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Certain Nontraditional Long-Duration Contracts
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011
Certain Nontraditional Long-Duration Contracts [Abstract]  
Certain Nontraditional Long-Duration Contracts
6. CERTAIN NONTRADITIONAL LONG-DURATION CONTRACTS

The Company has issued traditional variable annuity contracts through its separate accounts for which investment income and investment gains and losses accrue directly to, and investment risk is borne by, the contractholder. The Company has also issued variable annuity contracts with general and separate account options where the Company contractually guarantees to the contractholder a return of no less than (1) total deposits made to the contract less any partial withdrawals ("return of net deposits"), (2) total deposits made to the contract less any partial withdrawals plus a minimum return ("minimum return"), or (3) the highest contract value on a specified date minus any withdrawals ("contract value"). These guarantees include benefits that are payable in the event of death, annuitization or at specified dates during the accumulation period and withdrawal and income benefits payable during specified periods. The Company has also issued annuity contracts with market value adjusted investment options ("MVAs"), which provide for a return of principal plus a fixed-rate of return if held to maturity, or, alternatively, a "market adjusted value" if surrendered prior to maturity or if funds are allocated to other investment options. The market value adjustment may result in a gain or loss to the Company, depending on crediting rates or an indexed rate at surrender, as applicable.

The assets supporting the variable portion of both traditional variable annuities and certain variable contracts with guarantees are carried at fair value and reported as "Separate account assets" with an equivalent amount reported as "Separate account liabilities." Amounts assessed against the contractholders for mortality, administration, and other services are included within revenue in "Policy charges and fee income" and changes in liabilities for minimum guarantees are generally included in "Policyholders' benefits". In 2011, 2010 and 2009, there were no gains or losses on transfers of assets from the general account to a separate account.

For those guarantees of benefits that are payable in the event of death, the net amount at risk is generally defined as the current guaranteed minimum death benefit in excess of the current account balance at the balance sheet date. The Company's primary risk exposures for these contracts relates to actual deviations from, or changes to, the assumptions used in the original pricing of these products, including equity market returns, contract lapses and contractholder mortality.

For guarantees of benefits that are payable at annuitization, the net amount at risk is generally defined as the present value of the minimum guaranteed annuity payments available to the contractholder determined in accordance with the terms of the contract in excess of the current account balance. The Company's primary risk exposures for these contracts relates to actual deviations from, or changes to, the assumptions used in the original pricing of these products, including equity market returns, timing of annuitization, contract lapses and contractholder mortality.

For guarantees of benefits that are payable at withdrawal, the net amount at risk is generally defined as the present value of the minimum guaranteed withdrawal payments available to the contractholder determined in accordance with the terms of the contract in excess of the current account balance. For guarantees of accumulation balances, the net amount at risk is generally defined as the guaranteed minimum accumulation balance minus the current account balance. The Company's primary risk exposures for these contracts relates to actual deviations from, or changes to, the assumptions used in the original pricing of these products, including equity market returns, interest rates, market volatility or contractholder behavior.

The Company's contracts with guarantees may offer more than one type of guarantee in each contract; therefore, the amounts listed may not be mutually exclusive. The liabilities related to the net amount at risk are reflected within "Future policy benefits." As of December 31, 2011 and 2010, the Company had the following guarantees associated with its contracts, by product and guarantee type:

 

     December 31, 2011      December 31, 2010  
     In the Event of
Death
     At Annuitization/
Accumulation (1)
     In the Event of
Death
     At Annuitization/
Accumulation (1)
 
            (in thousands)         

Variable Annuity Contracts

        

Return of net deposits

           

Account value

   $ 39,351,144         N/A       $ 43,815,528         N/A   

Net amount at risk

   $ 1,082,996         N/A       $ 976,802         N/A   

Average attained age of contractholders

     62 years         N/A         62 years         N/A   

Minimum return or contract value

           

Account value

   $ 8,237,416       $ 38,565,164       $ 9,218,554       $ 42,097,269   

Net amount at risk

   $ 1,673,400       $ 2,870,646       $ 1,238,415       $ 1,568,201   

Average attained age of contractholders

     64 years         62 years         63 years         61 years   

Average period remaining until expected annuitization

     N/A         1 year         N/A         2 years   

 

(1) Includes income and withdrawal benefits described herein.

