The Accumulator® Series
Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company
Issued through: Separate Account No. 49
Contract Classes: Accumulator®, Accumulator® PlusSM, Accumulator® EliteSM and Accumulator® SelectSM
Summary Prospectus for Existing Investors
May 1, 2021
This summary prospectus (the “Summary Prospectus”) summarizes key features of the contract. The statutory prospectus (the “Prospectus”) and Statement of Additional Information ("SAI") for the contract contain more information about the contract’s features, benefits, and risks. The Prospectus and SAI are incorporated by reference into this updating summary prospectus. You can find the current Prospectus, SAI and other information about the contract online at www.equitable.com/ICSR#EQH146643. You can also obtain this information at no cost by calling 1-877-522-5035, by sending an email request to EquitableFunds@dfinsolutions.com, or by calling your financial intermediary.
The Accumulator® Series are variable and fixed flexible premium deferred annuity contracts. This Summary Prospectus only describes Accumulator®, Accumulator® PlusSM, Accumulator® EliteSM and Accumulator® SelectSM. The contracts provide for the accumulation of retirement savings and for income. The contracts offer income and death benefit protection as well. They also offer a number of payout options.
Additional information about certain investment products, including variable annuities, has been prepared by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s staff and is available at Investor.gov.
Electronic delivery of shareholder reports (pursuant to Rule 30e-3). Beginning on January 1, 2021, as permitted by regulations adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, paper copies of the shareholder reports for portfolio companies available under your contract will no longer be sent by mail, unless you specifically request paper copies of the reports from the Company or from your financial intermediary. Instead, the reports will be made available on a website, and you will be notified by mail each time a report is posted and provided with a website link to access the report.
If you already elected to receive shareholder reports electronically, you will not be affected by this change and you need not take any action. You may elect to receive shareholder reports and other communications electronically from the Company by calling 1-800-789-7771 or by calling your financial intermediary.
You may elect to receive all future reports in paper free of charge. You can inform the Company that you wish to continue receiving paper copies of your shareholder reports by calling 1-877-522-5035, by sending an email request to EquitableFunds@dfinsolutions.com, or by calling your financial intermediary. Your election to receive reports in paper will apply to all portfolio companies available under your contract.
Updated Information About Your Contract
The information in this Summary Prospectus is a summary of certain contract features that have changed since the Prospectus dated May 1, 2020. This may not reflect all of the changes that have occurred since you entered into your contract.
INVESTMENT OPTIONS
Investment Options Added to the Contract
| New Investment Options |
| 1290 VT SmartBeta Equity |
| EQ/Aggressive Growth Strategy |
Portfolio Company and Variable Investment Option Mergers
| Acquired Investment Option (no longer available for investment) |
Acquiring Investment Option | |||
| EQ/Franklin Templeton Allocation Managed Volatility | merged into | EQ/Aggressive Growth Strategy | ||
| EQ/Templeton Global Equity Managed Volatility | merged into | 1290 VT SmartBeta Equity | ||
OTHER
Company Name Changes
| Old Name | New Name | |
| AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company | Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company | |
| AXA Advisors, LLC | Equitable Advisors, LLC | |
| AXA Distributors, LLC | Equitable Distributors, LLC | |
| AXA Equitable Funds Management Group, LLC | Equitable Investment Management Group, LLC | |
| AXA Equitable Network, LLC | Equitable Network, LLC | |
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Important Information You Should Consider About the Contract
| FEES AND EXPENSES | ||
| Charges for Early Withdrawals | Each series of the contract provides for different withdrawal charge periods and percentages.
Accumulator®—If you surrender your contract, apply your cash value to a non-life contingent annuity payment option, or withdraw money from Accumulator® of the contract within 7 years following your last contribution, you will be assessed a withdrawal charge of up to 7% of contributions withdrawn. For example, if you make a withdrawal in the first year, you could pay a withdrawal charge of up to $7,000 on a $100,000 investment.
