Is Jackson National a Good Insurance Company?

Jackson National Life Insurance Company is one of the largest and most recognizable names in the US annuity market — an annuity specialist that has ranked among the top two variable annuity sellers in the country for more than a decade. Founded in 1961 and headquartered in Lansing, Michigan, Jackson became an independent publicly traded company in 2021 after separating from Prudential plc (the UK insurer — not to be confused with US-based Prudential Financial). It manages over $350 billion in total assets and ranks eighth among US life insurers by total statutory assets. The financial strength profile is genuinely strong: AM Best A (Excellent), S&P A+, Moody’s A3, and Fitch A — a multi-agency consensus that provides the cross-rating confirmation most conservative buyers look for. If you are researching Jackson, you are almost certainly evaluating an annuity — the company sells no life insurance as a primary product line. At Diversified Insurance Brokers, Jason Stolz, CLTC, CRPC, DIA, CAA, evaluates Jackson products the same way we evaluate every carrier: with a live multi-carrier comparison that puts Jackson’s income rider designs, fee structures, and surrender schedules against the best available alternatives for your specific premium, age, and income start timeline.

Company Snapshot

Jackson’s Strategic Pivot: From Variable Annuity Dominant to Diversified

One of the most significant developments in the Jackson story over recent years is the company’s deliberate move away from being primarily a variable annuity carrier. Variable annuities represented 96% of Jackson’s sales as recently as 2021. That figure dropped to 47% by 2025 — a dramatic strategic shift driven by strong growth in registered index-linked annuities (RILAs) and fixed indexed annuities. Jackson introduced the Market Link Pro III and Market Link Pro Advisory in mid-2025, expanding its RILA lineup. Later in 2025, Jackson launched a pair of Income Assurance fixed indexed annuities — which drove significant FIA sales growth. RILA account values grew 74% in a single year as of year-end 2025. This pivot matters for anyone evaluating Jackson because the company you see today is meaningfully different from the Jackson that was synonymous almost exclusively with variable annuities five years ago. Clients who need a RILA with a buffer structure, an FIA with guaranteed income, or a variable annuity with market exposure — Jackson now competes in all three categories with products that have demonstrated strong market acceptance in the independent distribution channel.

Variable Annuities: The Perspective II and Elite Access

Jackson’s Perspective II remains one of the most widely sold variable annuities in US history. It is a flexible premium variable and fixed deferred annuity with over 100 investment options, automatic rebalancing, no investment restrictions, and the ability to adjust asset allocation up to 25 times per contract year. The core contract charge is approximately 1.3%, and the product carries a seven-year surrender schedule. The Perspective II is typically paired with a living benefit rider from Jackson’s Flex Suite or LifeGuard Freedom Flex lineup, which provides a guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefit — a floor income that continues regardless of account value performance. Understanding how that rider actually works is essential before purchasing. The income base and the account value are two different numbers; the guaranteed withdrawal is calculated from the income base, not from the account value the client can surrender. Our resource on what a variable annuity is covers the foundational mechanics of how VAs differ from fixed and indexed annuities. The Perspective Advisory II version serves the RIA-channel fee-based advisor market.

The Elite Access II and Elite Access Advisory are accumulation-focused variable annuities offering a broader range of investment options including alternative asset classes, with multiple legacy and estate planning features. The Principal Guard optional rider on the Elite Access provides a guaranteed minimum accumulation benefit — guaranteeing the account value will not fall below a defined floor after a specified holding period, regardless of market performance. This makes Elite Access more of an accumulation vehicle with downside protection than a straightforward income generator. For clients with an estate planning objective or those wanting market exposure with a defined accumulation floor, Elite Access is often the relevant Jackson product rather than Perspective II. Our resource on inherited qualified annuity and inherited non-qualified annuity mechanics cover the estate and beneficiary planning dimensions that frequently arise with Elite Access-type products.

The RILA and FIA Expansion: Market Link Pro and Income Assurance

Jackson’s Market Link Pro III is a registered index-linked annuity — a product structure that sits between a traditional fixed indexed annuity and a variable annuity. Like the Brighthouse Shield products, the Market Link Pro uses a buffer rather than a 0% floor: the contract absorbs the first defined percentage of index losses (the buffer amount), and losses beyond the buffer are borne by the annuitant. In exchange for accepting that limited downside, the product offers higher upside participation than a standard FIA. For clients who want more growth potential than a traditional FIA provides and are genuinely comfortable with some downside exposure below the buffer, the Market Link Pro III is among the most competitive RILA products in the market. Our resource on what the interest rate on a $500,000 annuity is covers how different annuity structures and premium levels translate to concrete income and accumulation projections.

The Income Assurance FIA series is Jackson’s entry into the fixed indexed annuity with income rider market — the largest segment of the independent annuity channel. These products compete directly with income-focused FIA designs from Allianz, Athene, and North American. For clients who specifically want a Jackson product with a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit rather than market exposure, Income Assurance is the relevant product to evaluate. A multi-carrier comparison that includes Jackson’s Income Assurance alongside competing income FIAs from other A-rated carriers is the correct evaluation framework. Our resource on how an inherited IRA works covers the tax and distribution mechanics for qualified money being considered for annuity placement — a common planning context when clients are evaluating Jackson products for IRA rollovers.

The Fee and Complexity Question

Variable annuities carry fees that fixed and indexed annuities do not. The Perspective II’s core contract charge of approximately 1.3% is the base — before adding living benefit riders (typically 0.5% to 1.5% per year depending on the specific rider selected), mortality and expense charges, and underlying fund expenses. A fully loaded Perspective II with a LifeGuard Freedom Flex rider can carry total annual expenses of 3% to 4% or more of account value depending on the elected rider and fund selections. Those fees drag on the account value every year regardless of market performance. The guaranteed income the rider provides must be valuable enough to justify that ongoing cost relative to alternatives — and the correct comparison is against FIA products from carriers like Athene, Allianz, or Jackson’s own Income Assurance FIA, which carry lower fee structures for similar income guarantees. For clients who specifically want market participation in their annuity alongside a guaranteed income floor, the variable annuity fee structure may be justified. For clients whose primary objective is simply the guaranteed income floor, a fixed indexed annuity with an income rider from a lower-fee carrier may produce a better net outcome. Our resource on what the interest rate is on a $10 million annuity covers how premium size affects product selection and carrier negotiations for larger annuity placements.

Customer Service: Strong Institutional Metrics, Mixed Consumer Reviews

Jackson’s customer service profile presents a split picture worth understanding before committing. The formal third-party metrics are favorable: the most recent J.D. Power Individual Annuity Study ranked Jackson above the industry average with a score of 650 out of 1,000 against a 639 industry average — and this represents an improving trend from scores that were below average in prior years. The NAIC complaint index is below average, meaning fewer complaints per premium dollar than expected for a carrier of Jackson’s size. These are legitimate positive signals from the two most rigorous third-party tracking systems available. The consumer review picture is less favorable: BBB ratings from consumer reviewers are quite low, with common complaints centered on customer service responsiveness, difficulty accessing funds, and processing delays. The divergence between institutional complaint metrics and consumer review sentiment is not unusual for large variable annuity carriers where contract complexity and longer service timelines create friction that does not always show up in formal complaint statistics. For clients who anticipate frequent service interactions, or who are placing a large rollover that will require coordinated transfer support, factoring in the mixed service picture is prudent. Our resources on Lincoln Financial, Prudential, Transamerica, and Pacific Life cover the major carriers that frequently compete with Jackson in the variable annuity and income planning space, each with their own service and product trade-offs.