Company Snapshot: A Mutual Company with a Broad Lineup
Nationwide traces its roots to 1926, when the Ohio Farm Bureau founded the Farm Bureau Mutual Automobile Insurance Company to offer Ohio farmers auto insurance rates that reflected their actual driving risk. The company adopted the Nationwide name in 1955 and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Like MassMutual, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company is structured as a mutual company, owned by its policyholders rather than outside shareholders.
Nationwide’s annuity products are issued primarily by two affiliated entities: Nationwide Life Insurance Company and Nationwide Life and Annuity Insurance Company. Publicly available 2026 third-party sources cite a strong financial strength rating from A.M. Best for the carrier. Current ratings should be verified directly with each rating agency and with Nationwide before this page is published, since ratings and outlooks can change.
What sets this page apart from Silver Bay’s other carrier pages is breadth: Nationwide markets fixed indexed annuities, two distinct types of registered index-linked annuities (RILAs), variable annuities, immediate income annuities, and a niche long-term-care-linked annuity — a wider category spread than most single carriers offer.
The Nationwide Product Family
| Product | Category | Key Structure | What It’s Designed For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peak | Fixed indexed annuity | Single premium, $25,000 minimum; three products in the series with no-cost terminal illness and long-term care surrender waivers and a joint death benefit option. | Accumulation with index-linked growth potential plus built-in health-related surrender flexibility. |
| New Heights / New Heights Select | Fixed indexed annuity | Four products with 8- to 12-year surrender schedules; most require $25,000 minimum ($10,000 for New Heights 8); optional living benefit and enhanced death benefit riders. | Longer-horizon accumulation with optional guaranteed lifetime income or legacy riders. |
| INCOME Promise Select | Single premium immediate annuity (SPIA) | $10,000 minimum; single life, joint life, or term-certain payout options; optional cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) rider, liquidity feature, and Medicaid eligibility provisions. | Retirees who want guaranteed income starting now, with more payout flexibility than a typical SPIA. |
| CareMatters Annuity | Long-term-care-linked fixed deferred annuity | Single premium (or 1035 exchange) fixed annuity with a cash-indemnity LTC benefit multiple (commonly 2x–3x contract value depending on underwriting class); unused value passes to beneficiaries as a death benefit. | Consumers who want to earmark assets for potential long-term care costs while preserving a death benefit if care is never needed. |
A Standout Feature: The CareMatters Long-Term-Care Annuity
The clearest differentiator on this page is CareMatters, a product type that has no equivalent on Silver Bay’s Allianz, Athene, F&G, American Equity, or MassMutual carrier pages. CareMatters links long-term care coverage to a deferred fixed annuity chassis: a single premium (or an exchange of an existing non-qualified annuity or life insurance policy) can convert into a multiple of that value — commonly two to three times the contract value depending on underwriting class — available as a cash-indemnity benefit if the owner needs qualifying long-term care.
Unlike reimbursement-style long-term care insurance, a cash-indemnity design pays the full monthly benefit once a claim is approved, without requiring bills or receipts, and can be used to pay a family member or friend serving as an informal caregiver. If long-term care is never needed, the remaining contract value is generally payable to beneficiaries as a death benefit rather than being forfeited.
This makes CareMatters worth a dedicated mention for Silver Bay visitors who are researching long-term care planning alongside retirement income planning, since it addresses a different risk (care costs) than the rest of the products on this page (income and growth).
Which Category Fits Your Goal?
| If the Goal Is … | Consider Comparing … | Because |
|---|---|---|
| Index-linked growth with principal protection | Peak or New Heights Select (fixed indexed annuities) | Money allocated to an indexed strategy is not directly invested in the market and is not reduced by index losses. |
| Guaranteed income starting now, with payout flexibility | INCOME Promise Select (SPIA) | Offers single life, joint life, or term-certain options plus an optional inflation (COLA) rider. |
| Protecting assets against future long-term care costs | CareMatters Annuity | Converts a lump sum into a multiple of long-term care coverage, with unused value passing to beneficiaries. |
Benefits to Consider
- One of the broadest single-carrier product lineups available, spanning fixed indexed, immediate, and long-term-care-linked annuities.
- No-cost terminal illness and long-term care surrender waivers built into the Peak series, adding flexibility without an additional rider charge.
