MONY Life Insurance Co of America
1290 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10104
Jordan K. Thomsen
Vice President & Counsel
212-314-5431(Tel.)
212-314-3953(Fax)
April 3, 2012
VIA U.S. MAIL AND EMAIL
Ms. Alison White
United
States Securities and Exchange Commission
Office of Insurance Products
Division of Investment Management
Mail Stop 8629
Washington, DC 20549-8629
RE: |
AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company |
Initial Registration Statement on Form S-1
File
No. 333-180068
Dear Ms. White:
The purpose of this letter is to provide a response to the staffs comments dated March 22, 2012 to the MONY Life Insurance Company of Americas Form S-1 filing. We intend to file a
pre-effective amendment on April 26, 2012 to incorporate these changes and to include the consent of our independent registered public accounting firm. We first set forth each specific staff comment and then provide our response.
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a. |
In the third bullet point of the cover page, please expand the statement that there is a possibility of significant loss of principal, to specify the
maximum possible percentage of loss. |
Response
A statement to this effect has been added.
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b. |
Please include a statement about suitability on the cover page and consider adding a section regarding suitability to the prospectus (i.e. for whom is the product
suitable or unsuitable?). |
Response
The Company does not believe that it would be helpful to policyholders to include any statement regarding suitability on the cover page or to add a section regarding suitability. The prospectus covers a
single investment option available under certain variable life insurance policies, the Market Stabilizer Option (MSO). The question as to whether a variable life policy and any particular investment option is suitable for any particular
policyholder is a complicated question based on a variety of individual circumstances, none of which can be adequately summarized in a statement on the cover page or a separate section on suitability. The cover page already includes key
information regarding the nature and features of MSO, including important risk factors to be considered by a policyholder and his or her investment professional when considering MSO. In addition, in response to the comments discussed in this
letter, we have added additional specific information, which should assist in an evaluation of MSO for a particular policyholders situation. For example, the cover page notes in bold type that an investment could result in a
significant loss of principal, and now notes that the maximum loss of principal would be 75%. The cover page also provides specific information on the early distribution adjustment, which is a material factor for any allocation decision.
The Company believes that this more detailed information is appropriate for a variable contract investment option and is more helpful to a policyholder than generalized statements regarding suitability. We also note that the broker-dealer
selling the policy has a suitability obligation based on any recommendations it makes.
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c. |
We are unable to locate the examples on page 5 to which you refer. Please advise or revise. |
Response
The reference has been amended.
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d. |
Please state on the cover page, as you do on page 4 that the Growth Cap Rate will always be at least 6%. |
Response
The disclosure has been restated on the cover page.
2. |
Fee Table Summary, page 6 |
Please clarify that the figures in the Current Non-Guaranteed and Guaranteed Maximum charges columns for Variable Index Segment Account
Charge are annual, not monthly, amounts.
Response
A clarifying footnote has been added to the chart.
Please include Risk Factors to the following effect:
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a. |
The purchaser has no rights in underlying securities - no interest or dividend payments or voting rights |
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b. |
The payment at the end of period is dependent on the level of index at that time only |
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c. |
Economic factors will affect the level of the index |
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d. |
Past performance of the index is no guide to future performance |
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e. |
If there is no change in the index, the Segment Maturity Value will be less on the Segment Maturity Date than it was on the Segment Start Date (if true)
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f. |
Principal and index-linked interest are subject to the insurers claims paying ability |
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g. |
The amount of principal lost could be greater than 75% if a catastrophic event and the EDA applied (if true) |
Response
Risks factors corresponding to (a), (b) and (d) have been added. The suggestion in (c) is overly broad. Economic factors
impacting the performance of the S&P index could not be adequately forecast through this disclosure. We believe that existing risk factors, such as the first listed factor, more meaningfully convey the impact of negative index performance to
potential owners. The first risk factor states, (t)here is a risk of substantial loss of your principal because you agree to absorb all losses from the portion of any negative Index performance that exceeds -25%. The suggestion in
(f) is currently addressed in the risk factor that states, (n)o company other than MONY America has any legal responsibility to pay amounts that MONY America owes under the policies. An owner should look to the financial strength of MONY
America for its claims-paying ability. Both (e) and (g) are untrue statements. For (e), no change in the index results in a total return of the invested amount on the maturity date. For (g), 75% represents the total principal that
could be lost. Also, please refer to the footnote (3) in the Fee Table Summary.
4. |
Index-Linked Return, page 10 |
Please include a table showing how different index returns would affect the Segment Maturity Value. [I.e. assume a beginning level for the S&P 500, then include a column with hypothetical level of the
index - say 50% increase to 100% decrease by 5% increments, a column showing the % increase/decrease and a column for the Segment Maturity Value.]
Response
We have included a table showing returns within the suggested
range.
Please file
Powers of Attorney that relate specifically to the registration statement.
Response
The Powers of Attorney filed with the S-1 include the following statement:
Form S-1 or S-3 registration statements to be filed for index-linked investment options to be offered with certain flexible premium
variable life policies.
We believe that the reference above is sufficiently specific to the filing. When a new
registration statement is required, we do not know and can not include in the power of attorney any specific registration statement number. Therefore, the reference cited above to Forms S-1 and S-3 specifically for indexed-linked investment options
is sufficiently specific to this filing. In addition, the power specifically contemplates registration statement filings with respect to MSO since it lists the registration number for the current MSO filing (Reg. No. 333-167398). In this case, a new
registration statement is required because we are registering additional securities.
Please be advised
that once you no longer incorporate the 10-K by reference and rely on Rule 12h-7, you will need to tag the financial information in your S-1 filings using XBRL.
Please be
advised that the Division of Enforcement has access to all information you provide to the staff of the Division of Investment Management in connection with our review of your filing or in response to our comments on your filing.
We will consider a written request for acceleration of the effective date of the registration statement as a confirmation of the fact that
those requesting acceleration are aware of their respective responsibilities. We will act on the request and, pursuant to delegated authority, grant acceleration of the effective date.
Response
The Registrant will file with the Commission a letter including Tandy representations requested by the staff with the further Amendment.
**************************************************************************************************
Please contact either Chris Palmer, Esq., of Goodwin Procter at (202) 346-4253 or me if you have any questions on our responses to the staffs
comments. We appreciate your assistance with this filing.
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Yours truly, |
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/s/ Jordan K. Thomsen |
Jordan K. Thomsen |
Cc: |
Christopher E. Palmer, Esq. |
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Market Stabilizer Option® Available Under Certain Variable Life Insurance Policies Issued by MONY Life Insurance Company of America
Prospectus dated May 1, 2012
Please read and keep this Prospectus for future reference. It contains important information that you should know before purchasing or taking any other action
under your policy. Also, this Prospectus must be read along with the appropriate variable life insurance policy prospectus. This Prospectus is in addition to the appropriate variable life insurance policy prospectus and all information in the
appropriate variable life insurance policy prospectus continues to apply unless addressed by this Prospectus.
MONY Life Insurance Company of America (the Company or MONY America)
issues the Market Stabilizer Option® described in this Prospectus. The Market Stabilizer Option® is available only under certain variable life insurance policies that we offer and may not be available through your financial
professional.
Among the many terms associated with the
Market Stabilizer Option® are:
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Index-Linked Return for approximately a one year period tied to the performance of the S&P 500 Price Return index, which excludes dividends as described
below. |
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Index-Linked Return will be applied at the end of the period (your Segment Term) on the Segment Maturity Date and only to amounts remaining within the segment
until the Segment Maturity Date. The Index-Linked Return will not be applied before the Segment Maturity Date. |
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The Index-Linked Return could be positive, zero or in certain circumstances negative as described below. In the event that the S&P 500 Price Return index
sustains a 100% loss, the maximum loss of principal would be 75%. Therefore, there is the possibility of a negative return on this investment at the end of your Segment Term, which could result in a significant loss of principal.
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An Early Distribution Adjustment will be made for distributions (including deductions) from the Segment Account Value before the Segment Maturity Date. Any
Early Distribution Adjustment that is made will cause you to lose principal through the application of a Put Option Factor, as explained later in this Prospectus, and that loss could potentially be substantial. Therefore you should carefully
consider whether to make such distributions and/or maintain enough value in your Unloaned Guaranteed Interest Option (Unloaned GIO) and/or variable investment options to cover your monthly deductions. The Unloaned GIO is the portion of
the Guaranteed Interest Option (GIO) that is not being held to secure policy loans you have taken. As described later in this Prospectus, we will attempt to maintain a reserve (Charge Reserve Amount) to cover your monthly deductions, but
it is possible that the Charge Reserve Amount will be insufficient to cover your monthly deductions. |
These are only some of the terms
associated with the Market Stabilizer Option®. Please read this Prospectus for more details about the Market Stabilizer
Option®. Also, this Prospectus must be read along with the appropriate variable life insurance policy prospectus as well
as the appropriate variable life insurance policy and policy rider for this option. Please refer to page 4 of this Prospectus for a Definitions section that discusses these and other terms associated with the Market Stabilizer Option®. Please refer to page 7 of this Prospectus for a discussion of risk factors.
Other MONY America policies. We offer a variety of fixed and variable life insurance policies which offer policy features, including investment options, that are different from those offered by this
Prospectus. Not every policy or feature is offered through your financial professional. You can contact us to find out more about any other MONY America insurance policy.
What is the Market Stabilizer Option®?
The Market Stabilizer
Option® (MSO) is an investment option available under certain MONY America variable life insurance policies.
The option provides for participation in the performance of the S&P 500
Price Return index, which excludes dividends (the Index) up to the Growth Cap Rate that we set on the Segment Start Date. While the Growth Cap Rate is set at the Companys sole
discretion, the Growth Cap Rate will not change during a Segment Term and the Growth Cap Rate will always be at least 6%. On the Segment Maturity Date, we will apply the Index-Linked Rate of Return to the Segment Account Value based on the
performance of the Index. If the performance of the Index has been positive for the Segment Term and equal to or below the Growth Cap Rate, we will apply to the Segment Account Value an Index-Linked Rate of Return equal to the full Index
performance. If the performance of the Index has been positive for the Segment Term and above the Growth Cap Rate, we will apply an Index-Linked Rate of Return equal to the Growth Cap Rate. If the Index has negative performance, the Index-Linked
Rate of Return will be 0% unless the Index performance goes below -25% for the Segment Term. In that case only the negative performance in excess of -25% will be applied to the Segment Account Value and you bear the entire risk of loss of principal
for the portion of negative performance that exceeds -25%. Please see Index-Linked Return in Description of the Market Stabilizer Option® later in this prospectus.
