Jennifer Schell, CAS®
  • Written by Jennifer Schell, CAS®
  • Edited By
    Lamia Chowdhury
    Lamia Chowdhury, editor for RetireGuide.com

    Lamia Chowdhury

    Financial Editor

    Lamia Chowdhury is a financial content editor for RetireGuide and has over three years of marketing experience in the finance industry. She has written copy for both digital and print pieces ranging from blogs, radio scripts and search ads to billboards, brochures, mailers and more.

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  • Published: June 20, 2024
  • Updated: June 21, 2024
  • 5 min read time
  • This page features 5 Cited Research Articles
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How to Cite RetireGuide.com's Article

APA Schell, J. (2024, June 21). MassMutual Annuities. RetireGuide.com. Retrieved October 21, 2024, from https://www.retireguide.com/annuities/companies/massmutual/

MLA Schell, Jennifer. "MassMutual Annuities." RetireGuide.com, 21 Jun 2024, https://www.retireguide.com/annuities/companies/massmutual/.

Chicago Schell, Jennifer. "MassMutual Annuities." RetireGuide.com. Last modified June 21, 2024. https://www.retireguide.com/annuities/companies/massmutual/.

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Key Principles

RetireGuide’s mission is to provide seniors with resources that will help them reach important financial decisions that affect their retirement. Our goal is to arm our readers with knowledge that will lead to a healthy and financially sound retirement.

We’re dedicated to providing thoroughly researched annuity information that guides you toward making the best possible financial decisions for you and your family.

We partner with Senior Market Sales (SMS), a leader in the insurance industry with over 30 years of experience and a network of 66,000 independently licensed agents across the United States.

Our partnership with SMS (and Insuractive, the company’s consumer-facing branch) allows us to deliver expertly researched and reviewed content at no cost or obligation to all of our visitors. It also gives our visitors the opportunity to take the next step in their financial journey by requesting help from our partner through the phone numbers or forms provided on our website.

If a visitor chooses to inquire about an annuity or other financial product through SMS as a result of our research and accurate information, RetireGuide may receive compensation for connecting the visitor with SMS. The revenue we earn for helping visitors get the help they’re seeking makes RetireGuide stronger for our audiences.

The content and tools created by RetireGuide adhere to strict editorial guidelines to ensure quality and transparency.

Editorial Independence

While the experts from SMS are available to help you navigate various annuity options, RetireGuide retains complete editorial control over the information it publishes.

We operate independently from SMS, which allows the award-winning RetireGuide team to provide you with unbiased information.

Visitors can trust our inflexibility regarding our editorial autonomy. We do not allow our partnership to influence RetireGuide’s editorial content whatsoever.
Key Takeaways
  • MassMutual sells annuities and has grown its business with MassMutual Ascend in recent years.
  • A huge number of types of annuities and individual products are available.
  • MassMutual is highly regarded, with financial strength scores at the top of the industry.

Products Offered

MassMutual currently offers a strong array of annuities that includes fixed, fixed index, RILA and immediate products.

Fixed Annuities

MassMutual sells a deferred fixed annuity called the Premier Voyage. It advertises this product, available in terms of two to seven years, as having no fees.

The annuity also includes useful features such as a death benefits, nursing home and terminal illness riders and an annuity payment increase rate.

Another offering is the Stable Voyage, which is a deferred product as well. It operates comparably to the Premier Voyage, with similar rules and riders, but does not include a market value adjustment.

Fixed Index Annuities

MassMutual sells several different fixed index annuities, each with different term lengths.

One option is the American Landmark 3, which comes with a term of three years. It offers several different indexing strategies, including an S&P 500 one-year point-to-point with cap option as well as several other less common choices.

The American Landmark 5 operates similarly, but with a five-year term length and additional indexing options available.

MassMutual also sells the American Legend 7, which has a seven-year term. It includes a number of different indexing options, including four different S&P 500 strategies and nine different total strategies to choose from.

Income Annuities

Both deferred and immediate income annuities are available through MassMutual. You can fund the deferred product, MassMutual RetireEase Choice, with existing retirement savings and use it to establish pension-like payments for you in retirement.

MassMutual RetireEase is a single premium immediate annuity you can customize to fit the payment schedule, length and amount of coverage that makes sense for your situation.

RILAs

MassMutual sells two RILAs: the Index Summit 6 and Index Summit 6 Pro.

