MONTHLY OVERVIEW 

 January 2026 

 All-Product Summary 

 NEW YEAR, NEW BRIDGE^®!

Take advantage of exciting upgrades to Bridge — our innovative fixed index annuity (FIA) that redefines long-term care (LTC) benefits and successful aging.

Minimum issue age
lowered from 55 to 50

On the LTC Rider,
Benefit Base roll-up increased from 2.00% to 3.00%

On the LTC Rider, Coverage Ratios now apply to premiums received in years 1-5

Wellness Credits now based
on Benefit Base instead of
Net Amount at Risk (NAR)

Your Bridge sales hub

2026 guaranteed rates

Effective January 1, 2026, the Minimum Guaranteed Contract Rate on all EquiTrust fixed annuities and FIAs is 2.40%. The Minimum Guaranteed Interest Rate for ChoiceFour^® is also 2.40%.

SmartBoost™ Index approved in MD and Washington D.C.!

Online document and contract access expanded

You can now view new business paperwork for all applications — not just those submitted through E-App — and digital copies of client contracts on Agents.EquiTrust.com.

Premium bonus special

Additional 3% bonus on all eligible EquiTrust bonus products for applications received through March 31, 2026.

2026 EquiTrust Producer Incentive Trip

​As a Top 40 qualifier, you’ll be eligible for an iconic Canadian escape. New this year, the Top 10 qualifiers will enjoy a pre-trip extension in eclectic Vancouver!

 Sales ideas recap 

Sales ideas sent to you in January issues of Sales Week:

 Administrative news brief 

Additional flexibility for Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) requests

Good news! Your clients can now allocate their Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) or QCD amounts — up to the 2026 limit of $111,000 — across up to five charitable organizations simultaneously. This applies to Qualified, Stretch and Inherited IRAs. Clients may make QCDs from SEP and SIMPLE IRAs only if no contributions have been made in the year of the QCD.

2025 IRA contribution deadline

The deadline to make IRA contributions for the 2025 tax year is April 15, 2026.

2026 IRA contribution limit increased

For tax year 2026, the total IRA contribution limit is $7,500 for individuals under age 50 and $8,600 for individuals age 50 or older.

2025 tax forms available online

All tax forms have now been mailed. 2025 1099-R tax forms are now also available on the client website, and 2025 1099-NEC forms are available at Agents.EquiTrust.com in the drop-down menu under the username in the top-right corner. Multi-factor authentication login is required to obtain tax forms.

2026 federal withholding forms available

This year’s IRS forms W-4P and W-4R are now available on Agents.EquiTrust.com. 

• Form W-4P is required to make a federal withholding election on a periodic payment (SPIA, annuitization, or death payout). 
• Form W-4R is required to make a federal withholding election on a non-periodic payment distribution from an annuity contract or life insurance policy. 

Older versions of W-4P or W-4R forms will be accepted through January 31, 2026.

Use up-to-date distribution and claims service forms

Download distribution and service forms from Agents.EquiTrust.com to ensure you are using the most current version. Use of outdated forms will result in not-in-good-order status and potential processing delays.

 866-598-3694  •  Sales.Support@EquiTrust.com  •  Agents.EquiTrust.com 

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