Please note that you will not be credited with any
positive Index performance with respect to amounts that are removed from a Segment prior to the Segment Maturity Date. Even when the Index performance has been positive, such early removals will cause you to lose some principal. Please see
Early Distribution Adjustment later in this Prospectus.
Although under the appropriate variable life insurance
policy, we reserve the right to apply a transfer charge up to $25 for each transfer among your investment options, there are no transfer charges for transfers into or out of the MSO Holding Account. Please note that once policy account value has
been swept from the MSO Holding Account into a Segment, transfers into or out of that Segment before its Segment Maturity Date will not be permitted.
The Market Stabilizer Option® is not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by Standard & Poors (S&P) or its third party licensors. Neither S&P nor its third party
licensors makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, to the owners of the Market Stabilizer Option® or any member of the public regarding the advisability
of investing in securities generally or in the Market Stabilizer Option® particularly or the ability of the S&P 500 Price Return index (the Index) to
track general stock market performance. S&Ps and its third party licensors only relationship to MONY America is the licensing of certain trademarks and trade names of S&P and the third party licensors and of the Index which is
determined, composed and calculated by S&P or its third party licensors without regard to MONY America or the Market Stabilizer Option®. S&P and its third party
licensors have no obligation to take the needs of MONY America or the owners of the Market Stabilizer Option® into consideration in determining, composing or calculating
the Index. Neither S&P nor its third party licensors is responsible for and has not participated in the determination of the prices and amount of the Market Stabilizer
Option® or the timing of the issuance or sale of the Market Stabilizer Option® or in the
determination or calculation of the equation by which the Market Stabilizer Option® is to be converted into cash. S&P has no obligation or liability in connection
with the administration, marketing or trading of the Market Stabilizer Option®.
The SEC has not approved or
disapproved these securities or determined if this Prospectus is accurate or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense. The contracts are not insured by the FDIC or any other agency. They are not deposits or other
obligations of any bank and are not bank guaranteed. They are subject to investment risks and possible loss of principal.
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EVM-109 (11/10) |
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X03210 |
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NB |
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Cat # 235457 |
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Contents of this Prospectus
We, our, and us refer to MONY America.
When we address the reader of this
Prospectus with words such as you and your, we mean the person who has the right or responsibility that the Prospectus is discussing at that point. This is usually the policy owner.
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Market Stabilizer
Option® |
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2 |
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Contents of this Prospectus |
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Who is MONY Life Insurance Company of America?
We are MONY Life Insurance Company of America (MONY America), an Arizona stock life insurance corporation
organized in 1969. MONY America is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of AXA Financial, Inc., (the parent) a holding company, which is itself an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of AXA SA (AXA). AXA is a French holding
company for an international group of insurance and related financial services companies. As the ultimate sole shareholder of MONY America, and under its other arrangements with MONY America and its parent, AXA exercises significant influence over
the operations and capital structure of MONY America and its parent. AXA holds its interest in MONY America through a number of other intermediate holding companies, including Oudinot Participations, AXA America Holdings, Inc., AXA Equitable
Financial Services, LLC and MONY Life Insurance Company, a life insurance company. MONY America is obligated to pay all amounts that are promised to be paid under the policies. No company other than MONY America, however, has any legal
responsibility to pay amounts that MONY America owes under the policies.
AXA Financial, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries managed approximately $508.0 billion in assets as of December 31, 2011. MONY America is licensed to sell
life insurance and annuities in forty-nine states (not including New York), the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Our home office is located at 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104.
How to reach us
Please refer to the How to reach us section of the appropriate variable life insurance policy prospectus for more information
regarding contacting us and communicating your instructions. We also have specific forms that we recommend you use for electing the MSO and any MSO transactions.
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Who is MONY Life Insurance Company of America? |
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1. Definitions
Charge Reserve
Amount A minimum amount of policy account value in the Unloaned GIO (the portion of the Guaranteed Interest Option (GIO) that is not being held to secure policy loans you have taken.) that you are required
to maintain in order to approximately cover all of the estimated monthly charges for the policy (including, but not limited to, the policys monthly cost of insurance charge, the policys monthly administrative charge, the policys
monthly mortality and expense risk charge, the MSOs monthly Variable Index Segment Account Charge (the monthly charge deducted from the policy account) and any monthly optional rider charges, (please see Charges later in this
Prospectus for more information) during the Segment Term. The Charge Reserve Amount will be determined on each Segment Start Date as an amount projected to be sufficient to cover all of the policys monthly deductions during the Segment Term,
assuming at the time such calculation is made that no interest or investment performance is credited to or charged against the policy account and that no policy changes or additional premium payments are made. The Charge Reserve Amount will be
reduced by each subsequent monthly deduction (but not to less than zero). There is no requirement to maintain a Charge Reserve Amount, which would cover approximately all estimated monthly policy charges, if you are not in a Segment. Please
see Segments later in this Prospectus for more information about the investment options from which account value could be transferred to the Unloaned GIO on a Segment Start Date in order to meet this requirement.
Downside Protection (also referred to in your policy as the
Segment Loss Absorption Threshold Rate) This is your protection against negative performance of the S&P 500 Price Return index for a Segment held until its Segment Maturity Date. It is currently -25%.
The Downside Protection is set on the Segment Start Date and any Downside Protection in excess of -25% will be set at the Companys sole discretion. However, the Downside Protection will not change during a Segment Term and at least -25%
of Downside Protection will always be provided when a Segment is held until the Segment Maturity Date.
Early Distribution Adjustment (EDA, may also be referred to in your policy as the Market Value Adjustment) The EDA is an adjustment
that we make to your Segment Account Value, before a Segment matures, in the event you surrender your policy, take a loan from a Segment or if we should find it necessary to make deductions for monthly charges or any other distribution from a
Segment. (Such other distributions would include any distributions from the policy that we deem necessary to continue to qualify the policy as life insurance under applicable tax law, any unpaid loan interest, or any distribution in connection with
the exercise of a rider available under your policy.) An EDA that is made will cause you to lose principal through the application of a Put Option Factor, which estimates the market value, at the time of an early distribution, of the risk that
you would suffer a loss if
your Segment were continued (without taking the early distribution) until its Segment Maturity Date and that loss
could be substantial. However, because of a pro rata refund of certain charges already paid that is included in the EDA , the net effect of the EDA will not always result in the reduction of principal. The EDA will usually result in a reduction
in your Segment Account Value and your other policy values. Therefore, you should give careful consideration before taking any early loan or surrender, or allowing the value in your other investment options to fall so low that we must make any
monthly deduction from a Segment. Please see Early Distribution Adjustment later in this Prospectus for more information.
Growth Cap Rate The maximum rate of return that will be applied to a Segment Account Value. The Growth
Cap Rate is set for each Segment on the Segment Start Date. While the Growth Cap Rate is set at the Companys sole discretion, the Growth Cap Rate will not change during a Segment Term and the Growth Cap Rate will always be at least 6%.
Index The S&P
500 Price Return index, which is the S&P 500 index excluding dividends. This index includes 500 leading companies in leading industries in the U.S. economy.
Index Performance Rate The
Index Performance Rate measures the percentage change in the Index during a Segment Term for each Segment. If the Index is discontinued or if the calculation of the Index is substantially changed, we reserve the right to substitute an alternative
index. We also reserve the right to choose an alternative index at our discretion. Please see Change in Index for more information.
The Index Performance Rate is calculated by ((b) divided by (a)) minus one, where:
(a) |
is the value of the Index at the close of business on the Segment Start Date, and |
(b) |
is the value of the Index at the close of business on the Segment Maturity Date. |
We determine the value of the Index at the close of business, which is the end of a
business day. Generally, a business day is any day the New York Stock Exchange is open for trading. If the New York Stock Exchange is not open for trading or if the Index value is, for any other reason, not published on the Segment Start Date or a
Segment Maturity Date, the value of the Index will be determined as of the end of the most recent preceding business day for which the Index value is published.
Index-Linked Rate of Return
The rate of return we apply to calculate the Index-Linked Return which is based on the Index Performance Rate adjusted to reflect the Growth Cap Rate and protection against negative performance. Therefore, if the performance of the Index is zero
or positive, we will apply that performance up to the Growth Cap Rate. If the performance of the Index is negative, we
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will apply performance of zero unless the decline in the performance of the Index is below -25% in which case negative performance in excess of -25% will apply. Please see the chart under
Index-Linked Return for more information.
Index-Linked Return The amount that is applied to the Segment Account Value on the Segment Maturity Date
that is equal to that Segments Index-Linked Rate of Return multiplied by the Segment Account Value on the Segment Maturity Date. The Index-Linked Return may be positive, negative or zero. The Indexed-Linked Return is only applied to amounts
that remain in a Segment Account Value until the Segment Maturity Date. For example, a surrender of your policy before Segment maturity will eliminate any Index-Linked Return and be subject to an Early Distribution Adjustment.
Initial Segment Account The
amount initially transferred to a Segment from the MSO Holding Account on its Segment Start Date, net of:
(a) |
the Variable Index Benefit Charge (see Charges later in this Prospectus) |
(b) |
the amount, if any, that may have been transferred from the MSO Holding Account to the Unloaned GIO to cover the Charge Reserve Amount (see Charge Reserve Amount
later in this Prospectus). Such a transfer would be made from the MSO Holding Account to cover the Charge Reserve Amount only (1) if you have given us instructions to make such a transfer or (2) in the other limited circumstances described
under Segments later in this Prospectus. |
MSO Holding Account This is a portion of the EQ/Money Market variable investment option that holds amounts
designated by the policy owner for investment in the MSO prior to any transfer into the next available new Segment.
Segment The portion of your total investment in the MSO that is associated with a specific Segment Start
Date. You create a new Segment each time an amount is transferred from the MSO Holding Account into a Segment Account.
Segment Account Value (also referred to in your policy as the Segment Account) The amount of an
Initial Segment Account subsequently reduced by any monthly deductions, policy loans and unpaid loan interest, and distributions from the policy that we deem necessary to continue to qualify the policy as life insurance under applicable tax law,
which are allocated to the Segment. Any such reduction in the Segment Account Value prior to its Segment Maturity Date will result in a corresponding Early Distribution Adjustment, which will cause you to lose principal, and that loss could be
substantial. The Segment Account Value is used in determining policy account values, death benefits, and the net amount at risk for monthly cost of insurance calculations of the policy and the new base policy face amount associated with a requested
change in death benefit option.
For example, if you put $1000 into the MSO
Holding Account, $992.50 would go into a Segment. This amount represents the Initial Segment Account. The Segment Account Value represents the value
in the Segment which gets reduced by any deductions allocated to the Segment, with corresponding EDAs, through the course of the Segment Term. The Segment Distribution Value represents what you
would receive upon surrendering the policy and reflects the EDA upon surrender.
