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

Federal agency that regulates commerce across state lines. The ICC does not oversee insurance, which is subject to regulation by the states according to Public Law 15, McCarran-Ferguson ...

Provision in an umbrella liability insurance policy under which the policy will pay those losses that come within the retention limits of the primary policy, but the primary policy cannot ...

Market in which buyers dominate trading and force financial asset prices up. ...

Individual or organization that is a potential purchaser of an insurance product. ...

Events that do not have any influence on the occurrence or nonoccurrence of another event; for example, a plane crashing in Shreveport should have no influence on a plane crashing in Dallas. ...

Person who uses personal property such as an automobile with permission of an owner. For example, for insurance purposes, someone who uses an automobile with the owner's permission would be ...

Combination property, liability, and business interruption policy. It is usually written to cover expenses of small and medium size businesses resulting from damage or destruction of ...

Insured plan under which the insurance company agrees to provide the insured with a series of benefits on a benefits-paid basis plus administrative services on a stipulated-fee basis. This ...

Federal legislation passed in 1974 that mandated that legislators in all states that are in receipt of federal funds for health care review and approve any planned capital expenditures to ...

Popular Insurance Questions