We would love to hear from you. Click on the ‘Contact Us’ link to the right and choose your favorite way to reach-out!

wscdsdc

media/speaking contact

Jamie Johnson

business contact

Victoria Peterson

Contact Us

855.ask.wink

Close [x]
pattern

Industry News

Categories

  • Industry Articles (21,155)
  • Industry Conferences (2)
  • Industry Job Openings (35)
  • Moore on the Market (414)
  • Negative Media (144)
  • Positive Media (73)
  • Sheryl's Articles (800)
  • Wink's Articles (353)
  • Wink's Inside Story (274)
  • Wink's Press Releases (123)
  • Blog Archives

  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • August 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • November 2008
  • September 2008
  • May 2008
  • February 2008
  • August 2006
  • MetLife Back In GLWB Market

    February 16, 2015 by Linda Koco, linda.koco@innfeedback.com

    MetLife has decided it’s time to get back into the guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit (GLWB) market for variable annuities (VAs).

    The carrier had pulled its older GLWB rider from its core VA nearly four years ago as part of a derisking strategy, said Elizabeth Forget, executive vice president-retail retirement and wealth solutions. 

    Now, MetLife wants to get back into the GLWB market and be “more competitive,” she told InsuranceNewsNet.

    To do that, MetLife is rolling out a new GLWB rider for its flagship VAs. In general, GLWB riders guarantee lifetime income based on withdrawals and insurance guarantees.

    A year in the making, the new rider has features that Forget said enhances flexibility in unique ways as well as features that are comparable to other currently-sold GLWBs.

    Competing on GLWB

    The debut comes in the wake of declining VA sales for the carrier. MetLife ranked eighth in industrywide sales for the first nine months of 2014, according to LIMRA estimates. That’s down from sixth place in the first nine months of 2013, third place in the first nine months of 2012 and first place in the first nine months of 2011.

     “Eighth place is not a competitive position,” Forget said. MetLife wants to change that.

    “We are committed to the retirement market, and we want to have a competitive product in the variable annuity living benefits market” as part of that commitment, she said. That product is the new GLWB.

    The company does have a guaranteed minimum income benefit (GMIB) rider available for sale, she noted. But that rider requires annuitization and its withdrawal rate is 4 percent. That’s not competitive in today’s market, Forget said.

    The new GLWB does not require annuitization, she said. It guarantees lifetime income — for instance, at 5 percent at age 65 — first by withdrawals from account value and, if exhausted, from the insurance guarantee under the GLWB. The product has 5 percent rollup. People “get” the GLWB, Forget said.  

    Flexible options

    MetLife dubbed the rider FlexChoice, to emphasize what its developers believe to be the rider’s distinguishing feature. “We call it ‘real life flexibility,’” because the riders have features that can adjust to changes that happen in client lives, Forget said.

    For instance, a spousal flexibility provision does not require the client to elect coverage of one person or two spouses at time of policy issue, as is customary in most other GLWBs today.

    Instead, a couple can wait to declare, she said. When withdrawals begin, the money is paid out on a single-life basis. When and if the account value is depleted, MetLife will ask the couple to decide whether to take a single- or joint-payout for the GLWB phase of the guarantee. If they elect single-payout, the guaranteed income amount continues as before. If they elect joint, MetLife reduces the payout to reflect two lives, based on actuarial tables.

    The deferral allows spouses to defer their decision until a time when they may have a clearer idea of their situation and needs, Forget indicated.

    Pricing for this flexibility is factored into the fee for the rider, which is 1.20 percent of the benefit base (value used in computing the withdrawal amount). “It’s not the lowest or the highest (fee) in the industry,” Forget said.

    Another flexibility feature is a lump sum option. This kicks in when guaranteed payments under the GLWB are about to begin, she said. It offers the policyowner the option to take a lump sum in lieu of the guaranteed monthly payments. The lump sum is based on factors such as mortality and interest rates.

    Other flex features include the ability to start and stop withdrawals; to cancel policy and rider and get back the initial investment (less withdrawals taken); and to cancel the rider only, in which case the rider fee falls off. An optional death benefit is available for an extra charge.

    The target market is individuals and couples in the 55 to 65 age range who want to grow and protect their retirement assets and who also want to ensure retirement income,  Forget said. 

    Distribution is through MetLife’s affiliated advisors, who sell the MetLife Preference Plus VA, and through third-party distributors (such as banks, wirehouses, etc.) which sell MetLife’s Series VA.

    To keep the rider’s guarantee in force, the policyowner must maintain a certain allocation among risk managed investment funds and meet withdrawal and other restrictions, MetLife said.

    Originally Posted at InsuranceNewsNet on February 16, 2015 by Linda Koco, linda.koco@innfeedback.com.

    Categories: Industry Articles
    currency