Accelerated Death Benefit: An option in a life insurance policy that allows a specified percentage of the death benefit to be paid prior to the insured's death, if his/her life expectancy is less than 12 months.

Accidental Death Benefit: The benefit from a life insurance policy that is paid when the insured has an accident related death.

Accumulation Unit: A measurement of value in a particular Subaccount prior to the annuity start date. Purchase payments that are invested in the variable investment options are used to purchase Accumulation Units.

Accumulation Value: The dollar value, as of any Valuation Date, of all amounts accumulated under the Policy (both the variable investment options and the fixed rate investment options).

Annuity: A contract issued by an insurance company with guaranteed periodic payments which begin at a specified time.

Annuitization: The distribution phase of an annuity which provides a guaranteed income stream based upon the life expectancy of the owner or a certain period of time, or a combination of both.

Annuity Starting Date: The date when annuity payments are scheduled to begin.

Application: A written form provided by an insurance company that the insured, his agent and sometimes a medical examiner complete in order for the person to start a policy contract with the insurance company. It provides information about the physical condition, occupation and avocation of the proposed insured. It becomes a part of the information an insurance company considers when deciding whether or not, and on what terms and conditions, a policy should be issued.

Beneficiary: The person(s) or other legal entity who receives Policy benefits, if any, upon death

Contract Owner: The person(s) or entity that purchases the annuity and has all rights to the contract. In a variable deferred annuity, like Preference Plus Select for example, this person can make investment decisions, transfer money among funding options, make withdrawals, and name the annuitant and the beneficiary, usually the contract owner.

Cost of Insurance: The amount deducted monthly from the accumulation value to cover the insurance protection provided by the policy. The amount deducted is calculated based on a number of factors such as age, premium class and net amount at risk.

Death Benefit: Standard – The greater of the account accumulation at the date of death or a guaranteed minimum, usually the amount representing your purchase payments less any withdrawals.

Death Benefit: Guaranteed Minimum Death Benefit (GMDB) – Premiums less withdrawal adjustments accumulated at a specific compound interest rate. There is an additional annual charge is this option is elected at issue.

Deferred Annuity: A type of personal retirement account that provides tax-deferred growth potential for long-term goals, such as retirement. When you are ready to receive income payments, the deferred annuity provides many choices, including guaranteed income for life. There are two types of deferred annuities: fixed and variable. An annuity contract where premiums are accumulated with interest and then used to provide periodic payments at a future date. Most annuities are this type, where investor puts off taking annuity payments from the annuity. Allows investment to grow over time, increasing the value. When purchased to fund a tax-qualified plan, a deferred annuity provides no additional tax-deferral beyond that already provided by the plan, but still includes other annuity benefits like guaranteed lifetime income.

Direct Rollover: A transfer that qualifies as a rollover, but is done directly from one company to another. Usually, it is from a qualified plan into an IRA annuity. It is reportable, but not taxable. The annuitant can avoid having taxes taken out of the eligible distribution by having a direct rollover.

Dollar Cost Averaging: A financial strategy of making investments in a variable annuity at regular intervals with a fixed dollar amount. A key benefit is that over time, your average per unit cost should be lower than either the market high or the average price. Dollar cost averaging does not guarantee a profit or protect against a loss. It involves continuous investment in securities regardless of fluctuating prices.

Exchange/1035: Named after the section 1035 (a) of the tax code, this allows the transfer of funds from one annuity to another (NOT transferring within subaccounts of the same annuity). Usually, there is no tax on this type of transfer.

Exclusion Ratio: Determines how much of each annuity payment is excluded from income tax and how much is taxable when income is received.

Expense Charge: A monthly charge the insured pays the insurance company based on a number of factors such as age.

Face Amount: The amount paid in the event of the death of the insured or at the policy's maturity, whichever occurs first. The face amount does not include additional amounts which may be payable (like in the case of an accidental death).

Fixed Account: An investment option under the Policy that pays a fixed rate of interest and consists of our general account.

Guaranteed Interest: Each policy has a minimum guaranteed interest rate. Interest earned over and above the guaranteed interest rate is the excess interest. The total amount of interest on a policy or contract the guaranteed plus the excess interest amounts.

Highest Anniversary Value: The highest account value on the anniversary of a contract year.

Insured: The individual whose life is covered by an insurance policy.

Issue Age: The insured's age at the time the coverage starts, either last or nearest birthday.

