Destination B 2.0 (NY) review

It depends on what you want from it. If you specifically want tax-deferred market participation inside an insurance contract and you plan to use the optional income or enhanced death-benefit riders, it is a reasonable, well-supported choice. If you want principal protection or guaranteed income without market risk, this is the wrong product — a fixed indexed or income annuity does that job more directly. The base contract alone, without riders, is a hard sell against a low-cost taxable brokerage account for most shoppers.

The main reason to buy Destination B 2.0 is tax-deferred growth across a wide set of investment subaccounts, with the ability to add a lifetime income guarantee or an enhanced death benefit later. For a New York investor who has already maxed out other tax-advantaged accounts and wants more tax deferral, the wrapper has a rational purpose. The optional GLWB rider also lets someone lock in a future income floor while keeping market upside, which a plain brokerage account cannot do.

I think this is best for a New York resident in the accumulation or pre-retirement stage who is comfortable with market risk, wants tax deferral beyond what IRAs and 401(k)s allow, and intends to use at least one of the optional riders. Non-qualified money is the most natural fit, since the tax deferral is the headline benefit; inside an IRA you are already tax-deferred and paying for a wrapper you may not need. It is a poor fit for risk-averse buyers, anyone who wants principal protection, or someone who will not use the riders that justify the fee.

Strip away the brochure and this is a mutual-fund-style investment account wrapped in an insurance contract. Your money goes into variable subaccounts — 118 of them here, plus a 1-year fixed account currently crediting 1.60% as of the brochure date — and the account value moves with those investments. There is no cap, no participation rate, and no floor protecting your principal in the base contract. The insurance company's promises (lifetime income, enhanced death benefit) come from riders you elect and pay for separately. So you are buying tax deferral plus optional guarantees, not market protection.

The core of the contract is the subaccount platform. You allocate premium across the available funds, and net subaccount expense ratios run from 0.40% to 2.37% depending on the fund — those fund costs sit on top of the contract's own charges. A dollar-cost-averaging option crediting 3.00% over 12 months is available to phase money into the market gradually. Nationwide also offers purchase-payment credits for large cumulative household premiums: 0.50% on $500,000-$999,999 and 1.00% on $1,000,000 or more. Because the base contract carries no principal guarantee, your results depend on fund performance minus the layered fees. All figures here are current as of the 2/23/2026 brochure date and will change.

The optional Nationwide Lifetime Income Rider Plus Empire New York II is the feature that gives this product an income purpose. It credits a 6.00% simple-interest roll-up annually to the benefit base over a 10-year accumulation period, which builds the figure used to calculate guaranteed lifetime withdrawals — note that this roll-up grows the benefit base for income math, not your actual cash value. The rider costs 1.45% annually for single life (1.60% maximum) or 1.60% for joint life, charged on the benefit base. Separately, a long-term care waiver and a terminal-illness Enhanced Surrender Value feature are built in at no additional cost, which is a genuine plus and unusually borrower-friendly for a New York contract.

This is a 7-year commitment. You can take 10% of total purchase payments each year without a surrender charge, available immediately, and required minimum distributions are also exempt from the charge — both reasonable provisions. Amounts above the free withdrawal during the surrender period trigger a charge that starts at 7% and declines to 0% after year seven. There is no market value adjustment on this contract, which removes one layer of surrender unpredictability that many fixed and indexed annuities carry. The built-in long-term care and terminal-illness waivers add further relief. Still, this is long-term money — the surrender schedule and the rider math both assume you leave it in place.

The base contract charges 1.30% annually — a 1.10% mortality and expense charge plus a 0.20% administrative charge. On top of that sit fund expenses of 0.40% to 2.37% depending on your allocations, so an all-in cost well above 2% is realistic for many investors. A $30 annual contract fee applies but is waived once contract value reaches $50,000. The optional GLWB rider adds 1.45%-1.60% on the benefit base, and optional enhanced death-benefit riders run 0.20% to 0.65%. The trade is straightforward: you are paying insurance-contract fees for tax deferral and optional guarantees. If you use the riders, the fees buy something concrete; if you do not, you are paying a meaningful drag for tax deferral alone.

Legal Entity: Nationwide Life Insurance Company

Parent: Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company

AM Best Rating: A+