The Athene Ascent Pro 10 Bonus is a single premium fixed indexed annuity with a 10-year withdrawal charge period and a 10% premium bonus. The catch is vesting. In about half the states, none of that bonus is yours for six years, and you don’t keep all of it until year 11.
Here’s the pitch you’ll hear on the Ascent Pro 10 Bonus: put in $100,000 and Athene credits you $110,000 on day one. Free money.
Well, sort of. That bonus is real, and it’s written into the contract. But whether you actually keep it depends entirely on how long you stay, and that part rarely makes it into the sales conversation.
After over 30 years of placing annuities, this is the feature people misunderstand most often. So let’s walk through how the Ascent Pro 10 and Ascent Pro 10 Bonus actually work. Not the rates, since those reset every few months anyway. The contract structure, which is what you’re really signing up for.
What Is the Athene Ascent Pro 10?
The Ascent Pro 10 is a single premium fixed indexed annuity from Athene Annuity and Life Company, NAIC number 61689, based in West Des Moines, Iowa. Single premium means you fund it once. There’s no adding money later.
Athene issues annuities in 49 states plus the District of Columbia. New York is the exception. Issue ages run from 35 to 80 in most states, though some states stop at 74 and Maryland won’t issue before age 50.
Like any fixed indexed annuity, your money isn’t in the market. Athene credits interest based on how an index performs, with a floor that protects you in down years. You give up some of the upside in exchange for not losing principal when the market drops.
Ascent Pro 10 vs. Ascent Pro 10 Bonus
Athene sells two versions of this contract. The straight Ascent Pro 10 has no premium bonus. The Ascent Pro 10 Bonus adds a 10% premium bonus to your starting value.
Here’s the tradeoff, and it’s the same on every bonus annuity from every carrier: the bonus isn’t free. The carrier pays for it by crediting less interest over the life of the contract, usually through lower caps and lower participation rates. You’re trading future growth for a bigger number on day one.
Which one wins depends on how long you hold it and how the indexes perform. That’s a math problem specific to your situation, and it’s exactly the kind of thing we run side by side before anyone signs anything.
The Premium Bonus and Why Vesting Matters More Than the Number
A 10% premium bonus sounds like a 10% head start. It isn’t, not right away.
The bonus goes into your Accumulated Value immediately, so your statement shows the bigger number. But Athene applies a vesting schedule to it. Vesting determines how much of that bonus you actually keep. It matters if you surrender the contract, or pull out more than your free withdrawal. If you’re new to how what a bonus annuity actually is works, that definition is worth two minutes before you go further.
Here’s where this gets tricky. Athene issues this contract on two very different vesting schedules, and which one you get depends on where you live.
The Six-Year Vesting Cliff
Roughly half the states use a schedule that credits you nothing for the first six contract years. Not a little. Nothing. Vesting then steps up 20% a year starting in year seven.
Full vesting happens in year 11.
Read that again, because it matters. The withdrawal charge period runs 10 years. The bonus doesn’t fully vest until year 11. Surrender right when the charge period ends and you still forfeit 20% of the bonus. That’s exactly when most people think they’re free and clear.
Straight-Line Vesting States
The other half of the country gets a gentler version. The bonus vests 10% a year starting in year two, reaching full vesting in year 11.
California follows its own schedule, and it’s the most generous of the three. Vesting starts at 10% in year one and reaches 100% in year 10, lining up exactly with the end of the withdrawal charge period.
| Contract Year | Six-Year Cliff States | Straight-Line States | California |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0% | 0% | 10% |
| 2 | 0% | 10% | 20% |
| 3 | 0% | 20% | 30% |
| 4 | 0% | 30% | 40% |
| 5 | 0% | 40% | 50% |
| 6 | 0% | 50% | 60% |
| 7 | 20% | 60% | 70% |
| 8 | 40% | 70% | 80% |
| 9 | 60% | 80% | 90% |
| 10 | 80% | 90% | 100% |
| 11+ | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Same product name, same 10% bonus, very different outcome if you need out early. That’s not Athene being sneaky. State regulators set different nonforfeiture rules, and carriers price to them. But it does mean a review you read online may not describe the contract you’d actually be issued.
Getting to Your Money
The Withdrawal Charge Schedule
The state split shows up here too, and it runs the same direction.
| Contract Year | Six-Year Cliff States | Straight-Line States | California |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12% | 8.3% | 7.8% |
| 2 | 12% | 8.0% | 7.4% |
| 3 | 12% | 7.1% | 6.5% |
| 4 | 11% | 6.2% | 5.6% |
| 5 | 10% | 5.3% | 4.5% |
| 6 | 9% | 4.4% | 3.4% |
| 7 | 8% | 3.5% | 2.3% |
| 8 | 7% | 2.6% | 1.2% |
| 9 | 6% | 1.6% | 0.1% |
| 10 | 4% | 0.9% | 0% |
| 11+ | 0% | 0.0% | 0% |
Look at what that means. The states with the harsh vesting cliff also carry the steeper withdrawal charges. It isn’t a mixed bag where you win on one and lose on the other. One group of buyers gets a meaningfully tougher contract on both counts.
