Variable Annuity and Insurance Guarantees

The majority of the variable annuity contracts offered by the Company contain GMDB provisions. The Company also offers variable annuities with GGU, GMWB and GMAB provisions. The Company previously offered contracts containing GMIB provisions. See Note 2 and Note 10 for additional information regarding the Company’s variable annuity guarantees.

The GMDB and GGU provisions provide a specified minimum return upon death of the contractholder. The death benefit payable is the greater of (i) the contract value less any purchase payment credits subject to recapture less a pro-rata portion of any rider fees, or (ii) the GMDB provisions specified in the contract. The Company has the following primary GMDB provisions:


•	Return of premium — provides purchase payments minus adjusted partial surrenders.


•	Reset — provides that the value resets to the account value every sixth contract anniversary minus adjusted partial surrenders. This provision was often provided in combination with the return of premium provision and is no longer offered.


•	Ratchet — provides that the value ratchets up to the maximum account value at specified anniversary intervals, plus subsequent purchase payments less adjusted partial surrenders.

The variable annuity contracts with GMWB riders typically have account values that are based on an underlying portfolio of mutual funds, the values of which fluctuate based on fund performance. At issue, the guaranteed amount is equal to the amount deposited but the guarantee may be increased annually to the account value (a “step-up”) in the case of favorable market performance or by a benefit credit if the contract includes this provision.

The Company has GMWB riders in force, which contain one or more of the following provisions:


•	Withdrawals at a specified rate per year until the amount withdrawn is equal to the guaranteed amount.


•	Withdrawals at a specified rate per year for the life of the contractholder (“GMWB for life”).


•	Withdrawals at a specified rate per year for joint contractholders while either is alive.


•	Withdrawals based on performance of the contract.


•	Withdrawals based on the age withdrawals begin.


•	Credits are applied annually for a specified number of years to increase the guaranteed amount as long as withdrawals have not been taken.

Variable annuity contractholders age 79 or younger at contract issue can also obtain a principal-back guarantee by purchasing the optional GMAB rider for an additional charge. The GMAB rider guarantees that, regardless of market performance at the end of the 10-year waiting period, the contract value will be no less than the original investment or a specified percentage of the highest anniversary value, adjusted for withdrawals. If the contract value is less than the guarantee at the end of the 10-year period, a lump sum will be added to the contract value to make the contract value equal to the guarantee value.

Certain UL policies offered by the Company provide secondary guarantee benefits. The secondary guarantee ensures that, subject to specified conditions, the policy will not terminate and will continue to provide a death benefit even if there is insufficient policy value to cover the monthly deductions and charges.

The following table provides information related to variable annuity guarantees for which the Company has established additional liabilities:



Variable Annuity Guarantees by Benefit Type ⁽¹⁾	December 31, 2017							December 31, 2016
Variable Annuity Guarantees by Benefit Type ⁽¹⁾	Total Contract Value		Contract Value in Separate Accounts		Net Amount at Risk		Weighted Average Attained Age	Total Contract Value		Contract Value in Separate Accounts		Net Amount at Risk			Weighted Average Attained Age
	(in millions, except age)
GMDB:
Return of premium	$	61,418	$	59,461	$	9	66	$	56,143	$	54,145	$	208		65
Five/six-year reset	8,870		6,149		12		66	8,878		6,170		22			66
One-year ratchet	6,548		6,187		11		69	6,426		6,050		110			68
Five-year ratchet	1,563		1,506		1		65	1,542		1,483		7			64
Other	1,099		1,075		50		72	965		942		86			71
Total — GMDB	$	79,498	$	74,378	$	83	66	$	73,954	$	68,790	$	433		65

GGU death benefit	$	1,118	$	1,067	$	133	70	$	1,047	$	996	$	108		68

GMIB	$	233	$	216	$	7	69	$	245	$	227	$	13		68

GMWB:
GMWB	$	2,508	$	2,500	$	1	71	$	2,650	$	2,642	$	2		70
GMWB for life	44,375		44,259		129		67	39,436		39,282		289		⁽²⁾	66
Total — GMWB	$	46,883	$	46,759	$	130	67	$	42,086	$	41,924	$	291		66

GMAB	$	3,086	$	3,083	$	—	59	$	3,484	$	3,476	$	21		59

⁽¹⁾ Individual variable annuity contracts may have more than one guarantee and therefore may be included in more than one benefit type. Variable annuity contracts for which the death benefit equals the account value are not shown in this table.

⁽²⁾ Amount revised to reflect updated contractholder mortality assumptions as of December 31, 2016.

The net amount at risk for GMDB, GGU and GMAB is defined as the current guaranteed benefit amount in excess of the current contract value. The net amount at risk for GMIB is defined as the greater of the present value of the minimum guaranteed annuity payments less the current contract value or zero. The net amount at risk for GMWB is defined as the greater of the present value of the minimum guaranteed withdrawal payments less the current contract value or zero.

The following table provides information related to insurance guarantees for which the Company has established additional liabilities:



	December 31, 2017			December 31, 2016
	Net Amount at Risk		Weighted Average Attained Age	Net Amount at Risk		Weighted Average Attained Age
	(in millions, except age)
UL secondary guarantees	$	6,460	65	$	6,376	64

The net amount at risk for UL secondary guarantees is defined as the current guaranteed death benefit amount in excess of the current policyholder account balance.

Changes in additional liabilities (contra liabilities) for variable annuity and insurance guarantees were as follows:



	GMDB & GGU			GMIB			GMWB ⁽¹⁾			GMAB ⁽¹⁾			UL
	(in millions)
Balance at January 1, 2015	$	9		$	7		$	693		$	(41	)	$	263
Incurred claims	10			1			364			41			92
Paid claims	(5		)	—			—			—			(23		)
Balance at December 31, 2015	14			8			1,057			—			332
Incurred claims	11			1			(40		)	(23		)	127
Paid claims	(9		)	(1		)	—			(1		)	(25		)
Balance at December 31, 2016	16			8			1,017			(24		)	434
Incurred claims	5			—			(554		)	(56		)	84
Paid claims	(4		)	(2		)	—			—			(29		)
Balance at December 31, 2017	$	17		$	6		$	463		$	(80	)	$	489

⁽¹⁾ The incurred claims for GMWB and GMAB represent the change in the fair value of the liabilities (contra liabilities) less paid claims.

The liabilities for guaranteed benefits are supported by general account assets.

The following table summarizes the distribution of separate account balances by asset type for variable annuity contracts providing guaranteed benefits:



	December 31,
	2017		2016
	(in millions)
Mutual funds:
Equity	$	46,038	$	40,622
Bond	23,529		23,142
Other	5,109		5,326
Total mutual funds	$	74,676	$	69,090

No gains or losses were recognized on assets transferred to separate accounts for the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015.