Getting Back
to Basics
When and Where Variable
Annuities Make the Most Sense

by Heather Dzielak
A lot has been written lately about variable annuities. Positive articles discuss the innovation of new features and benefits, but overshadowing these are more negative articles focusing on some of the drawbacks. We’ll be the first to admit that a variable annuity is not for everyone. But, there’s no more effective vehicle to help certain clients accumulate, protect, and provide for retirement income. Let’s review the basics to determine which clients can benefit most from these multi-functional retirement vehicles. Click Here For More

Annuities

updated 1/20/2010
Depression-Era Annuity
Presidential Life Insurance Company reintroduced, after several decades, a similarly designed, Great Depression era, deferred benefit fixed annuity under the name Sentinel. Sentinel is neither savings nor an investment, as we understand modern fixed and variable deferred annuity contracts to be. The primary objective is to keep consumers from going broke during the deferral and income periods while keeping the annuity contract simple and consumer friendly. The contract is irrevocable and non-commutable and has no cash accumulation or surrender value. It is a pure deferred income contract -- a stand-alone living benefit. Similar annuity designs first achieved popularity from 1934 to 1936, which was the heart of the Great Depression. During this time, consumers needed a financial arrangement to protect a portion of their wealth. For more information, call 800-926-7599 ext. 454.

updated 12/23/09
Group Variable Annuity for the 403(b)/457 Market
Symetra Introduced its “Retirement Passport” for 403(b) and 457 Savings Plans. The product offers a wide array of competitively priced and professionally managed portfolio options for schools and nonprofits. For more information, visit www.symetra.com.

updated 11/18/09
Variable Annuity for Those Nearing or in Retirement
MetLife introduced a deferred variable annuity product for people who are retired or transitioning to retirement. The MetLife Growth and Guaranteed Income variable annuity is distributed exclusively through Fidelity and is the only deferred variable annuity with a living benefit sold through the company. It allows people to use a portion of their assets from a 401(k), 403(b), IRAs or other savings, to purchase guaranteed lifetime income. For more information, visit www.fidelity.com.

updated 9/30/09
Indexed Universal Life Calculator
Pacific Life now offers an indexed universal life rates calculator. It uses historical S&P 500 Index1 returns (excluding dividends) with IUL growth cap rates, participation rates, and interest rate floors to show hypothetical crediting rates for an indexed account. For more information, visit www.Lifeline.PacificLife.com.

Variable Annuity
Jackson National launched its Perspective Rewards variable annuity. It offers an automatic bonus of 6% or 8%, depending on the initial premium payments. Regardless of the premium amount, contract holders can invest in any of Jackson’s available investment options and the company’s entire suite of benefits.  An adjusted premium of $100,000 and greater will earn an 8-percent bonus, while adjusted premium under $100,000 will earn a 6-percent bonus. Additionally, the 6% or 8% bonus may be available for subsequent premium payments. For more information, call 800-711-5653 or visit www.jackson.com.

updated 8/26/09
Fixed Annuity Portfolio
John Hancock’s latest fixed annuity product, “JH Signature,” is a modified guaranteed annuity. It is designed to provide a transparent combination of rate-for-term' choices, competitive guaranteed interest rates, and support services to help manage challenging eldercare situations. For more information, visit www.manulife.com.

updated 8/19/09
Variable Annuity Riders
Allianz Life introduced living benefit riders that were pulled from its top-selling variable annuity on March 31st. A deferred variable annuity, Allianz Vision and its optional riders provide retirement income guaranteed for life while offering the potential to increase income in varying market conditions through annual payment increases, a unique feature only offered by Allianz Life. The Income Protector is a rider with a lifetime income benefit to help consumers build a protected source of income with a guaranteed growth rate and an attractive annual anniversary payment increases based on positive contract value performance. For more information, visit www.allianzlife.com.

updated 6/3/09
Annuity Solution
John Hancock launched AnnuityNote, which features one underlying diversified portfolio, a straightforward lifetime income benefit, and an all-in one expense of 1.74%. It is designed to appeal to advisors and clients who may have avoided annuities for reasons such as cost and complexity. For more information, visit www.manulife.com.

