Secure Growth 5-Year review

It depends primarily on two factors: how much you're depositing and whether the five-year term fits your timeline. For buyers putting in $100,000 or more, the 4.80% guaranteed rate (as of 2026-07-18) is competitive within the 5-year MYGA peer group, and the A+ carrier rating adds genuine peace of mind. For buyers below $100,000, 4.05% is reasonable but you'll want to compare it carefully against other short-term MYGAs before committing. This base version of the contract has no market value adjustment: the printed surrender charge schedule is the entire exit-cost picture, with no interest-rate-linked variability layered on top — a meaningfully simpler tradeoff than the MVA variant of this same term carries.

The main draw is the combination of Nationwide's carrier quality and a clean 5-year fixed rate. Buyers who care about counterparty risk — and in the MYGA space they should — get one of the highest A.M. Best ratings available. The immediate free-withdrawal provision is a meaningful convenience feature: most MYGAs delay free access until year two, so the ability to take up to 10% in contract year one is a structural advantage. RMD handling is also clean — those distributions are not subject to surrender charges, which matters for IRA holders who are already taking required distributions.

I think Secure Growth 5-Year is best suited for someone in or near retirement who wants to park a meaningful sum — ideally $100,000 or more — in a guaranteed-rate vehicle for five years and has no realistic expectation of needing that principal before maturity. It works well inside an IRA or non-qualified account. It is less compelling for someone under $100,000 who can find a higher rate elsewhere, someone who wants liquidity above the 10% annual amount, or anyone who might need an early exit and would rather have an MVA-bearing contract's different rate tradeoff than this base contract's fixed surrender schedule. Buyers focused on lifetime income or index-linked growth potential are better served by a different product category entirely.

This is not a market-linked product. You are buying a contractual guarantee that Nationwide will credit a fixed interest rate to your principal for five years, and that principal itself is backed by Nationwide's general account. What you are not buying is flexibility — the tradeoff for that guaranteed rate is a real commitment to the five-year window. The "fixed annuity" structure means no upside from good markets, but also no participation in bad ones. The tax deferral is a genuine benefit over a taxable CD: interest compounds without annual tax drag until you withdraw. The product earns its keep as a predictable accumulation vehicle, not as an income or growth vehicle.

Nationwide credits a fixed interest rate to your contract value for the full five-year guarantee period. The rate is tiered by deposit size: as of 2026-07-18, 4.05% annually for contracts below $100,000 and 4.80% annually for contracts at $100,000 or above. That 75-basis-point premium at the $100K tier is meaningful over five years — roughly a $4,000 difference on a $100,000 deposit at maturity. After the initial guarantee period ends, the contract transitions to annual rate renewals set by Nationwide, with a minimum guaranteed surrender value equal to 100% of premium accumulated at a 0.50% minimum guaranteed rate (2.55% in New York). Policyholders in New York benefit from a higher floor rate, which provides more downside protection on renewal rates. The rate at renewal is at Nationwide's discretion within that floor, which introduces some uncertainty once the initial guarantee period ends.

The nursing home waiver and terminal illness waiver are the most practically meaningful secondary features here, and they're included at no additional cost. If the owner becomes confined to a nursing home or receives a terminal illness diagnosis (subject to the eligibility terms — maximum issue age 80, not available in California or New York), Nationwide will waive the surrender charge on withdrawals (this base version of the contract has no MVA to waive). For a 5-year MYGA, this is a real safety valve. The average buyer for a product like this is in or near retirement, and the possibility of needing care during a five-year window is not remote. The fact that these waivers come without an extra fee makes them genuinely valuable rather than a fee-offset exercise.

The Secure Growth 5-Year allows you to withdraw up to 10% of account value immediately, and that 10% window renews each contract year without any surrender charge — and it opens right away, not after the first anniversary. That is a structural improvement over most MYGAs in this duration band. The free-withdrawal amount is noncumulative, meaning unused percentages do not carry over to the next year.

For anything above the 10% free amount, the surrender schedule applies: 7%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4% for contract years one through five. That is a steeper front-end than some shorter MYGAs, flat through the first two years before stepping down one point per year.

This is the base version of Secure Growth 5-Year, and it carries no market value adjustment. That means the printed surrender charge schedule is the complete story on early-exit cost — there's no additional interest-rate-linked factor that can push the effective cost higher or lower than what the schedule shows. Nationwide also sells a separate MVA version and a Return of Purchase Payment version of this same term at different credited rates, so buyers should confirm with their agent which variant they are being offered. RMDs, death benefit distributions, and annuitization distributions are exempt from the surrender charge, which provides meaningful relief for qualified account holders. Annuitization becomes available after two years (one year in Florida and New York) or at annuitant age 95, unless another date is elected. The contract is available across Nonqualified, IRA, Roth IRA, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, 401(a), and charitable remainder trust (CRT) plan types.

There are no annual contract or administrative fees on this contract, which keeps the net credited rate identical to the stated rate — a genuine advantage over products that apply an ongoing charge. There is no rider fee because no fee-bearing rider is available on this term.

This is the base, no-MVA version of Secure Growth 5-Year. Nationwide separately sells an MVA version and a Return of Purchase Payment version of the same term, each at its own credited rate. Because this base contract has no market value adjustment, there is no contingent, interest-rate-linked cost layered onto the surrender charge — the printed schedule is the whole exit-cost picture. Buyers should confirm with their agent which variant (base, MVA, or ROPP) they are being offered, since the credited rate differs across them.

Legal Entity: Nationwide Life Insurance Company

Parent: Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company

A.M. Best Rating: A+