MassMutual

Products Offered

MassMutual offers 4 annuity product types. For help understanding the differences, see our types of annuities guide.

About MassMutual

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company was founded in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1851 and has been headquartered there for all 175 years since. Like New York Life, it is a mutual company owned by its member policyholders — a structure that rewards conservative, long-horizon management. MassMutual ranks #100 on the 2026 Fortune 500 and delivered record 2025 results: $3.9 billion in operating earnings, more than $43 billion in total sales, and $584 billion in assets under management.

MassMutual's composite Comdex score — a percentile ranking that blends all agency ratings — sits at 98 out of 100, placing it among the handful of elite-rated US life insurers.

Financial Strength Ratings

Rating Agency	Rating	What It Means
AM Best	A++ (Superior)	The highest of AM Best's 16 ratings — affirmed October 2025
S&P Global	AA+ (Very Strong)	S&P's second-highest rating
Fitch	AA+ (Very Strong)	Fitch's second-highest rating
Moody's	Aa3 (High Quality)	Fourth-highest of Moody's 21 ratings

Ratings reflect each agency's opinion of the insurer's ability to meet its obligations to policyholders. Annuity guarantees are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuer — MassMutual draws a small fraction of the consumer complaints expected for its size — its NAIC complaint index runs far below the 1.0 industry baseline.

MassMutual Immediate Annuities (SPIA)

MassMutual's SPIA is called RetireEase. Minimum premium is $10,000, and income can begin any time within 12 months of purchase. Its defining feature is choice: seven payout options, including single life, joint and survivor (with 1/2, 2/3, or 3/4 survivor reductions), cash refund, installment refund, and — unusually — period-certain terms anywhere from 5 to 50 years, one of the widest ranges in the industry.

An optional Inflation Protector rider increases payments 1%, 2%, 3%, or 4% annually. Like most SPIA inflation riders it must be elected at issue and reduces the starting payment. Contracts with period-certain features also allow withdrawals (commutation), though surrender charges apply in contract years 2–9.

Key Strengths

• A++ AM Best rating and a 98/100 Comdex composite score
• Mutual company structure — 175 years of policyholder ownership
• Widest period-certain range in the industry (5–50 years) on RetireEase
• Seven payout options including cash and installment refund

Honest Considerations

RetireEase must be purchased through a financial professional rather than direct, and the inflation rider can only be added at issue — a decision that meaningfully lowers your initial payment. On ratings, Moody's grades MassMutual Aa3, two notches below New York Life's Aa1; elite strength, but not the very top of every agency's scale.

Best For

Conservative buyers who want elite financial strength plus maximum flexibility in structuring payouts — especially long period-certain terms.

Frequently Asked Questions

What a $100,000 Immediate Annuity Pays Right Now

If you are weighing a MassMutual income annuity, the number that matters is the monthly check. In August 2026, across the A-rated carriers we survey, $100,000 buys a 65-year-old:

Single life (or joint, 100% survivor) with a 5-year period certain, income starting next month, from August 2026 carrier quote surveys. Guarantees rest on the issuing insurer's claims-paying ability.

• See the payout for your premium: $100,000 · $250,000 · $500,000 · $1,000,000
• Rates at your age: 60 · 65 · 70 · 75 — and the month-over-month SPIA Payout Index
• Life only vs. cash refund vs. period certain: how each payout option changes the check
• Buying with IRA or 401(k) money? What changes (and what doesn't)

See what your savings pay per month →