updated 5/13/09
Income Annuity
Clients who want to use qualified or tax deferred money (including rollovers from a 401(k), 403(b) or IRA) to purchase Symetra Freedom Income can now defer their payment start date beyond age 70½. This gives clients more retirement income flexibility. For more information, visit www.symetra.com/longevity101.

updated 12/17/08
Annuities
Symetra Life Insurance Company is offering annuities with guaranteed interest rate returns, market risk-proof reliability, and income protection during turbulent times including the advantage income annuity and custom fixed annuities. For more information, visit www.symetra.com/stabilitysuite.

updated 11/26/08
Variable Annuity
AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company redesigned its Accumulator variable annuity series. The product series now includes a living benefit that can transition seamlessly from a guaranteed minimum income benefit (GMIB) to a guaranteed withdrawal benefit for life (GWBL). At age 85, variable annuity contract holders can convert a GMIB to a GWBL. AXA Equitable's Accumulator responds to the general increase in longevity and the decrease in traditional pensions. For more information, visit www.axa-equitable.com.

updated 11/12/08
Variable Annuity Rider
Transamerica introduced an upgraded version of its guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit rider that can help address retirement challenges like long-term care costs and market volatility. The Double Withdrawal Base benefit offers an incentive to wait to begin withdrawals, and an attractive feature for those not old enough to take withdrawals permitted under the rider right away. For more information, visit www.aegonusa.com.

Emergency Travel Services With Annuity Purchase
Sun Life Financial is offering its global emergency travel services program for no additional cost to new customers (and their dependents) who purchase a Masters Variable Annuity.  Benefits include a connection to Western-trained, English-speaking physicians, critical care monitoring, legal and interpreter referrals, prescription assistance, emergency evacuation to the nearest capable care facility and foreign hospital admission assistance. For more information, visit www.sunlife-usa.com.

updated 11/05/08
Variable Annuity
Nationwide Financial Services’ Nationwide Lifetime Income Rider will now include a guaranteed annual roll-up of 10%, which could offer consumers more guaranteed retirement income from their variable annuity. The enhancement increases the guaranteed roll-up from 7% to 10%. For more information, visit 614-249-6354.

updated 10/22/08
Annuity Rider
Guardian added a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit rider to its variable annuities. It is designed for people who want to invest more for retirement and supplement their retirement income.  The optional rider is available with the  “Investor Asset
Builder” and the “Investor Income Access” variable annuities. It offers the potential for quarterly step-ups, a 7% annual minimum guarantee, a 200% cumulative guarantee, and a 300% cumulative guarantee. The rider also includes age banding, which guarantees annual withdrawal percentages when withdrawals begin based on a person’s age (or age of younger spouse if spousal version). For more information, visit :www.GuardianLife.com.

updated 10/08/08
Fixed Annuity
ING is revamping its guaranteed withdrawal benefit this fall on fixed Annuities by making several key enhancements including a 7% compounding roll-up during the first 10 years of the deferral phase and an annual ratchet during both the deferral and withdrawal phase. This new version of the ING IncomeProtector Withdrawal Benefit is an optional rider. For more information, visit www.ing-usa.com.

updated 10/01/08
GLWB Rider
Guardian added a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit rider to its variable annuities. It is designed for people who want to invest more for retirement and supplement their retirement income. The rider will be available with variable annuities issued by The Guardian. It offers the potential for quarterly step-ups, a 7% annual minimum guarantee, a 200% cumulative guarantee, and a 300% cumulative guarantee. For more information, visit www.GuardianLife.com. 

updated 9/17/08
Fixed Annuity
John Hancock launched a fixed deferred annuity product with three withdrawal charge options and a payment enhancement. The payment enhancement means that extra dollars will be added to the contract value the day a contract is opened. The dollars will be treated as earnings and are subject to ordinary income tax. The payment enhancement ranges from 1% to 3.5% of the contract value. For more information, visit www.manulife.com.