Accumulator® PlusSM—If you surrender your contract, apply your cash value to a non-life contingent annuity payment option, or withdraw money from Accumulator® PlusSM of the contract within 8 years following your last contribution, you will be assessed a withdrawal charge of up to 8% of contributions withdrawn. For example, if you make a withdrawal in the first year, you could pay a withdrawal charge of up to $8,000 on a $100,000 investment.
Accumulator® EliteSM—If you surrender your contract, apply your cash value to a non-life contingent annuity payment option, or withdraw money from Accumulator® EliteSM of the contract within 4 years following your last contribution, you will be assessed a withdrawal charge of up to 8% of contributions withdrawn. For example, if you make a withdrawal in the first year, you could pay a withdrawal charge of up to $8,000 on a $100,000 investment.
Accumulator® SelectSM—No withdrawal charge.
If amounts are withdrawn from a fixed maturity option before the maturity date, there will be a market value adjustment which could greatly reduce the value in your fixed maturity option. See the FMO prospectus for more information.
For additional information about charges for surrenders and early withdrawals see “Withdrawal charge” in “Charges and expenses” in the Prospectus. | |
| Transaction Charges | In addition to withdrawal charges, you may also be charged for other transactions (for special requests such as wire transfers, express mail and duplicate contracts).
For additional information about transaction charges see “Charges that the Company deducts” in “Charges and expenses” in the Prospectus. | |
| Ongoing Fees and Expenses (annual charges) | Each series of the contract provides for different ongoing fees and expenses. The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay each year under the contract, depending on the options you choose. Please refer to your contract specifications page for information about the specific fees you will pay each year based on the options you have elected | |
| Annual Fee | Minimum | Maximum | ||||
| Base Contract (varies by contract series)(1) | 1.25 | % | 1.70% | |||
| Investment options (Portfolio fees and expenses)(2) | 0.58 | % | 1.40% | |||
| Optional benefits available for an additional charge (for a single optional benefit, if elected)(3) | 0.25 | % | 0.60% | |||
| (1) Expressed as an annual percent of daily net assets in the variable investment options. (2) Expressed as an annual percentage of daily net assets in the Portfolio. This range is for the year ended December 31, 2020 and could change from year to year. (3) Expressed as an annual percentage of the applicable benefit base.
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| Because your contract is customizable, the choices you make affect how much you will pay. To help you understand the cost of owning your contract, the following table shows the lowest and highest cost you could pay each year, based on current charges. This estimate assumes no credits and that you do not take withdrawals from the contract or make any other transactions, which could add withdrawal charges that substantially increase costs. |
| Lowest Annual Cost $1,978 |
Highest Annual Cost $4,094 | |
| Assumes: • Investment of $100,000 • 5% annual appreciation • Least expensive combination of contract series and Portfolio fees and expenses • No optional benefits • No sales charges • No additional contributions, transfers or withdrawals |
Assumes: • Investment of $100,000 • 5% annual appreciation • Most expensive combination of contract series (Accumulator® PlusSM), optional benefits (7% GWB and Greater of 6% Roll-Up to age 85 or Annual Ratchet to age 85 death benefit) and Portfolio fees and expenses • No sales charges • No additional contributions, transfers or withdrawals | |
| For additional information about ongoing fees and expenses see “Fee Table” in the Prospectus. | ||
| RISKS | ||
| Risk of Loss | The contract is subject to the risk of loss. You could lose some or all of your account value.
For additional information about the risk of loss see “Principal risks of investing in the Contract” in the Prospectus. | |
| Not a Short-Term Investment | The contract is not a short-term investment and is not appropriate for an investor who needs ready access to cash because the contract is designed to provide for the accumulation of retirement savings and income on a long-term basis. As such, you should not use the contract as a short-term investment or savings vehicle. A withdrawal charge may apply in certain circumstances and any withdrawals may also be subject to federal and state income taxes and tax penalties.
