American Express Revamps Retirement Annuity

NU Online News Service, Aug. 13, 11:46 a.m. – American Express Financial Advisors, Minneapolis, is replacing its 2-year-old Retirement Advisor variable annuity with a new Retirement Advisor Advantage variable annuity.

The new Advantage variable annuity offers more investment options, an option that can protect the value of the death benefits against the effects of a market downturn, and a portfolio rebalancing feature.

Annuity holders can use the rebalancing feature to keep the effects of disproportionate growth or shrinkage in the value of some subaccounts from distorting asset allocations.

If, for example, a family put 10% of its variable annuity assets in a technology subaccount, and the subaccount ended up holding 25% of the assets as a result of a run-up in tech stocks, the rebalancing feature would automatically transfer some or all of the extra cash in the technology subaccount to the other subaccounts.