Segment Distribution Value (also referred to in your policy as the Segment Value) This is the Segment Account Value minus the Early Distribution
Adjustment that would apply on a full surrender of that Segment at any time prior to the Segment Maturity Date. Segment Distribution Values will be used in determining policy value available to cover monthly deductions, proportionate surrender
charges for requested face amount reductions, and other distributions; cash surrender values and maximum loan values subject to any applicable base policy surrender charge. They will also be used in determining whether any outstanding policy loan
and accrued loan interest exceeds the policy account value.
Segment Maturity Date The date on which a Segment Term is completed and the Index-Linked Return for that
Segment is applied to a Segment Account Value.
Segment Maturity Value This is the Segment Account Value adjusted by the Index-Linked Return for that
Segment.
Segment Start Date
The Segment Start Date is the day on which a Segment is created.
Segment Term The duration of a Segment. The Segment Term for each Segment begins on its Segment Start Date
and ends on its Segment Maturity Date one year later. We are currently only offering Segment Terms of approximately one year. We may offer different durations in the future.
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2. Fee Table Summary
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MSO Charges |
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When Charge is Deducted |
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Current Non- guaranteed |
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Guaranteed Maximum |
Variable Index Benefit Charge(1) |
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On Segment Start Date |
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0.75% |
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0.75% |
Variable Index Segment Account Charge(1) |
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At the beginning of each policy month during the Segment Term |
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0.65% |
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1.65% |
Total |
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1.40% |
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2.40% |
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Other |
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When Charge
is Deducted |
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Maximum
Spread Percentage that May be Deducted |
Loan Interest
Spread(2) for Amounts of Policy Loans Allocated to MSO Segment |
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On each policy anniversary (or on loan termination, if earlier) |
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Oregon policies: 2% All other policies: 5% |
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Other |
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When Charge
is Deducted |
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Maximum
Amount that May be
Deducted |
Early Distribution Adjustment |
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On surrender or other distribution (including loan) from an MSO Segment prior to its Segment Maturity Date |
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75% of Segment Account Value(3) |
(1) |
These charges represent annual rates. |
(2) |
We charge interest on policy loans but credit you with interest on the amount of the policy account value we hold as collateral for the loan. The spread is the
difference between the interest rate we charge you on a policy loan and the interest rate we credit to you on the amount of your policy account value that we hold as collateral for the loan. |
(3) |
The actual amount of an Early Distribution Adjustment is determined by a formula that depends on, among other things, how the Index has performed since the Segment Start Date, as
discussed in detail under Early Distribution Adjustment later in this Prospectus. The maximum amount of the adjustment would occur if there is a total distribution at a time when the Index has declined to zero. |
This fee table applies specifically to the MSO and should be read in conjunction
with the fee table in the appropriate variable life insurance policy prospectus.
The base variable life insurance policys mortality and expense risk charge will also apply to a Segment Account Value or any amounts
held in the MSO Holding Account. The mortality and expense risk
charge is part of the policy monthly charges. Please see How we deduct policy monthly charges during a Segment Term for more information. Please refer to the appropriate variable life
insurance policy prospectus for more information.
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3. Risk Factors
There are risks
associated with some features of the Market Stabilizer Option®:
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There is a risk of a substantial loss of your principal because you agree to absorb all losses from the portion of any negative Index performance that exceeds
-25%. |
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Your Index-Linked Return is also limited by the Growth Cap Rate, which could cause your Index-Linked Return to be lower than it would otherwise be if you
participated in the full performance of the S&P 500 Price Return index. |
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You will not know what the Growth Cap Rate is before the Segment starts. Therefore, you will not know in advance the upper limit on the return that may be
credited to your investment in a Segment. |
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Negative consequences apply if, for any reason, amounts you have invested in a Segment are removed before the Segment Maturity Date. Specifically, with respect
to the amounts removed early, you would (1) forfeit any positive Index performance and (2) be subject to an Early Distribution Adjustment that exposes you to a risk of potentially substantial loss of principal. This exposure is designed to
be consistent with the treatment of losses on amounts held to the Segment Maturity Date. Even when the Index performance has been positive, the EDA will cause you to lose some principal on an early removal. |
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The following types of removals of account value from a Segment will result in the above-mentioned penalties to you, if the removals occur prior to the Segment
Maturity Date: (a) a surrender of your policy; (b) a loan from your policy; (c) a distribution in order to enable your policy to continue to qualify as life insurance under the federal tax laws; (d) certain distributions in
connection with the exercise of a rider available under your policy; and (e) a charge or unpaid policy loan interest that we deduct from your Segment Account Value because the Charge Reserve Amount and other funds are insufficient to cover them
in their entirety. The Charge Reserve Amount may become insufficient because of policy changes that you request, additional premium payments, investment performance, policy loans, policy partial withdrawals from other investment options besides the
MSO, and any increases we make in current charges for the policy (including for the MSO and optional riders). |
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Certain of the above types of early removals can occur (and thus result in penalties to you) without any action on your part. Examples include (i) certain
distributions we might make from your Segment Account Value to enable your policy to continue to qualify as life insurance and (ii) deductions we might make from your Segment Account Value to pay charges if the Charge Reserve Amount becomes
insufficient. |
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Any applicable EDA will generally be affected by changes in both the volatility and level of the S&P 500 Price Return Index. Any EDA applied to any Segment
Account Value is linked to the estimated value of a put option on the S&P 500 Price Return index as described later in this Prospectus. The estimated value of the put option and, consequently, the amount of the EDA will generally be higher after
increases in market volatility or after the Index experiences a negative return following the Segment Start Date. |
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Once policy account value is in a Segment, you cannot transfer out of a Segment and you can only make withdrawals out of a Segment if you surrender your policy.
This would result in the imposition of any applicable surrender charges and EDA. |
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We may not offer new Segments so there is also the possibility that a Segment may not be available for a Segment Renewal at the end of your Segment Term(s).
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We also reserve the right to substitute an alternative index for the S&P 500 Price Return index, which could reduce the Growth Cap Rates we can offer.
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No company other than MONY America has any legal responsibility to pay amounts that MONY America owes under the policies. An owner should look to the financial
strength of MONY America for its claims-paying ability. |
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You do not have any rights in the securities underlying the index, including, but not limited to, (i) interest payments, (ii) dividend payments or
(iii) voting rights. |
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Your Segment Maturity Value is dependent on the performance of the index on the Segment Maturity Date. |
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Past performance of the index is no indication of future performance. |
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The amounts required to be maintained in the Unloaned GIO for the Charge Reserve Amount during the Segment Term may earn a return that is less than the return
you might have earned on those amounts in another investment option had you not invested in a Segment. |
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You must forgo the additional no lapse guarantee benefit provided by the Extended No Lapse Guarantee Rider if you want to allocate to the MSO. Please see
Extended No Lapse Guarantee Rider later in this Prospectus for more information. |
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If you do not specify a minimum Growth Cap Rate acceptable to you, your account value could transfer into a Segment with a Growth Cap Rate that may be lower than
what you would have chosen. |
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The MSO is not available while the Paid Up Death Benefit Guarantee is in effect. Please see Paid Up Death Benefit Guarantee later in this Prospectus
for more information. |
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4. Description of the Market Stabilizer
Option®
We offer a Market
Stabilizer Option® that provides a rate of return tied to the performance of the Index.
MSO Holding Account
The amount of each transfer or loan repayment you make to the MSO, and the balance of
each premium payment you make to the MSO after any premium charge under your base policy has been deducted, will first be placed in the MSO Holding Account. The MSO Holding Account is a portion of the regular EQ/Money Market variable investment
option that will hold amounts allocated to the MSO until the next available Segment Start Date. The MSO Holding Account has the same rate of return as the EQ/Money Market variable investment option and is subject to the same underlying portfolio
operating expenses as that variable investment option. Please refer to Risk/benefit summary: charges and expenses you will pay of the appropriate variable life insurance policy prospectus for more information regarding such expenses. We
currently plan on offering new Segments on a monthly basis but reserve the right to offer them less frequently or to stop offering them or to suspend offering them temporarily.
Before any account value is transferred into a Segment, you can transfer amounts from
the MSO Holding Account into other investment options available under your policy at any time subject to any transfer restrictions within your policy. You can transfer into and out of the MSO Holding Account at any time up to and including the
Segment Start Date provided your transfer request is received at our administrative office by such date. For example, you can transfer policy account value into the MSO Holding Account on the 3rd Friday of June, 2012. That policy account value would
transfer into the Segment starting on that date, subject to the conditions mentioned earlier. You can also transfer policy account value out of the MSO Holding Account before the end of the business day on the Segment Start Date and that account
value would not be swept into the Segment starting on that date. Please refer to the How to reach us section of the appropriate variable life insurance policy prospectus for more information regarding contacting us and communicating your
instructions. We also have specific forms that we recommend you use for electing the MSO and any MSO transactions.
On the Segment Start Date, account value in the MSO Holding Account, excluding charges and any account value transferred to cover the Charge Reserve Amount, will be transferred into a Segment if all requirements
and limitations are met that are discussed under Segments immediately below.
Segments
Each Segment
will have a Segment Start Date of the 3rd Friday of each calendar month and will have a Segment Maturity Date on the 3rd Fri-day of the same calendar month in the succeeding calendar year.
In order for any amount to be transferred from the MSO Holding Account into a new Segment on a Segment Start Date,
all of the following conditions must be met on that date:
(1) |
The Growth Cap Rate for that Segment must be equal to or greater than your minimum Growth Cap Rate (Please see Growth Cap Rate later in this Prospectus).
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(2) |
There must be sufficient account value available within the Unloaned GIO and the variable investment options including the MSO Holding Account to cover the Charge Reserve Amount
as determined by us on such date (Please see Charge Reserve Amount later in this Prospectus). |
(3) |
The Growth Cap Rate must be greater than the sum of the annual interest rate we are currently crediting on the Unloaned GIO (A), the Variable Index Benefit Charge
rate (B), the annualized monthly Variable Index Segment Account Charge rate (C) and the current annualized monthly mortality and expense risk charge rate (D). The Growth Cap Rate must be greater than
(A+B+C+D). This is to ensure that the highest possible rate of return that could be received in a Segment after these charges (B+C+D) have been considered exceeds the interest crediting rate currently being offered in the
Unloaned GIO. |
(4) |
It must not be necessary, as determined by us on that date, for us to make a distribution from the policy during the Segment Term in order for the policy to continue to qualify
as life insurance under applicable tax law. |
(5) |
The total amount allocated to your Segments under your policy on that date must be less than any limit we may have established. |
If there is sufficient policy account value in the Unloaned GIO to cover the Charge
Reserve Amount, then no transfers from other investment options to the Unloaned GIO will need to be made. If there is insufficient value in the Unloaned GIO to cover the Charge Reserve Amount and we do not receive instructions from you specifying
the investment options from which we should transfer the account value to the Unloaned GIO to meet Charge Reserve Amount requirements at the Segment Start Date, or the transfer instructions are not possible due to insufficient funds, then the
required amount will be transferred proportionately from your variable investment options including the MSO Holding Account.