For additional information about the investment profile of the contract see “Fee Table” in the Prospectus. | |
| Risks Associated with Investment Options | An investment in the contract is subject to the risk of poor investment performance and can vary depending on the performance of the variable investment options available under the contract, (e.g. the Portfolios). Each investment option, including the guaranteed interest option and fixed maturity option, has its own unique risks. You should review the investment options including the fixed maturity options available under the contract before making an investment decision.
For additional information about the risks associated with investment options see “Variable investment options”, “Guaranteed interest option” and “Portfolios of the Trust” in “Purchasing the Contract” in the Prospectus, as well as, “Risk factors” and “Fixed maturity options” in the FMO prospectus. See also Appendix “Portfolio Companies available under the contract” in the Prospectus. | |
| Insurance Company Risks | The Company is solely responsible to the contract owner for the contract’s account value and the Guaranteed benefits. The general obligations, including the guaranteed interest option and fixed maturity options, and any Guaranteed benefits under the contract are supported by our general account and are subject to our claims paying ability. An owner should look solely to our financial strength for our claims-paying ability. More information about the Company, including our financial strength ratings, may be obtained at www.equitable.com/selling-life-insurance/financial-strength-ratings.
For additional information about insurance company risks see “About the general account” in “More information” in the Prospectus. | |
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| RESTRICTIONS | ||
| Investments | We may, at any time, exercise our rights to limit or terminate your contributions, allocations and transfers to any of the variable investment options and to limit the number of variable investment options which you may select. Such rights include, among others, combining any two or more variable investment options and transferring account value from any variable investment option to another variable investment option.
Credits under Accumulator® PlusSM contracts may be recaptured upon free look, annuitization, and death.
There are restrictions regarding investment options if Guaranteed benefits are elected, limits on contributions and transfers into and out of the guaranteed interest option, and restrictions or limitations with Special DCA programs. See “Allocating your contributions” in “Purchasing the Contract” and “Transferring your account value” in “Transferring your money among investment options” in the Prospectus for more information.
For more information see “About Separate Account No. 49” in “More information” in the Prospectus.
For additional information about the investment options, including information regarding volatility management strategies and techniques, see “Transfer charge” in “Charges and expenses” and “Portfolios of the Trust” in “Purchasing the Contract” in the Prospectus. See also the FMO prospectus. | |
| Optional Benefits | At any time, we have the right to limit or terminate your contributions, allocations and transfers to any of the variable investment options. If you have one or more Guaranteed benefits (which are also known as optional benefits) and we exercise our right to discontinue the acceptance of, and/or place additional limitations on, contributions to the contract, you may no longer be able to fund your Guaranteed benefit(s).
Investment options are limited if Guaranteed benefits are elected. Withdrawals that exceed limits specified by the terms of an optional benefit may affect the availability of the benefit by reducing the benefit by an amount greater than the value withdrawn, and/or could terminate the benefit.
For additional information about the optional benefits see “How you can purchase and contribute to your contract” in “Purchasing the Contract” in the Prospectus. See also “Death Benefits” and “Living Benefits” in “Benefits available under the contract” in the Prospectus. | |
| TAXES | ||
| Tax Implications | You should consult with a tax professional to determine the tax implications of an investment in, and payments received under, the contract. There is no additional tax benefit to you if the contract is purchased through a tax-qualified plan or individual retirement account (IRA). Withdrawals will be subject to ordinary income tax and may be subject to tax penalties. Generally, you are not taxed until you make a withdrawal from the contract.
For additional information about tax implications see “Tax information” in the prospectus. | |
| CONFLICTS OF INTEREST | ||
| Investment Professional Compensation | Some financial professionals may receive compensation for selling the contract to you, both in the form of commissions or in the form of contribution-based compensation. Financial professionals may also receive additional compensation for enhanced marketing opportunities and other services (commonly referred to as “marketing allowances”). This conflict of interest may influence the financial professional to recommend this contract over another investment.
