare
- Appears in the top five on five-, seven-, and ten-year boards we published
- Rarely the mailer leader; often the contract that still looks sane after form changes
- Same issuer appears on our FIA seven-year cap lane—different product, different illustration
- Useful when you want a third A-rated name without stretching for a one-month spike
Minnesota Life is the consistency pick. We include it so the client sees a carrier that shows up on every term rather than only the name that won one column.
Best for: Buyers who want a third quote after Athene and Integrity, especially if they may change period certain before they sign.
Consider if: You already know the term and just want the highest $250,000 paycheck. Start with the lane leader.
Rank 5: 5. Penn Mutual
- 5-year $250k
- $1,664.15
- 7-year $250k
- $1,656.22
- Standout feature
- Payout-form menu
- Stays in the top five across the three period-certain boards we published
- We reach for Penn Mutual when the election is joint-life, refund, or a form the yield leader does not offer cleanly
- A slightly lower monthly check can be the right contract if the survivor option is the actual job
- Mutual carrier—useful when the client already knows the brand from whole life work
Penn Mutual is not the raw $250,000 leader on these boards. It is the issuer we add when the payout form is the decision, not the headline. Life-only from a yield leader is the wrong quote if the client needs joint-and-survivor.
Best for: Couples, refund-at-death requests, and clients who will not sign a form the lane leader does not support.
Consider if: You are single-life period certain and only chasing the highest monthly number. Start with Athene or Integrity.
How to compare these companies
Lock age, gender, state, premium, and payout form. Then we run the lane winner plus at least one other issuer. Changing any of those inputs can reorder the list.
Compare annuity illustrations
Ready to illustrate payouts for your age and payout form on the same premium?
Who this ranking is not for
A SPIA is a poor fit if you need the premium back, want the account to keep accumulating, or have not decided how to protect a spouse. For a locked yield, use best MYGA companies. For cap-and-floor accumulation, use best FIA companies.
Conclusion
The best SPIA company is the issuer that pays the most on the election you will actually sign, among names you will accept on credit quality. Athene for five- and ten-year period certain on our Ohio snapshot, Integrity for seven years, Nationwide when the premium is small, Minnesota Life for a consistent third quote, Penn Mutual when the form is the job—that is the order we use before we rerun your state.
A one-carrier quote misses how the leader changes by term and by band. We run the same case across the carriers we can illustrate. If the number works, apply on that illustration. See the annuity companies hub for MYGA and FIA rankings.
FAQ
