Confidential Review Library · Nationwide Life and Annuity Insurance Company
Nationwide Peak 10 review
Fixed indexed annuity with optional income rider
Nationwide Peak 10 is a fixed indexed annuity with a ten-year surrender schedule and an optional lifetime income rider. Because the rider is optional and separately charged, reviews of this contract hinge on whether the owner is paying for a benefit they never intend to use.
Last updated 2026-08-03
The five pillars
Cost
Optional rider means an optional charge
If the income rider was elected, an explicit annual charge applies. If it was not, the contract runs without one. The most common finding in a review is a rider charge quietly deducted every year on a contract whose owner has no plan to take lifetime income.
Surrender
Ten years, declining
Standard for the category. Review the remaining years and the annual free-withdrawal allowance before considering any move.
Riders
Review the election, not the availability
The relevant question is not whether the rider is good but whether it was elected and whether it is being used. An unused, charged rider is pure drag on the position.
Rate
Declared caps across several index options
Caps and spreads are declared and renewable. Review current declared terms against the original ones to see how the contract has drifted.
Fit
Flexible enough for either objective
The optionality makes this a reasonable fit for both growth-leaning and income-leaning owners — provided the election made at issue matches the objective actually held today.
What to watch on your own contract
- —Whether an income rider is elected and being charged
- —Any gap between the rider election and the current plan
- —Current caps and spreads versus the first contract year
- —Remaining surrender years and free-withdrawal amount
Questions owners ask
- Can an unused income rider be dropped?
- Some contracts allow a rider to be terminated after a minimum period; others do not. The contract language governs, and a review reads it directly rather than assuming.
- How do I find the rider charge?
- Annual statements itemise the charge deducted from the accumulation value. If no charge appears, the rider was likely never elected.
About the carrier
Nationwide is a mutual-structured carrier rated A+ by A.M. Best in the AnnuityScore carrier network. Its annuity line spans indexed, registered index-linked, variable, and immediate contracts, and its indexed products commonly make the lifetime income rider optional — which makes rider election the central review question.
Read the full Nationwide carrier profile and A.M. Best rating →Confidential
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Educational content only. AnnuityScore is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of Nationwide Life and Annuity Insurance Company. Product names are the trademarks of their respective owners. Contract features vary by state, issue date and product version — your contract governs. Nothing on this page is a recommendation or a solicitation.