If after any transfers there would be an insufficient amount in the Unloaned GIO to cover the Charge Reserve Amount or the Growth Cap Rate for the next available
Segment does not qualify per your minimum Growth Cap Rate instructions and the conditions listed above, then your amount in the MSO Holding Account will remain there until we receive further instruction from you. We will mail you a
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Description of the Market Stabilizer
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notice informing you that your account value did or did not transfer from the MSO Holding Account into a Segment. These notices are mailed on or about the next business day after the applicable
Segment Start Date. Please see Requested Face Amount Increases later in this Prospectus for more information about the investment options from which account value could be transferred to the Unloaned GIO on the effective date of a
requested face amount increase.
Segment Maturity
Near the end of the Segment Term, we will notify you between 15 and 45 days before the
Segment Maturity Date that a Segment is about to mature. At that time, you may choose to have all or a part of:
(a) |
the Segment Maturity Value rolled over into the MSO Holding Account |
(b) |
the Segment Maturity Value transferred to the variable investment options available under your policy |
(c) |
the Segment Maturity Value transferred to the Unloaned GIO. |
If we do not receive your transfer instructions before the Segment Maturity Date, your Segment Maturity Value will automatically be rolled over into the MSO Holding
Account for investment in the next available Segment, subject to the conditions listed under Segments above.
However, if we are not offering the MSO at that time, we will transfer the Segment Maturity Value to the investment options available under your policy per your
instructions or to the EQ/Money Market investment option if no instructions are received. Please see Right to Discontinue and Limit Amounts Allocated to the MSO for more information. Although, under the appropriate variable life
insurance policy, we reserve the right to apply a transfer charge up to $25 for each transfer among your investment options there will be no transfer charges for any of the transfers discussed in this section.
Growth Cap Rate
By allocating your account value to the MSO, you can participate in the performance of
the Index up to the applicable Growth Cap Rate that we declare on the Segment Start Date.
Please note that this means you will not know the Growth Cap Rate for a new Segment until after the account value has been transferred from the MSO Holding Account into the Segment and you are not allowed to
transfer the account value out of a Segment before the Segment Maturity Date. Please see Transfers below.
Each Segment is likely to have a different Growth Cap Rate. However, the Growth Cap Rate will never be less than 6%.
Your protection against negative performance for a Segment held until its Segment
Maturity Date is currently -25% (Downside Protection also referred to in your policy as the Segment Loss Absorption Threshold Rate). We reserve the right, for new Segments, to increase your Downside Protection against
negative performance. For example, if we were to adjust the Downside Protection for a Segment to -100%, the Index-Linked Rate of Return for that Segment would not go below 0%. Please note that any increase in the protection against negative
performance would likely result in a lower Growth Cap Rate than
would otherwise apply. We will provide notice between 15 and 45 days before any change in the Downside Protection is effective. Any change would only apply to new Segments started after the
effective date of the change, which (coupled with the 15-45 day notice we will give) will afford you the opportunity to decline to participate in any Segment that reflects a change in the Downside Protection.
Any increases in the Growth Cap Rate above the minimum 6% and increases in Downside
Protection from the minimum -25% are set at the Companys sole discretion. However, the Growth Cap Rate can never be less than 6% and we may only increase your Downside Protection from the current -25%.
As part of your initial instructions in selecting the MSO, you will specify what your
minimum acceptable Growth Cap Rate is for a Segment. You may specify a minimum Growth Cap Rate from 6% to 10%. If the Growth Cap Rate we set, on the Segment Start Date, is below the minimum you specified then the account value will not be
transferred from the MSO Holding Account into that Segment. If you do not specify a minimum Growth Cap Rate then your minimum Growth Cap Rate will be set at 6%. Therefore, if you do not specify a minimum acceptable Growth Cap Rate, account value
could transfer into a Segment with a Growth Cap Rate that may be lower than what you would have chosen. In addition, for account value to transfer into a Segment from the MSO Holding Account, the Growth Cap Rate must be greater than the sum of the
annual interest rate we are currently crediting on the Unloaned GIO (A), the Variable Index Benefit Charge rate (B), the annualized monthly Variable Index Segment Account Charge rate (C) and the current annualized
monthly mortality and expense risk charge rate (D). The Growth Cap Rate must be greater than (A+B+C+D).
For example, assume that the annual interest rate we are currently crediting on the Unloaned GIO were 4.00%, the Variable Index Benefit Charge rate were 0.75%, the
annualized monthly Variable Index Segment Account charge rate were 0.65% and the annualized monthly mortality and expense risk charge rate were 0.85%. Based on those assumptions (which we provide only for illustrative purposes and will not
necessarily correspond to actual rates), because these numbers total 6.25%, no amounts would be transferred into any Segment unless we declare a Growth Cap Rate that is higher than 6.25%. Please see Index-Linked Return later in this
Prospectus for more information.
As another example, you may specify a
minimum Growth Cap Rate of 8%. If we set the Growth Cap Rate at 8% or higher for a Segment then a transfer from the MSO Holding Account will be made into that new Segment provided all other requirements and conditions discussed in this Prospectus
are met. If we set the Growth Cap Rate below 8% then no transfer from the MSO Holding Account will be made into that Segment. No transfer will be made until a Segment Growth Cap Rate equal to or greater than 8% is set and all requirements are met or
you transfer account value out of the MSO Holding Account.
Growth
Cap Rate Available During Initial Year
If you allocate policy
account value to any Segment that commences during the first year that the MSO is available to you under your policy, our current practice is to establish a Growth Cap Rate that is at least
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Description of the Market Stabilizer Option® |
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15%. This 15% minimum Growth Cap Rate would apply to all Segment Terms that commence:
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During the first policy year, if the MSO was available to you as a feature of your policy when the policy was issued; or |
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For in-force policies, during the one year period beginning with the date when the MSO was first made available to you after your policy was issued.
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We may terminate or change this 15% initial year minimum
Growth Cap Rate at any time; but any such change or termination would apply to you only if your policy is issued, or the MSO was first made available to you, after such modification or termination.
After this initial year 15% minimum Growth Cap Rate, the minimum Growth Cap Rate will
revert back to 6%.
Index-Linked Return
We calculate the Index-Linked Return for a Segment by taking the Index-Linked Rate of
Return and multiplying it by the Segment Account Value on the Segment Maturity Date. The Segment Account Value is net of the Variable Index Benefit Charge described below as well as any monthly deductions, policy loans and unpaid interest,
distributions from the policy that we deem necessary to continue to qualify the policy as life insurance under applicable tax law and any corresponding Early Distribution Adjustments. The Segment Account Value does not include the Charge Reserve
Amount described later in this Prospectus.
The following table
demonstrates the Index-Linked Rate of Return and the Segment Maturity Value on the Segment Maturity Date based upon a hypothetical range of returns for the S&P 500 Price Return index. This example assumes a 15% Performance Cap Rate and a $1,000
investment in the MSO Segment.
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Index Performance Rate of the S&P
500 Price Return index |
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Index-Linked Rate of Return |
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Segment Maturity Value |
50% |
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15% |
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$1,150 |
25% |
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15% |
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$1,150 |
10% |
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10% |
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$1,100 |
0% |
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0% |
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$1,000 |
-25% |
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0% |
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$1,000 |
-50% |
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-25% |
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$750 |
-75% |
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-50% |
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$500 |
-100% |
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-75% |
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$250 |
For instance, we may set the Growth Cap
Rate at 15%. Therefore, if the Index has gone up 20% over your Segment Term, you will receive a 15% credit to your Segment Account Value on the Segment Maturity Date. If the Index had gone up by 13% from your Segment Start Date to your Segment
Maturity Date then you would receive a credit of 13% to your Segment Account Value on the Segment Maturity Date.
If the Index had gone down 20% over the Segment Term then you would receive a return of 0% to your Segment Account Value on the Segment Maturity Date.
If the Index had gone down by 30% by your Segment Maturity Date then your Segment Account Value would be reduced by
5% on the Segment Maturity Date. The Downside Protection feature of the MSO will absorb the negative performance of the Index up to -25%.
The minimum Growth Cap Rate is 6%. However, account value will only transfer into a new Segment from the MSO Holding Account if the Growth Cap Rate is equal to or
greater than your specified minimum Growth Cap Rate and meets the conditions discussed earlier in the Growth Cap Rate section.
In those instances where the account value in the MSO Holding Account does not transfer into a new Segment, the account value will remain in the MSO Holding Account
until the next available, qualifying Segment unless you transfer the account value into the Unloaned GIO and/or other investment option available under your policy subject to any conditions and restrictions.
For instance, if we declare the Growth Cap Rate to be 6% and your specified minimum
Growth Cap Rate is 6% but we are currently crediting an annual interest rate on the Unloaned GIO that is greater than or equal to 6% minus the sum of the charges (B+C+D) discussed in the Growth Cap Rate section then your account value will
remain in the MSO Holding Account on the date the new Segment would have started.
As indicated above, you must transfer account value out of the MSO Holding Account into the Unloaned GIO and/or other investment options available under your policy if you do not want to remain in the MSO Holding
Account.
If we declare the Growth Cap Rate to be 6% and your specified
minimum Growth Cap Rate is 6% and if the sum of the charges (B+C+D) discussed in the Growth Cap Rate section plus the annual interest rate on the Unloaned GIO are less than 6% and all requirements are met then the net amount of
the account value in the MSO Holding Account will transfer into a new Segment.
If you specified a minimum Growth Cap Rate of 10% in the above examples then account value would not transfer into a new Segment from the MSO Holding Account because the Growth Cap Rate did not meet your specified
minimum Growth Cap Rate.
The Index-Linked Return is only applied to
amounts that remain in a Segment until the Segment Maturity Date. For example, a surrender of your policy before Segment maturity will eliminate any Index-Linked Return and be subject to a Early Distribution Adjustment.
Change in Index
If the Index is discontinued or if the calculation of the Index is substantially
changed, we reserve the right to substitute an alternative index. We also reserve the right to choose an alternative index at our discretion.
If we were to substitute an alternative index at our discretion, we would provide notice 45 days before making that change. The new index would only apply to new
Segments. Any outstanding Segments would mature on their original Segment Maturity Dates.
With an alternative index, the Downside Protection would remain the same or greater. However, an alternative index may reduce the Growth Cap Rates we can offer. We would attempt to choose a substitute index that
has a similar investment objective and risk profile to the S&P 500 Price Return index.