For additional information about compensation to financial professionals see “Distribution of the contracts” in “More information” in the Prospectus. | |
| Exchanges | Some financial professionals may have a financial incentive to offer a new contract in place of the one you already own. You should only exchange your contract if you determine, after comparing the features, fees, and risks of both contracts, that it is preferable to purchase the new contract rather than continue to own your existing contract.
For additional information about exchanges see “Charge for third-party transfer or exchange” in “Charges and expenses” in the Prospectus. | |
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Appendix: Portfolio Companies available under the contract
The following is a list of Portfolio Companies available under the contract. More information about the Portfolio Companies is available in the prospectuses for the Portfolio Companies, which may be amended from time to time and can be found online at www.equitable.com/ICSR#EQH146643. You can request this information at no cost by calling 1-877-522-5035 or by sending an email request to EquitableFunds@dfinsolutions.com.
The current expenses and performance information below reflects fee and expenses of the Portfolios, but do not reflect the other fees and expenses that your contract may charge. Expenses would be higher and performance would be lower if these other charges were included. Each Portfolio’s past performance is not necessarily an indication of future performance.
|
Average Annual Total Returns (as of 12/31/2020) |
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| TYPE | Portfolio Company - Investment Adviser; Sub-Adviser(s), as applicable |
Current Expenses |
1 year | 5 year | 10 year | |||||||||||||
| Speciality | 1290 VT GAMCO Mergers & Acquisitions - Equitable Investment Management Group, LLC (“EIMG”); GAMCO Asset Management, Inc. |
1.30% | ^ | -1.33% | 0.66% | 3.12% | ||||||||||||
| Equity | 1290 VT GAMCO Small Company Value - EIMG; GAMCO Asset Management, Inc. |
1.07% | 9.51% | 4.48% | 10.29% | |||||||||||||
| Equity | 1290 VT SmartBeta Equity - EIMG; AXA Rosenberg Investment Management LLC |
1.10% | ^ | 10.95% | 9.78% | 11.26% | ||||||||||||
| Equity | 1290 VT Socially Responsible - EIMG; BlackRock Investment Management, LLC |
0.93% | 20.01% | 14.33% | 14.62% | |||||||||||||
| Equity | EQ/400 Managed Volatility† - EiMG; AllianceBernstein L.P.; BlackRock Investment Management, LLC |
0.85% | ^ | 13.47% | 7.53% | 11.40% | ||||||||||||
| Equity | EQ/2000 Managed Volatility† - EiMG; AllianceBernstein L.P.; BlackRock Investment Management, LLC |
0.84% | 19.31% | 9.35% | 12.40% | |||||||||||||
| Fixed Income | EQ/AB Short Duration Government Bond - EIMG; AllianceBernstein L.P. |
0.80% | ^ | 0.94% | 1.56% | 1.01% | ||||||||||||
| Equity | EQ/AB Small Cap Growth - EIMG; AllianceBernstein L.P. |
0.92% | 36.05% | 17.01% | 17.21% | |||||||||||||
| Asset Allocation | EQ/Aggressive Allocation Allocation† - EIMG |
1.16% | 15.41% | 9.45% | 11.17% | |||||||||||||
| Asset Allocation | EQ/Aggressive Growth Strategy† - EIMG |
1.03% | 14.52% | 9.28% | 10.50% | |||||||||||||
| Asset Allocation | EQ/Balanced Strategy(1)† - EIMG |
0.99% | 11.20% | 7.24% | 7.50% | |||||||||||||
| Equity | EQ/ClearBridge Select Equity Managed Volatility† - EIMG; ClearBridge Investments, LLC, BlackRock Investment Management, LLC |
1.06% | ^ | 36.15% | 17.81% | 16.14% | ||||||||||||
| Equity | EQ/Common Stock Index - EIMG; AllianceBernstein L.P. |
0.68% | ^ | 19.76% | 13.68% | 14.61% | ||||||||||||
| Asset Allocation | EQ/Conservative Allocation† - EIMG |
1.00% | ^ | 7.35% | 4.90% | 4.51% | ||||||||||||
| Asset Allocation | EQ/Conservative-Plus Allocation† - EIMG |
1.09% | 9.96% | 6.33% | 6.51% | |||||||||||||
