How does aviva mylifeincome work?

Aviva MyLifeIncome doesn't have a single premium option. Minimum is 3 years of premium and then payout after 5 years with a minimum Sum Assured of 25k. For someone 40 Age Next Bday, that's 12310/yr for 3 years.

The policy will then pay a projected 4.19% of that amount (1550/yr as example for amount listed above) for life which you can choose to keep with Aviva and grow at a non-guaranteed 3% per annum.

If you need money in 5 to 6 years time, this is not the plan for you. You should instead buy a short term endowment plan like Singapore Life's Single Premium 5 year savings plan @2.38% guaranteed.

EDIT:
I was mistaken, it does have a Single Premium option that will pay after 4 years of accumulation. It will also pay 1550/yr or 6.2% of the sum assured (that's how the policy works.) So for someone 40 ANB, that'll be a SP of $35125. And so the payout would be 4.41% of the Single Premium after 4 years in this case.

MyLifeIncome is a policy that guarantees your capital at the end of the accumulation period or earlier (depending on your chosen premium payment term). Afterwhich, it will start to pay a guaranteed yearly income for life (along with non-guaranteed components). Your surrender value is guaranteed as well once payouts start, and the guaranteed value increases marginally every year.

As a simple example, let's say you put in a single premium of $50K and wait for 4 years (the accmulation period). From year 5, your $50K is guaranteed as long as the policy is in force and you receive a guaranteed and non-guaranteed income as well. If you surrender the policy, you get back your $50K (along with all the income you receive).

My opinion is, if you absolutely require the funds in 5-6 years time, then it actually might be better to place in SSB or short term guaranteed endowment to preserve value, instead of in such a plan.