Unit 9: Insurance Flashcards
What is an annuity? How is the income taxed? What is the contribution amount?
- Contract between an individual and a life insurance company - purchased for retirement income?
- Income is tax deferred (no current income)
- No legal limit to contribution amount (IRAs and other qualified retirement plans have limits)
What is an annuitant?
- Person making payments (lump sum or periodic payments)
What is a fixed annuity? What is its return structure? Is it a security? What is the major risk its subjected to? What licenses does the seller need?
- Insurance product that offers guaranteed fixed rate of return to be paid out in retirement (paid to the general account of an insurance company)
- Guaranteed fixed rate of return
- Insurance product, not a security
- Subject to inflation risk (purchasing power risk)
- Insurance
What is a variable annuity? Is it a security? What licenses does it need? What documentation does it require? What risk does it protect against?
- Payments are made to the subaccount and then are invested
- Yes, its a security
- Sales agents need insurance and securities licenses
- Prospectus (1933)
- Purchasing power risk
What is the main difference between a fixed and variable annuity?
Fixed has guaranteed capital return
What does the 1940 Investment Company Act say on variable annuities?
It is not included, but separate accounts are - most often they are unit investment trusts
What is Whole Life Insurance? What does it accrue and what can it be used for? What licenses does it need? Is it insurance or security?
- Designed to last until at least 100 years or the death of the insured, whichever occurs first
- Cash for loans for living expenses
- Insurance
- Insurance
What is Term Life Insurance? Does it let you accrue cash?
- Insurance protection for a specified period (least expensive form)
- Does not build cash balances
What is Variable Life Insurance? What is guaranteed? What does the other portion do? What happens if funds drop below investment amount? How often is valued reported? Is it a security or an insurance policy?
- Life insurance that bifurcates between some portion going to general insurance and the remaining portion going to separate account
- General account guarantees the minimum death benefit
- Separate account portion is the cash value
- You will get
- Separate account is calculated daily, cash value in variable life contract reported monthly
- Its both (im pretty sure)
What is the rule of fees related to variable annuities?
- There is no maximum sales charge - only that it is reasonable
What are the various options for purchasing an annuity?
- Lump-Sum Payment - Pay up-front
- Periodic Payment Deferred Annuity - invest over time
- Immediate Annuity - lump sum, benefits in 60 days
There is no such thing as a periodic payment immediate annuity
What are bonus annuities? What is the downside?
- Incremental value above your contribution in the beginning
- Surrender charges last longer
What are the different payment options? Largest to smallest monthly payout
- Life annuity (straight line or life only) - large payments, remaining money is lost if you die
- Life annuity with period certain - if person lives forever, they continue to get payments. If person dies within 2 years, the beneficiary gets 8 years of payments
- Joint Life with Last Survivor Annuity - if 1 person dies in a couple, the spouse gets cash flow for life
- Unit Refund Option - All capital received for the rest of life in payments
What is an accumulation unit? What is an annuity unit?
Represents the investors ownership (similar to NAV)
Annuity unit is a measure of value used during the annuitized contract’s payout period
What taxes are due during the Annuity Accumulation Stage?
All earnings are tax deferred so no taxes are due