updated 9/10/08
Variable Annuity
MassMutual enhanced its variable annuity product portfolio. MassMutual Transitions Select and MassMutual Evolution now have more investment choices with three new investments in American Funds. In addition, enhancements have been made to the contracts’ guaranteed minimum income benefit options allowing greater flexibility. MassMutual Evolution now also has a shorter CDSC schedule.
For more information, visit www.massmutual.com.

updated 8/20/08
Variable Annuity
Transamerica introduced a variable annuity that offers lower costs and a new pair of ETF-based subaccount choices. “Transamerica Principium II” includes the same benefits and features available with the majority of Transamerica’s variable annuity suite with limited investment options. For more information, visit www.transamerica.com.

updated 7/30/08
Accumulation VUL
Nationwide Financial Services launched the “YourLife  Accumulation VUL.” It provides death benefit protection and potential cash value growth plus living benefits as part of a long-term planning strategy. For more information, visit www.nationwide.com.

updated 7/23/08
Annuity
Prudential is offering “HD Lifetime Seven with Lifetime Income Accelerator.” It offers the flexibility to increase annual income regardless of whether the investor is still living at home or is living in a qualified nursing facility. Investors can qualify to double their guaranteed annual income if they are unable to perform two or more activities of daily living or are confined to a qualified nursing facility. For more information, call 973-802-4446.
updated 7/2/08
IRA Variable Annuity
Genworth introduced the “RetireReady IRA Annuity,” which combines the traditional tax and investment-build benefits of an IRA with the guaranteed income stream of annuities. This contract can only be issued as an IRA, Roth IRA or SEP IRA contract or within such qualified accounts and must be maintained as such. The new product is insurance with underlying portfolios that include well-known retail mutual funds. For more information, visit  www.genworth.com/iraannuity.

updated 6/25/08
Variable Annuity
Jefferson National is offering, with Monument Advisor, the new ALPS Variable Series Listed Private Equity Portfolio and ALPS Ibbotson ETF Allocation Series. It is designed to be sold through fee-based advisors. For more information, call 866-949-3528 or visit www.jeffnat.com.

updated 6/18/08
Fixed Index Annuity
Allianz Life introduced the Allianz Summit IISM annuity. The fixed index deferred annuity offers interest credits when the change in the blended index is positive or negative. The amount of indexed interest a Summit II annuity earns during the first 10 contract years is determined through five-year point-to-point crediting. For this method, Allianz captures the value of the blended index the day before the first day in the five-year period and on the last day during that same period. For more information, visit http://www.allianzlife.com.

updated 6/11/08
Income Annuity
New York Life’s Lifetime Income Annuity has the “Annual Increase Option2.”
Policy owners can have the income benefit on their income annuity increase in 1% increments from 1% to 5% per year. The Annual Increase Option had previously offered only 3% or 5% annual adjustments. It protects annuity income from inflation. For more information, visit www.newyorklife.com/guaranteesmatter

updated 5/21/08
Guaranteed Income Annuity
Symetra is offering a suite of solutions including a customizable retirement income model and guaranteed income annuities. The model automatically matches individual lifestyle preferences to a mix of annuity and investment products to generate sufficient income during each five-year phase of retirement. For more information, visit www.symetra.com.

updated 5/14/08
Variable Annuity
Sun Life Financial introduced the “Retirement Income Escalator.” Customers can lock in a higher withdrawal percentage. Customers who won’t need income until later will receive an annual bonus of 7% to the withdrawal benefit base for the first 10 contract years if no withdrawals are taken in that period. This living benefit is available for an additional charge with Sun Life Financial Masters variable annuities. For more information, visit www.sunlife.com

Variable Annuity
The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. introduced a variable annuity product, “Hartford Leaders.” It combines the best investment options, features, benefits, service, and support from its two prior products into one variable annuity. For more information, visit www.hartfordinvestor.com.

updated 5/7/08
Fixed Index Annuity
Jackson National launched Select Annual Reset, a fixed index annuity that combines the potential to earn additional interest with protection of principal. In addition to a guaranteed minimum interest rate and a guaranteed minimum death benefit, Select Annual Reset allows investors to earn additional interest based on the performance of Jackson’s proprietary Multi-Strategy Index, the S&P 500 Index, or a combination of both. For more information, call 800-777-7900 or visit www.jnl.com.

