Why it earned this rating
Our assessment
Nationwide Secure Growth 4-Year with ROP earns a solid rating because it delivers a clean, no-fee fixed annuity from an A+ carrier with two meaningful protections baked in at no extra cost: an automatic Return of Premium rider and surrender charge waivers for nursing home confinement and terminal illness. The rate structure is competitive for the product's simplicity and short duration, though buyers focused purely on maximizing yield can likely find higher rates from carriers with lower ratings. The absence of an MVA keeps the downside scenario clean, which is a genuine feature in a rising-rate environment.
The short version
This is a 4-year guaranteed-rate annuity that does one thing well: it locks your rate for the full term, includes an automatic return-of-premium guarantee, and gets out of the way. The included ROP rider means that even if you need to surrender early and take the penalty hit, you cannot lose below your original deposit. That makes the downside case cleaner than many plain-vanilla MYGAs. The tradeoff is that the rate — as of the brochure date in early 2026 — is not at the top of the 4-year MYGA market, so buyers who shop only on yield will find alternatives worth comparing.
Key facts
The full review
Is Nationwide Secure Growth 4-Year with ROP a Good Annuity?
Yes, with qualifications. It is a good annuity for someone who wants a short, clean, guaranteed-rate contract from a highly rated carrier and cares about the downside floor as much as the upside return. The automatic ROP rider — included with every policy, no added cost — is a meaningful feature that eliminates the risk of losing principal even in a worst-case early surrender. It is less compelling for someone who is purely rate-shopping and willing to go with a lesser-known carrier to pick up an extra 30 or 50 basis points.
Why Someone Would Buy This Annuity
The practical reason someone buys this is certainty. They want to know the rate, lock it in for four years, and not worry about market conditions affecting their surrender value. The ROP rider adds a layer of reassurance: if life changes and you have to get out early despite the charges, you walk away with at least what you put in. Nationwide's A+ AM Best rating also carries weight for buyers who have had experiences with weaker carriers or just prefer to stay with household names.
Who This Annuity Is Best For
I think this fits best for retirees or near-retirees in their late 50s to mid-70s who have a chunk of non-qualified savings — or an IRA rollover — they want parked safely for four years. The $10,000 minimum premium keeps it accessible, and the wide issue age range (owner up to 100, annuitant up to 90) suggests Nationwide designed this to serve a broad spectrum of conservative savers. It is less well-suited for someone who needs liquidity beyond the 10% annual free withdrawal, for someone actively seeking indexed growth, or for someone who is comparing strictly on rate and is comfortable with smaller or lower-rated carriers.
What You're Really Buying Here
You are buying a guarantee. The contract credits a fixed rate — banded by premium size — for the full 4-year term. There is no index, no cap, no participation rate to watch. The credited rate is disclosed at issue and does not change. The ROP rider means that, at worst, if you surrender early under the maximum surrender charge conditions, you receive back your original premium. No MVA means the surrender charge schedule shown is the actual cost — no moving target based on interest rate swings. That predictability is the product's main value proposition.
How the Core Feature Works
The Secure Growth 4-Year with ROP credits a fixed interest rate set at contract issue and guaranteed through the end of the 4-year surrender period. As of the brochure date (March 2026), the rates were tiered: 3.35% annually for contracts funded with less than $100,000, and 3.70% annually for contracts funded with $100,000 or more. Both rates are locked for the full term — they do not reset annually or reprice at contract anniversaries the way some shorter-duration MYGAs do.
The rate banding creates a real incentive to fund at $100,000 or above if the assets are available. The 35-basis-point spread between the two tiers is meaningful over a 4-year horizon. Buyers near the threshold who can stretch to the higher band should run the math.
Why the Secondary Feature Matters
The Return of Premium rider is automatically included with every policy and is the secondary feature that genuinely differentiates this product in its peer group. What it means practically: if at any point during the surrender period you need to cash out and the account value after applying the surrender charge would drop below your original premium, the rider makes up the difference. You cannot lose money on a nominal basis.
Combined with the absence of a market value adjustment — which on many competing MYGAs can significantly increase your effective penalty if interest rates have risen since you bought the contract — this makes the downside case unusually clean. You know your floor. That is not a small thing for a buyer coming out of a CD or money market who has not owned annuities before and is wary of traps in the fine print.
Liquidity and Surrender Schedule
The free withdrawal provision is 10% of account value annually, and it is available starting in year one rather than after the first anniversary. That is a modest but genuine advantage over contracts that make you wait a full year before taking any withdrawal without charges.
Amounts above the 10% free-withdrawal threshold are subject to the schedule below. There is no market value adjustment on this product, so the percentages shown are the actual charges — no variable component based on prevailing interest rates.
| Contract Year | Surrender Charge |
|---|---|
| 1 | 7% |
| 2 | 7% |
| 3 | 7% |
| 4 | 6% |
The nursing home confinement and terminal illness waivers provide additional access without surrender charges if those circumstances arise. The ROP rider backstops the worst-case full-surrender scenario. RMD treatment was not explicitly addressed in the available brochure materials — buyers using this inside an IRA should confirm with Nationwide how RMDs are handled relative to the free-withdrawal provision.
Fees and Tradeoffs
There are no explicit contract fees or rider fees on this product. The ROP rider, nursing home waiver, and terminal illness waiver are all included at no additional cost. That is a clean fee picture.
The tradeoffs are mostly about what the product is not. There is no index exposure, so buyers who want any chance at higher returns tied to market performance will not find it here. The minimum guaranteed annual return is 0.50% — very low relative to the actual credited rate, but technically the contractual floor. The surrender charges in years one through three are 7%, which is on the steeper end for a 4-year product; the free withdrawal provision and ROP rider offset that somewhat, but buyers with realistic scenarios for needing significant liquidity inside year three should think carefully.
Product snapshot
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Product Type | Fixed Annuity |
| Surrender Period | 4 years |
| Issue Ages | Owner: 0-100; Annuitant: 0-90 |
| Minimum Premium | $10,000 |
| Crediting Methods | Fixed Rate |
| Free Withdrawal | 10% of account value annually, available immediately |
| MGSV | 0.50% minimum guaranteed annual return |
| Death Benefit | Full account value |
| Income Rider | Not available |
| Premium Bonus | None |
| Availability | Variations approved in CA and NY |
Carrier snapshot
Legal Entity: Nationwide Life Insurance Company
Parent: Nationwide Financial
AM Best Rating: A+
Nationwide is one of the larger, more established annuity carriers in the country with a long track record in fixed annuity products. The A+ AM Best rating reflects strong financial stability, which matters for a 4-year commitment where you are relying on the carrier's ability to honor the rate guarantee through the full term.
Final take
Nationwide Secure Growth 4-Year with ROP is a straightforward fixed annuity that earns its place in a conservative portfolio through carrier quality, clean structure, and a built-in downside floor. The automatic ROP rider and no-MVA design give buyers a level of certainty that most plain-vanilla MYGAs do not provide without an upcharge.
Where it falls short of a top-tier rating is on the rate side. The headline yield, while guaranteed, is not best-in-class for this duration — and buyers who are willing to accept more carrier or structural risk can likely find higher rates elsewhere. For buyers who prioritize safety margins over maximizing yield, this is a defensible choice. For pure rate-shoppers, it deserves comparison with higher-yielding alternatives before committing.