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Fixed Annuities
Pacific Life, Newport Beach, Calif., has added Pacific Explorer, a deferred fixed annuity, to its family of fixed annuities.
Current market conditions may have clients concerned with finding a more conservative or traditional way to save for retirement. Pacific Explorer offers a choice of three initial guarantee periods -- locking in a specific interest rate for the duration of the guarantee period. Clients are able to leverage the flexibility of a 1-, 3- or 6-year guarantee period within their retirement planning.
After the initial guarantee period expires, a renewal rate will be declared by Pacific Life and guaranteed for one year. The renewal rate is guaranteed to be at least 3%. As an added enhancement, an immediate credit will be applied to each purchase payment based on the term selected by the client.
For more information, visit www.PacificLife.com
ING Life Companies
Indexed Universal Life
ING Life Companies, Minneapolis, has introduced a new indexed universal life insurance product, ING Indexed Universal Life-CV (ING IUL-CV). ING IUL-CV offers traditional universal life benefits with the opportunity to earn an index credit linked, in part, to any increases in the S&P 500 (subject to a maximum index credit rate cap), with protection from downside risk through a minimum interest guarantee.
ING IUL-CV features include:
o Potential for stronger long-term surrender values;
o Fixed and indexed crediting strategies;
o Unlimited rolling targets and heaped commissions;
o Guaranteed-issue underwriting available for corporate sales;
o Waiver of surrender charge rider available for traditional premium finance cases;
o Preferred loans currently available beginning in the 11th policy year; and
o A full range of key riders, including accelerated benefit rider, adjustable term insurance rider, overloan lapse protection rider, additional insured rider, waiver of specified premium rider and more.
For more information call 866-ING-SELL.
Sun Life Financial
Estate Planning
Sun Life Financial Inc., Wellesley, Mass., has announced the launch of its enhanced Wealth Transfer Program and advanced markets calculators to assist producers in using life insurance for estate planning. The program covers four estate planning strategies -- including Annuity Maximization, the Leveraged Credit Shelter Trust, Muni-Bond Alternative and Stretch IRAs -- providing tools, information and marketing materials to help advisors meet the needs of the boomer and affluent markets.
The Wealth Transfer Program includes sales ideas, client guides and fact finders to assist producers as they help clients:
o Choose a wealth transfer plan that can make a difference to them and their heirs;
o Avoid wealth erosion from taxation;
o Maintain flexibility and control over assets; and
o Maximize the transfer of assets to heirs through a life insurance death benefit.
In addition, Sun Life provides the following calculators for use with each planning strategy:
o Annuity Max Calculator -- Analyzes the income and estate tax impact on a deferred annuity versus using all or a portion of the current annuity's values for the purchase of life insurance.
o Municipal Bond Alternative Calculator -- Illustrates the taxation impact on municipal bonds at death and demonstrates a strategy repositioning municipal bonds to effectively maximize the transfer of wealth to heirs.
o Leveraged Credit Shelter Trust Calculator -- Analyzes the benefit of leveraging trust assets with life insurance to maximize the amount of wealth available to heirs.
o Stretch IRA Calculator -- Analyzes the estate and income tax impact of a client's IRA at death. It also demonstrates a planning technique that extends the distribution of an IRA asset, supplemented with life insurance to offset tax consequences and pass down the remaining proceeds of the account to a child or grandchild.
For more information, call (800)786-5433 ext. 7253.
National Life Insurance Company
Variable Universal Life
National Life Insurance Company, Montpelier, Vt., a member of National Life Group, has introduced Investor Select, a new variable universal life product. With more riders and new funds, this VUL product offers flexibility and individual policy customization to meet a wide variety of personal and business insurance needs.
Investor Select provides flexibility of death benefit and premiums combined with tax-deferred growth of cash values tied to the market performance of the sub-accounts. The new riders, Other Insured Rider, Balance Sheet Benefit Rider and Waiver of Specified Premium, round out the suite of riders offered with National Life products, including the no additional cost accelerated benefit riders in case of a chronic or terminal illness.
For more information, call (888)297-3990.
RBC Insurance
Annuity Riders
RBC Insurance, Greenville, S.C., has announced two new Guaranteed Lifetime Withdrawal Benefit (GLWB) riders that enable owners of fixed index annuities to generate a predictable lifetime income stream without sacrificing control over their money. Both riders feature an 8% roll-up rate, the highest currently available in the market today.
The roll-up rate is the percentage used to calculate the increase in the rider's income base. It is compounded annually and credited every year for up to 12 or 14 years (depending on the rider) or until the client starts taking withdrawals. The starting income base is also increased by an immediate income bonus, applied at purchase with no recapture and provided in addition to any annuity premium bonus.
Intended for clients age 55-75, the two riders add income planning options to the safety, flexibility and accumulation potential of RBC's Choice Series fixed indexed annuities.
Clients who plan to start income payments soon can choose the RBC GLWB Rider with its 5% immediate income bonus and 8% roll-up rate for up to 12 years.
Those who want to begin income payments later or have health concerns can opt for the RBC Enhanced GLWB Rider with its 8% roll-up rate, 14-year roll-up period and 1% immediate income bonus. Clients can also qualify for a 50% increase in income payments if they become unable to perform two or more activities of daily living.
With both riders, starting a guaranteed stream of income does not end growth in the annuity contract's accumulation value. If the accumulation value grows at a rate faster than the roll-up rate during any contract year, the income base will be "stepped up" to match the accumulation value.
There is an annual charge of either .50% or .60% of the rider's income base, depending on the rider. The charge is deducted from the annuity's accumulation value on each contract anniversary.
For more information, visit www.rbcinsurance.com/us.
AXA Equitable
Universal Life
AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, New York, has announced the revamping of its Athena Universal LifeSM (Athena UL) insurance policy. Today's Athena offers cost-effective, long-term guaranteed protection, cash value accumulation, a long-term care funding option and the ability to leave a charitable legacy.
Athena UL is now designed with a built-in No-Lapse Guarantee Rider available at no additional charge, ensuring coverage will not lapse for a period of up to age 90, depending on the issue age. This rider remains intact even if the policy's account value falls to zero and as long as a certain level of premiums is maintained and certain policy requirements are met.
Depending on current and anticipated future needs, the Athena UL product also offers a choice of optional riders for an additional cost, including a Long-Term Care ServicesSM Rider. Available at issue for a monthly charge to people between the ages of 20 and 70, the Long-Term Care Services Rider functions as an acceleration of the life insurance policy's death benefit that can be used for qualified long-term care expenses. When electing the Long-Term Care Services Rider, the policyowner chooses from a certain benefit percentage of the policy's face amount, reflecting the maximum monthly payments to be received, if he or she becomes chronically ill.
AXA Equitable is also helping to make it easier for individuals to continue charitable giving through the Charitable LegacySM Rider, now available at no additional cost on an Athena UL policy. The Charitable Legacy Rider allows clients with a policy face amount of $1 million or greater to leave an additional 1% of the death benefit to a qualified charity or two charities of their choice, up to a maximum $100,000. The Charitable Legacy Rider adds no additional costs to the policy, does not increase the premium, and does not reduce cash values or cause a reduction in death benefit.
For more information, visit www.axa-equitable.com.
