Nationwide announces new RILA with buffer

Columbus, OH – July 17, 2023 – At a time when more than half of consumers are concerned about keeping up with inflation and their retirement account losing value, Nationwide has announced the launch of the Nationwide Defender Annuity, a new registered index-linked annuity (RILA) that offers customized growth potential and investment protection to fit investors’ needs in today’s volatile market.

Nationwide Defender is Nationwide’s second offering in a category that has experienced rapid growth, with RILA sales increasing from $1.9 billion in 2014 to over $41 billion in 2022_1. The product’s combination of features make it uniquely positioned to succeed with financial professionals and their clients in today’s challenging economic environment.

“With economic stressors like inflation, a potential recession and market volatility continuing to weigh on the minds of investors, it’s never been more important for advisors to be able to offer products to their clients that can help them achieve security in retirement,” said Mike Morrone, vice president of Nationwide Annuity business development. “According to a recent Nationwide Retirement Institute survey, only 36% of investors feel confident they will survive the next financial crisis. With Nationwide Defender, we can help by offering customization that allows investors to pursue investment growth, protect against market risk and provide for their loved ones.”

Nationwide Defender allows investors to tailor their strategy with a 1-year, 3-year or 6-year term to fit their own unique investment goals. It features five different index investment options offering upside potential and customization to fit a broad range of investment objectives. These include well-known, traditional options like the S&P 500® and MSCI EAFE, as well as the Russell 2000®, which is the most widely quoted measure of overall performance for small-cap to mid-cap company shares.

Along with providing growth potential, Nationwide Defender provides buffer protection against a certain percentage of market losses, making it easier for investors to protect their investments in volatile markets. The product offers two protection options – a 10% and 20% buffer – where Nationwide takes on the first 10% or 20% of the loss and investors take on any loss beyond the buffer percentage.

“Nationwide Defender is perfectly aligned with Nationwide’s mission to protect people, businesses and futures with extraordinary care,” Morrone said. “We were very intentional in our decision to enter this category with an innovative, yet simple solution that can help investors with conservative to moderate risk tolerance accumulate assets, while also protecting against market volatility.”

Nationwide Defender also includes a spousal protection feature at no additional cost with either of the two death benefit options offered within the annuity. This allows spouses to provide for each other no matter who passes away first, even if only one of them owns the annuity.

Financial professionals interested in Nationwide Defender Annuity should contact their Nationwide wholesaler or call the National Sales Desk at 800-321-6064. Individual investors interested in learning more about the benefits of Nationwide Defender should contact their financial professional or visit www.nationwide.com/defender.