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Description of the Market Stabilizer
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If the S&P 500 Price Return index
were to be discontinued or substantially changed, thereby affecting the Index-Linked Return of existing Segments, we will mature the Segments based on the most recently available closing value of the Index before it is discontinued or changed. Such
maturity will be as of the date of such most recently available closing value of the Index and we will use that closing value to calculate the Index-linked Return through that date. We would apply the full Index performance to that date subject to
the full Growth Cap Rate and Downside Protection. For example, if the Index was up 12% at the time we matured the Segment and the Growth Cap Rate was 8%, we would credit an 8% return to your Segment Account Value. If the Index was down 30% at the
time we matured the Segment, we would credit a 5% negative return to your Segment Account Value. We would provide notice about maturing the Segment, as soon as practicable and ask for instructions on where to transfer your Segment Maturity Value.
If we are still offering Segments at that time, you can request that the
Segment Maturity Value be invested in a new Segment, in which case we will hold the Segment Maturity Value in the MSO Holding Account for investment in the next available Segment subject to the same terms and conditions discussed above under MSO
Holding Account and Segments.
In the case of any of the types of early
maturities discussed above, there would be no transfer charges or EDA applied and you can allocate the Segment Maturity Value to the investment options available under your policy. Please see Segment Maturity earlier in this Prospectus
for more information. If we continued offering new Segments, then such a change in the Index may cause lower Growth Cap Rates to be offered. However, we would still provide a minimum Growth Cap Rate of 6% and minimum Downside Protection of -25%. We
also reserve the right to not offer new Segments. Please see Right to Discontinue and Limit Amounts Allocated to the MSO later in this Prospectus.
Charges
There is a current percentage charge of 1.40% of any policy account value allocated to each Segment. We reserve the right to increase or decrease the charge although it will never exceed 2.40%. Of this percentage
charge, 0.75% will be deducted on the Segment Start Date from the amount being transferred from the MSO Holding Account into the Segment as an up-front charge (Variable Index Benefit Charge), with the remaining 0.65% annual charge (of
the current Segment Account Value) being deducted from the policy account on a monthly basis during the Segment Term (Variable Index Segment Account Charge).
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MSO Charges |
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Current Non- guaranteed |
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Guaranteed Maximum |
Variable Index Benefit Charge |
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0.75% |
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0.75% |
Variable Index Segment Account Charge |
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0.65% |
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1.65% |
Total |
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1.40% |
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2.40% |
This fee table applies specifically to the MSO and
should be read in conjunction with the fee table in the appropriate variable life
in-
surance policy prospectus. Please also see Loans later in this Prospectus for information regarding the spread you would pay on any policy loan.
The base variable life insurance policys mortality and expense risk charge will
also be applicable to a Segment Account Value or any amounts held in the MSO Holding Account. The mortality and expense risk charge is part of the policy monthly charges. Please see How we deduct policy monthly charges during a Segment
Term for more information. Please refer to the appropriate variable life insurance policy prospectus for more information.
If a Segment is terminated prior to maturity by policy surrender, or reduced prior to maturity by monthly deductions (if other funds are insufficient) or by loans
or a Guideline Premium Force-out as described below, we will refund a proportionate amount of the Variable Index Benefit Charge corresponding to the surrender or reduction and the time remaining until Segment Maturity. The refund will be
administered as part of the Early Distribution Adjustment process as described above. This refund will increase your surrender value or remaining Segment Account Value, as appropriate. Please see Appendix I for an example and further information.
Charge Reserve Amount
If you elect the Market Stabilizer Option®, you are required to maintain a minimum amount of policy account value in the Unloaned GIO to approximately cover the
estimated monthly charges for the policy, (including, but not limited to, the MSO and any optional riders) for the Segment Term. This is the Charge Reserve Amount.
The Charge Reserve Amount will be determined on each Segment Start Date as an amount
projected to be sufficient to cover all of the policys monthly deductions during the Segment Term, assuming at the time such calculation is made that no interest or investment performance is credited to or charged against the policy account
and that no policy changes or additional premium payments are made. The Charge Reserve Amount on other than a Segment Start Date (or the effective date of a requested face amount increase please see Requested Face Amount Increases
below for more information) will be the Charge Reserve Amount determined as of the latest Segment Start Date (or effective date of a face amount increase) reduced by each subsequent monthly deduction during the longest remaining Segment Term,
although it will never be less than zero. This means, for example, that if you are in a Segment (Segment A) and then enter another Segment (Segment B) 6 months later, the Charge Reserve Amount would be re-calculated on the start date of Segment B.
The Charge Reserve Amount would be re-calculated to cover all of the policys monthly deductions during the Segment Terms for both Segments A and B.
When you select the MSO, as part of your initial instructions, you will be asked to specify the investment options from which we should transfer the account value
to the Unloaned GIO to meet Charge Reserve Amount requirements, if necessary. No transfer restrictions apply to amounts that you wish to transfer into the Unloaned GIO to meet the Charge Reserve Amount requirement. If your values in the variable
investment options including the MSO Holding Account and the unloaned portion of our GIO are insufficient to cover the Charge Reserve Amount, no new Segment will be established. Please see Segments
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above for more information regarding the Charge Reserve Amount and how amounts may be transferred to meet this requirement.
Please note that the Charge Reserve Amount may not be sufficient to cover actual
monthly deductions during the Segment Term. Although the Charge Reserve Amount will be re-calculated on each Segment Start Date, and the amount already present in the Unloaned GIO will be supplemented through transfers from your value in the
variable investment options including the MSO Holding Account, if necessary to meet this requirement, actual monthly deductions could vary up or down during the Segment Term due to various factors including but not limited to requested policy
changes, additional premium pay- ments, investment performance, loans, policy partial withdrawals from other investment options besides the MSO, and any changes we might make to current policy charges.
How we deduct policy monthly charges during a Segment Term
Under your base variable life insurance policy, monthly deductions are allocated to
the variable investment options and the Unloaned GIO according to deduction allocation percentages specified by you or based on a proportionate allocation should any of the individual investment option values be insufficient.
However, if the Market Stabilizer Option® is elected, on the Segment Start Date, deduction allocation percentages will be changed so that 100% of monthly deductions
will be taken from the Charge Reserve Amount and then any remaining value in the Unloaned GIO, if the Charge Reserve Amount is depleted, during the Segment Term. In addition, if the value in the Unloaned GIO is ever insufficient to cover monthly
deductions during the Segment Term, the base policys proportionate allocation procedure will be modified as follows:
1. |
The first step will be to take the remaining portion of the deductions proportionately from the values in the variable investment options, including any value in the MSO Holding
Account but excluding any Segment Account Values. |
2. |
If the Unloaned GIO and variable investment options, including any value in the MSO Holding Account, are insufficient to cover deductions in their entirety, the remaining amount
will be allocated to the individual Segments proportionately, based on the current Segment Distribution Values. |
3. |
Any portion of a monthly deduction allocated to an individual Segment will generate a corresponding Early Distribution Adjustment of the Segment Account Value.
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The effect of those procedures is that account value will be
taken out of a Segment to pay a monthly deduction (and an EDA therefore applied) only if there is no remaining account value in any other investment options, as listed in 1. and 2. above.
In addition, your base variable life insurance policy will lapse if your net policy account value (please refer to your base variable
life insurance policy prospectus for a further explanation of this term) is not enough to pay your policys monthly charges when due (unless one of the available guarantees against termination is applicable). If you have amounts allocated to
MSO Segments, the Segment Distribution Value will be used in place of the Segment Account Value in calculating the net policy account value.
These modifications will apply during any period in which a Segment exists and has not yet reached its Segment
Maturity Date.
Early Distribution Adjustment
Overview
Before a Segment matures, if you surrender your policy, take a loan from a Segment or
if we should find it necessary to make deductions for monthly charges or other distributions from a Segment, we will apply an Early Distribution Adjustment.
The application of the EDA is based on your agreement (under the terms of the MSO) to be exposed to the risk that, at the Segment Maturity Date, the Index will have
fallen by more than 25%. The EDA uses what we refer to as a Put Option Factor to estimate the market value, at the time of an early distribution, of the risk that you would suffer a loss if your Segment were continued (without taking the early
distribution) until its Segment Maturity Date. By charging you with a deduction equal to that estimated value, the EDA provides a treatment for an early distribution that is designed to be consistent with how distributions at the end of a Segment
are treated when the Index has declined over the course of that Segment.
In the event of an early distribution, even if the Index has experienced positive performance since the Segment Start Date, the EDA will cause you to lose principal
through the application of the Put Option Factor and that loss may be substantial. That is because there is always some risk that the Index would have declined by the Segment Maturity Date such that you would suffer a loss if the Segment were
continued (without taking any early distribution) until that time. However, the other component of the EDA is the proportionate refund of the Variable Index Benefit Charge (discussed below under Important Considerations) which is a
positive adjustment to you. As a result, the overall impact of the EDA is to reduce your Segment Account Value and your other policy values except in the limited circumstances where the proportionate refund is greater than your loss from the Put
Option Factor.
We determine the EDA and the Put Option Factor by formulas
that are described below under Additional Detail.
Important Considerations
When any surrender, loan, charge deduction or other distribution is made from a Segment before its Segment Maturity Date:
1. |
You will forfeit any positive Index performance with respect to these amounts. Instead, any of these pre- Segment Maturity Date distributions will cause an EDA to be applied
that will usually result in a reduction in your values. Therefore, you should give careful consideration before taking any such early loan or surrender, or allowing the value in your other investment options to fall so low that we must make any
monthly deduction from a Segment; and |
2. |
The EDA will be applied, which means that: |
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a. |
If the Index has fallen more than 25% since the Segment Start Date, the EDA would generally have the effect of charging you for (i) the full amount
of that loss below 25%, plus |
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(ii) an additional amount for the risk that the Index might decline further by the Segment Maturity Date. (Please see example III in Appendix I for further information.)
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b. |
If the Index has fallen since the Segment Start Date, but by less than 25%, the EDA would charge you for the risk that, by the Segment Maturity Date, the index might have
declined further to a point more than 25% below what it was at the Segment Start Date. (Please see example I in Appendix I for further information.) This charge would generally be less than the amount by which the Index had fallen from the Segment
Start Date through the date we apply the EDA. It also would generally be less than it would be under the circumstances in 2a. above. |
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c. |
If the Index has risen since the Segment Start Date, the EDA would not credit you with any of such favorable investment performance. Instead, the EDA would charge you for
the risk that, by the Segment Maturity Date, the index might have declined to a point more than 25% below what it was at the Segment Start Date. (Please see examples II and IV in Appendix I for further information.) This charge would generally be
less than it would be under the circumstances in 2a. and 2b. above. |
In addition to the consequences discussed in 2. above, the EDA also has the effect of pro rating the Variable Index Benefit Charge. As discussed further below, this means that you in effect would receive a
proportionate refund of this charge for the portion of the Segment Term that follows the early surrender, loan, policy distribution, or charge deduction that caused us to apply the EDA. In limited circumstances, this refund may cause the total EDA
to be positive.
