Defined terms for the annuity market and lifetime income landscape.
A volatility-controlled index is a constructed index, typically built by a carrier in partnership with an index provider, that targets a specified level of volatility by dynamically reallocating between an equity component and a cash or fixed-income component as measured volatility rises and falls. Why it matters Volatility-controlled indexes are the most common alternative to reference indexes such as the S&P 500 in the indexed-annuity strategies offered today. Naming volatility-
A withdrawal fee is a charge imposed by an insurance carrier on amounts withdrawn from an annuity contract during the surrender period or in excess of the contractual free-withdrawal provision, with the most common form being the surrender charge imposed under the contract's declining surrender schedule, and with some contracts also imposing a separate transactional withdrawal fee on amounts taken above the free-withdrawal provision. Why it matters Withdrawal fees are the structur
