NWL Impact 10 – Bonus Growth, Flexible Income, and Strong Protection

A policy loan and a withdrawal are structurally different transactions with different financial consequences. A free withdrawal removes funds permanently from the contract — the withdrawn amount no longer earns credits, and the account value is reduced by the full withdrawal amount. An excess withdrawal above the 10% annual free amount triggers surrender charges and potentially MVA. A policy loan, by contrast, keeps the borrowed funds within the contract’s accounting structure. The “loaned” amount is still technically part of the contract — it earns a credited interest rate (typically at the loan crediting rate, which may be lower than the full indexed rate), while the outstanding loan balance accrues interest at the policy loan rate. The net effect is that the policyholder has cash in hand and the contract continues to earn (at a potentially lower rate) on the full notional value. This can be advantageous when the policy loan rate is lower than what borrowing the same amount externally would cost. Policy loans do reduce the death benefit and the cash surrender value by the outstanding loan balance plus accrued interest, so they must be managed carefully. Availability and specific loan terms vary by state on the Impact 10 — confirm the loan crediting rate and the loan interest rate that would apply in your state before treating the policy loan provision as a central part of your liquidity plan.

Both figures may be accurate in different contexts, and the discrepancy requires clarification at application. The NWL product brochure footnotes specifically reference a 5% bonus on the Income Outlook Plus 5 NH Withdrawal Benefit Rider — that 5% is tied to the income rider election and is fully vested for GLWs and death benefit. There may be a separate account value bonus (which the source page describes as 7%) that applies to the base contract or a different version of the product. NWL has updated Impact 10 rates and bonuses over time, and the current bonus applicable to your specific rider election and state may differ from both figures. The definitive answer requires a current illustration from NWL showing the exact bonus percentage for your premium amount, state of residence, and rider choice. Do not commit to the Impact 10 based on a specific bonus percentage without confirming it on the current illustration and the issued contract. The bonus vesting structure — fully vested for GLWs and death benefit, 10-year vesting for surrender — is the more important planning consideration than the specific headline percentage.

The primary structural difference is the additional 5% income base bonus embedded in the Income Outlook Plus 5 NH rider. The “Plus 5” version adds a 5% bonus to the income base (the value used to calculate guaranteed lifetime withdrawal amounts), subject to vesting for annuitization and surrender but fully vested for GLW and death benefit purposes. The roll-up rate under the Plus 5 version is guaranteed for the first 10 years unless a restart is elected. The Income Outlook NH rider is a simpler lifetime income structure without the additional income base bonus — it still provides guaranteed lifetime withdrawals, single or joint income options, and spousal continuation, but without the Plus 5 enhancement to the income base starting value. For buyers focused on maximizing projected income at a specific future start date, the Plus 5 version’s income base enhancement will generally produce a higher starting income payout. The trade-off is that the Plus 5 rider may carry different costs or crediting parameters than the standard Income Outlook NH. Request illustrations for both rider elections at your premium amount and intended income start age to determine which produces the better net lifetime income outcome. Our resource on how sequence risk affects retirement income strategies provides context for why the income base starting value matters so much for long-term income projection.

National Western Life Group, Inc. — the holding company that owns National Western Life Insurance Company — is publicly traded. This distinguishes NWL from the mutual carriers (where policyholders are nominal owners), the PE-backed carriers (Apollo/Athene, Ares/Aspida, Axar/Revol One), and the privately held Sammons carriers (North American, Midland National). A publicly traded parent means financial statements are publicly available and subject to SEC reporting requirements — buyers can review the parent company’s annual reports, balance sheet, and investment portfolio disclosures independently. This transparency is a meaningful due diligence advantage over privately held carriers. The trade-off is that publicly traded insurance holding companies face quarterly earnings pressure from equity markets, which can in theory influence capital allocation decisions. NWL’s insurance subsidiary (National Western Life Insurance Company) is regulated at the state level regardless of the parent’s public status, and the AM Best A- rating reflects the insurance subsidiary’s financial strength, not the holding company’s stock price. For buyers who value public financial transparency in carrier evaluation, NWL’s public parent structure makes independent research more accessible than for carriers without SEC reporting obligations.

If the annuitant dies before the annuity date, the death benefit equals the Account Value plus the full Bonus Value — meaning the entire bonus is included in the death benefit regardless of how many years of the 10-year vesting schedule have elapsed. If you purchase the contract in year 1 and pass away in year 3, your beneficiaries receive the full account value plus the complete bonus amount, not just the 30% that would have vested for surrender purposes by that point. This creates an asymmetric benefit: the bonus that is inaccessible for surrender during the early vesting years is still fully available to your estate through the death benefit. For buyers with significant legacy objectives who want the bonus to serve double duty — enhancing income if they live and maximizing death benefit if they don’t — this vesting structure is genuinely favorable. The same principle applies to Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawals: the full bonus is immediately available for income calculation, so the income stream reflects the complete bonus from the first year of income activation regardless of the surrender vesting position. Our broader resource on how income riders use the benefit base explains how bonus vesting interacts with lifetime withdrawal calculations across different product designs.