For the reasons discussed above, the Early Distribution
Adjustment to the Segment Account Value will usually reduce the amount you would receive when you surrender your policy prior to a Segment Maturity Date. For loans and charge deductions, the Early Distribution Adjustment would usually further reduce
the account value remaining in the Segment Account Value and therefore decrease the Segment Maturity Value.
Additional Detail
For purposes
of determining the Segment Distribution Value prior to a Segment Maturity Date, the EDA is:
(a) |
the Put Option Factor multiplied by the Segment Account Value |
-minus-
(b) |
a pro rata portion of the 0.75% Variable Index Benefit Charge attributable to the Segment Account Value. (Please see Charges earlier in this Prospectus for an
explanation of this charge.) |
The Put Option Factor
multiplied by the Segment Account Value represents, at any time during the Segment Term, the estimated market value of your potential exposure to negative S&P 500 Price Return index performance that is worse than -25%. The Put Option Factor, on
any date, represents the estimated value on that date of a hypothetical put option (as described below) on the Index having a notional value equal to $1 and strike price at Segment Maturity equal to
$0.75 ($1 plus the Downside Protection which is currently -25%). The strike price of the option ($0.75) is the difference between a 100% loss in the S&P 500 Price Return index at Segment
Maturity and the 25% loss at Segment Maturity that would be absorbed by the Downside Protection feature of the MSO (please see Growth Cap Rate earlier in this Prospectus for an explanation of the Downside Protection.) In a put option on
an index, the seller will pay the buyer, at the maturity of the option, the difference between the strike price which was set at issue and the underlying index closing price, in the event that the closing price is below the strike
price. Prior to the maturity of the put option, its value generally will have an inverse relationship with the index. The notional value can be described as the price of the underlying index at inception of the contract. Using a notional value of $1
facilitates computation of the percentage change in the Index and the put option factor.
The Company will utilize a fair market value methodology to determine the Put Option Factor.
For this purpose, we use the Black Scholes formula for valuing a European put option on the S&P 500 Price Return index, assuming a continuous dividend yield,
with inputs that are consistent with current market prices.
The inputs to
the Black Scholes Model include:
(1) |
Implied Volatility of the Index This input varies with (i) how much time remains until the Maturity Date of the Segment from which an early distribution is being
made, which is determined by using an expiration date for the hypothetical put option that corresponds to that time remaining and (ii) the relationship between the strike price of the hypothetical put option and the level of the S&P 500
Price Return index at the time of the early distribution. This relationship is referred to as the moneyness of the hypothetical put option described above, and is calculated as the ratio of the $0.75 strike price of that hypothetical put
option to what the level of the S&P 500 Price Return index would be at the time of the early distribution if the Index had been $1 at the beginning of the Segment. Direct market data for these inputs for any given early distribution are
generally not available, because put options on the Index that actually trade in the market have specific maturity dates and moneyness values that are unlikely to correspond precisely to the Maturity Date and moneyness of the hypothetical put option
that we use for purposes of calculating the EDA. |
Accordingly, we use the following method to estimate the implied volatility of the index. We receive daily quotes of implied volatility from banks using the same Black Scholes model described above and based on the
market prices for certain S&P 500 Price Return put options. Specifically, implied volatility quotes are obtained for put options with the closest maturities above and below the actual time remaining in the Segment at the time of the early
distribution and, for each maturity, for those put options having the closest moneyness those put options having the closest moneyness value above and below the actual moneyness of the hypothetical put option described above, given the level of the
S&P 500 Price Return index at the time of the early distribution. In calculating the Put Option
Fac-
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Description of the Market Stabilizer Option® |
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tor, we will derive a volatility input for your Segments time to maturity and strike price by linearly interpolating between the implied volatility quotes that are based on the actual
adjacent maturities and moneyness values described above, as follows:
|
(a) |
We first determine the implied volatility of a put option that has the same moneyness as the hypothetical put option but with the closest available time to maturity shorter than
your Segments remaining time to maturity. This volatility is derived by linearly interpolating between the implied volatilities of put options having the times to maturity that are above and below the moneyness value of the hypothetical put
option. |
|
(b) |
We then determine the implied volatility of a put option that has the same moneyness as the hypothetical put option but with the closest available time to maturity longer than
your Segments remaining time to maturity. This volatility is derived by linearly interpolating between the implied volatilities of put options having the times to maturity that are above and below the moneyness value of the hypothetical put
option. |
|
(c) |
The volatility input for your Segments time to maturity will then be determined by linearly interpolating between the volatilities derived in steps (a) and (b).
|
(2) |
LIBOR Rate Key duration LIBOR rates will be retrieved from a recognized financial reporting vendor. LIBOR rates will be retrieved for maturities adjacent to the actual
time remaining in the Segment at the time of the early distribution. We will use linear interpolation to derive the exact remaining duration rate needed as the input. |
(3) |
Index Dividend Yield On a daily basis we will get the projected annual dividend yield across the entire Index. This value is a widely used assumption and is readily
available from recognized financial reporting vendors. |
In
general, the Put Option Factor has an inverse relationship with the S&P 500 Price Return index. In addition to the factors discussed above, the Put Option Factor is also influenced by time to Segment Maturity. We determine Put Option Factors at
the end of each business day. Generally, a business day is any day the New York Stock Exchange is open for trading. If any inputs to the Black Scholes formula are unavailable on a business day, we would use the value of the input from the most
recent preceding business day. The Put Option Factor that applies to a transaction or valuation made on a business day will be the Factor for that day. The Put Option Factor that applies to a transaction or valuation made on a non-business day will
be the Factor for the next business day.
Appendix I at the end of this
Prospectus provides examples of how the Early Distribution Adjustment is calculated.
Transfers
There is no
charge to transfer into and out of the MSO Holding Account and you can make a transfer at any time to or from the investment options available under your policy subject to any transfer restrictions within your policy. You may not transfer into the
MSO
Holding Account while the Extended No Lapse Guarantee Rider is in effect with your policy. You must terminate the Extended No Lapse Guarantee Rider before electing MSO. Any restrictions
applicable to transfers between the MSO Holding Account and such investment options would be the same transfer restrictions applicable to transfers between the investment options available under your policy. However, once policy account value has
been swept from the MSO Holding Account into a Segment, transfers into or out of that Segment before its Segment Maturity Date will not be permitted. Please note that while a Segment is in effect, before the Segment Maturity Date, the amount
available for transfers from the Unloaned GIO will be limited to avoid reducing the Unloaned GIO below the remaining Charge Reserve Amount.
Thus the amount available for transfers from the Unloaned GIO will not be greater than any excess of the Unloaned GIO over the remaining Charge Reserve Amount.
Withdrawals
Once policy account value has been swept from the MSO Holding Account into a Segment,
you will not be allowed to withdraw the account value out of a Segment before the Segment Maturity Date unless you surrender your policy. You may also take a loan; please see Loans later in this Prospectus for more information. Any
account value taken out of a Segment before the Segment Maturity Date will generate an Early Distribution Adjustment. Please note that while a Segment is in effect, before the Segment Maturity Date, the amount available for withdrawals from the
Unloaned GIO will be limited to avoid reducing the Unloaned GIO below the Charge Reserve Amount. Thus, if there is any policy account value in a Segment, the amount which would otherwise be available to you for a partial withdrawal of net cash
surrender value will be reduced, by the amount (if any) by which the sum of your Segment Distribution Values and the Charge Reserve Amount exceeds the policy surrender charge.
If the policy owner does not indicate or if we cannot allocate the withdrawal as
requested due to insufficient funds, we will allocate the withdrawal proportionately from your values in the Unloaned GIO (excluding the Charge Reserve Amount) and your values in the variable investment options including the MSO Holding Account.
Cash Surrender Value, Net Cash Surrender Value and Loan Value
If you have amounts allocated to MSO Segments, the Segment
Distribution Values will be used in place of the Segment Account Values in calculating the amount of any cash surrender value, net cash surrender value and maximum amount available for loans (please refer to your base variable life insurance policy
prospectus for a further explanation of these latter terms). This means an EDA would apply to those amounts. Please see Appendix I for more information.
Guideline Premium Force-outs
For policies that use the Guideline Premium Test, a new Segment will not be established or created if we determine, when we process your election, that a
distribution from the policy will be required to maintain its qualification as life insurance under federal tax law at any time during the Segment Term.
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Description of the Market Stabilizer
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However, during a Segment Term if a distribution becomes necessary under the force-out rules of Section 7702 of
the Internal Revenue Code, it will be deducted proportionately from the values in the Unloaned GIO (excluding the Charge Reserve Amount) and in any variable investment option, including any value in the MSO Holding Account but excluding any Segment
Account Values.
If the Unloaned GIO (excluding the Charge Reserve Amount)
and variable investment options, including any value in the MSO Holding Account, are insufficient to cover the force-out in its entirety, any remaining amount required to be forced out will be taken from the individual Segments proportionately,
based on the current Segment Distribution Values.
Any portion of a
force-out distribution taken from an individual Segment will generate a corresponding Early Distribution Adjustment of the Segment Account Value.
If the Unloaned GIO (excluding the remaining Charge Reserve Amount), together with the variable investment options including any value in the MSO Holding Account,
and the Segment Distribution Values, is still insufficient to cover the force-out in its entirety, the remaining amount of the force-out will be allocated to the Unloaned GIO and reduce or eliminate any remaining Charge Reserve Amount under the
Unloaned GIO.
Loans
Please refer to the appropriate variable life insurance policy prospectus for
information regarding policy loan provisions.
You may specify how your
loan is to be allocated among the MSO, the variable investment options and the Unloaned GIO. Any portion of a requested loan allocated to the MSO will be redeemed from the individual Segments and the MSO Holding Account proportionately, based on the
value of the MSO Holding Account and the current Segment Distribution Values of each Segment. Any portion allocated to an individual Segment will generate a corresponding Early Distribution Adjustment of the Segment Account Value and be subject to a
higher guaranteed maximum loan spread ([2%] for policies with a contract state of Oregon and [5%] for other policies).
If you do not specify or if we cannot allocate the loan according to your specifications, we will allocate the loan proportionately from your values in the Unloaned
GIO (excluding the Charge Reserve Amount) and your values in the variable investment options including the MSO Holding Account.