- The CareMatters cash-indemnity long-term care benefit, which pays without requiring bills or receipts and can compensate informal caregivers.
- Mutual-company ownership structure, meaning policyholder interests are not balanced against outside shareholder demands.
- Optional COLA and liquidity features on INCOME Promise Select that add flexibility not found on every immediate annuity.
As with any carrier, a feature is only a benefit if it matches the consumer’s actual goal. CareMatters is not a substitute for evaluating long-term care needs independently of retirement income planning.
Risks and Limitations
- Surrender-charge schedules on the New Heights series can run 8 to 12 years, longer than many competing fixed indexed annuities.
- CareMatters benefits and premiums are underwriting-class dependent, and annuitizing the contract generally terminates long-term care benefits unless a specific nonforfeiture rider was elected.
- Optional riders — including living benefits, enhanced death benefits, and the CareMatters LTC feature — generally carry additional charges that reduce the base contract value or benefit base over time.
- Annuity guarantees are backed by the claims-paying ability of the specific issuing company (Nationwide Life Insurance Company or Nationwide Life and Annuity Insurance Company), not by FDIC insurance.
Consumers should request a current product brochure, illustration, and state-specific disclosure directly tied to the exact product being considered, since terms vary by state and change over time.
Who Might Consider This Carrier?
A Nationwide annuity may be worth reviewing for retirees and pre-retirees who want a wide range of product categories under one carrier: conservative savers comparing Peak or New Heights, RILA buyers deciding between a buffer and a floor structure, retirees wanting flexible immediate income through INCOME Promise Select, and consumers specifically researching a way to pre-fund long-term care costs through CareMatters.
Who May Not Be a Fit
This carrier’s products may not be a fit for consumers who want the simplicity of a single, narrowly focused product line rather than choosing among several categories, buyers uncomfortable with open-ended risk beyond a buffer level, or those who need a standalone long-term care policy rather than one linked to an annuity chassis.
FAQs: Your Questions Answered
Yes. Income Pay Pro 10 is built around a guaranteed compound roll-up on the income value for up to 10 years, and several of North American’s other fixed indexed annuities offer optional income riders. The company also offers a single premium immediate annuity for income starting right away.
Annuity contracts are generally governed by the state where the contract was issued, but availability of new products and riders — including CareMatters — can vary by state. Consumers who relocate should review their contract with an advisor.
Independent agencies such as AM Best, S&P, Moody’s, and Fitch assign financial strength ratings based on an insurer’s ability to meet its claims obligations. Check these ratings directly with the rating agency for the most current information.
An independent comparison can help you evaluate Nationwide’s fixed indexed, RILA, immediate, variable, and CareMatters products against other carriers, rather than focusing on a single illustration or brand name.
Review surrender charges, rider fees for living or enhanced death benefits, CareMatters underwriting class and benefit multiples if applicable, and — for variable products — mortality and expense charges and underlying fund fees.
Compare financial strength, product category (fixed indexed, RILA, variable, immediate, or long-term-care-linked), surrender schedules, rider costs, crediting methods, and whether the specific product fits your retirement plan.
Yes. INCOME Promise Select provides immediate guaranteed income, and several fixed-indexed offers optional living-benefit riders that can convert accumulated value into guaranteed lifetime income.
Money allocated to a fixed-indexed strategy is not directly invested in the market and is not reduced by index declines.
Safety depends on the product type and the issuing entity. Fixed and indexed annuity guarantees are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurer and are not the same as FDIC insurance.
CareMatters links long-term care coverage to a deferred fixed annuity. A single premium (or an exchange of an existing annuity or life insurance policy) converts into a multiple of that value, payable as a cash-indemnity long-term care benefit if the owner qualifies. Unused value generally passes to beneficiaries as a death benefit.
A buffer RILA (Nationwide Defender) absorbs the first portion of an index loss and passes any loss beyond that buffer to the contract owner. A floor RILA (Nationwide Defined Protection) caps the maximum possible loss at a defined level, no matter how far the index falls beyond it. Both trade some growth potential for downside protection, but the shape of that protection differs.
Nationwide offers one of the broadest annuity product lineups in the industry and carries a strong financial strength rating from independent agencies. Whether a specific Nationwide product is a good fit depends on the product category, current terms, and your retirement goals — not the carrier name alone.