The Index Summit 6 includes 50% protection against loss and advertises no upfront or recurring fees in the contract.

A wide range of crediting strategies are available, including 15 S&P 500 options that range from one year to six years.

The Index Summit 6 Pro does include an annual 0.75% fee that is deducted daily from each strategy.

Variable Annuities

MassMutual currently advertises a new variable annuity: the MassMutual Envision. It is a deferred annuity with flexible premium features.

The product, which has a seven-year surrender schedule, includes a solid amount of flexibility and add-on features to customize your contract.

One of these is RetirePay, a benefit that offers you access to guaranteed income and helps offset some of the risk associated with variable annuities. You can also set up an Automatic Investment plan or enroll in an Automatic Rebalancing Program.

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MassMutual Overview

With more than $7 billion in annual direct premiums sold in 2022, MassMutual is consistently one of the biggest providers in the annuity space.

In recent years, there has been notable growth in this area, largely due to the establishment of MassMutual Ascend. This company was previously known as Great American Life before MassMutual purchased it in 2021 and rebranded it as MassMutual Ascend in 2022.

The range of products offered exceeds that of many competitors. While even very popular providers typically sell just a handful of well-crafted products.

MassMutual surpasses that with its extensive array of options.

Are You an Existing Customer?
Log into your MassMutual account or contact customer service at (800) 272-2216.

MassMutual’s Reputation and Financial Standing

MassMutual Credit Ratings
AM BestA++
FitchAA+
S&PAA+

MassMutual, a company with over 150 years of history, is highly regarded for its superb financial strength and credit ratings, which outpace much of the rest of the industry.

MassMutual Ascend, its annuity subsidiary, is highly regarded in the industry for its diverse and high-quality offerings.

Customer Satisfaction

MassMutual’s customer satisfaction among annuity clients has seen marked improvement in recent years.

In the 2022 edition of the J.D. Power Overall Customer Satisfaction Index for annuity customers, the company ranked slightly below the industry average in terms of customer satisfaction.

However, it made a huge jump in the 2023 study, climbing all the way to second in the industry behind F&G. Such a climb reflects MassMutual’s commitment to customer satisfaction for its annuity products.

Pros and Cons of MassMutual

When looking at any annuity carrier, the product or company that makes the most sense for you will depend on your personal circumstances and financial situation.

Pros
  • Strong and credible company
  • Diversity of products offered
  • High customer satisfaction

MassMutual is one of the industry leaders for a reason, as there are many pros to opting for a MassMutual annuity.

It is a subsidiary of a strong, massive and stable company. Its vast number of products appeal to a wide audience and allow you to compare different choices and paths all under the MassMutual umbrella.

The company also maintains high customer satisfaction ratings, highlighted by a favorable NAIC Complaint Index Score, indicating fewer than expected annuity customer complaints relative to its size.

Cons
  • Customer satisfaction scores have only risen recently

One aspect to monitor with MassMutual is that, although its customer satisfaction scores are presently high, this is a relatively recent trend.

It will be important to track how well it maintains its high scores over the next couple of years.

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Last Modified: June 21, 2024

5 Cited Research Articles

  1. J.D. Power. (2023, October 12). Satisfaction With Life Insurance and Annuity Products Climbs as Customers Embrace Digital, J.D. Power Finds. Retrieved from https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2023-us-individual-life-insurance-annuity-studies
  2. MassMutual. (2023). Annuities. Retrieved from https://www.massmutual.com/retirement/annuities
  3. J.D. Power. (2022, October 13). Both Life Insurance and Annuity Customer Satisfaction Decline As Pandemic Fears Wane, J.D. Power Finds. Retrieved from https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2022-us-individual-life-insurance-individual-annuity-studies
  4. MassMutual. (2022, October 3). Great American Life Unveils New Brand as MassMutual Ascend. Retrieved from https://www.massmutual.com/about-us/news-and-press-releases/press-releases/2022/10/great-american-life-unveils-new-brand-as-massmutual-ascend
  5. MassMutual. (2022, March 14). MassMutual Introduces New Variable Annuity With Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefit. Retrieved from https://www.massmutual.com/about-us/news-and-press-releases/press-releases/2022/03/massmutual-introduces-new-variable-annuity-with-guaranteed-lifetime-withdrawal-benefit