If the Unloaned GIO (excluding the remaining amount of the Charge Reserve Amount), together with the variable investment options including any value in the MSO
Holding Account, are insufficient to cover the loan in its entirety, the remaining amount of the loan will be allocated to the individual Segments proportionately, based on current Segment Distribution Values.
Any portion of a loan allocated to an individual Segment will generate a
corresponding Early Distribution Adjustment of the Segment Account Value and be subject to a higher guaranteed maximum loan spread.
If the Unloaned GIO (excluding the remaining amount of the Charge Reserve Amount), together with the variable investment options
in-
cluding any value in the MSO Holding Account and the Segment Distribution Values, are still insufficient to cover the loan in its entirety, the remaining amount of the loan will be allocated to
the Unloaned GIO and will reduce or eliminate the remaining Charge Reserve Amount.
Loan interest is due on each policy anniversary. If the interest is not paid when due, it will be added to your outstanding loan and allocated on the same basis as monthly deductions. See How we deduct policy
monthly charges during a Segment Term.
Whether or not any Segment is
in effect and has not yet reached its Segment Maturity Date, loan repayments will first reduce any loaned amounts that are subject to the higher maximum loan interest spread. Loan repayments will first be used to restore any amounts that, before
being designated as loan collateral, had been in the Unloaned GIO. Any portion of an additional loan repayment allocated to the MSO at the policy owners direction (or according to premium allocation percentages) will be transferred to the MSO
Holding Account to await the next available Segment Start Date and will be subject to the same conditions described earlier in this Prospectus.
Paid Up Death Benefit Guarantee
Please note that the MSO is not available while the Paid Up Death Benefit Guarantee is in effect. The Paid Up Death Benefit Guarantee provides an opportunity to
lock in all or a portion of your policys death benefit, provided certain conditions are met. Please see the appropriate variable life insurance policy prospectus for more information.
Extended No Lapse Guarantee Rider
Please note that the MSO is not available while the Extended No Lapse Guarantee Rider is in effect. You must terminate the Extended No Lapse Guarantee Rider before
electing MSO. The Extended No Lapse Guarantee guarantees that your policy will not terminate for a certain number of years, provided certain conditions are met. Please see the appropriate variable life insurance policy prospectus for more
information.
Requested Face Amount Increases
Please refer to the appropriate variable life insurance policy prospectus for
conditions that will apply for a requested face amount increase.
If you
wish to make a face amount increase during a Segment Term, the MSO requires that a minimum amount of policy account value be available to be transferred into the Unloaned GIO (if not already present in the Unloaned GIO), and that the balance after
deduction of monthly charges remain there during the longest remaining Segment Term subject to any loans as described above. This minimum amount will be any amount necessary to supplement the existing Charge Reserve Amount so as to be projected to
be sufficient to cover all monthly deductions during the longest remaining Segment Term. Such amount will be determined assuming at the time such calculation is made that no interest or investment performance is credited to or charged against the
policy account value, and that no further policy changes or additional premium payments are made.
Any necessary transfers to supplement the amount already present in the Unloaned GIO in order to meet this minimum requirement will
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Description of the Market Stabilizer Option® |
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take effect on the effective date of the face amount increase. There will be no charge for this transfer. Any transfer from the variable investment options including the MSO Holding Account will
be made in accordance with your directions. Your transfer instructions will be requested as part of the process for requesting the face amount increase. If the requested allocation is not possible due to insufficient funds, the required amount will
be transferred proportionately from the variable investment options, as well as the MSO Holding Account. If such transfers are not possible due to insufficient funds, your requested face amount increase will be declined.
Your right to cancel within a certain number of days
Please refer to the appropriate variable insurance policy prospectus for more
information regarding your right to cancel your policy within a certain number of days and the Investment Start Date, which is the business day your investment first begins to earn a return for you. However, the policy prospectus provisions that
address when amounts will be allocated to the investment options do not apply to amounts allocated to the MSO.
In those states that require us to return your premium without adjustment for investment performance within a certain number of days, we will initially put all amounts which you have allocated to the MSO into our
EQ/Money Market investment option. If we have received all necessary requirements for your policy as of the day your policy is issued, on the first business day following the later of the twentieth day after your policy is issued or the Investment
Start Date (30th day in most states if your policy is issued as the result of a replacement), we will re-allocate those amounts to the MSO Holding Account where they will remain until the next available Segment Start Date, at which time such amounts
will be transferred to a new Segment of the MSO subject to meeting the conditions described in this Prospectus. However, if we have not received all necessary requirements for your policy as of the day your policy is issued, we will re-allocate
those amounts to the MSO Holding Account on the 20th day (longer if your policy is issued as the result of a replacement) following the date we receive all necessary requirements to put your policy in force at our Administrative Office. Your
financial professional can provide further information on what requirements may apply to your policy.
In all other states, any amounts allocated to the MSO will first be allocated to the MSO Holding Account where they will remain for 20 days (unless the policy is issued as the result of a replacement, in which
case amounts in the MSO Holding Account will remain there for 30 days (45 days in PA)). Thereafter, such amounts will be transferred to a new Segment of the MSO on the next available Segment Start Date, subject to meeting the conditions described in
this Prospectus.
Right to Discontinue and Limit Amounts Allocated to
the MSO
We reserve the right to restrict or terminate future
allocations to the MSO at any time. If this right were ever to be exercised by us, all Segments outstanding as of the effective date of the restriction would be guaranteed to continue uninterrupted until the Segment Maturity Date. As each such
Segment matured, the balance would be reallocated to the Unloaned GIO and/or variable investment options per
your instructions, or to the EQ/Money Market investment option if no instructions are received. We may also temporarily suspend offering Segments at any time and for any reason including
emergency conditions as determined by the Securities and Exchange Commission. We also reserve the right to establish a maximum amount for any single policy that can be allocated to the MSO.
About Separate Account LIO
Amounts allocated to the MSO are held in a non-unitized separate account we have established under the Commissioner of Insurance in the State of
Arizona. We own the assets of the separate account, as well as any favorable investment performance on those assets. You do not participate in the performance of the assets held in this separate account. We may, subject to state law that applies,
transfer all assets allocated to the separate account to our general account. These assets are also available to the insurers general creditors and an owner should look to the financial strength of MONY America for its claims-paying ability.
We guarantee all benefits relating to your value in the MSO, regardless of whether assets supporting the MSO are held in a separate account or our general account.
Our current plans are to invest separate account assets in fixed-income obligations,
including corporate bonds, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, and government and agency issues. Futures, options and interest rate swaps may be used for hedging purposes.
Although the above generally describes our plans for investing the assets supporting our obligations under MSO, we are not obligated to
invest those assets according to any particular plan except as we may be required to by state insurance laws.
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Description of the Market Stabilizer
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5. Distribution of the policies
The MSO is only available only under certain variable life insurance policies issued by MONY America. Extensive information about the
arrangements for distributing the variable life insurance policies, including sales compensation, is included under Distribution of the Policies in the appropriate variable life insurance policy prospectus and in the statement of
additional information that relates to that prospectus. All of that information applies regardless of whether you choose to use the MSO, and there is no additional plan of distribution or sales compensation with respect to the MSO. There is also no
change to the information regarding the fact that the principal underwriter(s) is an affiliate of MONY America or an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of AXA Equitable.
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Distribution of the policies |
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6. Incorporation of certain documents
by reference
This prospectus does not contain all
the information set forth in the registration statement, certain portions of which have been omitted pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC). The SEC allows us to
incorporate by reference information that we file with the SEC into this prospectus, which means that incorporated documents are considered part of this prospectus. We can disclose important information to you by referring you to those
documents. This prospectus incorporates by reference our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. Please refer to Form 10-K for a description of the Company and its business, including financial statements. The Company
intends to send Owners account statements and other such legally-required reports. The Company does not anticipate such reports will include periodic financial statements or information concerning the Company.
The SEC adopted rule 12h-7 under the Securities Exchange Act of
1934, as amended (the Exchange Act), which became effective May 1, 2009. Rule 12h-7 exempts an insurance company from filing reports under the Exchange Act when the insurance company issues certain types of insurance products that are
registered under the Securities Act of 1933 and such products are regulated under state law. The units of the Market Stabilizer
Option® described in this prospectus fall within the exemption provided under rule 12h-7. The Company is hereby providing
notice that it is electing to rely on the exemption provided under rule 12h-7 effective May 1, 2012 or as soon as possible thereafter, and will be suspending filing reports under the Exchange Act.
The Company files reports and other information with the SEC, as
required by law. You may read and copy this information at the SECs public reference facilities at Room 1580, 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549, or by accessing the SECs website at www.sec.gov. The public may obtain information on
the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. Under the Securities Act of 1933, the Company has filed with the SEC a registration statement relating to the Market Stabilizer Option® (the Registration Statement). This prospectus has been filed as part of the Registration Statement and
does not contain all of the information set forth in the Registration Statement.
Any statement contained in a document that is, or becomes part of this prospectus, will be considered changed or replaced for purposes of this prospectus if a statement contained in this prospectus changes or is
replaced. Any statement that is considered to be a part of this prospectus because of its incorporation will be considered changed or replaced for the purpose of this prospectus if a statement contained in any other subsequently filed document that
is considered to be part of this prospectus changes or replaces that statement. After that, only the statement that is changed or replaced will be considered to be part of this prospectus.
We filed the Registration Statement and our Exchange Act documents and reports electronically according to EDGAR
under CIK No. 0000835357. The SEC maintains a Web site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding registrants that file electronically with the SEC. The address of the site is www.sec.gov.
Upon written or oral request, we will provide, free of charge, to each person to whom
this prospectus is delivered, a copy of any or all of the documents considered to be part of this prospectus because they are incorporated herein. In accordance with SEC rules, we will provide copies of any exhibits specifically incorporated by
reference into the text of the Exchange Act reports (but not any other exhibits). Requests for documents should be directed to MONY Life Insurance Company of America, 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10104, Attention: Corporate
Secretary (telephone: (212) 554-1234). You can access our website at www.axa-equitable.com.
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
The financial statements of MONY America at December 31, 2009 and 2008 and for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2009 are incorporated by reference herein in reliance on the reports of
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP provides independent audit services and certain other non-audit services to MONY America as permitted by the applicable SEC independence
rules, and as disclosed in MONY Americas Form 10-K. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLPs address is 300 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10017.
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Incorporation of certain documents by reference |
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Appendix I: Early Distribution Adjustment
Examples
Hypothetical Early Distribution Adjustment Examples
A. Examples of Early Distribution Adjustment to determine Segment Distribution Value
The following examples represent a policy owner who has invested in both Segments 1
and 2. They are meant to show how much value is available to a policy owner when there is a full surrender of the policy by the policy owner or other full distribution from these Segments as well as the impact of Early Distribution Adjustments on
these Segments. The date of such hypothetical surrender or distribution is the Valuation Date specified below and, on that date, the examples assume 9 months remain until Segment 1s maturity date and 3 months remain until Segment 2s
maturity date.
