Pacific Guardian Life At a Glance: Rates, Products and Reviews

Products Offered by Pacific Guardian Life

Pacific Guardian Life offers one type of annuity: a multi-year guaranteed annuity (MYGA) called the Diamond Head MYGA.

A MYGA is a type of fixed annuity. When you purchase a MYGA, your premium accumulates interest at a guaranteed rate for a specific number of years. Pacific Guardian’s Diamond Head MYGA has guarantee periods between three and 10 years.

The Diamond Head MYGA has a minimum premium of $10,000 and allows owners to withdraw up to 10% of their account’s value each year without a surrender charge. Owners can also use a free Life Events Rider once during the span of the contract to withdraw an additional 10% of the account value penalty-free.

The Free Life Events Rider, allowing for an additional one-time 10% withdrawal on top of the normal 10% per year in free withdrawals, makes Pacific Guardian Life stand out. Many of my clients invest in MYGA contracts, and sometimes they need to access more than the standard 10% per year withdrawals without penalty. With access to Pacific Guardian’s MYGA, they can now do just that.

John Stevenson, CFFOwner and Advisor at Stevenson Retirement Solutions

John Stevenson, a Certified Financial Fiduciary®️, specializes in securing retirements with tax-free accounts. With a focus on guaranteed retirement, he’s ensured none of his clients suffer from market fluctuations. As a renowned educator and podcast host, John empowers thousands weekly, sharing his expertise in minimizing taxes and protecting against financial downturns.

About Pacific Guardian Life

Pacific Guardian Life began in Hawaii in 1961. The company became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Japanese life insurance company Meiji-Yasuda Life in 1985 and soon expanded its reach.

Today, Pacific Guardian Life sells annuities and insurance products in 47 states and several U.S. territories, including Guam, American Samoa, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas.

Pacific Guardian Life should not be confused with Pacific Life, the California-based insurance and annuity provider.

In 2023, Pacific Guardian Life sold nearly $294 million in direct annuity premiums, comprising a 0.08% share of the U.S. annuity market, according to data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). 

Credit Ratings

If you’re thinking of buying an annuity, it’s important to know about credit ratings for annuity providers. These ratings show how financially stable and strong the provider is. Just keep in mind that different rating companies may use different scales to rate them.

Pacific Guardian Life Credit Ratings

Rating Company	Credit Rating
AM Best	A (Excellent)
Fitch	Not Rated
S&P	A

What Customers Are Saying About Pacific Guardian Life

Pacific Guardian Life has not had any consumer complaints in its annuity department in the last three years, according to the NAIC. However, the company has a small footprint in the annuity industry, so it can be difficult to compare it to other providers who might have more customer complaints but also have sold many more annuities.

The NAIC tracks consumer complaints each state’s insurance commission receives each year. These are used to compile a company’s NAIC Complaint IndexNAIC Complaint IndexDetermined by dividing the company’s share of complaints in the U.S. market by the company’s share of premiums in the U.S. market. The National Complaint Index is always 1.00, so a score of 2.00, for example, is twice as high as expected in the market..

NAIC Complaint Index for Pacific Guardian Life

All Policy Types	0.10
Individual Annuities Only	0.00

These numbers indicate that Pacific Guardian Life has received significantly fewer complaints than the industry average.

Pacific Guardian Life did not appear in either the 2022 or 2023 editions of the J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Index Ranking, which measures the overall customer satisfaction of annuity providers.

Pacific Guardian Life stands out with its Free Life Events Rider, which permits an additional one-time 10% withdrawal in addition to the standard 10% per year in free withdrawals. Many of my clients invest in MYGA contracts, and there are occasions when they seek to access more than the allotted 10% per year without penalty. With access to Pacific Guardian’s MYGA, they can now do just that.

John Stevenson, CFFOwner and Advisor at Stevenson Retirement Solutions

John Stevenson, a Certified Financial Fiduciary®️, specializes in securing retirements with tax-free accounts. With a focus on guaranteed retirement, he’s ensured none of his clients suffer from market fluctuations. As a renowned educator and podcast host, John empowers thousands weekly, sharing his expertise in minimizing taxes and protecting against financial downturns.

Pacific Guardian Life Pros & Cons

Pacific Guardian Life has a strong track record as a fixed annuity provider, but this company might not be best for everyone. Before purchasing an annuity from any provider, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons.

Pros

• Widely available: Pacific Guardian Life sells annuities and insurance products in 47 states and several U.S. territories, including Guam, American Samoa, the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas.
• Free Life Events Rider: The Diamond Head MYGA comes with a free rider that lets owners make a one-time withdrawal of up to 10% of the account value without penalty, on top of the annual 10% free withdrawals.
• Strong financial strength and customer satisfaction ratings: Pacific Guardian Life holds A ratings from AM Best and S&P and has a high customer satisfaction rating from the NAIC.

Cons

• Only offers one annuity: Pacific Guardian Life only sells one annuity product, the Diamond Head MYGA.

Provider Rating Methodology

Annuity.org created a fact-based methodology to analyze the strength, security and reach of different annuity providers. We assessed companies based on their availability, the amount of direct premiums sold, their AM Best Financial Strength Rating and their NAIC Complaint Index score.

Providers received a rating on a five-star scale for each of these categories, with the complaint index and financial strength ratings weighed as the heaviest variables. Then, using a weighted average, each company was assigned an overall star rating.

Annuity.org’s Top-Ranked Providers

Provider	Annuity.org Star Rating
Mass Mutual
New York Life
Pacific Life
Midland National
North American
Western & Southern

Our Rating Panel

The Annuity.org editorial team spoke with several different annuity experts to learn more about what is important to customers when searching for a provider and what factors make a company reliable. While Annuity.org designed the methodology, these experts provided feedback during the process and consulted on what factors we should leverage to best help prospective buyers compare providers.