NAC Guarantee Plus 7-Year review

Yes, for the right buyer. This is a solid MYGA for someone who has a genuine seven-year horizon, wants a locked rate without any exposure to market risk, and values the financial strength of the carrier behind the guarantee. It is less attractive for anyone who might need liquidity before the term ends, since the MVA can push the real cost of early surrender meaningfully above the stated penalty charge.

The main reason to buy NAC Guarantee Plus 7-Year is rate certainty. Unlike a bank CD, the interest grows tax-deferred, which makes the after-tax comparison favorable for money in a non-qualified account. The $100,000 threshold for the higher rate band is accessible for many IRA rollovers or CD maturities. The A+ A.M. Best rating and North American's long track record under Sammons Financial Group give buyers a credible institution backing the guarantee. The nursing home confinement waiver adds a practical liquidity safety valve that basic MYGAs sometimes lack.

I think NAC Guarantee Plus 7-Year is best for someone between roughly 50 and 80 who has a defined pool of money — a rolled-over IRA, maturing CD proceeds, or non-qualified savings — that they do not expect to need for at least seven years. RMD-friendly treatment makes it workable inside a traditional IRA for buyers in that age range. It is less appealing for someone who is still in accumulation mode with a much longer horizon, or for anyone who treats this money as a potential liquidity cushion.

You are buying an insurance contract that credits a fixed, guaranteed interest rate for a defined period. There is no index, no crediting formula, no allocation choice. The insurer — North American Company for Life and Health Insurance — takes your premium, guarantees the credited rate for the full seven-year term, and provides contractual protections including a minimum guaranteed surrender value. At the end of the guarantee period, you get a 30-day window to renew, elect a payout option, or withdraw the full contract value without penalty. The simplicity is the point.

The NAC Guarantee Plus 7-Year credits interest via a single fixed account. The rate is set at issue and locked for all seven years — 4.70% for premiums below $100,000 and 5.00% for $100,000 or more, as of early April 2026. These rates are not indexed, not subject to renewal risk during the term, and not tied to any external benchmark. They are contractually guaranteed for the full surrender period. Interest compounds inside the contract and is tax-deferred until withdrawal, which is the primary reason to use this structure over a taxable bank product with a comparable yield.

The two-rate band structure is worth noting. The 30-basis-point jump at $100,000 is meaningful over seven years of compounding. A buyer just below the threshold should evaluate whether adding premium to cross the band makes sense for their situation.

The nursing home confinement waiver is the most meaningful secondary feature. After the first contract year, if you become confined to a nursing home for at least 90 consecutive days, North American waives surrender charges on withdrawals — up to the full contract value. For a product with a seven-year commitment, that is a real safety valve. It does not eliminate the MVA in all states, and it is not available in South Dakota, but for most buyers it provides meaningful protection against a forced early exit due to health events. The full-account-value death benefit, payable as a lump sum or installments to beneficiaries, rounds out the basic protection package at no additional fee.

This product should be treated as a seven-year commitment. Free withdrawals are limited to interest earned in the prior contract year beginning in year two — a narrower free-withdrawal provision than the 10%-of-contract-value standard common on FIAs. Amounts above the free withdrawal trigger both a surrender charge and a Market Value Adjustment. The MVA — a market value adjustment — means the actual penalty at early surrender can be higher or lower than the stated charge depending on the direction of interest rates at the time. In a rising-rate environment, the MVA can add meaningfully to the stated charge. Buyers should not treat the schedule below as a ceiling on exit costs.

After the initial guarantee period, there is a 30-day penalty-free window. The contract is RMD-friendly, meaning required minimum distributions from qualified accounts are handled without forced surrender of principal above the allowed free amount. Systematic withdrawals are available on monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual schedules, with a minimum of $50 per payment.

There are no base contract fees and no rider fees. The MYGA structure is fee-light by design — the insurer earns a spread between what it credits and what it earns on the invested assets. There is nothing opaque about the tradeoff here: the cost of the guarantee is the surrender period and the MVA exposure. What you give up is flexibility; what you get is certainty and tax deferral.

The main structural tradeoff relative to peers is the narrower free-withdrawal provision. Some competing MYGAs allow 10% of contract value penalty-free each year. This one limits you to interest earned, which in early contract years is a materially smaller amount. Buyers who anticipate needing more than accumulated interest in any given year should look at that difference carefully.

Legal Entity: North American Company for Life and Health Insurance

Parent: Sammons Financial Group

A.M. Best Rating: A+