Simple Annuity 6 review

Yes, with a caveat on the carrier rating. As a contract, Simple Annuity 6 is a clean, no-surprises MYGA: the rate is locked at issue, the surrender schedule is standard for a six-year product, and the death benefit passes the full account value to beneficiaries with no penalty. The caveat is that Nassau Life and Annuity carries an A.M. Best rating of B++, which is "Good" rather than "Excellent" — worth weighing against carriers rated A− or better if financial strength matters as much as rate to you.

The main reason to buy this product is a locked, predictable rate over a medium time horizon without exposure to market swings. Someone with a six-year window — a bridge to retirement, a CD-replacement allocation, or money they simply don't want tied to the stock or bond market — gets a guaranteed crediting rate for the entire period. The absence of an income rider or bonus also means there's no fee drag or benefit-base math to untangle; the number on the statement is the number that matters.

I think this is best suited to someone in their 50s through mid-70s who has non-emergency savings they can commit for six years, wants a CD-like guarantee with slightly better tax deferral (in a non-qualified account) or straightforward growth (in a qualified account), and isn't looking for lifetime income or legacy enhancements. It's a weaker fit for someone who prioritizes top-of-market financial strength ratings, needs more than modest annual liquidity, or wants an income stream built into the contract.

Strip away the "Simple" branding and this is a fixed-rate deferred annuity: you hand Nassau a premium, they credit a fixed rate set at issue for six years, and at the end of that period you can walk away, renew, or roll the money elsewhere without penalty during a 30-day window. There's no index participation, no cap, no spread — the rate you're quoted at issue is the rate you get, guaranteed not to change, for the full term. The tradeoff for that certainty is that you give up any chance of a higher return if rates or markets move in your favor during the six years.

The core feature is the declared fixed rate. Nassau's current published rate for the 6-year guarantee period is 5.40% per its own rate sheet (Wink's more recent snapshot lists 5.25%) — both are point-in-time figures and will move with market conditions before you lock in a new contract, so treat either number as a snapshot rather than a promise. Once issued, that rate is guaranteed for the entire six-year period; it does not float, is not tied to an index, and does not depend on caps or participation rates the way a fixed indexed annuity would. At the end of the six years, renewal rates are set by the carrier but can never fall below the contract's stated minimum guaranteed interest rate.

The secondary feature worth noting is the RMD and death benefit treatment, which is more thoughtful than a bare-bones MYGA typically offers. After the first contract year, one RMD per year is treated as a free withdrawal — no surrender charge, no MVA — which matters for anyone funding this with qualified money. The death benefit pays the full contract value directly to named beneficiaries with no surrender charge or market value adjustment applied, and it can bypass probate, which is a meaningful legacy-planning feature even without a dedicated enhanced death benefit rider.

This is a six-year commitment with a standard declining surrender schedule: 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4% across years one through six, and a market value adjustment (MVA) applies on top of that — meaning your surrender penalty on amounts above the free allowance can move with interest rates, for better or worse, during the surrender period. The free-withdrawal allowance is 5% of account value annually, which is workable for modest supplemental income needs but lower than the 10% many competing six-year MYGAs allow. Beyond ordinary free withdrawals, the surrender charge (though not the underlying commitment itself) is waived for nursing home confinement or a terminal illness diagnosis at issue ages 80 and below — though the nursing-home waiver isn't available in Florida per the most recent brochure. A 30-day penalty-free window at the end of the guarantee period lets you surrender or renew without cost, which is a fair way to avoid getting stuck at a below-market renewal rate.

There are no explicit rider fees or base contract fees here — this is a fee-free fixed annuity by design, since there's no optional rider to price. The real tradeoff is structural rather than a line-item cost: the minimum guaranteed surrender value (MGSV) language in the source materials is inconsistent. The current brochure describes 87.5% of premium accumulated at a Total Guaranteed Value rate that's set at issue and ranges 0.15%–3.0% by state, while Wink's listing shows a flat 1.00% minimum guaranteed rate (and an older 2021 brochure cited the same flat 1% figure). Since these don't fully reconcile, anyone seriously considering this contract should ask Nassau directly for the exact MGSV terms that apply in their state before funding it.

Legal Entity: Nassau Life and Annuity Company

Parent: Nassau Financial Group

A.M. Best Rating: B++