Business & Finance
Business and Finance
Business and Finance
Wed, June 22, 2011 The Phoenix Companies Launches Premier LifeStyle Annuity
HARTFORD, Conn.--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--The [ Phoenix Companies, Inc. ] (NYSE:PNX) today announced the introduction of the Premier LifeStyle Annuity, the newest offering developed through its strategic alliance with The AltiSure Group. The product is a single premium indexed annuity with four indexed accounts, principal protection from investment loss and a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit. Designed for both pre-retirees and retirees, the Premier LifeStyle Annuity is available exclusively through The AltiSure Group and offers an innovative blend of product features.
"Since September of last year, wea™ve enjoyed a great partnership with AltiSure"
aSince September of last year, wea™ve enjoyed a great partnership with AltiSure,a said Dana Pedersen, Vice President and Product Officer of Phoenix. aWe have worked together to bring a unique and forward-thinking approach to annuities that can meet a variety of retirement planning needs. We are confident that the Premier LifeStyle Annuity continues to deliver on this goal.a
The Premier LifeStyle Annuity offers two unique benefits: 1) The Safety Growth Strategy, which is an index crediting strategy which allows for greater growth potential than traditional cap crediting strategies, and 2) The Enhanced Guaranteed Income and Family Wealth Transfer Benefit (Enhanced G.I.F.T. Benefit®), which combines guaranteed lifetime withdrawals with an enhanced death benefit for one charge.
aPhoenix has been a wonderful partner to The AltiSure Group,a said Niju Vaswani, President of AltiSure. aThanks to the companya™s years of product development experience, we have been better able to deliver innovative and cost-effective solutions for our clients.a
The Enhanced G.I.F.T. Benefit is an optional rider that offers clients guaranteed lifetime withdrawals, even if the annuitya™s account value is reduced to zero. The guaranteed withdrawal amount is calculated using the income benefit base in combination with an age-based withdrawal rate. The income benefit base is based on a 12 percent simple (non-compound) interest roll-up of the income benefit base for the first 14 contract years, and an 11 percent simple interest roll-up for life thereafter, prior to the start of guaranteed withdrawals. The rider also features an enhanced death benefit based on a 6 percent compound roll-up of the death benefit base prior to age 70, and a 5 percent compound roll-up between ages 70 and 85, not to exceed double the premium. Clients can maximize their income opportunity by deferring the start of withdrawals under the Enhanced G.I.F.T. Benefit, while remaining protected by the enhanced death benefit until the beginning of the guaranteed withdrawals.
Another differentiating feature of the Enhanced G.I.F.T. Benefit is the persistency bonus to the benefit base, which serves to increase the income benefit base above and beyond the 12 percent simple interest roll-up. This feature provides an additional increase for individuals looking to start taking retirement income after specified points in time.
The Premier LifeStyle Annuity is a single premium fixed indexed annuity issued by PHL Variable Insurance Company, a subsidiary of The Phoenix Companies, Inc. The assets supporting the base annuity contract are held in a Separate Account (also called a aSegregated Asset Accounta). Under state law, Separate Account assets are segregated from the General Account and consequently the Separate Account assets may not be used to pay liabilities arising out of other business Phoenix may conduct and are insulated from any creditors of the Phoenix Companies. Guarantees are based on the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance company, PHL Variable Insurance Company. AltiSure is not affiliated with PHL Variable or The Phoenix Companies.
Additional information about The Premier LifeStyle Annuity can be found on The AltiSure Groupa™s Web site at [ www.altisure.com ].
BACKGROUND ON INDEXED ANNUITIES
An indexed annuity allows individuals to benefit from growth in the market without the risk of direct investment in the market.When the index shows a positive performance above a specified threshold,aindex creditsa that are based on that performance are added to the account value. Unlike direct investments, the account does not lose any value when the index goes down because the index credit can never be negative a" keeping the account value intact.
The Enhanced G.I.F.T. Benefit is an optional rider that may be added to the basic annuity in exchange for a fee that will be deducted from the annuitya™s account value. If index credits are less than the rider fee, the account value will experience a loss of principal invested but no reduction in guarantees.The benefit base is not a guarantee of account value or an amount available for withdrawal and is only used to determine the fees and guarantees applicable to the rider.
ABOUT PHOENIX
Dating to 1851, The Phoenix Companies, Inc. (NYSE:PNX) provides financial solutions using life insurance and annuities. Phoenix offers a complete suite of annuity products with a full spectrum of optional guarantees. Phoenix annuity products are designed with maximum flexibility to help customers meet a range of retirement income needs. For more information, visit [ www.phoenixwm.com ].
ABOUT THE ALTISURE GROUP
The AltiSure Group is an annuity and life insurance products design and distribution company. They design innovative annuity and life insurance products for exclusive distribution through their network ofselectIndependent Marketing Organizations (IMOs).The IMOs in The AltiSure Group network were responsible for a collective annuity premium of more than $5 billion in 2010.The AltiSure Group was founded and is currently managed by Niju Vaswani, President.Prior to starting The AltiSure Group, Mr. Vaswani was Chief Executive Officer of Transamerica Life Bermuda.
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