Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company has announced changes to the options available with two of its flexible-premium deferred variable annuities.
The changes affect buyers of the MassMutual Transitions Select and MassMutual Evolution VA contracts.
One change, the introduction of a Custom Allocation Choice investment option, will give holders more ability to choose their own investments along with help from a service that will rebalance portfolios automatically each quarter, according to MassMutual, Springfield, Mass.
MassMutual also has modified the standard death benefits within new MassMutual Transitions Select and MassMutual Evolution contracts, the company says.
If contract owners die during their annuity’s asset accumulation phase, the new standard death benefit guarantees beneficiaries “the greater of either contract value or purchase payments, less any withdrawal adjustment and applicable charges,” MassMutual says.
The new standard benefit is available to annuity buyers up to age 76.
MassMutual is replacing the guaranteed minimum income benefit rider sold with the contracts with a choice of the MassMutual Guaranteed Income Plus 5 or the MassMutual Guaranteed Income Plus 6 GMIB riders.
The Plus 5 rider now costs 0.65% of the contract GMIB value, up to a maximum of 1.5%, and the Plus 6 rider costs 0.8% of the GMIB value, up to a maximum of 1.5%.