Explanation of formulas and derivation of Put Option
Factors is provided in notes (1)-(3) below.
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Division of MSO into Segments |
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Segment
1 (Distribution after 3 months) |
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Segment
2 (Distribution after 9 months) |
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Total |
Start Date |
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3rd Friday of July, Calendar Year Y |
|
3rd Friday of January, Calendar Year Y |
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Maturity Date |
|
3rd Friday of July, Calendar Year Y+1 |
|
3rd Friday of January, Calendar Year Y+1 |
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Segment Term |
|
1 year |
|
1 year |
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Valuation Date |
|
3rd Friday of October, Calendar Year Y |
|
3rd Friday of October, Calendar Year Y |
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Initial Segment Account |
|
1,000 |
|
1,000 |
|
2,000 |
Variable Index Benefit Charge |
|
0.75% |
|
0.75% |
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Remaining Segment Term |
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9 months / 12 months = 9/12 = 0.75 |
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3 months / 12 months = 3/12 = 0.25 |
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Example I The Index is down 10% at the time
of the Early Distribution Adjustment
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Change in Index Value |
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10% |
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10% |
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Total |
Put Option Factor |
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0.020673 |
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0.003425 |
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Early Distribution Adjustment |
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Put Option Component:
1000 * 0.020673 = 20.67 Charge Refund Component:
1000 * 0.75 * (0.0075 / (1 0.0075)) = 5.67 Total
EDA: 20.67 5.67 = 15.00 |
|
Put Option Component:
1000 * 0.003425 = 3.43 Charge Refund Component:
1000 * 0.25 * (0.0075 / (1 0.0075)) = 1.89 Total
EDA: 3.43 1.89 = 1.54 |
|
16.54 |
Segment Distribution Value |
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1000 15.00 = 985.00 |
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1000 1.54 = 998.46 |
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1,983.46 |
% change in principal due to the Put Option Component |
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-2.067% |
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-0.343% |
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% change in principal due to the Charge Refund Component |
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0.567% |
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0.189% |
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Total % change in Segment Account Value due to the EDA |
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-1.50% |
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-0.15% |
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Appendix I: Early Distribution Adjustment Examples |
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Example II The Index is up 10% at the time of the Early Distribution Adjustment
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Change in Index Value |
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10% |
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10% |
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Total |
Put Option
Factor |
|
0.003229 |
|
0.000037 |
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|
Put Option Component:
1000 * 0.003229 = 3.23 Charge Refund Component:
1000 * 0.75 * (0.0075 / (1 - 0.0075)) = 5.67 Total
EDA: 3.23 5.67 = 2.44 |
|
Put Option Component:
1000 * 0.000037 = 0.04 Charge Refund Component:
1000 * 0.25 * (0.0075 / (1 - 0.0075)) = 1.89 Total
EDA: 0.04 1.89 = 1.85 |
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Early Distribution Adjustment |
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|
4.29 |
Segment
Distribution Value |
|
1000 (2.44) = 1002.44 |
|
1000
(1.85) = 1001.85 |
|
2,004.29 |
% change in principal due to the Put Option Component |
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-0.323% |
|
-.004% |
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% change in principal due to the Charge Refund Component |
|
0.567% |
|
0.189% |
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Total % change in Segment Account Value due to the EDA |
|
0.244% |
|
0.185% |
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Example III The Index is down 40% at the time
of the Early Distribution Adjustment
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Change in Index Value |
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40% |
|
40% |
|
Total |
Put Option
Factor |
|
0.163397 |
|
0.152132 |
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Early
Distribution Adjustment |
|
Put Option Component:
1000 * 0.163397 = 163.40 Charge Refund Component:
1000 * 0.75 * (0.0075 / (1 0.0075)) =
5.67 Total EDA: 163.40 5.67 = 157.73 |
|
Put Option Component:
1000 * 0.152132 = 152.13 Charge Refund Component:
1000 * 0.25 * (0.0075 / (1 0.0075)) =
1.89 Total EDA: 152.13 1.89 = 150.24 |
|
307.97 |
Segment Distribution Value |
|
1000
157.73 = 842.27 |
|
1000
150.24 = 849.76 |
|
1,692.03 |
% change in principal due to the Put Option Component |
|
-16.34% |
|
-15.213% |
|
|
% change in principal due to the Charge Refund Component |
|
0.567% |
|
0.189% |
|
|
Total % change in Segment Account Value due to the EDA |
|
-15.773% |
|
-15.024% |
|
|
|
|
|
A-2 |
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Appendix I: Early Distribution Adjustment Examples |
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Example IV The Index is up 40% at the time of the Early Distribution Adjustment
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Change in Index Value |
|
40% |
|
40% |
|
Total |
Put Option Factor |
|
0.000140 |
|
0.000000 |
|
|
Early
Distribution Adjustment |
|
Put Option Component:
1000 * 0.000140 = 0.14 Charge Refund Component:
1000 * 0.75 * (0.0075 / (1 0.0075)) = 5.67 Total
EDA: 0.14 5.67 = 5.53 |
|
Put Option Component:
1000 * .000000 = 0.00 Charge Refund Component:
1000 * 0.25 * (0.0075 / (1 0.0075)) = 1.89 Total
EDA: 0.00 1.89 = 1.89 |
|
7.42 |
Segment Distribution Value |
|
1000 (5.53) = 1005.53 |
|
1000 (1.89) = 1001.89 |
|
2,007.42 |
% change in principal due to the Put Option Component |
|
-0.014% |
|
0% |
|
|
% change in principal due to the Charge Refund Component |
|
0.567% |
|
0.189% |
|
|
Total % change in Segment Account Value due to the EDA |
|
0.553% |
|
0.189% |
|
|
(1) |
Early Distribution Adjustment = (Segment Account Value) x [ (Put Option Factor) (Number of days between Valuation Date and Maturity Date) /( Number of days between
Start Date and Maturity Date) x ( 0.0075 / (1 0.0075) )]. The denominator of the charge refund component of this formula, i.e., (1 0.0075), is an adjustment that is necessary in order for the pro rata refund of
the Variable Index Benefit Charge to be based on the gross amount on which that charge was paid by the policy owner on the Segment Start Date. |
(2) |
Segment Distribution Value = (Segment Account Value) (Early Distribution Adjustment). |
(3) |
Derivation of Put Option Factor: In practice, the Put Option Factor will be calculated based on a Black Scholes model, with input values which are consistent with current market
prices. We will utilize implied volatility quotes the standard measure used by the market to quote option prices as an input to a Black Scholes model in order to derive the estimated market prices. The input values to the Black Scholes
model that have been utilized to generate the hypothetical examples above are as follows: (1) Implied volatility 25%; (2) Libor rate corresponding to remainder of segment term 1.09% annually; (3) Index dividend yield
2% annually. |
B. Example of an Early Distribution
Adjustment corresponding to a loan allocated to Segments, for the Segment Distribution Values
and Segment Account Values
listed above for a change in Index Value of 40%
This example is
meant to show the effect on a policy if, rather than a full distribution, you took a loan in the circumstances outlined in Example III above when the Index is down 40%. Thus the policy owner is assumed to have an initial Segment Account Value of
1,000 in each of Segment 1 and Segment 2. It is also assumed that 9 months remain until Segment 1s maturity date and 3 months remain until Segment 2s maturity date.
Loan Amount: 750
Loan Date: 3rd Friday of October, Calendar Year Y
Explanation of formulas is provided in notes (a)-(d) below.
The Index is down 40% at the time of the Early Distribution Adjustment
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Change in Index Value |
|
40% |
|
40% |
|
Total |
Segment Account
Value before Loan |
|
1,000.00 |
|
1,000.00 |
|
2,000.00 |
Loan Allocation(a) |
|
373.34 |
|
376.66 |
|
750.00 |
Early Distribution
Adjustment(b) |
|
69.91 |
|
66.59 |
|
136.55 |
Segment Account
Value after Loan(c) |
|
556.73 |
|
556.72 |
|
1,113.45 |
Segment
Distribution Value after Loan(d) |
|
468.93 |
|
473.10 |
|
942.03 |
|
|
|
|
|
Appendix I: Early Distribution Adjustment Examples |
|
|
A-3 |
|
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(a) |
When more than one Segment is being used, we would allocate the loan between the Segments proportionately to the Segment Distribution Value in each. We take the Segment
Distribution Value of each Segment (shown in Example III above) and divide it by the total Segment Distribution Values for Segments 1 and 2. This gives us the proportionate amount of the loan that should be allocated to each Segment. For example,
for Segment 1, that would be 750 x (842.27/1,692.03) = 373.34 |
(b) |
This is the Early Distribution Adjustment that would be deducted from each Segment, as a result of the loan, based on the amount of the loan that is allocated to that Segment. It
is equal to a percentage of the Early Distribution Adjustment that would apply if a full distribution from the Segment were being made, rather than only a partial distribution. This percentage would be 44.32545% for Segment 1 in this example: i.e.,
373.34 (the amount of reduction in Segment Distribution Value as a result of the loan) divided by 842.27 (the Segment Distribution Value before the loan). Thus, the Early Distribution Adjustment that is deducted for Segment 1 due to the loan in this
example would be 69.91 (i.e., 44.32545% of the 157.73 Early Distribution adjustment shown in Example III above that would apply if a full rather than only a partial distribution from the Segment were being made). Of this 69.91, 72.43 would be
attributable to the Put Option Component and -2.51 would be attributable to the Charge Refund Component (which are calculated by applying 44.32545% to the 163.40 Put Option Component and the 5.67 Charge Refund Component shown in Example III).
Similarly, the Early Distribution Adjustment deducted as a result of the loan from Segment 2 would be 66.59, of which 67.43 would be attributable to the Put Option Component and -0.84 would be attributable to the Charge Refund Component.
|
(c) |
The Segment Account Value after Loan represents the Segment Account Value before Loan minus the Loan Allocation and the Early Distribution Adjustment. For example, for Segment 1,
that would be 1,000 373.34 69.93 = 556.73. |
(d) |
Segment Distribution Value after Loan represents the amount a policy owner would receive from a Segment if they decided to surrender their policy immediately after this loan
transaction. We would take the pre-loan Segment Distribution Value (shown in Example III above) and subtract the Loan Allocation. For example, for Segment 1, that would be 842.27 373.34 = 468.93. |
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|
A-4 |
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Appendix I: Early Distribution Adjustment Examples |