In addition to withdrawal charges, you may also be charged for other transactions including special requests such as wire transfers, express mail, duplicate contracts, preparing checks, third-party transfers or exchanges; or when you transfer between investment options in excess a certain number.

 

For additional information about transaction charges see “Charges that the Company deducts” in “Charges and expenses” in the Prospectus.

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 and/or contributions and/ or transfers into the Protection with Investment Performance account variable investment options, you may no longer be able to fund your Guaranteed benefit(s).

 

Investment options are limited if Guaranteed benefits are elected. Withdrawals, including withdrawals to pay advisory fees, that exceed limits specified by the terms of an optional benefit may affect the availability of the benefits by reducing the benefit by an amount greater than the value withdrawn, and/or could terminate the benefit.

 

If you purchase a Series ADV contract and you elect to pay the advisory fee from your account value, then this deduction will be treated as a withdrawal and will reduce the standard death benefit and Guaranteed benefits, and may also be subject to federal and state income taxes and a 10% federal penalty tax. See “Fee based programs” in “Purchasing the contract” in the Prospectus.

 

The standard and optional death benefits offered with the contract are available only at contract purchase. Withdrawals could significantly reduce or terminate the death 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.

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.

The first table describes fees and expenses that you will pay at the time that you buy the contract, surrender or make withdrawals from an investment option or the contract, or transfer account value between investment options. Charges designed to approximate certain taxes that may be imposed on us, such as premium taxes in your state, may also apply.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next item shows the minimum and maximum total operating expenses charged by the underlying Portfolios that you may pay periodically during the time that you own the contract. Expenses shown may change over time and may be higher or lower in the future. A complete list of Portfolios available under the contract, including their annual expenses, may be found at the back of this document. See Appendix “Investment options available under the contract.”

 

 

Example

 

These Examples are intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the variable investment options with the cost of investing in other annuity contracts that offer variable investment options. These costs include transaction expenses, annual contract expenses, and annual Portfolio expenses. The examples for the Series ADV do not reflect any advisory fees paid to investment advisors from the account value or other assets of the owner; however, if they did the expenses shown could be higher.

 

The Example assumes all account value is allocated to the variable investment options. Your costs could differ from those shown below if you invest in the fixed investment options.

 

These Examples assume that you invest $100,000 in the variable investment options for the time periods indicated. The Examples also assume that your investment has a 5% return each year and assumes the most expensive combination of annual Portfolio expenses, as well as the “Greater of” death benefit and GIB (both at their maximum charge).

 

Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

 

Example

 

These Examples are intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the variable investment options with the cost of investing in other annuity contracts that offer variable investment options. These costs include transaction expenses, annual contract expenses, and annual Portfolio expenses. The examples for the Series ADV do not reflect any advisory fees paid to investment advisors from the account value or other assets of the owner; however, if they did the expenses shown could be higher.

 

The Example assumes all account value is allocated to the variable investment options. Your costs could differ from those shown below if you invest in the fixed investment options.

 

These Examples assume that you invest $100,000 in the variable investment options for the time periods indicated. The Examples also assume that your investment has a 5% return each year and assumes the most expensive combination of annual Portfolio expenses, as well as the “Greater of” death benefit and GIB (both at their maximum charge).

 

Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions, your costs would be:

 

Principal risks of investing in the contract

 

 

 

The risks identified below are the principal risks of investing in the contract. The contract may be subject to additional risks other than those identified and described in this Prospectus.

 

Risks Associated with Variable Investment Options

 

You take all the investment risk for amounts allocated to one or more of the subaccounts, which invest in Portfolios. If the subaccounts you select increase in value, then your Total account value goes up; if they decrease in value, your Total account value goes down. How much your Total account value goes up or down depends on the performance of the Portfolios in which your subaccounts invest. We do not guarantee the investment results of any Portfolio. An investment in the contract is subject to the risk of poor investment performance, and the value of your investment can vary depending on the performance of the selected Portfolio(s), each of which has its own unique risks. You should review the Portfolios before making an investment decision.

 

Insurance Company Risk

 

No company other than us has any legal responsibility to pay amounts that we owe under the contract including amounts allocated to the guaranteed interest option. The general obligations and any Guaranteed benefits under the contract are supported by our general account and are subject to our claims-paying ability. You should look solely to our financial strength for our claims-paying ability.

 

Possible Fees on Access to Total Account Value

 

We may apply fees if you access your Total account value during the accumulation period or surrender your contract. For example, in addition to possible tax consequences, you may incur fees for accessing your Total account value such as a withdrawal charge, transfer fee, annual administrative expense, base contract expense, and/or a charge for any optional benefits.

 

Possible Adverse Tax Consequences

 

The tax considerations associated with the contract vary and can be complicated. The applicable tax rules can differ, depending on the type of contract, whether NQ, traditional IRA, Roth IRA or QP. The tax consequences discussed in this Prospectus are general in nature and describe only federal income tax law (not state, local, foreign or other federal tax laws). Moreover, the tax aspects that apply to a particular person’s contract may vary depending on the facts applicable to that person. Tax rules may change without notice. We cannot predict whether, when, or how these rules could change. Any change could affect contracts purchased before the change. Congress may also consider further proposals to comprehensively reform or overhaul the United States tax and retirement systems, which if enacted, could affect the tax

benefits of a contract. We cannot predict what, if any, legislation will actually be proposed or enacted. Before making contributions to your contract or taking other action related to your contract, you should consult with a tax professional to determine the tax implications of an investment in, and payments received under, the contract.

