Nationwide annuities

Overview

Nationwide sells annuities through Nationwide Financial, the life, annuity and retirement arm of the Columbus, Ohio, mutual insurer best known for auto and home insurance. The Nationwide Corporation group ranked #7 among U.S. groups by 2024 individual annuity direct premiums written, according to NAIC market share data, with about $17.69 billion in premiums and a 4.20% market share.

Annuities are issued by Nationwide Life Insurance Company and Nationwide Life and Annuity Insurance Company, both owned by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. Nationwide sells through independent agents, financial professionals, banks and broker-dealers. Its Nationwide Advisory Solutions unit, built on the 2017 purchase of Jefferson National, has worked with registered investment advisors and fee-based representatives since 2005; its Monument Advisor variable annuities are issued outside New York by Jefferson National Life Insurance Company of Dallas.

What sets Nationwide apart among the largest annuity writers is breadth: it sells nearly every kind of individual annuity, from variable annuities and buffered and floor RILAs to fixed indexed annuities, a MYGA, immediate annuities and an annuity with long-term care benefits. Company history, life insurance and claims are covered in the Nationwide life insurance profile.

Annuities it sells

• Variable annuities. The Nationwide Destination series (including Destination B 2.0, Destination Navigator 2.0, Destination Future and Destination Architect), plus All American Gold 2.0, the O Series and The Best of America IV, offer more than 90 investment choices according to Nationwide. Living benefit riders that guarantee income cost extra, and surrender charges apply to early withdrawals. Monument Advisor and Monument Advisor Select, sold through Nationwide Advisory Solutions, are variable annuities for fee-based advisors (in New York, Monument Advisor Select is issued by Nationwide Life).
• Registered index-linked annuities. The Nationwide Defender Annuity is a buffer RILA: the insurer absorbs index losses up to the buffer you choose and you take the rest. The Nationwide Defined Protection Annuity 2.0 uses a floor instead, so your loss in a period stops at the chosen floor level. Both are sold by prospectus and have limits on the upside.
• Fixed indexed annuities. Nationwide New Heights Select (8-, 9-, 10- and 12-year versions) and Nationwide Peak (including Peak 5 and Peak 10), issued by Nationwide Life and Annuity Insurance Company, credit interest tied to an index without investing in the market. Optional riders add guaranteed lifetime income or an enhanced death benefit for an extra cost.
• Fixed annuities. Nationwide Secure Growth is a multi-year guaranteed annuity whose guarantee period matches its surrender schedule (3, 4, 5 or 7 years). A withdrawal before the period ends can be reduced by a market value adjustment. Nationwide Platinum Edge is a fixed annuity with a market value adjustment, and Nationwide Stable Income is also listed among its fixed annuities.
• Immediate annuities. INCOME Promise Select is a single premium immediate annuity paying income for life or a set period. If you choose a term-certain or life with cash refund option, a liquidity feature lets you take money out (with a $50 fee per withdrawal; not available in New York). Nationwide has a separate income-products line.
• Long-term care. Nationwide CareMatters Annuity links long-term care coverage to a deferred fixed annuity; see hybrid life and long-term care policies.

Fixed indexed and fixed annuities lock up money for years, and the surrender charge schedule and any market value adjustment matter more than the headline crediting method. See annuity surrender charges and free withdrawals before choosing a term.

Ownership and reinsurance

Nationwide's life and annuity companies are stock subsidiaries of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, a mutual owned by its policyholders. There are no outside shareholders and no private-equity owner. Nationwide Financial was publicly traded from 1997 until 2008, when Nationwide Mutual bought back the public shares.

Nationwide has recently been a buyer of business rather than a seller: in May 2026 it agreed to reinsure a block of MassMutual universal life policies, a life insurance deal that does not affect annuity owners.

Financial strength

Nationwide's ratings page lists A+ (Superior) from AM Best for Nationwide Life Insurance Company and Nationwide Life and Annuity Insurance Company, affirmed November 7, 2025, and A1 (Good) from Moody's for the same two companies, as shown in October 2026. S&P rates Nationwide Mutual and its affiliates A+ (Strong), affirmed April 27, 2026.

Annuity guarantees depend on the issuing company's claims-paying ability, not on the bank or agent that sold the contract. If an insurer failed, your state's guaranty association would cover annuity values up to a limit; see the state guaranty association coverage lookup for your state.

Who it suits

Nationwide suits buyers who want to choose among annuity types from one large, mutual-owned group, through whichever channel they already use: an agent, a bank, a broker-dealer or a fee-only advisor. The same breadth means its products vary widely in cost and complexity, so a variable annuity with an income rider and a MYGA from Nationwide have little in common beyond the issuer. It suits less well someone who wants to buy directly online without a financial professional.

In March 2013 Nationwide agreed to a $7.2 million multistate settlement over unclaimed death benefits, after regulators found it had used the Social Security Death Master File to stop annuity payments to people who had died but not to find beneficiaries who were owed money, according to InvestmentNews.

• Strengths: Sells variable, RILA, fixed indexed, MYGA, immediate and long-term care annuities; owned by a mutual with no outside shareholders; A+ from AM Best and S&P; a dedicated line of annuities for fee-based advisors.
• Weaknesses: Many products are complex, with optional riders, fees and surrender schedules that differ by product; RILAs and fixed indexed annuities cap your upside; ratings a step below the highest-rated mutual groups; a 2013 settlement over unclaimed annuity death benefits.

How to contact Nationwide