Defined terms for the annuity market and lifetime income landscape.
Death benefit in an annuity contract is the amount payable to the named beneficiary or beneficiaries on the death of the contract owner or annuitant, with the calculation and payout terms specified in the contract and often equal to the greater of cash value or a contractual minimum.
A declared rate is the interest rate that an insurer specifies will be credited to a fixed annuity contract or to the fixed account within an indexed or variable annuity for a defined period.
Decumulation is the phase of retirement in which an individual draws income from accumulated savings, in contrast to the accumulation phase during which savings are built up through contributions and investment growth.
A deferred annuity is any annuity contract in which income payments commence at a future date rather than at issue, encompassing fixed deferred annuities, multi-year guaranteed annuities, fixed indexed annuities, registered index-linked annuities, and deferred income annuities.
A deferred fixed annuity is a fixed annuity contract structured with an accumulation phase during which the contract value grows at a declared crediting rate set by the carrier, followed by an optional distribution phase in which the value can be annuitized, surrendered, or held.
