Peak 5 Series B review

It depends on what you're comparing it to. For a buyer who wants a clean 5-year accumulation FIA from a carrier with top financial strength ratings and no interest in rider complexity, this is a reasonable choice. For a buyer who wants to spread allocations across multiple indices or crediting methods, there are peer-group competitors with wider menus. I wouldn't call it a bad product — the fee structure is clean, the carrier is excellent, and the waivers are meaningful — but it's not a standout in a competitive peer group.

The most straightforward reason to choose Peak 5 Series B is Nationwide's carrier strength paired with a short commitment window. If you're placing retirement dollars with a conservative mindset — principal protection first, some growth potential second — and you want to be done with the surrender period in five years rather than seven or ten, this contract fits that brief. The confinement waiver and RMD accommodation are real value for buyers who are thinking about what happens if circumstances change during the contract term.

I think this annuity is best for a retirement-age buyer in the 60–75 range who wants a principal-protected accumulation vehicle for a portion of savings, is comfortable with a short but real 5-year commitment, and places high value on carrier financial strength. It works for both qualified and non-qualified accounts given the RMD-friendly design. It's a less natural fit for someone who wants maximum index strategy flexibility, is shopping primarily for income features, or expects to need access to more than 10% of the contract value in any given year.

You are buying a principal-protected insurance contract that credits interest based on index performance, but you are not buying direct stock market exposure. The contract floor is zero — in a bad year for the index, you don't lose principal to market movement (though surrender charges still apply to early withdrawals). Upside is shaped by annual caps and the fixed account rate rather than full market participation. That structure is the fundamental trade this product makes: you accept a ceiling on gains in exchange for protection against direct index losses.

Peak 5 Series B offers two index-linked crediting strategies plus a fixed account. On the S&P 500, interest is credited using an annual point-to-point cap — at the end of each one-year term, the change in the S&P 500 is measured, and credited interest is capped at either 5.50% (below $100,000) or 7.00% ($100,000 or more). The JP Morgan Mozaic II Index works the same way mechanically, with caps of 9.50% (below $100,000) or 10.00% ($100,000 or more). The fixed account credits daily at 3.05% or 3.20% depending on premium band.

A few mechanics worth understanding: earnings lock in at the end of each one-year term. If you take a withdrawal during a term — even a free withdrawal — you forfeit any potential index earnings for that term on the withdrawn amount. That's a meaningful detail for buyers who take systematic withdrawals, because the timing of those withdrawals affects how much index credit actually accrues. The guaranteed minimum cap of 2.00% means Nationwide contractually cannot lower the cap below that floor, but actual caps are set at renewal and can change.

The secondary feature worth noting is the confinement waiver. After the first contract year, if the annuitant is confined to a nursing home or similar qualified care facility for 90 or more continuous days, you can withdraw up to 100% of the contract value penalty-free, with no surrender charge and no MVA. Maximum issue age for this feature is 80, and it's not available in all states. For buyers in their late 60s or early 70s who are thinking ahead to longevity risk, this waiver is a genuine piece of downside protection — it means the annuity doesn't become a trap if health circumstances change during the 5-year term.

Peak 5 Series B allows free withdrawals of 10% of contract value at the start of each term annually, though those withdrawals forfeit index earnings for the term. Amounts above that are subject to the following schedule:

A market value adjustment — MVA — also applies to excess withdrawals during the surrender period in most states. An MVA means your effective surrender cost can increase when interest rates have risen since you bought the contract and decrease when rates have fallen. It's not available in all states, but where it applies it's a meaningful variable. Buyers who are uncertain about their liquidity needs should treat this contract as a 5-year commitment, not a 5-year maximum.

RMDs attributable to the contract are available without surrender charges or MVA. If the required distribution exceeds the 10% free withdrawal amount in a given year, the free amount is increased to cover the full RMD — a clean accommodation for IRA holders who would otherwise face an involuntary charge.

The Joint Option provides that if the named co-annuitant spouse dies during the contract term, the surviving spouse can continue the contract with no remaining CDSC or MVA, or take a lump sum at the death benefit value.

The base contract carries no annual fee, no M&E charge, and no administration charge. That's the good news — there's no explicit drag on the contract value year over year beyond the opportunity cost of the caps.

The structural tradeoffs are the real ones. First, the S&P 500 cap of 7.00% at $100,000 or more is competitive but not exceptional in this peer group — several 5-year FIAs currently offer higher caps. Second, the JP Morgan Mozaic II Index is a risk-controlled index, which means its construction includes embedded cost mechanisms that can reduce how much of its return actually flows through to credited interest. Third, the two-index-plus-fixed-account menu is lean. Buyers who want to diversify across four or five different crediting strategies won't find that here.

There are no rider fees because there are no income riders on this product. The terminal illness waiver (penalty-free access if diagnosed with terminal illness or injury after year one, up to age 80) adds some liquidity optionality at no additional cost, though it's not available in California, New Jersey, or Connecticut until after the second anniversary.

Legal Entity: Nationwide Life and Annuity Insurance Company

Parent: Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company

AM Best Rating: A+