 

     December 31, 2011      December 31, 2010  
     Unadjusted Value      Adjusted Value      Unadjusted Value      Adjusted Value  
     (in thousands)  

Variable Annuity Contracts

  

Market value adjusted annuities

           

Account value

   $ 3,011,739      $ 3,099,583      $ 3,111,568      $ 3,314,734  

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

 

     December 31, 2011      December 31, 2010  
     (in thousands)  

Equity funds

   $ 20,693,077      $ 27,923,398  

Bond funds

     18,290,156        15,396,934  

Money market funds

     3,707,408        4,682,136  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 42,690,641      $ 48,002,468  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

In addition to the above mentioned amounts invested in separate account investment options, $4.9 billion and $5.0 billion of account balances of variable annuity contracts with guarantees, inclusive of contracts with MVA features, were invested in general account investment options as of December 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Liabilities for Guarantee Benefits

The table below summarizes the changes in general account liabilities for guarantees on variable contracts. The liabilities for guaranteed minimum death benefits ("GMDB") and guaranteed minimum income benefits ("GMIB") are included in "Future policy benefits" and the related changes in the liabilities are included in "Policyholders' benefits." Guaranteed minimum accumulation benefits ("GMAB"), guaranteed minimum withdrawal benefits ("GMWB"), and guaranteed minimum income and withdrawal benefits ("GMIWB") features are considered to be bifurcated embedded derivatives and are recorded at fair value. Changes in the fair value of these derivatives, including changes in the Company's own risk of non-performance, along with any fees attributed or payments made relating to the derivative are recorded in "Realized investment gains (losses), net." See Note 10 for additional information regarding the methodology used in determining the fair value of these embedded derivatives. The liabilities for GMAB, GMWB, and GMIWB are included in "Future policy benefits." As discussed below, the Company and a reinsurance affiliate maintains a portfolio of derivative investments that serve as a partial hedge of the risks associated with these products, for which the changes in fair value are also recorded in "Realized investment gains (losses), net." This portfolio of derivative investments does not qualify for hedge accounting treatment under U.S. GAAP.

 

     GMDB     GMAB/GMWB/
GMIWB
    GMIB     Totals  
           Variable Annuity        
     (in thousands)  

Beginning Balance as of December 31, 2008

   $ 279,950     $ 2,111,241     $ 11,626     $ 2,402,817  

Incurred guarantee benefits - Impact of assumption and experience unlocking and true-ups (1)

     (87,363     —          (7,146     (94,509

Incurred guarantee benefits (1)

     74,684       (2,100,367     2,603       (2,023,080

Paid guarantee benefits

     (86,076     —          —          (86,076
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Beginning Balance as of December 31, 2009

     181,195       10,874       7,083       199,152  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Incurred guarantee benefits - Impact of assumption and experience unlocking and true-ups (1)

     (56,363     —          1,238       (55,125

Incurred guarantee benefits (1)

     52,890       153,408       5,056       211,354  

Paid guarantee benefits

     (47,232     —          —          (47,232
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Beginning Balance as of December 31, 2010

     130,490       164,282       13,377       308,149  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Incurred guarantee benefits - Impact of assumption and experience unlocking and true-ups (1)

     23,078       —          570       23,648  

Incurred guarantee benefits (1)

     60,428       1,619,312       504       1,680,244  

Paid guarantee benefits

     (36,278     —          (74     (36,352
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance as of December 31, 2011

   $ 177,718     $ 1,783,594     $ 14,377     $ 1,975,689  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

(1) Incurred guarantee benefits include the portion of assessments established as additions to reserve as well as changes in estimates affecting the reserves. Also includes changes in the fair value of features considered to be derivatives.

The GMDB liability is determined each period end by estimating the accumulated value of a portion of the total assessments to date less the accumulated value of the death benefits in excess of the account balance. The GMIB liability is determined each period by estimating the accumulated value of a portion of the total assessments to date less the accumulated value of the projected income benefits in excess of the account balance. The portion of assessments used is chosen such that, at issue (or, in the case of acquired contracts, at the acquisition date,) the present value of expected death benefits or expected income benefits in excess of the projected account balance and the portion of the present value of total expected assessments over the lifetime of the contracts are equal. The Company regularly evaluates the estimates used and adjusts the GMDB and GMIB liability balances with an associated charge or credit to earnings, if actual experience or other evidence suggests that earlier assumptions should be revised.

The GMAB features provide the contractholder with a guaranteed return of initial account value or an enhanced value if applicable. The most significant of the Company's GMAB features are the guaranteed return option ("GRO") features, which includes an asset transfer feature that reduces the Company's exposure to these guarantees. The GMAB liability is calculated as the present value of future expected payments to customers less the present value of assessed rider fees attributable to the embedded derivative feature.

