NAC BenefitSolutions 10 review

It depends on the buyer's goal. For someone who wants built-in protected lifetime income, a nursing-home enhancement, and a carrier with a strong financial-strength rating, this is a reasonable fit. For someone primarily chasing accumulation or who wants flexibility in the first decade, it will feel restrictive. The 10-year commitment and 1.20% annual fee are real costs that only make sense if the income guarantee is the point.

The rational case is straightforward: you want guaranteed lifetime withdrawals starting at some future point, you want a care-protection layer at no additional rider charge, and you are comfortable placing long-term retirement dollars in a principal-protected account. The 20% benefit-base bonus gives buyers a head start on the income calculation that compounds through the deferral period, which can be material if income activation is five or more years out.

I think this product fits someone between 55 and 72 who is putting qualified-plan or IRA money to work in the final stretch before retirement. The RMD-friendly design matters here — required minimum distributions are accommodated without triggering surrender charges, which is practically important for traditional IRA holders above age 73. It is less attractive for non-qualified buyers who want short-term access, for anyone focused on maximizing accumulation, or for buyers who would prefer to shop income riders separately on an accumulation chassis.

You are buying a lifetime income guarantee with a care rider built in. The accumulation value earns indexed interest based on whichever crediting strategy you choose, but the contract's real engine is the benefit base — a parallel ledger that starts with a 20% premium bonus and grows according to the rider's crediting rules. When you activate income, withdrawals come out of the accumulation value first; if accumulation value is ever exhausted, North American continues paying the guaranteed withdrawal amount for life. The nursing-home multiplier sits on top of that: if you are confined to a nursing home, the benefit can be accelerated above the standard withdrawal rate.

The Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefit III (BenefitSolutions) is included at contract issue. At the start, the benefit base receives a 20% bonus applied to premiums paid — that means a $100,000 premium establishes a $120,000 benefit base from day one. The benefit base is separate from the accumulation value; it does not earn index-linked interest the same way, but it does grow according to the rider's own rules before income activation.

At activation, the guaranteed lifetime withdrawal amount is calculated as a percentage of the benefit base tied to your age at activation. The older you are when you turn income on, the higher that percentage typically is. Withdrawals up to the guaranteed amount do not reduce future income even if accumulation value is depleted — that is the core of the lifetime guarantee.

The 1.20% annual rider fee is charged against the accumulation value, not the benefit base. Over a long deferral period, that drag is real and should factor into any comparison with alternative income strategies.

The nursing-home multiplier — called the LPA Multiplier (Long-Term Partnership Multiplier) — is included with the income rider at no additional charge. If you are confined to a qualified nursing home, the contract allows accelerated withdrawals above the standard guaranteed withdrawal amount. That provision addresses one of the practical gaps in plain-vanilla GLWBs, which typically pay the same rate regardless of health events.

The inclusion at no extra fee matters because many competing products charge separately for a long-term care or chronic illness accelerator. Here, buyers get both protections under the 1.20% umbrella. That is a meaningful structural advantage for buyers in the 60s who are looking at retirement income alongside care planning.

NAC BenefitSolutions 10 locks money in for a decade. The free withdrawal provision starts after year one at 5% of accumulation value annually, then steps up to 10% in later years if no withdrawals were taken in the prior year. Amounts above the free threshold are subject to the schedule below, and the product carries an MVA — a Market Value Adjustment — meaning the actual surrender penalty can fluctuate with interest rates during the surrender period.

The contract includes a nursing-home waiver that removes surrender charges in qualifying care situations, and RMDs attributable to the contract are accommodated without surrender charge penalties. There is also a notable provision: on the 10th anniversary, if no withdrawals have been taken and the accumulation value has fallen below the original premium, the carrier brings the accumulation value back up to the premium amount.

The headline fee is **1.20% annually** for the Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefit III, deducted from accumulation value. There is no separate base contract fee disclosed in the available materials.

The practical tradeoff is that 1.20% drag on a product with relatively modest cap rates — as low as 1.85% on certain strategies and up to 5.00% at the high end per the available rate sheet — means the accumulation value is not going to grow aggressively. The product is designed to fund a benefit base and pay guaranteed income for life. Buyers who want meaningful accumulation upside alongside the income guarantee may find this architecture underwhelming.

Cap and participation rates as of the brochure date (July 2024) varied widely by strategy. Rates are snapshots and will change; ask for a current rate sheet before committing.

Legal Entity: North American Company for Life and Health Insurance

Parent: Sammons Financial Group

A.M. Best Rating: A+