Northwestern Mutual reviews

4.0

72% would recommend to a friend

(8,266 total reviews)

Timothy J. Gerend

95% approve of CEO

73% positive business outlook

Northwestern Mutual has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 8,266 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Northwestern Mutual employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Financial Services industry (3.8 stars).

Reviews by job title

8K reviews
5.0
Feb 27, 2026

Best Employer of my Career

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Decent pay/benefits, free lunch, positive work culture, plenty of opportunity to move up. I love working for NM, and have no plans to ever leave.

Cons

Required to be on site 3 days per week even when you have no meetings. It's a waste of gas, though that's pretty common with most employers 5 years post-pandemic. Not that big of a deal.

2.0
Feb 26, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Flexible schedule Nice people Lots of education Depending on the office, opportunities to receive bonuses

Cons

There is no salary or hourly, all pay is through commission. If clients cancel insurance policy within 1 year of purchase, you’ll be forced to pay any unpaid months back. You can easily end up owing leadership money instead of making it. Since you’re dealing in insurance, things like underwriting can keep you from receiving commission for several weeks to months and a client still has a year to cancel the policy for which you’re held financially liable. Critical information is buried under mountains of slide shows and links including how you get paid. You’re required to hunt all your own clients which usually consists of friends and family. Job does not feel worker friendly and should only be undertaken by people with reliable connections and a MAJOR conviction for sales. While I appreciate the knowledge and connections I’ve made, I hate that pretty much live in fear of the office secretary calling to collect because another client terminated their policy early even after months of me leaving the company.

Viewing 169 - 171 of 8,266 Reviews

Glassdoor has 12,870 Northwestern Mutual reviews submitted anonymously by Northwestern Mutual employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Northwestern Mutual is right for you.