Variable Dollar Annuity

Definition of "Variable dollar annuity"

Irene Poole real estate agent

Written by

Irene Pooleelite badge icon

RE/MAX Select

Annuity in which premium payments are used to purchase accumulation units, their number depending on the value of each unit. The value of a unit is determined by the value of the portfolio of stocks in which the insurance company invests the premiums. At the time of the payment of benefits to the annuitant, the accumulation units are converted to a monthly fixed number of units. The variable element is the dollar value of each unit. For example, assume that the annuitant pays a monthly premium of $100. If the accumulation unit value during one month is $50, two units are purchased. In another month, if the value of the accumulation unit is $25, four units are purchased. In a third month, the value of the unit is $10, resulting in the purchase of 10 units. This allows the market use of the investment strategy of dollar cost averaging. Accumulation units are credited to the annuitant's account, a procedure that is similar to purchasing shares in a mutual fund.
When income benefits are scheduled to begin, total accumulation units are converted to assume 100 income benefit units per month. The value of the income unit will vary according to the company's stock investments; in one month the annuitant's income might be $1000, in another month $500, in another month $1200. Changes in the investment experience by the insurance company are passed on to the annuitant, but the company absorbs fluctuations in expenses and mortality experience.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Insurance Terms

Ruling issued in 1988 by the Internal Revenue Service that stipulates that, when computing the pension benefits of an employee still working after 1987, the years of service on the job ...

Same as term Direct Response Marketing: method of selling insurance directly to insureds through a companies own employees, through the mail, or at airport booths. The company uses this ...

Employer, association, labor union, or other group ...

Use of new rate structures by an insurance company without first obtaining approval of a State Insurance Department. ...

Land and attached structures. Interest in real estate can be protected through various insurance policies. ...

Variable-rate bonds whose coupon and value increases as interest rates decrease. ...

Employer sponsored retirement savings program named for the section of the Internal Revenue Code that permits it. These plans allow employees to invest pre-tax dollars that are often ...

Federal legislation requiring employers with traditional health plans to also provide an HMO to its employees. The act also makes it mandatory for employers to contribute as much to the HMO ...

Procedure for calculating the cost of life insurance, taking into account the time value of money (investment return on sums placed in premium dollars had these sums been invested ...

Popular Insurance Questions