| Fixed Income | EQ/Core Bond Index - EIMG; SSGA Funds Management, Inc. |
0.65% | ^ | 6.09% | 4.17% | 3.06% | ||||||||||||
| Equity | EQ/Equity 500 Index - EIMG; AllianceBernstein, L.P. |
0.55% | ^ | 17.76% | 13.53% | 14.52% | ||||||||||||
| Asset Allocation | EQ/Franklin Balanced Managed Volatility(2)† - EIMG; BlackRock Investment Management, LLC; Franklin Advisers, Inc. |
1.05% | ^ | 5.69% | 5.64% | 7.46% | ||||||||||||
| Equity | EQ/Franklin Small Cap Value Managed Volatility† - EIMG; BlackRock Investment Management, LLC; Franklin Mutual Advisers, LLC |
1.06% | ^ | 12.31% | 7.10% | 11.38% | ||||||||||||
| Equity | EQ/Global Equity Managed Volatility† - EIMG; BlackRock Investment Management, LLC; Invesco Advisers, Inc.; Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc. |
1.10% | ^ | 14.22% | 7.93% | 10.62% | ||||||||||||
| Fixed Income | EQ/Intermediate Government Bond - EIMG; SSGA Funds Management, Inc. |
0.65% | ^ | 4.34% | 3.08% | 2.00% | ||||||||||||
| Equity | EQ/International Core Managed Volatility† - EIMG; Federated Global Investment Management Corp., Massachusetts Financial Services Company d/b/a MFS Investment Management, EARNEST Partners, LLC, BlackRock Investment Management, LLC |
1.06% | 8.45% | 4.18% | 7.44% | |||||||||||||
| Equity | EQ/International Equity Index - EIMG; AllianceBernstein L.P. |
0.79% | ^ | 3.89% | 2.47% | 6.26% | ||||||||||||
| Equity | EQ/International Value Managed Volatility† - EIMG; BlackRock Investment Management, LLC; Harris Associates L.P. |
1.06% | 4.20% | 2.18% | 5.81% | |||||||||||||
| Equity | EQ/Janus Enterprise - EIMG; Janus Capital Management LLC |
1.05% | ^ | 18.81% | 16.77% | 14.27% | ||||||||||||
| Equity | EQ/Large Cap Core Managed Volatility† - EIMG; BlackRock Investment Management, LLC; Capital International, Inc.; GQG Partners LLC; Vaughn Nelson Investment Management |
0.91% | 16.36% | 12.27% | 13.63% | |||||||||||||
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|
Average Annual Total Returns (as of 12/31/2020) |
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| TYPE | Portfolio Company - Investment Adviser; Sub-Adviser(s), as applicable |
Current Expenses |
1 year | 5 year | 10 year | |||||||||||||
| Equity | EQ/Large Cap Growth Index - EIMG; AllianceBernstein L.P. |
0.73% | 37.36% | 22.03% | 20.08% | |||||||||||||
| Equity | EQ/Large Cap Growth Managed Volatility† - EIMG; BlackRock Investment Management, LLC; HS Management Partners, LLC; Loomis, Sayles & Company, L.P.; Polen Capital Management, LLC; T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. |
0.86% | 31.99% | 19.65% | 18.48% | |||||||||||||
| Equity | EQ/Large Cap Value Index - EIMG; AllianceBernstein L.P. |
0.75% | 2.23% | 5.39% | 9.02% | |||||||||||||
| Equity | EQ/Large Cap Value Managed Volatility† - EIMG; AllianceBernstein L.P., BlackRock Investment Management. LLC, Massachusetts Financial Services Company d/b/a MFS Investment Management |
0.86% | 5.70% | 6.10% | 9.42% | |||||||||||||
| Equity | EQ/Mid Cap Index - EIMG; AllianceBernstein L.P. |
0.72% | 12.84% | 7.71% | 11.59% | |||||||||||||
| Equity | EQ/Mid Cap Value Managed Volatility† - EIMG; Diamond Hill Capital Management, Inc., Wellington Management Company LLP, BlackRock Investment Management, LLC |
0.97% | 4.99% | 4.83% | 8.77% | |||||||||||||
| Asset Allocation | EQ/Moderate Allocation† - EIMG |
1.08% | 11.27% | 6.98% | 7.45% | |||||||||||||
| Asset Allocation | EQ/Moderate-Plus Allocation† - EIMG |
1.12% | 14.13% | 8.47% | 9.48% | |||||||||||||
| Money Market | EQ/Money Market(3) - EIMG; BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. |
0.71% | 0.20% | 1.00% | 0.68% | |||||||||||||
| Fixed Income | EQ/Quality Bond Plus - EIMG; AllianceBernstein L.P.; Pacific Investment Management Company LLC |
0.80% | 5.98% | 3.90% | 2.84% | |||||||||||||
