Secure Growth 7-Year with MVA review

Yes, for buyers with a true 7-year time horizon. The carrier quality is excellent, the rate structure is straightforward, and the free-withdrawal provision is generous for a MYGA. Where I would slow down is the MVA. It is not a hidden fee — it is disclosed — but it changes the risk profile in ways that a printed surrender schedule does not capture. If you are confident you will not need principal for 7 years, this is a reasonable product. If you might need access sooner, the combination of surrender charges and a potentially negative MVA makes the real early-exit cost meaningfully higher than the schedule alone suggests.

The main reason to buy Secure Growth 7-Year with MVA is a guaranteed rate locked for the full seven-year term with no market exposure and no ongoing decisions to make. The secondary reason is Nationwide's carrier quality. For buyers rolling over a 401(k) or CD into a tax-deferred vehicle and who want certainty over the next seven years, this is a clean execution of that goal. The tiered rate structure — a higher rate at $100,000 or more — also makes it worth sizing a premium to hit that threshold if you are close to it.

I think Secure Growth 7-Year with MVA is best for someone aged roughly 50–72 who has IRA or non-qualified money they are not planning to touch for seven years and wants a reliable, straightforward fixed-rate vehicle from a name-brand carrier. It fits particularly well for buyers moving out of CDs or money markets into longer-duration tax-deferred savings who are comfortable with the MVA risk. It is a poor fit for someone who might need partial principal access beyond the 10% free-withdrawal window, someone with a shorter time horizon, or someone in California or New York, where the product is not available.

You are buying a time-locked savings contract. The carrier takes your premium, guarantees you a fixed rate for the entire seven-year surrender period, and at the end of the period you can renew, annuitize, or surrender without charges. The MVA means that if you surrender early and market interest rates have risen since you bought the contract, the effective value of your contract declines slightly to reflect the opportunity cost to Nationwide. The reverse is also true — if rates have fallen, the MVA can work in your favor. In practice, MVA provisions are most consequential when you are forced to exit in a rising-rate environment, which is exactly when the insurance company faces the largest loss.

Secure Growth 7-Year with MVA credits a single fixed declared rate for the full seven-year guarantee period. Based on the brochure materials dated January 2025, the current rate was 4.45% for premiums under $100,000 and 4.70% for premiums at $100,000 or above. These rates are guaranteed for the entire initial period — they do not fluctuate, and Nationwide does not have the ability to reset them during the term.

After the initial guarantee period expires, rates renew annually. The contract guarantees a minimum floor of 0.50% (2.55% in New York), which is a contractual backstop but not a figure to plan around — it exists to satisfy state reserve requirements rather than to represent an attractive secondary rate. The practical takeaway is that you are buying certainty for 7 years, with a renewal decision to make at the end.

The most meaningful secondary feature is the nursing home and terminal illness waiver. If you are confined to a nursing home or diagnosed with a terminal illness during the surrender period, Nationwide will waive the surrender charge and MVA, allowing full access to the contract value. This is not a unique feature in the MYGA space, but it is worth knowing it exists. It is not available in California or New York, and there is a maximum eligibility age of 80 for the waiver, so buyers near or above that threshold should not count on it.

The free-withdrawal provision is more flexible than many MYGAs at this surrender length. You can take up to 10% of contract value each year beginning immediately from contract issue — not after the first year — and RMDs are fully exempt from the CDSC and MVA. That combination makes this product more compatible with IRA accounts than some competitors in the 7-year band.

Beyond the free-withdrawal amount, a 7-year contingent deferred sales charge applies alongside the MVA — a market value adjustment that moves with changes in interest rates and applies on top of the printed schedule. The practical risk: if you buy at today's rates and need to exit in two years after rates have moved up materially, your net exit value could be meaningfully lower than the printed surrender schedule suggests. The death benefit is an important exception — the MVA is waived at death, meaning your beneficiaries receive the full contract value regardless of interest rate conditions.

There is no base contract fee and no rider fee — the product charges nothing for the contract itself. The cost of ownership is entirely in the spread: Nationwide earns the difference between what they credit to you and what they earn on the underlying assets. That is standard MYGA mechanics.

The structural tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. First, the MVA. It is not a fee in the traditional sense, but it is a real economic risk for anyone who exits early in a rising-rate environment. Second, the renewal rate after the initial term is not guaranteed at the initial level — Nationwide sets renewal rates annually, and they can be lower. Third, there is an optional Return of Purchase Payment Rider available that removes the MVA but results in a lower credited rate. That rider may make sense for buyers who are concerned about the MVA risk but still want a longer commitment than a 3-5 year MYGA.

Legal Entity: Nationwide Life Insurance Company

Parent: Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company

AM Best Rating: A+