To take money out of an Athene annuity, you can submit an Athene withdrawal request form by uploading it through the MyAthene portal, faxing it to 866-709-3922, or mailing it to Athene at P.O. Box 1555, Des Moines, IA 50306-1555.1Athene. Contact Us If you’d rather skip the paperwork, the same request can be made inside MyAthene or by calling 888-266-8489; electronic and phone requests are processed in one to two business days, while mailed forms take seven to ten.2Athene. Frequently Asked Questions Before you start, pull out your contract number, decide how much you want, and have your bank routing and account numbers ready for direct deposit.
Pick the Form That Matches Your Contract
Athene’s forms library at athene.com/support/service-forms lists more than ten withdrawal-related options, and using the wrong one is the easiest way to delay your money.3Athene. Service Forms The ones most owners need:
- Withdrawal Request — the standard form for partial withdrawals from most non-qualified and IRA contracts.
- Partial Withdrawal / Full Surrender Request — use this to close the contract entirely, or if your product line specifically requires this version.
- Withdrawal Request – Tax Sheltered Annuity (TSA) — required for 403(b) contracts, which carry different federal withholding rules.
- Income Rider Withdrawal Request — Athene publishes separate versions for fixed, indexed, BPA Income, and LifeTime Solutions contracts. Match the version to your product.
- Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) Request — sets up automated annual RMD payments so you don’t refile each year.
- Confinement Waiver or Terminal Illness Waiver Request — for withdrawals or surrenders that qualify for a waiver of surrender charges.
If you aren’t sure which one fits, Athene’s customer contact center at 888-266-8489 (Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT) can confirm before you fill anything out.1Athene. Contact Us
Filling Out Each Section
Owner and Contract Information
The top of the form asks for your full legal name, Social Security number or tax ID, and your Athene contract number. The contract number appears on your annual statement and on any letter Athene has sent you. One contract per form. If you hold several contracts and want to pull from more than one, each needs its own request.
Withdrawal Amount
Enter either a dollar figure or a percentage of your accumulated value. If you’re surrendering the contract in full, check the full surrender box and understand that the contract closes once the payout is issued. For a partial withdrawal, check whether the amount sits inside your contract’s annual free withdrawal allowance before you commit; see the next section.
Gross or Net Election
This choice decides who absorbs tax withholding. A gross distribution sends you the full amount you requested and takes any withholding and penalties out of the remaining contract balance. A net distribution pulls taxes and penalties from the amount you asked for, so the check you receive is smaller than the number on the form. If you leave this blank, Athene treats it as gross.
Tax Withholding Elections
For 403(b) tax-sheltered annuities, 20% federal withholding is mandatory unless the distribution qualifies as an RMD, in which case the default drops to 10% and you can elect a different percentage or opt out. Non-qualified annuity withdrawals default to 10% federal withholding, which you can adjust on the form. State rules vary: some require withholding, others let you opt out. You can also update elections separately through MyAthene or an Election of Withholding form.2Athene. Frequently Asked Questions
Payment Method
For an electronic funds transfer, enter your bank’s routing number and your account number. Check both twice. A transposed digit sends your money nowhere and the reissue adds days. If you’d prefer a mailed check, leave the banking fields blank and confirm your mailing address on file is current.
Signature and Verification
Sign exactly as your name appears on the contract. Larger withdrawals and full surrenders may require a Medallion Signature Guarantee, available at most commercial banks and brokerage firms. A notary stamp is not a substitute; the two serve different purposes, and the form’s instructions tell you which applies at your withdrawal amount.
Check Your Free Withdrawal Allowance First
Most Athene annuity contracts let you withdraw a portion of your accumulated value each contract year with no surrender charge. Across several products, that free amount is typically 10% of accumulated value per contract year.4Athene. Ascent Pro Some products, like Performance Elite Plus with the Liquidity Rider, raise it to 20% if no withdrawals were taken in the prior year.5Athene. Performance Elite
Anything above the free amount during the surrender charge period triggers a surrender charge. The percentage depends on the product and on how many contract years have passed; charges are highest early and decline until they disappear at the end of the surrender period. Your contract’s schedule page or the product disclosure shows the exact figures.6Athene. Indexed Annuities: FAQ
Market Value Adjustments
Some Athene contracts carry a market value adjustment that applies to withdrawals above the free amount during the surrender period. The MVA reflects interest-rate changes since you bought the contract. If rates are higher now than when you purchased, the MVA is negative and reduces your surrender value. If rates have fallen, it works in your favor.7Athene. Indexed Annuities: Key Terms Your surrender value equals accumulated value, minus any surrender charges, plus or minus the MVA. In a rising-rate environment the combined hit can be substantial, so call Athene for a surrender value quote before signing a large request.
Spousal Consent If Your Contract Is in an ERISA Plan
If the annuity sits inside a retirement plan governed by ERISA, such as a pension plan or an employer-sponsored 403(b), your spouse may need to sign the withdrawal form to waive the right to a survivor annuity. Many of these plans must pay benefits as a qualified joint and survivor annuity, and you cannot elect a different payment form without written spousal consent. The signature usually has to be witnessed by a notary public or a plan representative.8Internal Revenue Service. Fixing Common Plan Mistakes – Failure to Obtain Spousal Consent Missing spousal consent is one of the most common reasons withdrawal requests come back; get the signature before you submit.
Submitting the Form
You have three ways to get the completed form to Athene:
- Online upload through MyAthene — log in and upload a scanned or photographed PDF of the signed form. This is the fastest paper-form route.
- Fax to 866-709-3922.1Athene. Contact Us
- Mail the original to Athene, P.O. Box 1555, Des Moines, IA 50306-1555. Use certified mail or a tracked service for proof of delivery.1Athene. Contact Us
If you don’t want the paper form at all, MyAthene users can file the withdrawal directly in the portal, and phone requests through the contact center skip the paperwork entirely.2Athene. Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Processing Takes
Requests placed through MyAthene or over the phone are processed in one to two business days, though high-volume periods can add time. Mailed paper forms take seven to ten business days, with extra time if fields are blank or supporting documents are missing. If Athene needs more information, the company reaches out using the contact details on file, so confirm your phone number and email before submitting.2Athene. Frequently Asked Questions
Tax Consequences to Know Before You Sign
The Early Withdrawal Penalty
If you take money from a deferred annuity before age 59½, the IRS adds a 10% penalty tax on the taxable portion of the distribution, on top of ordinary income tax on the earnings.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 72 – Annuities; Certain Proceeds of Endowment and Life Insurance Contracts Athene reports the distribution on IRS Form 1099-R the following January.10Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1099-R, Distributions From Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc. Several exceptions can avoid the penalty, including distributions after the owner’s death, total and permanent disability, substantially equal periodic payments under a 72(q) or 72(t) schedule, and immediate annuity contracts that begin payments within a year of purchase. Qualified plan annuities carry additional exceptions.11Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Exceptions to Tax on Early Distributions
Required Minimum Distributions
If your Athene contract is inside an IRA or another qualified retirement account, you must begin RMDs at age 73.12Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) The first RMD is due by April 1 of the year after you turn 73; every later one is due by December 31. Delaying the first until April 1 means two RMDs in the same calendar year, which can push you into a higher bracket. Missing an RMD brings a 25% excise tax on the shortfall, which drops to 10% if you correct it within two years.13Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Plan and IRA Required Minimum Distributions FAQs Rather than filing a new withdrawal form each year, submit Athene’s RMD Request form once to set up automated annual payments calculated to satisfy the requirement.3Athene. Service Forms