A 12% charge holding steady for three full years is a real commitment. Pair it with a bonus that has vested nothing over those same years and the picture gets clear. This contract is built for money you’re certain you won’t need.
One exception the table doesn’t cover: Florida buyers age 65 and up have the same six-year vesting cliff but their own withdrawal schedule, starting at 10% and holding there for four years. Check your own disclosure, or give us a call and we’ll tell you which schedule applies to you.
Your 10% Free Withdrawal
Each year you can take up to 10% of your Accumulated Value with no withdrawal charge. That’s a standard feature and a useful one.
Two things to keep in mind. Withdrawals count as taxable income. And if you’re under 59 and a half, the IRS generally adds a 10% early distribution penalty on top. Withdrawals also reduce your Income Base if you’ve added the income rider.
Market Value Adjustment
If you pull out more than the free withdrawal amount during the charge period, a market value adjustment applies to the excess. An MVA moves with interest rates. If rates have risen since you bought, the adjustment works against you. If rates have fallen, it can work in your favor.
California contracts don’t include an MVA.
How Interest Gets Credited
Athene offers several index strategies plus a fixed account. We’re leaving specific rates out of this review on purpose, since caps and participation rates reset regularly and anything we published would be outdated within months. What doesn’t change is how the strategies work.
The Fixed Strategy
Not every dollar has to track an index. The contract includes a fixed strategy that pays a declared interest rate, reset each year.
It’s the simplest option here. You know what you’ll earn. No index math, no participation rate, no cap.
Most buyers split their money across several strategies rather than picking one. You can change your allocations at each contract anniversary. And if Athene ever eliminates an index strategy, that money moves to the fixed strategy automatically.
Point-to-Point Strategies, 1-Year and 2-Year
Point-to-point means Athene compares the index value on your contract anniversary to its value on the previous anniversary. Nothing in between counts. The index could soar in March and give it all back by December, and you’d be credited on the December number.
The 2-year strategies measure across a 24-month window instead. They usually carry higher participation rates than the 1-year versions, because Athene has more time to work with. The tradeoff is that you wait two years to learn what you earned, and a bad second year can erase a strong first one.
What “Uncapped” Really Means
Most of the Ascent Pro 10 strategies are uncapped. There’s no ceiling on the credit. That sounds better than it usually turns out to be.
Uncapped strategies use a participation rate instead. If the rate is 100% and the index gains 8%, you’re credited 8%. Rates above 100% multiply the gain rather than limit it. The reason Athene can offer rates well above 100% is that these aren’t ordinary indexes.
Why Volatility-Controlled Indexes Behave Differently
The uncapped options track indexes like the BNP Paribas Multi Asset Diversified 5, the AI Powered US Equity Index, and the UBS Innovative Balanced Index. These aren’t household names. Two features make them behave nothing like the S&P 500.
First, they’re excess return indexes. Their published return isn’t the raw gain. It’s the gain minus a reference rate, roughly what cash would earn. When short-term rates are high, that subtraction takes a real bite.
Second, they use volatility control. The index shifts money between assets on its own to keep the ride steady. Steady is nice. It also means the index can’t climb as far in a strong year.
These indexes carry built-in costs too. Servicing and trading fees come out before you ever see the number.
So the numbers don’t compare. A participation rate above 100% on one of these indexes isn’t the same as 100% on the plain S&P 500. This is the most misleading thing in indexed annuity marketing, and it’s why we always want to see the actual index sitting behind the percentage.
The Bailout Feature
This one deserves more attention than it gets. The Ascent Pro 10 includes a bailout provision on the 1-year S&P 500 point-to-point strategy.
Athene sets a bailout cap rate in your contract. If Athene ever declares a cap below that level, you get a way out. You have 30 days after that contract anniversary to walk away with your full Accumulated Value, free of charges.
That’s real protection. One of the legitimate worries about indexed annuities is getting renewed at poor rates once you’re locked in. A bailout provision puts a floor under that risk. Just know the window is short and it attaches only to that one strategy.
The Income Rider
The Ascent Pro 10 offers an optional income rider for a 1.00% annual charge, calculated on your Income Base and deducted monthly from your Accumulated Value. That charge runs for the full contract term, in good years and bad. If you want the fuller picture on this feature across products, here’s how annuity income riders work.
Income Base Is Not Your Money
This causes more confusion than anything else in the contract, so let’s be precise.
Your annuity has two numbers. The Accumulated Value is real money. It’s what you’d receive if you surrendered, and it’s what your beneficiaries get.
The Income Base is a calculation. It exists for one purpose: sizing your lifetime income payments. It grows at a guaranteed rate every year. The index doesn’t matter. That’s why illustrations show it climbing so nicely. You can’t withdraw it. You can’t leave it to your kids. It has no cash value and no surrender value.
Knowing which number is which is the difference between understanding your contract and being surprised by it.
Level, Earnings-Indexed, and Accelerated Payouts
You can turn on lifetime income as early as age 50. Three payout structures are available.
Level Income pays the same amount every year for life.
Earnings-Indexed Income starts lower and can rise based on index performance. It’s a partial hedge against inflation, with no guarantee it actually increases.
