- Nationwide New Heights is a family of fixed indexed annuities sold through Annexus, with surrender periods of 8, 9, 10, and 12 years.
- Interest is credited through Balanced Allocation Strategies rather than standard S&P 500 caps, which smooths volatility but limits upside.
- The optional High Point 365 income rider creates a separate Benefit Base for guaranteed lifetime income, but adds an annual fee.
- Best fit: long-time-horizon savers who want protected growth and predictable retirement income, not maximum index participation.
At a glance, Nationwide New Heights is a family of fixed indexed annuities sold through a distributor called Annexus. Unlike a typical fixed indexed annuity that offers simple S&P 500 caps and participation rates, the New Heights products use what Nationwide calls Balanced Allocation Strategies. That single design decision shapes everything else about the product, from how it earns interest to how it compares against simpler annuities on the market.
This independent review breaks down how Nationwide New Heights actually works, the fees and surrender charges to know about, and the type of retirement saver it tends to fit.
What is Nationwide New Heights?
Nationwide New Heights is a single premium deferred fixed indexed annuity, which means you fund it with one lump sum and let the contract grow on a tax-deferred basis. Like all fixed indexed annuities, your principal is protected from negative index returns. If the S&P 500 falls 20 percent in a year, your contract value does not drop with it.
The New Heights family currently includes versions named for their surrender period length. New Heights Select 8, 9, 10, and 12 are the most common, and the number refers to how many years your money is subject to surrender charges if you withdraw beyond the free withdrawal amount.
The product is distributed through Annexus, which means independent agents must be appointed through that channel to sell it. The underlying carrier is Nationwide Life Insurance Company, founded in 1929 and currently rated A+ by AM Best.
How New Heights earns interest
Most fixed indexed annuities credit interest based on a single index like the S&P 500, capped at a stated percentage. New Heights works differently. It uses Balanced Allocation Strategies, or BAS, which blend an index component, a declared rate component, and a spread.
In practical terms, your money tracks a blended portfolio rather than a single index. Available strategies include the S&P 500, JP Morgan Mozaic II, SG Macro Compass, Goldman Sachs New Horizons, and several others. You can spread your premium across up to five strategies at a time.
The trade-off is straightforward. Balanced strategies tend to smooth out volatility, which means fewer huge years but also fewer flat ones. If you came in expecting full S&P 500 upside, the design will frustrate you. If you came in wanting protected growth with less drama, it can deliver.
Surrender charges and access to your money
This is where annuity buyers get burned most often, so it matters. New Heights Select 9, for example, has a nine-year surrender charge schedule. During those years, you can withdraw up to 7 percent of your contract value per year without penalty. Anything above that is subject to a surrender charge, and in many states, a market value adjustment.
After the surrender period ends, your free withdrawal amount increases to 10 percent annually. Required minimum distributions are exempt from surrender charges. The contract also includes confinement waivers, meaning a qualifying long-term care event or terminal illness triggers full access to your money without penalty.
The High Point 365 income rider
New Heights offers an optional income rider called High Point 365 for an additional fee. The rider creates a separate Benefit Base that grows on a guaranteed schedule and is used to calculate lifetime income payments later.
The bonus version, High Point 365 Select with Bonus, adds an upfront credit to the Benefit Base. These riders are useful if you want predictable retirement income years in the future. They are not useful if you just want growth, because you pay the fee whether you turn on income or not.
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Book a Free Review →Who Nationwide New Heights actually fits
The product makes sense for retirement savers who want principal protection, do not need access to most of the money for a decade, and value a smoother return curve over chasing maximum upside.
It is a poor fit if you need flexibility, want simple S&P 500 caps with no spreads or declared rates layered in, or expect to need significant withdrawals before the surrender period ends.
How it compares to other fixed indexed annuities
Compared to a straightforward S&P 500 cap product from Allianz or Athene, New Heights gives up some upside in exchange for less volatility and more strategy diversification. Compared to a registered index linked annuity like the Brighthouse Shield, it gives up the higher growth ceiling in exchange for true principal protection.
There is no objectively best fixed indexed annuity. The right answer depends on whether smoothed returns, full principal protection, and income flexibility matter more to you than maximum index participation.
The bottom line
Nationwide New Heights is a credible fixed indexed annuity backed by a financially strong carrier and built around a unique balanced allocation design. It rewards patience and punishes early access. For the right saver with the right time horizon, it earns its place in a retirement plan. For someone wanting simple, transparent index exposure, simpler products on the market will be a better match.
If you are considering New Heights or already own a contract, an independent review of the specific version and your overall retirement income picture is worth doing before any decision.