The GMWB features provide the contractholder with a guaranteed remaining balance if the account value is reduced to zero through a combination of market declines and withdrawals. The guaranteed remaining balance is generally equal to the protected value under the contract, which is initially established as the greater of the account value or cumulative deposits when withdrawals commence, less cumulative withdrawals. The contractholder also has the option, after a specified time period, to reset the guaranteed remaining balance to the then-current account value, if greater. The GMWB liability is calculated as the present value of future expected payments to customers less the present value of assessed rider fees attributable to the embedded derivative feature.

The GMIWB features, taken collectively, provide a contractholder two optional methods to receive guaranteed minimum payments over time, a "withdrawal" option or an "income" option. The withdrawal option (which is available under only one of the Company's GMIWBs) guarantees that a contract holder can withdraw an amount each year until the cumulative withdrawals reach a total guaranteed balance. The income option (which varies among the Company's GMIWBs) in general guarantees the contract holder the ability to withdraw an amount each year for life (or for joint lives, in the case of any spousal version of the benefit) where such amount is equal to a percentage of a protected value under the benefit. The contractholder also has the potential to increase this annual amount, based on certain subsequent increases in account value that may occur. Certain GMIWB features include an asset transfer feature that reduces the Company's exposure to these guarantees. The GMIWB liability is calculated as the present value of future expected payments to customers less the present value of assessed rider fees attributable to the embedded derivative feature.

As part of its risk management strategy, the Company limits its exposure to these risks through a combination of product design elements, such as an asset transfer feature, and affiliated reinsurance agreements. The asset transfer feature included in the design of certain optional living benefits, transfers assets between certain variable investments selected by the annuity contractholder and, depending on the benefit feature, a fixed rate account in the general account or a bond portfolio within the separate accounts. The transfers are based on the static mathematical formula, used with the particular optional benefit, which considers a number of factors, including the impact of investment performance of the contractholder total account value. In general, negative investment performance may result in transfers to a fixed-rate account in the general account or a bond portfolio within the separate accounts, and positive investment performance may result in transfers back to contractholder-selected variable investments. Other product design elements utilized for certain products to manage these risks include asset allocation restrictions and minimum issuance age requirements. For risk management purposes the Company segregates the variable annuity living benefit features into those that include the asset transfer feature including certain GMIWB riders and certain GMAB riders that feature the GRO policyholder benefits; and those that do not include the asset transfer feature, including certain legacy GMIWB, GMWB, GMAB and GMIB riders. Living benefit riders that include the asset transfer feature also include GMDB riders, and as such the GMDB risk in these riders also benefits from the asset transfer feature.

Sales Inducements

The Company defers sales inducements and amortizes them over the life of the policy using the same methodology and assumptions used to amortize deferred policy acquisition costs. These deferred sales inducements are included in "Other Assets" in the Company's Statements of Financial Position. The Company offers various types of sales inducements. These inducements include: (1) a bonus whereby the policyholder's initial account balance is increased by an amount equal to a specified percentage of the customer's initial deposit and (2) additional credits after a certain number of years a contract is held. Changes in deferred sales inducements, reported as "Interest credited to policyholders' account balances", are as follows:

 

     Sales Inducements  
     (in thousands)  

Beginning Balance as of December 31, 2008

   $ 726,314  

Capitalization

     293,388  

Amortization - Impact of assumption and experience unlocking and true-ups

     6,938  

Amortization - All other

     (153,163

Change in unrealized gains/losses

     (71,601
  

 

 

 

Balance as of December 31, 2009

     801,876  
  

 

 

 

Capitalization

     182,823  

Amortization - Impact of assumption and experience unlocking and true-ups

     32,445  

Amortization - All other

     (232,542

Change in unrealized gains/losses

     11,905  
  

 

 

 

Balance as of December 31, 2010

     796,507  
  

 

 

 

Capitalization

     68,370  

Amortization - Impact of assumption and experience unlocking and true-ups

     (56,736

Amortization - All other

     (378,682

Change in unrealized gains/losses

     147  

Other (1)

     16,235  
  

 

 

 

Balance as of December 31, 2011

   $ 445,841  
  

 

 

 

 

(1) Balance sheet reclassification between DAC and DSI relating to refinement in methodology for allocating DAC/DSI balances for cohorts with both DAC and DSI persistency credits. Refer to Footnote 4 for impact to DAC.