Platinum Edge 6-Year review

It depends on your situation. For someone who wants a six-year locked rate, values Nationwide's A+ financial strength, and understands that the market value adjustment applies even to their annual free withdrawal, this is a reasonable and clean product. It becomes less appealing if you expect to use the free-withdrawal provision as a genuine liquidity cushion — the MVA makes that a rate-environment bet, not a guaranteed safety valve.

The rational case is straightforward: a guaranteed rate for six years, tax deferral, principal protection, and a known end date with a liquid Transition Account waiting at maturity. The $2,000 minimum makes it accessible for smaller accounts or staged deposits. Buyers drawn to Nationwide specifically — by brand recognition, adviser relationship, or A+ rating — will find this is a clean, no-frills version of what a MYGA is supposed to do.

I think Platinum Edge 6-Year fits best for conservative savers in the 55-75 range who have a defined six-year time horizon, want a single guaranteed rate rather than index-linked growth, and are working with an adviser who holds the required securities license. It is less appealing for someone who wants flexible access to money during the term, lives in MD, NY, PA, TX, or WA, or is already comparing against non-registered MYGA alternatives that may not impose MVA on free withdrawals.

You are buying a promise from Nationwide to credit a fixed interest rate — 3.75% as of November 2025, though rates change with each new contract — for exactly six years, with no participation in any index. At the end of those six years, the contract moves into a Transition Account: fully liquid, no surrender charge, no MVA, with monthly rates set by Nationwide until you move the money. That structure is genuinely useful because it removes the reinvestment scramble that catches many MYGA buyers off guard at maturity. What you are not buying is any income feature, index-linked upside, or bonus — this is pure rate-lock simplicity.

One important detail: Platinum Edge is a Registered Fixed Annuity, which means it is classified as a security with the SEC. That does not change how the product performs, but it does mean the adviser selling it must be a Registered Representative, which limits where you can buy it compared to a traditional fixed annuity.

The core feature is the guarantee period. You deposit a premium, Nationwide credits a fixed declared rate for six years, and interest compounds tax-deferred inside the contract. The rate guaranteed at issue does not change during the six-year period regardless of what happens to market interest rates. If you make additional premium payments, each subsequent payment starts its own six-year guarantee period with its own CDSC schedule — they do not roll into the original term.

At the end of the six-year period, the contract automatically moves to a Transition Account. Withdrawals from the Transition Account are fully liquid with no surrender charge and no MVA. Nationwide sets a new monthly rate for the Transition Account; that rate is variable, but you face no penalty for leaving at any point once you are in it.

The Transition Account is more useful than it sounds. Most MYGAs at maturity either auto-renew into a new surrender period or require active action to avoid locking up again. Here, Nationwide puts you into a liquid holding account with no penalties, giving you time to shop rates, consult your adviser, or decide whether to roll into a new guarantee period without pressure. For buyers who are not certain what they will do at maturity — and most are not — that is a meaningful feature.

The nursing home and terminal illness waivers are the other secondary feature worth noting. Both waive surrender charges in qualifying circumstances. The MVA is waived for death distributions as well. These provisions do not fundamentally change the product, but they reduce the penalty exposure in life events that most buyers hope they will never need.

Platinum Edge 6-Year is a six-year commitment with a meaningful restriction: the market value adjustment — MVA, meaning your effective surrender penalty can rise or fall with interest rates — applies even to the 10% annual free withdrawals. That is unusual. Many MYGAs exempt the free-withdrawal amount from MVA. Here, if you use your 10% in a rising-rate environment, the MVA can make your free withdrawal feel less free.

The CDSC schedule itself is moderate — 5% stepping down to 3% over six years is not aggressive relative to peers. Required minimum distributions are not subject to the CDSC, though the MVA can still apply to RMD amounts. Death benefit distributions waive both the CDSC and MVA. Annuitization is available after two years (one year in FL and NY) and is also exempt from the CDSC, though MVA applies.

There is no explicit annual contract fee and no income rider fee — this product carries no layered charge structure. The main cost of ownership is implicit in the spread between the rate Nationwide earns on its general account and what it passes to the policyholder, which is how all fixed annuities work.

The structural tradeoff is the MVA on free withdrawals. The CDSC schedule is ordinary for the peer group. The registered-security classification adds an advisory friction point that non-registered alternatives do not have. The rate as of November 2025 was 3.75%, but that is a snapshot; the rate you receive depends on when you apply, and Nationwide sets rates independently for each guarantee period selected.

Legal Entity: Nationwide Life & Annuity Insurance Company

Parent: Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company

A.M. Best Rating: A+