Annuity Product Update: Vantis Life, Nationwide, Pacific Life

Vantis Life Insurance Company has introduced two fixed annuities aimed at the direct purchase market.

The new products are the TaxSaver Freedom ROP annuity and the TaxSaver Freedom MVA annuity.

(Related: Non-Variable Annuity Sales Still Look Good: Survey Managers)

The ROP contract includes a return-of-premium feature, according to Vantis Life.

Purchasers can use the ROP feature to get their deposits back at any time, without a withdrawal penalty, the Windsor, Connecticut-based company says.

Purchasers of the other contract can lock in a somewhat higher interest rate for the entire annuity contract term. The downside is that, if interest rates fall, and the purchaser takes cash out early, the market value adjustment feature could reduce the value of  the contract.

Vantis Life is a subsidiary of the Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company.

In other annuity product news:

Nationwide Advisory Solutions, a Louisville, Kentucky-based arm of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, has introduced a new lifetime income rider designed for registered investment advisors and fee-based advisors.

Nationwide says it will now offer the Nationwide Lifetime Income Rider Advisory living benefit along with its Nationwide Advisory Retirement Income Annuity product.

The optional rider can provide 7% simple interest on a client’s annuity contract income base every year while the contract is still accumulating value, according to Nationwide.

Nationwide says it considered the new Internal Revenue Service letter ruling on fee-based annuity advisor compensation when it designed the new rider.

Nationwide is also adding two other features to the Nationwide Advisory Retirement Income Annuity product.

One gives purchasers of an optional benefit feature the ability to participate in 100% of stock market increases, while protecting the user’s income against any market losses, Nationwide says.

The other feature provides two tiers of pricing for some of the funds availability inside the annuity.

The annual cost of the lower-cost funds will now amount to 0.10% to 0.35% of the invested value, Nationwide says.

Pacific Life Insurance Company will be offering a new Protected Investment Benefit rider to purchasers of some of its variable annuities.

The guaranteed minimum accumulation benefit (GMAB) rider can provide a purchaser 90% protection against investment market declines and a chance to participate in 100% of investment market growth, Pacific Life says.

Annuity holders who buy the benefit can invest up to 80% of their contract value in investment options linked to the performance of stocks, Pacific Life says.

The cost is 0.85% per year for the first five years, on top of mortality and expense risk charges, administrative fees, and investment fees, Pacific Life says.

The rider will expire automatically after five years, Pacific Life says.

— Read Annuity Product Update: Jackson, Nationwide, AIG, on ThinkAdvisor.

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