Brighthouse Shield vs Lincoln Level Advantage vs Equitable SCS

What we read, and why these three

A registered index-linked annuity (RILA) credits you an index return up to a cap and takes the first slice of losses, the buffer, if you hold to the end of the term. The three contracts below are different shapes of the same idea, and the filings are not written the same way, so we matched each name to its latest effective prospectus.

• Brighthouse. The 2026 prospectus is titled Brighthouse Shield Level Pay Plus II Annuity (Brighthouse Life Insurance Company, accession 0001193125-26-163537, filed April 20, 2026, prospectus dated April 27, 2026). It is a single-premium contract with a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit (GLWB) rider issued automatically.
• Lincoln. Lincoln sells more than one Level Advantage. We read Lincoln Level Advantage 2 B-Share, an index-linked-only contract (The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, accession 0001104659-26-043275, filed April 14, 2026, prospectus dated May 1, 2026). The original Lincoln Level Advantage B-Share (accession 0001104659-26-047594, filed April 23, 2026) is a variable and index-linked contract that also carries subaccount fees; we give its two headline numbers below and do not table it.
• Equitable. Structured Capital Strategies is a variable and index-linked contract with Series B, Series C and Series ADV (Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company, accession 0001193125-26-169404, filed April 22, 2026, prospectus dated May 1, 2026). It is the contract in our RILA prospectus census, which covers 21 contracts but not Brighthouse or Lincoln.

The three side by side

Every cell is taken from the saved text of the filing named in the first row. Where a figure is not in that filing we write “not verified.”

Source: the three prospectuses named in the first row, Fee Table, Key Information and Appendix sections; Lincoln’s Appendix A rows are for the S&P 500 Price Return Index. Equitable’s base fee does not apply to money held in a segment. Our arithmetic only where marked.

Surrender charges: same shape, different base

Brighthouse and Lincoln use the same seven-point ladder; Equitable’s is lower and shorter. The base differs: Brighthouse charges on the amount withdrawn above the free amount, Lincoln on purchase payments surrendered or withdrawn, Equitable on contributions withdrawn. Each says the total loss is greater if a negative interim value, tax or a tax penalty comes on top.

Source: the schedules in each prospectus’s fee table, aligned by years completed; dollar amounts are our arithmetic on a hypothetical full withdrawal of $250,000, before the free withdrawal amount, any interim-value adjustment and tax. The Equitable column is one year shorter because its table counts years following the contribution.

Buffers and the loss you keep

A buffer is the first slice of index loss the insurer absorbs at the end of the term. Brighthouse calls it a Shield Rate, Lincoln a Protection Level and Equitable a Segment Buffer. Equitable promises that it “will always offer a Segment Option with a Segment Buffer that protects the first 10% of loss”; Brighthouse promises at least one Shield Option with a minimum of 5% protection; Lincoln states that it does not guarantee that the contract “will always offer Indexed Accounts that limit Index losses, which would mean risk of loss of the entire amount invested.”

The table applies each buffer to an index that falls 35% over the term, on $250,000 held to the end.

Source: buffer options as listed in each prospectus; the arithmetic is ours and ignores the cap, fees and tax. If the index falls 100%, the loss at a 10% buffer is 90% ($225,000), at 30% it is 70% ($175,000).

All three track price-return indices. Equitable states that “the performance of any Index does not reflect dividends paid on the securities included in the Index,” and Brighthouse says the same of its indices. Lincoln’s Appendix A names its indices as price-return.

The cap: what the contract guarantees

None of the three promises today’s cap. Each promises a floor, and the insurer declares the actual cap for each new term. Lincoln points readers to a rate page on its website for current limits, Brighthouse to a rates page, and we publish no current cap.

• Lincoln lists a guaranteed minimum for each account in Appendix A: 1.0% on the 1-year accounts with 10%, 15% and 20% Protection Levels, 10.0% on the 6-year accounts with 15% to 30% Protection Levels, and 0.10% on a 1-year account that protects 100% of principal.
• Equitable states that its “minimum Performance Cap Rate for 1, 3 and 5 year Standard Segments are 2%, 6%, and 10% respectively,” and 6% and 10% for 3- and 5-year Choice Segments.
• Brighthouse states that the minimum guaranteed cap, step and edge rates are the amounts in the riders attached to the contract, “but will not be less than 2%.” The prospectus does not say that the 2% scales with the term; for a 6-year term, whether the floor is above 2% is not verified.

What a floor means in dollars: if the index rises 20% in one year and the cap sits at its guaranteed minimum, the gain on $250,000 is $2,500 at Lincoln (1.0%) and $5,000 at Equitable (2%) or at Brighthouse’s 2% floor (our arithmetic). Over the longer terms the floors compound to about 1.6% a year at Lincoln (10.0% over 6 years), about 1.9% a year at Equitable (10% over 5 years) and about 2.0% a year at Equitable (6% over 3 years), again our arithmetic.

