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

Funds paid by an insurance company associated with the normal costs of doing business other than the costs of claims payments. ...

Act that makes the liability cost for cleanup joint and several. Even if a party is only partially responsible for losses inflicted, that party may be liable for the payment of the total ...

Management philosophy developed by W. Edwards Deming, the thesis of which is the continuous improvement in quality through research in customer satisfaction and the empowerment of ...

Authority of states to tax the insurance companies they regulate. States levy income taxes, real and personal property taxes, and special levies, the most important of which is a premium ...

Crime against the state for which an officer of the state can bring legal action. Society is harmed by an individual breaking the laws of the state. Usually there is no statue of ...

Insurance for which premiums are charged according to the size of the face amount of the policy, so that the greater the face amount, the lower the cost per $1000 unit of insurance. ...

Securities that derive their value from other financial instruments that are used by the insurance company to hedge its bets on which direction the market is moving. For example, cattle ...

Same as term Occurrence Basis: coverage, in liability insurance, for harm suffered by others because of events occurring while a policy is in force, regardless of when a claim is actually ...

transfer of money from or an employer-sponsored pension or other qualified plan into an INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ACCOUNT (IRA) with out paying tax on the distribution. transfer of money from ...

Popular Insurance Questions