United of Omaha Ultra-Secure Plus Annuity – Fixed Growth With Premium Protection

United of Omaha Ultra-Secure Plus: Key Product Features at a Glance

The 10-Event Hardship Waiver List: What Makes Ultra-Secure Plus Structurally Different

Most MYGAs in the A+ carrier tier include two to four hardship waivers — nursing home confinement and terminal illness are the most common, with some carriers adding disability or hospitalization. The Ultra-Secure Plus includes 10 qualifying events at no additional cost and without reducing the declared interest rate. The full list — annuitization after two years, death including accidental death, death of a spouse (up to 50% of accumulation value), death of a minor dependent (up to 25%), disability, hospital entrance, nursing home admittance, terminal illness diagnosis, unemployment, organ transplant, and damage to primary residence — covers a range of life disruptions that go well beyond what competing MYGAs protect against. The unemployment waiver and the residence damage waiver are particularly uncommon in the MYGA market. A buyer who loses a job after funding the contract, or whose primary residence suffers a catastrophic damage event requiring immediate capital access, has a contractual pathway to penalty-free access that competing MYGAs do not provide. These provisions cost nothing — they are embedded in the product structure rather than available as optional riders for a fee or rate reduction. For buyers who are comparing the Ultra-Secure Plus against MYGAs that include two standard waivers at the same rate, the additional eight qualifying events represent a meaningful structural advantage that is difficult to quantify in a headline rate comparison but very real in planning terms. The product’s Return of Purchase Payment provision adds a further layer: even if a buyer needs to exit under a non-qualifying circumstance — one that does not trigger a hardship waiver — the surrender value will not fall below the original premium less prior withdrawals. The principal is protected by both the hardship waiver list and the ROP floor simultaneously.

The $5,000 Minimum: Accessible at the A+ Tier

The Ultra-Secure Plus’s $5,000 minimum initial contribution is one of the most buyer-friendly entry points in the A+-carrier MYGA market. Most A+ carriers set minimums of $10,000 to $25,000 — the Lincoln MYGuarantee Plus requires $10,000, Midland National’s MNL Guarantee Pro requires $20,000, Nationwide Secure Growth requires $10,000. United of Omaha’s $5,000 floor makes the Ultra-Secure Plus accessible for buyers who are working with smaller IRA balances, executing a partial IRA rollover alongside a larger allocation to a different vehicle, or positioning a specific tranche of capital into a guaranteed vehicle without needing to commit a large single sum. After the initial contribution, additional contributions of $500 or more are also accepted — giving buyers who want to add to the annuity incrementally that flexibility without opening a new contract. The rate banding structure means buyers who cross the $50,000 threshold — whether at initial funding or through subsequent contributions — receive an additional 0.15% added to the declared interest rate on both the purchase payment and accumulation values. This 0.15% boost is modest but meaningful over a 5- or 7-year compounding period and is automatically applied without any separate election. Reviewing current 5-year and 7-year fixed annuity rates across the market establishes the rate benchmark against which the Ultra-Secure Plus should be evaluated at the specific premium level and band applicable to the buyer.

United of Omaha: Carrier Profile and the Mutual of Omaha Name

United of Omaha Life Insurance Company was founded in 1926 and operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Mutual of Omaha, one of the most recognizable insurance brands in the United States. Mutual of Omaha itself was founded in 1909 and has operated continuously for over 115 years without insolvency or government intervention — a longevity track record that places it among the most seasoned mutual insurance organizations in the country. United of Omaha carries AM Best A+ (Superior), S&P AA-, and Moody’s A1 ratings simultaneously — a tri-agency top-tier rating profile shared by a small number of MYGA carriers. The mutual company structure means there are no outside shareholders: profits and capital remain within the organization in service of policyholder commitments rather than being distributed to equity investors. The NAIC Complaint Index for United of Omaha is 0 — a perfect score indicating fewer consumer complaints than would be expected for a carrier of its market share. This is a strong post-sale service signal, particularly for a carrier whose products include complex hardship waiver provisions that generate claim interactions during qualifying events. Notably, Mutual of Omaha was absent from the J.D. Power 2024 and 2025 U.S. Individual Annuity satisfaction studies, meaning there is no formal J.D. Power benchmark for comparison — the NAIC Complaint Index is the primary available service quality metric. For buyers who have encountered Mutual of Omaha through Medicare supplement advertising, the annuity contracts are issued by the United of Omaha subsidiary — the guarantee counterparty is United of Omaha, not the parent company directly. Both carry the same A+ AM Best rating. New York residents cannot access the Ultra-Secure Plus through United of Omaha and are served through Companion Life Insurance Company with a potentially different product lineup.