Fees: the price is mostly in the cap

Each prospectus states an “implicit ongoing fee”: the amount by which the cap holds your return below the index. The explicit fees differ.

• Brighthouse. The GLWB rider “is automatically issued with your Contract and cannot be voluntarily cancelled.” The maximum rider fee is 2.00% of the GLWB Base each contract anniversary, and the initial GLWB Base “is equal to the Purchase Payment.” At the maximum that is $5,000 a year on a $250,000 payment (our arithmetic). The current rate sits in a separate supplement, so we cannot say what you would pay today: not verified.
• Lincoln. Base contract expenses are N/A. The optional Guarantee of Principal death benefit costs 0.00% at issue ages 75 and younger and 1.00% of contract value a year at 76 and older, which would be $2,500 a year on $250,000 (our arithmetic). The original Lincoln Level Advantage B-Share, by contrast, lists base contract expenses of 1.10% of average contract value in the subaccounts for its account value death benefit.
• Equitable. The 0.65% to 1.65% base fee applies to variable investment options and “does not apply to amounts held in a Segment.” Choice segments carry a Choice cost of 1% of the investment for each year of the segment’s duration, deducted from a positive index return only: up to 3% on a 3-year and 5% on a 5-year Choice segment, or $7,500 and $12,500 on $250,000 (our arithmetic).

If you leave before the term ends

The buffer applies at the end of the term. If money leaves earlier, each insurer replaces it with an interim value, and each prospectus states a maximum potential loss of 100%.

Source: the Fees, Expenses and Adjustments and Principal Risks sections of the three prospectuses.

All three say the loss is larger when a surrender charge, income tax or a tax penalty before age 59½ comes on top of the interim-value loss.

What is changing

Prospectuses move. Two filings after the April ones matter for this comparison.

• Lincoln Level Advantage 2. On October 7, 2026 Lincoln filed an amendment on Form 485APOS (accession 0000726865-26-000993) with a draft supplement for the May 1, 2026 prospectus. It would open two Capital Group Dividend Value ETF accounts and close three 6-year S&P 500 and Russell 2000 accounts to new allocations and renewals for contracts purchased on and after December 14, 2026. The supplement is dated “December XX, 2026,” so it is a draft until it takes effect, and we have not read a final version.
• Equitable. On August 14, 2026 Equitable filed a 485BPOS (accession 0001193125-26-351415) for a separate product named Structured Capital Strategies Premier. We did not read it, and the numbers above are for Structured Capital Strategies only.

What we could not verify

• Current caps, participation, step and edge rates for all three: they are declared by the insurer outside the prospectus.
• Brighthouse’s current GLWB rider fee rate, which is in a supplement we did not read, and any term-by-term guaranteed minimum cap.
• Lincoln’s full list of accounts and terms (we cite only the Appendix A rows named above), and whether the other Lincoln versions (Lincoln Level Advantage 2 Income, Advisory Select, Access) differ.
• Broker-dealer and state variations, which each prospectus says can change the offering.
• Whether any of the three is open to new buyers through a given firm today.

How we read the filings

We took the three effective prospectuses from SEC EDGAR for the products we could match to the names Brighthouse Shield Level Pay, Lincoln Level Advantage and Equitable Structured Capital Strategies, saved the text, and matched each quoted phrase and figure to the saved text by script; the accession numbers are in the text above. Sibling products (Brighthouse Shield Level II 3-year and 6-year, Lincoln Level Advantage 2 Income and Advisory Select, Equitable SCS Plus, Income and Premier) have their own filings and are not in the table. Arithmetic is ours, on a hypothetical $250,000, before fees, tax and interim-value adjustments. Terms are as of the April 2026 filings and the October 7, 2026 draft supplement.

Questions to put to whoever is selling it

• What is the cap and the guaranteed minimum for my term? Get the cap in writing, and ask for the rider or contract page that states the minimum.
• What would I get back on my own dates? Ask for the interim value if you left in year 1, 3 and 5, not only the surrender charge.
• What is the fee I cannot switch off? At Brighthouse that is the income rider; ask for the current rate in the supplement.
• Is this the right wrapper for the goal? If the money comes from an old annuity, a swap restarts a surrender schedule; read 1035 exchanges first.

Frequently asked questions

This is analysis of public documents, not investment, legal or tax advice, and we do not recommend any product. Sources, read and saved on October 27, 2026: Form 485BPOS prospectuses on SEC EDGAR, accession 0001193125-26-163537 (Brighthouse Life Insurance Company), 0001104659-26-043275 and 0001104659-26-047594 (The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company), 0001193125-26-169404 (Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company); Form 485APOS 0000726865-26-000993; Form 485BPOS 0001193125-26-351415. Worked examples and compounding are our arithmetic.