Nationwide rolls out enhanced VA

Nationwide Financial Services Inc. has kicked off enhancements to its Lifetime Income Rider. As of today, consumers can get a guaranteed roll-up of 7%, which means that the income benefit base will gain 7% in annual interest for 10 years or until the first withdrawal. Previously, the rider, which is available with certain variable annuities, had a roll-up of only 5%. The enhancement allows investors to get a guaranteed increase during years that the market is either down or flat, provided that consumers wait 10 years to begin pulling money from the account. When the market does well, and the contract value on the date of the rider’s anniversary is greater than the guaranteed minimum value, the contract’s value becomes the new benefit base, providing the consumer with a larger withdrawal amount over the lifetime. This way, according to Nationwide, consumers won’t lose their income base, regardless of the market performance. Once consumers are ready to begin withdrawing from the account, the benefit base used will either be the contract value or the guaranteed minimum value determined by the 7% annual roll-up—whichever is higher. This number is multiplied by a lifetime income percentage to calculate the withdrawal amount.