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LIAC reviews contingent annuities

09/01/11

According to National Underwriter, the Life Insurance and Annuities Committee is establishing a council to review annuities set up to begin paying out only when a specific event occurs. Known as contingent or synthetic annuities, the LAIC, which is governed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, wonders whether the plans pose a risk to consumers.

 A typical contingent annuity allows consumers to access a withdrawal stream, then produces a stream of income after a particular event, like when the annuity assets reach a designated low. Some critics believe that this form of an annuity is actually a financial guaranty product.

Many annuities are contingent annuities by definition because they produce a revenue stream when an event such as retirement or death occurs. Defining these types of annuities is problematic, and the source notes that defining a contingent annuity as a financial guaranty is important because in some states, financial guarantees are void.

According to the Insurance Information Institute, the stock market had a dramatic effect on annuities sales, as fixed annuity sales fell by 27 percent in 2010 while variable sales increased by 10 percent, likely an indication of low rates. 

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