| Equity | EQ/Small Company Index - EIMG; AllianceBernstein L.P. |
0.64% | 19.73% | 9.95% | 12.81% | |||||||||||||
| Speciality | Multimanager Technology - EIMG; Allianz Global Investors U.S. LLC, AllianceBernstein L.P., Wellington Management Company LLP |
1.25% | ^ | 53.26% | 29.30% | 26.79% | ||||||||||||
| † | EQ Managed Volatility Portfolios that include the EQ volatility management strategy as part of their investment objective and/or principal investment strategy, and the EQ/affiliated Fund of Fund Portfolios that invest in Portfolios that use the EQ volatility management strategy, are identified in the chart by a “†“. See “Portfolios of the Trusts” in “Purchasing the Contract” for more information regarding volatility management. |
| D | Certain other affiliated Portfolios, as well as unaffiliated Portfolios, may utilize volatility management techniques that differ from the EQ volatility management strategy. Affiliated Portfolios that utilize these volatility management techniques are identified in the chart by a “D”. Any such unaffiliated Portfolio is not identified In the chart. See “Portfolios of the Trusts” in “Purchasing the Contract” for more information regarding volatility management. |
| ^ | This Portfolio’s annual expenses reflect temporary fee reductions. |
| (1) | This variable investment option is not available for investment until on or about June 18, 2021. This is the surviving variable investment option of a Portfolio merger on or about June 18, 2021. The acquired variable investment option is EQ/Franklin Balanced Managed Volatility and it may continue to be used in certain documents for a period of time after the date of the merger. |
| (2) | This is the acquired variable investment option of a Portfolio merger on or about June 18, 2021 and it will no longer be available after the merger. It may continue to be used in certain documents for a period of time after the date of the merger. |
| (3) | The Portfolio operates as a “government money market fund.” The Portfolio will invest at least 99.5% of its total assets in U.S. government securities, cash, and/or repurchase agreements that are fully collateralized by U.S. government securities or cash. |
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The Accumulator® Series (Accumulator®, Accumulator® PlusSM, Accumulator® EliteSM and Accumulator® SelectSM)
Issued by
Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company
1290 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10104
(212) 554-1234
We have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a Prospectus and a Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) that include additional information about The Accumulator® Series, the Company and Separate Account No. 49. The Prospectus and SAI each dated May 1, 2021 are incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus. The Prospectus and SAI are available free of charge. To request a copy of either document, to ask about your contract, or to make other investor inquiries, please call 1-800-789-7771. The Prospectus and SAI are also available at our website, www.equitable.com/ICSR#EQH146643.
Class/Contract Identifier: C000024735; C000024736, C000024740, C000024741; C000024746; C000024747; C000024748; C000024761
The Accumulator® Series is issued by and is a registered service mark of Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company (Equitable).
Co-distributed by affiliates Equitable Advisors, LLC (Equitable Financial Advisors in MI and TN) and Equitable Distributors, LLC., 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104.
Copyright 2021 Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company. All rights reserved.
Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company, 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104 (212) 554-1234
(#142535)