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

Eligible rollover distribution that is paid directly from an employee's employee benefit insurance plan to the employee's individual retirement account (IRA) or to another plan maintained ...

Systems composed of personal computers linked by a file server. These computers share software as well as databases that enable the risk manager access to information in a quick and ...

Person who engages an agent or broker for advice and possible purchase of insurance. ...

Liability coverage section of a simplified commercial lines portfolio policy (sclp). Provides for separate limits of coverage for general liability, fire legal liability, products and ...

Time limit on the deferred ownership of property such that, 21 years after the property owner dies, the deferred ownership of that property terminates. ...

Basic requirements of an employee benefit insurance plan such as minimum age and years of service with an employer. ...

Same as term Class: group of insureds with the same characteristics, established for rate-making purposes. For example, all wood-frame houses within 200 feet of a fire plug in the same ...

Automatic reinsurance that requires the insurer to transfer, and the re insurer to accept, a given percentage of every risk within a defined category of business written by the insurer. For ...

Actual price paid for property when it was acquired. The original cost might apply to a piece of jewelry, to a piece of equipment, or to a building. For insurance purposes, original cost is ...

Popular Insurance Questions