Tax Deferral, the CD Comparison, and IRA Rollover Mechanics

The core accumulation advantage of the Ultra-Secure Plus over taxable bank CDs is the same as for any MYGA: interest credits compound without annual taxation, while CD interest is taxable each year it is earned. On a $100,000 contract earning 4.5% annually over 5 years, the tax deferral on credited interest at a 22% marginal tax bracket produces a meaningfully higher after-tax accumulated value than a $100,000 CD earning the same nominal rate. The difference compounds each year because the dollars that would have been paid in taxes on CD interest remain in the annuity and continue earning the declared rate. Reviewing fixed annuities vs. CDs provides the complete side-by-side accumulation comparison including how tax deferral affects net outcomes across different tax brackets and holding periods. For buyers rolling over IRA or 401(k) funds, reviewing how to transfer a CD or qualified funds into an annuity covers timing, paperwork, and coordination steps before initiating any transfer. The Ultra-Secure Plus accepts both qualified and non-qualified funding — for qualified accounts, the annuity provides no additional tax deferral beyond what the IRA or rollover plan already provides, but it does add the A+ principal protection, the declared guaranteed rate, and the extensive hardship waiver structure. For buyers with required minimum distribution obligations, the 10% annual free withdrawal provision beginning from Year 1 accommodates most RMD amounts from a single contract — at a 4.5% declared rate, a $200,000 Ultra-Secure Plus generates $9,000 in Year 1 interest while the 10% free withdrawal allows up to $20,000 in penalty-free access, covering virtually all RMD obligations from that contract without triggering surrender charges.

Laddering, Income Transition, and the Ultra-Secure Plus in a Broader Retirement Plan

The Ultra-Secure Plus’s 5-year and 7-year terms, combined with the $5,000 entry point and accepted additional contributions, make it a natural fit for a fixed annuity laddering strategy. A buyer with $150,000 to position might fund $75,000 into the 5-year Ultra-Secure Plus and $75,000 into the 7-year version simultaneously — creating two separate maturity windows at different points. Each contract provides its own 10% annual free withdrawal, its own hardship waiver set, and its own full penalty-free window at maturity. The 5-year contract reaches its maturity window first, providing full penalty-free access for renewal, repositioning, or income conversion at the 5-year mark. The 7-year contract continues compounding at its higher declared rate, reaching its window 2 years later. This staggered approach captures the rate differential between terms while maintaining a defined near-term liquidity window. Our resource on the fixed annuity ladder strategy covers how to optimize this structure across contracts and terms. For buyers evaluating whether a declared-rate MYGA is the right vehicle compared to an index-linked alternative that offers upside potential, reviewing how fixed indexed annuities work and the structural comparison between fixed annuities vs. fixed indexed annuities clarifies the trade-off between declared-rate certainty and index-linked growth potential. For buyers whose primary objective is eventually converting accumulated MYGA value into guaranteed lifetime income, the decision between annuitization from the Ultra-Secure Plus (available after 2 years) and repositioning into a separate income-focused contract via 1035 exchange at maturity involves important planning considerations covered in our resource on whether to annuitize or use an income rider. For buyers whose primary concern is finding the maximum guaranteed payout structure across all annuity types, reviewing which annuities offer the highest guaranteed payout puts the accumulation-focused Ultra-Secure Plus in context against income-focused FIA alternatives. At death, the full contract value passes to named beneficiaries with no surrender charges, and reviewing annuity beneficiary death benefits covers payout options and spousal continuation mechanics. Whether the Ultra-Secure Plus belongs in your retirement portfolio — and how much should be allocated to it versus other vehicles — depends on the role that capital needs to play in your overall plan. Reviewing whether annuities are worth it provides the decision framework for that evaluation.