Accelerated Income pays more during a 10-year period, then drops for the rest of your life. It suits someone who wants heavier income early, maybe to bridge to Social Security at 70. Athene’s own material notes total lifetime payments may end up lower under this option than the other two. Worth thinking through carefully.
The Enhanced Income Benefit
Your income payments can increase if your health declines. Two things qualify you. The first is confinement to a qualified care facility. The second is being unable to perform at least two of the six activities of daily living, for 90 of the last 125 days.
The multiplier is 2x for single life and 1.5x for joint life. It runs up to 60 months, as long as you still qualify and your Accumulated Value stays above zero.
There’s a one-year waiting period, and a licensed physician has to certify it.
Let’s be clear about what this is and isn’t. Athene states plainly that this benefit is not long-term care insurance and isn’t a substitute for it. It’s a helpful feature. It is not a care plan.
Waivers and What Beneficiaries Get
Terminal Illness and Confinement Waivers
Two waivers give you access to your full Accumulated Value with no withdrawal charges.
The terminal illness waiver applies if the annuitant is diagnosed with a condition expected to cause death within a year. It’s available after the first contract anniversary, and the diagnosis can’t have occurred during year one.
The confinement waiver applies after the first contract year if the annuitant spends at least 60 consecutive days in a qualified care facility.
Neither waiver is available in California.
The Death Benefit
Your beneficiaries receive the greater of your Accumulated Value or the Minimum Guaranteed Contract Value. It passes outside probate as long as you’ve named a beneficiary.
One thing worth knowing: the Income Base doesn’t pass to your heirs. Your beneficiaries get the Accumulated Value, not the larger number on the income side of your statement. If leaving money behind is your main goal, a life insurance policy usually does that job better.
Who This Annuity Fits, and Who Should Pass
We’ve found the fit question comes down to one thing: how certain you are about your timeline.
The Ascent Pro 10 Bonus can make sense if:
- You have money you’re confident you won’t touch for at least 11 years
- You want principal protection with more growth potential than a CD or MYGA
- You plan to turn on lifetime income later and want the rider
- You already have liquid savings for emergencies somewhere else
It’s likely the wrong contract if:
- There’s any real chance you’ll need this money in the first decade
- It would represent a large share of your total savings
- You’re under 59 and a half and might need withdrawals
- Your priority is maximizing what you leave to heirs
To be completely honest, the bonus version isn’t automatically the better choice. It’s better for someone with a long, certain horizon. For someone less sure, the plain Ascent Pro 10 with stronger crediting can come out ahead.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Athene Ascent Pro 10 Bonus a good annuity?
It’s a well-built contract from a large carrier. It fits people with a long time horizon who want principal protection. It’s a poor fit for anyone who might need access in the first decade. The 10% premium bonus is real, but the vesting schedule means it becomes yours gradually, not immediately.
Do you keep the 10% bonus if you surrender early?
It depends on your state. In about half of them the bonus vests nothing for six contract years, then steps up 20% a year until full vesting in year 11. The rest use a straight-line schedule that starts vesting in year two. Either way, surrendering early means forfeiting the unvested portion on top of any withdrawal charge.
Can you lose money in the Athene Ascent Pro 10?
Not from market losses. Index credits can be zero in a bad year, but they won’t go negative. You can lose money by getting out early. Withdrawal charges, the market value adjustment, and the unvested bonus all come out. The income rider charge also keeps running in years when you’re credited nothing.
What happens after the 10-year withdrawal charge period ends?
Withdrawal charges drop to zero and the market value adjustment no longer applies. You can surrender, take the full value, or exchange it. Just remember that in most states the premium bonus isn’t fully vested until year 11, so waiting one more year often pays.
Is the Enhanced Income Benefit the same as long-term care insurance?
No. Athene states directly that it isn’t long-term care insurance and isn’t a substitute for it. It increases your income payments for up to 60 months if you meet the qualifications. Real long-term care needs usually run well past that.
Key Takeaways
- Vesting matters more than the bonus percentage – In about half the states the bonus vests nothing for six years. Full vesting lands in year 11, a year past the surrender period.
- Your state changes the contract – Vesting schedules, withdrawal charges, the MVA, and the waivers all vary. Two people buying the same product on the same day can hold meaningfully different contracts.
- Uncapped doesn’t mean unlimited – High participation rates attach to volatility-controlled excess return indexes with embedded costs, not to the plain S&P 500.
- The Income Base isn’t your money – It sizes your income payments. It has no cash value and doesn’t pass to your beneficiaries.
- The bailout feature is genuine protection – If Athene declares an S&P 500 cap below your bailout rate, you get 30 days to exit with no charges.
- This is a long-horizon contract – Between the 12% first-year withdrawal charge and the six-year vesting cliff, it only works for money you’re sure you won’t touch.
Wondering whether the Ascent Pro 10 or the Ascent Pro 10 Bonus fits your plan better? We’re contracted with Athene. We can run both illustrations side by side using your numbers, your state, and your timeline. Give us a call at 800-712-8519 or schedule a free consultation with us. No pressure, just a straight answer on whether this contract makes sense for you.
