Mutual of Omaha Annuities: Finding the Right Retirement Income Plan

Founded in 1909 and chartered as Mutual Benefit Health & Accident Association, Mutual of Omaha began issuing health and accident insurance to Nebraskan workers in 1910. The company grew and branched out, gaining licenses in 48 states and two territories by 1939.

In 1950, the company began pursuing its mission of pioneering the insurance industry under the Mutual of Omaha name. In 2014, it became the first insurance business to provide an online application for Medicare Supplement policies.

Mutual of Omaha grew by acquiring subsidiaries, expanding its reach and product lines to generate long-term financial security for its customers. Today, it offers a range of income and deferred annuities, among other financial services. United of Omaha Life Insurance underwrites its policies.

Mutual of Omaha companies have an “A+” rating from the Better Business Bureau.

Mutual of Omaha has more than 14.6 million members and serves more than 5.3 million individual customers and more than 48,000 employer groups across all 50 states.

In 2021, it paid nearly $6.4 billion in benefits from nearly 6.3 million policies in force. The company has solid financial ratings from leading rating agencies and maintains a statutory surplus of $4 billion.

Besides its strong balance sheet and leverage profile, the company emphasizes community service and charitable giving through the Mutual of Omaha Foundation. In 2022, the foundation granted more than 6.2 million to more than 120 organizations through multiple channels all geared toward giving back to the community.

As of March 2023, Mutual of Omaha has earned strong ratings from three major rating services: AM Best, Moody’s and S&P Global.

Mutual of Omaha offers two varieties of annuity products — income and deferred annuities. United of Omaha Life Insurance underwrites these annuities.

Income annuities can help address one of people’s most common concerns — outliving your savings. They provide a consistent stream of income for people nearing retirement age or who are already retired. Income annuities can supplement income for a specific period or throughout your lifetime.

Deferred annuities offer a fixed rate of return and tax-deferred growth, which helps accumulate assets for retirement. One feature of deferred annuities is that your investment will never decline in value. You can also choose from a variety of income payout options.

Mutual of Omaha charges no annual administrative fees for its annuities. The only charges you may encounter are withdrawal charges, which only take effect if you pull out more than 10% of your contract’s value in the first year of the policy. The charge applies to the amount you withdraw over the 10% allowable. The amount differs from year to year and from one annuity to another. As with all tax-deferred policies, withdrawals done before 59½ years of age are subject to a 10% income tax penalty by the Internal Revenue Service.

Besides withdrawal/surrender charges, a market value adjustment may also apply, depending on the current new money interest rate relative to the multi-year guaranteed interest rate.

Mutual of Omaha prides itself on having fee transparency. It says it discloses all relevant fees, charges and applicable waivers on its products. However, always read all the disclosures for any policy you’re ready to buy.

Customers have knocked Mutual of Omaha for poor customer service, which includes a perceived lack of communication and slow processing. However, the company says it maintains the flexibility to meet the unique needs of each customer through industry-benchmark customer service and payment services.

If you have questions, you can find an agent in your area or have an agent contact you.

You can reach the company at 800-775-6000 or through Mutual of Omaha’s contact page. Customers of Mutual of Omaha can log into their account at Mutual of Omaha’s annuity login page.