VARIABLE LIFE AND ANNUITY CONTRACTS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

VARIABLE LIFE AND ANNUITY CONTRACTS

VARIABLE LIFE AND ANNUITY CONTRACTS

14. Variable Life and Annuity Contracts

We report variable contracts within the separate accounts when investment income and investment gains and losses accrue directly to, and investment risk is borne by, the contract holder and the separate account meets additional accounting criteria to qualify for separate account treatment. The assets supporting the variable portion of variable annuity and variable universal life contracts that qualify for separate account treatment are carried at fair value and reported as Separate account assets, with an equivalent summary total reported as Separate account liabilities.

Policy values for variable products and investment contracts are expressed in terms of investment units. Each unit is linked to an asset portfolio. The value of a unit increases or decreases based on the value of the linked asset portfolio. The current liability at any time is the sum of the current unit value of all investment units in the separate accounts, plus any liabilities for guaranteed minimum death benefits (GMDB) or guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefits (GMWB) included in Future policy benefits or Policyholder contract deposits, respectively.

Amounts assessed against the contract holders for mortality, administrative and other services are included in revenue. Net investment income, net investment gains and losses, changes in fair value of assets, and policyholder account deposits and withdrawals related to separate accounts are excluded from the Consolidated Statements of Income, Comprehensive Income (Loss) and Cash Flows.

Variable annuity contracts may include certain contractually guaranteed benefits to the contract holder. These guaranteed features include GMDB that are payable in the event of death, and living benefits that are payable in the event of annuitization, or, in other instances, at specified dates during the accumulation period. Living benefits primarily include GMWB. A variable annuity contract may include more than one type of guaranteed benefit feature; for example, it may have both a GMDB and a GMWB. However, a policyholder can only receive payout from one guaranteed feature on a contract containing a death benefit and a living benefit, i.e. the features are mutually exclusive (except a surviving spouse who has a rider to potentially collect both a GMDB upon their spouse’s death and a GMWB during their lifetime). A policyholder cannot purchase more than one living benefit on one contract. The net amount at risk for each feature is calculated irrespective of the existence of other features; as a result, the net amount at risk for each feature is not additive to that of other features.

Account balances of variable annuity contracts with guarantees were invested in separate account investment options as follows:

At December 31,
(in millions)		2020		2019
Equity funds	$	56,868	$	51,383
Bond funds		8,534		7,881
Balanced funds		27,441		26,659
Money market funds		1,124		765
Total	$	93,967	$	86,688

GMDB

Depending on the contract, the GMDB feature may provide a death benefit of either (a) total deposits made to the contract less any partial withdrawals plus a minimum return (and in rare instances, no minimum return) or (b) the highest contract value attained, typically on any anniversary date minus any subsequent withdrawals following the contract anniversary. GMDB is our most widely offered benefit.

The liability for GMDB, which is recorded in Future policy benefits, represents the expected value of benefits in excess of the projected account value, with the excess recognized ratably over the accumulation period based on total expected assessments, through Policyholder benefits and losses incurred. The net amount at risk for GMDB represents the amount of benefits in excess of account value if death claims were filed on all contracts on the balance sheet date.

The following table presents details concerning our GMDB exposures, by benefit type:

At December 31,	2020				2019
		Net Deposits				Net Deposits
		Plus a Minimum		Highest Contract		Plus a Minimum		Highest Contract
(dollars in millions)		Return		Value Attained		Return		Value Attained
Account value	$	105,010	$	16,667	$	98,386	$	15,796
Net amount at risk		490		276		689		301
Average attained age of contract holders by product		65		72		65		71
Range of guaranteed minimum return rates		0.00%-4.50%				0.00%-4.50%

The following summarizes GMDB liability related to variable annuity contracts, excluding assumed reinsurance:

Years Ended December 31,
(in millions)		2020		2019		2018
Balance, beginning of year	$	407	$	397	$	352
Reserve increase (decrease)		41		35		93
Benefits paid		(43)		(40)		(43)
Changes in reserves related to unrealized appreciation of investments		16		15		(5)
Balance, end of year	$	421	$	407	$	397

Assumptions used to determine the GMDB liability include interest rates, which vary by year of issuance and products; mortality rates, which are based upon actual experience modified to allow for variations in policy form; lapse rates, which are based upon actual experience modified to allow for variations in policy form; investment returns, based on stochastically generated scenarios; and asset growth assumptions, which include a reversion to the mean methodology, similar to that applied for DAC. We regularly evaluate estimates used to determine the GMDB liability and adjust the additional liability balance, with a related charge or credit to Policyholder benefits and losses incurred, if actual experience or other evidence suggests that earlier assumptions should be revised.

GMWB

Certain of our variable annuity contracts contain optional GMWB benefits and, to a lesser extent, guaranteed minimum accumulation benefits, which are not currently offered. With a GMWB, the contract holder can monetize the excess of the guaranteed amount over the account value of the contract only through a series of withdrawals that do not exceed a specific percentage per year of the guaranteed amount. If, after the series of withdrawals, the account value is exhausted, the contract holder will receive a series of annuity payments equal to the remaining guaranteed amount, and, for lifetime GMWB products, the annuity payments continue as long as the covered person(s) is living.

The liabilities for GMWB, which are recorded in Policyholder contract deposits, are accounted for as embedded derivatives measured at fair value, with changes in the fair value of the liabilities recorded in Net realized capital gains (losses). The fair value of these embedded derivatives was a net liability of $3.6 billion and $2.5 billion at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

For discussion of the fair value measurement of guaranteed benefits that are accounted for as embedded derivatives see Note 5.

We had account values subject to GMWB that totaled $48 billion and $45 billion at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The net amount at risk for GMWB represents the present value of minimum guaranteed withdrawal payments, in accordance with contract terms, in excess of account value, assuming no lapses. The net amount at risk related to the GMWB guarantees was $1.1 billion and $328 million at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. We use derivative instruments and other financial instruments to mitigate a portion of our exposure that arises from GMWB benefits.