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Life Health > Annuities > Variable Annuities

F&G Aims to Create Fixed Index-Linked Annuity Market: Annuity Moves

By Allison Bell

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What You Need to Know

  • Lincoln has introduced a variable annuity with a 125-fund investment option menu.
  • Symetra is adding two single-premium registered index-linked annuity contracts.
  • A new Bankers Life product offers a lifetime income guarantee.

Fidelity & Guaranty Life Insurance Company hopes to bring registered index-linked annuity (RILA) market buzz to the non-variable annuity market.

The Des Moines, Iowa-based insurer has introduced the Dynamic Accumulator annuity contract, which is based on a “fixed index annuity” frame.

Like a RILA contract, the new contract has a crediting rate that can be tied to the performance of one or more investment index options.

Unlike a RILA contract, the contract is filed as a non-variable annuity with state insurance regulators, and F&G promises to protect an annuity holder who sticks with contract requirements against investment-related loss of principal.

A contract holder can change the risk level every year, by choosing to lock in gains, and accepting a relatively low cap on how much the crediting rate can go up, or putting gains at risk in exchange for a chance to see the crediting rate go up more, F&G says.

F&G is distributing the contract — now available in 35 states — through independent marketing organizations.

In other annuity moves news:

Lincoln Financial Group has introduced the Lincoln Advantage Pro variable annuity, with access to Lincoln Defined Outcome Funds.

The contract gives financial professionals and their clients access to about 125 different funds.

An arm of Milliman is serving as the sub advisor for the funds.

A purchaser can use one of the funds to link the contract crediting rate to the performance of a market index for one year at a time. The purchaser gets a buffer against index losses in exchange for accepting a cap on maximum index-linked gains. Also, the buyer can reallocate assets within the contract and reset the cap and buffer levels, Lincoln says.

Symetra Life Insurance Company has added two single-premium registered indexed-linked annuity (RILA) contracts: the Symetra Trek Plus Index-linked Annuity and Symetra Trek Frontier Index-linked Annuity.

Symetra has been selling RILA contracts since March 2019.

The Trek Plus contract comes with three options for protecting contract value against losses, including a “barrier option” that protects against losses if and only if an investment index drops by less than 15%. Contract holders who choose that option can earn higher returns if and when an investment index goes up.

The Trek Frontier contract offers one-year and six-year interest term lengths and two strategies for protecting against investment index decreases. Purchasers can choose between a floor, or a hard, 10% limit on market losses, and a buffer that can protect the holder against investment index drops of up to 20%, even if an index falls by more than 20%.

Symetra is distributing the annuities through banks, wirehouses and independent broker-dealers. The products come with no annual fees.

Bankers Life, an arm of CNO Financial Group, has introduced the Guaranteed Lifetime Income Annuity Plus with Enhanced Benefit (GLIA Plus) — a single-premium non-variable indexed annuity.

The enhanced benefit provision can help a purchaser use extra income withdrawals, for up to two years, to pay for recovery care or for long-term care.

Bankers Life also sells the Security Builder Indexed Annuity, the Premium Bonus Indexed Annuity, the Guaranteed Lifetime Income Annuity and the GrowthPoint Indexed Annuity contracts.

The new GLIA Plus product is available in 49 states, excluding New York, through Bankers Life’s own agents.

Western & Southern Financial Group’s distribution arm has added a new version of its Indextra Series non-variable indexed annuity.

The annuity, which is written by Western & Southern’s Integrity Life Insurance Company subsidiary, now offers purchasers a chance to choose a five-year declining withdrawal charge period.

The company already has been selling versions of the annuity with seven-year and 10-year withdrawal charge periods.

Athene USA and Annexus have joined to update the index menu for the Athene BCA family of indexed annuities.

Athene USA is a life insurer. Annexus is an annuity designer.

The new index lineup includes the Shiller Barclays CAPE Allocator 6 Index. This replaces the Shiller Barclays CAPE US Sector Risk Controlled 10% USD Total Return Index, which is supposed to allocate more assets to undervalued stocks, and the Citi Grandmaster Index, which bases asset allocations on results from market return forecasts.

Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America has updated the list of index options available with its registered index-linked annuities — the Allianz Index Advantage Variable Annuity contract and the Allianz Index Advantage Income Variable Annuity contract.

The company is adding an Index Performance Strategy 6-Year Term option and an Index Performance Strategy 3-Year Term option.

Both options are similar to existing index options, but with different terms. The new options can buffer users against 10% drops in investment market value.

A contract holder can lock in gains or limit losses once per product term.

Protective Life Corp. is adding annuity investment options from AllianceBernstein, BlackRock, Columbia Threadneedle and T. Rowe Price.

Commission-based products now offer 29 new sub accounts, and fee-based advisory products offer 38 new sub accounts, Protective says.

Protective says the new sub accounts for commission-based products will be available with its Protective Variable Annuity II B Series and Protective Variable Annuity Investors Series contracts.

The new sub accounts for fee-based products will be available through the Protective Investors Benefit Advisory Variable Annuity contract.

Pacific Life is adding two portfolios to the investment menus for some of its variable annuities.

One, the PLFA ESG Diversified Portfolio, is managed by Pacific Life Fund Advisors and is designed for annuity holders who want to invest companies that try to protect the environment, make society more fair and govern themselves in a fair, transparent way.

The other new portfolio, the JPMorgan Hedged Equity Portfolio, is supposed to offer a level of volatility similar to that of a fund that invests 60% of its assets in the S&P 500 index and 40% in bonds.

Capital Group says a recent effort to align five American Funds Insurance Series funds with their American Funds mutual funds has led to a sharp reduction in total expenses. The change will reduce total expenses for the five funds affected by about 35%, the firm says.

Capital Group ended the first quarter with about $183 billion in variable annuity assets under management.

(Photo: Emilia Mariana Ungur/Shutterstock)

Allison Bell

Think_Allison

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