Joint Owners: A Non-Qualified Contract can be owned by up to two Owners. Upon the death of either Joint Owner, the surviving joint Owner will become the primary Beneficiary

Loan: A sum granted by a life insurance company to the owner of a life insurance policy, secured by the policy's cash surrender value.

Maturity Date: The end of the policy term on a life insurance policy or that upon which annuity payments must begin on an annuity contract.

Mortality & Expense Charges: A daily assessment as a reduction to net investment return to cover expenses and standard death benefits.

Other Insured Rider: An option that allows up to 5 other family members to be insured. Generally an additional premium is charged..

Penalty Tax: A 10% penalty imposed by the IRS for withdrawing untaxed money (pre-tax contributions or earned interest) from an annuity prior to age 591/2.

Policy: The contract or written agreement between the insurer and the policy owner. The policy, together with the application, endorsements and attached papers, constitutes the entire contract of insurance. A policy is usually life insurance; a contract is usually an annuity.

Policy Anniversary: The one year anniversary after the policy date.

Policy Owner: An individual or entity that owns an insurance policy. The owner can be either the insured, the beneficiary or someone else. The policy owner is in charge of the premium and is the only one allowed to make changes to the policy.

Policy Year: A year beginning with the date of contract issue.

Premium: Payments to the insurance company to purchase a life insurance policy and to keep it in force.

Premium Allocation: The percentages of each premium payment that are invested in the different options. The allocation for each option must be a whole percentage and all allocations must total 100%.

Premium Mode: The frequency with which the payments are made by the policy owner. Premium modes can be annual, quarterly or monthly.

Primary Beneficiary: The person or entity that receives the policy proceeds in the event of the insured's death.

Prospectus: A preliminary printed statement that describes an enterprise and that is distributed to prospective buyers, investors or participants.

Required Minimum Distributions (RMD): Tax qualified accounts which have distribution requirements are not subject to surrender charges if they exceed the allowable free partial withdrawal accounts.

Rider: Optional coverage that complements the life insurance policy or annuity contract. Riders may increase the premiums. Some examples of riders are: accelerated death benefit, accidental death benefit, automatic increase rider, children's term rider, other insured rider, primary insured rider, waiver of monthly deduction, and more.

Subaccount: A segregated account within the Variable Account investing in a specified investment portfolio.

Surrender: The termination of the policy by its owner in exchange for the policy's cash surrender value.

Surrender Charge: The charges deducted when the owner surrenders a life insurance policy.

Surrender Charges: A stated percentage of the amount that is charged as a deferred sales charge should the contract be canceled during a stated number of years.

Surrender Cash Value: The cash surrender value less any loans or surrender charges.

Systematic Withdrawals: A series of scheduled withdrawals from the Variable Annuity contract.

Tax Deferral: One of the major benefits of using a variable annuity for retirement planning. The investment gains inside of the variable annuity contract grow tax deferred until you begin to withdraw the money. There is also no tax consequences should you decide to move money between the different investment options of the variable annuity contract. When purchased to fund a tax-qualified plan, a deferred annuity provides no additional tax-deferral beyond that already provided by the plan, but still includes other annuity benefits like guaranteed lifetime income.

Valuation Date: Each day the New York Stock Exchange is open for business.

Variable Annuities: A tax deferred retirement account which offers a much wider range of investment options than regular fixed annuities. A variable annuity is a security and includes risk of loss, including principal. It can only be sold pursuant to a prospectus available from an FINRA-licensed representative. The value of a variable annuity contract will vary due to the performance of the investment options selected by the contract holder. The investment options may include interests stocks, bonds, money markets and a fixed guarantee rate option.

Waiver of Monthly Deduction: An optional rider that waives the monthly cost of insurance charges for the length of a disability.

Withdrawal: FREE – An amount the annuity contract allows you to withdraw each year without a surrender charge being imposed. This withdrawal feature is typically based upon the original deposit, plus any additional deposit.

Withdrawal: Guaranteed Minimum Withdrawal Benefit (GMWB) – An additional withdrawal benefit offered by an annuity contract or optional rider (which may have an additional charge). The GMWB is described in the annuity contract, and for variable annuities also in the prospectus.

Withdrawal: 72T & 72Q – A method of distribution which includes mortality and interest rate assumptions. Under IRS guidelines, these methods qualify for distribution satisfying tax requirements, both pre and post age 59 ½. Consult your Advisor for more details on these IRS options.