updated 4/30/08
Fixed Annuity
Jackson expanded its fixed index annuity offering with the launch of Select Annual Reset -- a new FIA product that combines the potential to earn additional interest with protection of principal. For more information, visit www.jnl.com.

updated 3/19/08
Fixed Annuity
Allianz Life revamped the MasterDex portfolio by adding the Income Plus Benefit rider on the Allianz MasterDex 5 Plus for an additional cost. It allows consumers to get lifetime payments that can grow every year with indexed interest. For more information, visit www.allianzlife.com.

updated 3/12/08
Annuity
AIG introduced the AIG Global Index Annuity Series. A Global Multiple Index account is linked to the S&P 500, the Dow Jones EURO STOXX 50, and the Nikkei 225. The index that performs the best at the end of each year gets the highest weight in determining interest credited to the account. There is also a guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefit. The Global Index Annuity Series includes flexible premium products that allow clients to contribute more premiums whenever they want. For more information, visit www.aigag.com or e-mail annuitymarketing@aigag.com.

Variable Annuity
Sun Life introduced investment options for its Masters Variable Annuity suite. The 90/10 Masters Model is for customers who want investments that are weighted heavily in stock funds. Sun Life also added the Franklin Founding Allocation Fund and enhanced the “Build Your Own Portfolio” option for customers who want to customize their investment strategy within any of the four Masters variable annuities. For more information, visit www.sunlife-usa.com.

updated 3/05/08
Annuity Rider
Old Mutual Financial Network (OMFN) introduced OM Income Advantage. The optional living benefit provides guaranteed lifetime income with flexibility and no requirement to annuitize. It is available as a rider to new annuity products from OM Financial Life. It provides investors with up to two 10-year accumulation periods offering a basic 4% or enhanced 6% roll-up, the ability to re-start a roll-up period, and the flexibility to stop and start income payments at any time during the withdrawal period. For more information visit www.omfn.com

updated 2/27/08
Annuity
AXA Equitable Life is launching enhancements to its competitive guaranteed withdrawal benefit for life (GWBL), which is available with the company's top-selling Accumulator series of variable annuities. The enhancements feature a 200% initial GWBL benefit base guarantee and a 7% annual deferral bonus, which is an increase over the previous 5% annual deferral bonus. For more information, visit www.axa-equitable.com.

Variable Annuity
Lincoln Financial Group introduced its guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit (GLWB) rider with its variable annuity product. It offers pre-retirees guaranteed minimum lifetime income for retirement, which is guaranteed to grow as they approach their retirement date. Brokers and clients retain full control of the asset and access to it. For more information, visit www.LFG.com.

updated 2/12/08
Variable Annuity
Prudential is offering variable annuity optional living benefits. They offer a protected withdrawal value based on 7% annual compounded growth on the highest daily account value. They also offer daily opportunities to capture more lifetime income with a 5% to 8% income stream, depending on age at first withdrawal, guaranteed for life. For more information, visit www.prudential.com/retirementincome.

Updated 2/06/08
Flexible Premium Deferred Annuity
Fort Dearborn Life introduced its Classic Fortifier, a flexible premium deferred fixed annuity. It is designed for conservative investors who want to consolidate their assets into one tax-deferred vehicle and still be able to withdraw their funds if the interest rate drops. For more information, call 800-282-6363.

updated 1/23/08
Variable Annuity
Massachusetts Mutual enhanced certain deferred variable annuities in its retirement income product portfolio. The MassMutual Lifetime Payment Plus guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefit (GMWB) and MML Asset Allocation fund series offer added flexibility and guarantees against market volatility for those approaching retirement. With the introduction of Lifetime Payment Plus, MassMutual is the highest rated insurer with a full suite of living benefits. For more information, visit www.massmutual.com.

updated 12/19/07
Deferred Income Annuity
MetLife is offering Longevity Income Guarantee (LIG). The retail deferred income annuity is offered through MetLife Investors, the company’ s independent distribution arm. It is designed to help clients maximize, protect, and guarantee income for life in retirement. For more information, visit www.metlife.com.



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