The issuer behind the guarantee.
An annuity guarantee is a promise from one company, sometimes lasting forty years. The product matters less than the balance sheet standing behind it.
| AM Best rating | A (Excellent), affirmed 4 March 2026 — outlook stable |
|---|---|
| Long-Term ICR | “a+” (Excellent) |
| Issuing entities | Equitable Financial (EFLIC, NY) · Equitable America (EFLICOA, AZ) |
| Holding company | Equitable Holdings (NYSE: EQH) — rated “bbb+” |
| Flagship product | Structured Capital Strategies — RILA, 1 to 6 year segments |
| Founded | 1859, as The Equitable Life Assurance Society |
Ratings checked against AM Best press releases on 26 August 2026. Ratings change without notice — a rating without a date is not a rating.
A merger, a two-tier rating structure, and a settlement most reviews skip
A merger is pending. Equitable announced an all-stock merger with Corebridge Financial in early 2026, expected to close in late 2026 or 2027 subject to regulatory approval. AM Best affirmed the A rating with a stable outlook on 4 March 2026, so this is not a rating action — but the combined company would be among the largest US retirement platforms, and existing contracts would continue to be honored by the issuing insurer. If you are weighing Equitable against Corebridge, you may be comparing two halves of the same future company.
The insurer and the holding company are rated two tiers apart. AM Best rates the operating insurers A (Excellent) and Equitable Holdings “bbb+” (Good). Your guarantee runs to the issuing insurer, not the listed parent — the same distinction that applies at Sagicor, and worth understanding before reacting to headlines about either level.
There is a disclosure history worth knowing. In 2022 Equitable settled with the SEC for $50 million over allegations of misleading fee disclosures to roughly 1.4 million variable annuity investors, a substantial share of them K-12 educators in 403(b) plans. The company settled without admitting or denying the findings. Separately, Equitable placed last in J.D. Power's 2025 study of annuity customer satisfaction. Neither bears on claims-paying ability, which the A rating addresses. Both bear on what it is like to be a customer, which the rating does not.
Our Equitable reviews.
Three things to understand about Equitable.
A buffer is not a floor
A RILA absorbs losses only down to a defined buffer. Past that point you take the rest. This is fundamentally different from a fixed indexed annuity, where principal is protected from index loss entirely, and the higher caps on a RILA are the price of that difference.
You are choosing three variables at once
Each allocation means picking an index, a duration between one and six years, and a protection level. A higher cap almost always means less protection or a longer lock. There is no combination that improves all three.
Segment terms should match a real time horizon
A three-year segment that you have to exit in year two does not deliver the outcome it was designed to. RILAs reward people who can leave a segment alone until it matures, and punish people who cannot.
How to read any carrier.
Palm Wealth Capital publishes independent annuity research and education. No carrier pays for placement on this site. Nothing here is individualized investment, tax, or legal advice.
Holding an Equitable contract — or being shown one?
Send the illustration or statement. We will check Equitable’s current AM Best rating and outlook against the date on this page, read the surrender schedule and any market value adjustment, price the riders, and tell you what the guaranteed terms are rather than the illustrated ones. If the answer is that you don’t need it, that is the answer you get — there is nothing here for us to sell you.