The issuer behind the guarantee.
An annuity guarantee is a promise from one company, sometimes lasting forty years. The product matters less than the balance sheet standing behind it.
| AM Best rating | A (Excellent) |
|---|---|
| S&P rating | A+ |
| Moody's rating | A3 |
| Fitch rating | A |
| Market scale | Among the largest US life insurers by statutory assets |
| Product focus | Variable annuities and RILA |
Checked against public sources on 19 August 2026. Ratings change without notice — a rating without a date is not a rating.
Three things to understand about Jackson.
Four-agency coverage is a meaningful positive
AM Best A, S&P A+, Moody's A3, and Fitch A. Cross-agency agreement at this level is what conservative long-horizon buyers should be looking for, and it is more informative than any single letter.
AM Best names the concentration risk out loud
In its published rationale, AM Best has cited a concentrated product portfolio with significant exposure to interest rate and equity market risks and hedging-related complexity. That is the rating agency, not a critic, describing the structural feature of a business built around variable annuities. It does not make the carrier unsound; it tells you where the stress would come from.
Variable annuity fees are the thing to actually examine
Jackson's core product is a variable annuity, where your money sits in subaccounts and total cost stacks mortality and expense charges, fund expenses, and rider fees. Ask for the all-in annual cost as a single percentage. If nobody will produce that number, that is your answer.
How to read any carrier.
Palm Wealth Capital publishes independent annuity research and education. No carrier pays for placement on this site. Nothing here is individualized investment, tax, or legal advice, and no page on this site is a recommendation to buy or avoid any contract. Annuity guarantees rely on the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company.
Holding a Jackson National contract — or being shown one?
Send the illustration or statement. We will check Jackson National’s current AM Best rating and outlook against the date on this page, read the surrender schedule and any market value adjustment, price the riders, and tell you what the guaranteed terms are rather than the illustrated ones. If the answer is that you don’t need it, that is the answer you get — there is nothing here for us to sell you.