 

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 and you should consider whether investing in the contract is consistent with the purpose for which the investment is being considered.

 

Withdrawals are generally subject to income tax, and may be subject to tax penalties if taken before age 59⁄.

 

Risk of Loss

 

All investments have risks to some degree and it is possible that you could lose money by investing in the contract. An investment in the contract is not a deposit with a bank and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

 

Optional Benefits

 

Investment options are limited if Guaranteed benefits are elected. Guaranteed benefits are funded through the Protection with Investment Performance account variable investment options and once a withdrawal is taken from the Protection with Investment Performance account, you cannot make additional contributions to the Protection with Investment Performance account. We may limit or stop accepting contributions and transfers to the Protection with Investment Performance account variable investment options which means you may no longer be able to increase your Protection with Investment Performance account value and the benefit bases associated with your Guaranteed benefits through contributions and transfers. Excess withdrawals may terminate or significantly reduce the value of your optional benefits.

 

Contract Changes Risk

 

We may, at any time, exercise our rights to limit or terminate your contributions, allocations and transfers to any of the variable investment options (including the Protection with Investment Performance account variable investment options). We reserve the right, subject to compliance with laws that apply, to remove variable investment options from the Separate Account, to

 

combine any two or more variable investment options, to restrict or eliminate any voting rights as to the Separate Account, to limit or terminate contributions or transfers into any of the variable investment options, and to limit the number of variable investment options you may select.

 

You should evaluate whether our ability to make the changes described above, and your ability to react to such changes, are appropriate based on your investment goals. When such changes occur, you should also evaluate whether those changes are appropriate based on your investment goals and, if not, you should evaluate your options under the Contract, which may be limited and may have negative consequences associated with them, as described in this section.

 

 

The fees and charges for Series CP contracts are higher than for Series B contracts and the amount of the credit may be more than offset by these higher fees and charges. Credits may be recaptured upon free look, annuitization and death. Withdrawals may limit credits for subsequent contributions.

 

Limitations on access to cash value through withdrawals

 

Withdrawals may be subject to withdrawal charges, income tax and may be subject to tax penalties if taken before age 59⁄. The minimum partial withdrawal amount is $300. Withdrawals will reduce your Total account value and optional benefit bases and the amount of the reduction may be greater than the dollar amount of the withdrawal. Excess withdrawals may terminate or significantly reduce the value of your optional benefits. Certain withdrawals may also terminate your contract. Withdrawals from Series CP contracts may limit credits for subsequent contributions. If you take a withdrawal from the Protection with Investment Performance account, you cannot make additional contributions to the Protection with Investment Performance account.

 

Advisory Fees

 

If you purchase a Series ADV contract and elect to pay the advisory fee from your account value, then this deduction will be treated as a withdrawal and will reduce the standard death benefit and Guaranteed benefits, and may also be subject to federal and state income taxes and a 10% federal penalty tax.

 

Availability by Financial Intermediary

 

 

Business disruption, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence (“AI”) technologies risks

 

We rely heavily on technology, including interconnected computer systems and data storage networks and digital communications, to conduct our business. Because our business is highly dependent upon the effective operation of our computer systems and those of our service providers and other business partners, our business is vulnerable to disruptions from utility outages, and susceptible to operational and information security risks resulting from information systems failure (e.g., hardware and software malfunctions), and cyberattacks. Cyberattacks may be systemic (e.g., affecting the internet, cloud services, or other infrastructure) or targeted (e.g., failures in or breach of our systems or those of third parties on whom we rely, including ransomware and malware attacks). Cybersecurity risks include, among other things, the loss, theft, misuse, corruption and destruction of data maintained online or digitally, interference with or denial of service, attacks on our websites (or the websites of third parties on whom we rely), other operational disruption and unauthorized release, use or abuse of confidential customer information. The risk of cyberattacks may be higher during periods of geopolitical turmoil. Due to the increasing sophistication of cyberattacks, a cybersecurity breach could occur and persist for an extended period of time without detection. Systems failures and cyberattacks, as well as, any other catastrophic event, including natural and manmade disasters, public health emergencies, pandemic diseases, terrorist attacks, floods or severe storms affecting us, any third-party administrator, the underlying funds, intermediaries and other affiliated or third-party service providers may adversely affect us, our business operations and your account value and interfere with our ability to process contract transactions and calculate account values. Systems failures and cyberattacks may also interfere with our processing of contract transactions, including the processing of orders from our website or with the underlying funds, impact our ability to calculate account values and unit values and/or the underlying funds to be unable to calculate share values, cause the release or possible destruction of confidential customer and/or business information, impede order processing or cause other operational issues, subject us and/or our service providers and intermediaries to regulatory fines, litigation and financial losses and/or cause reputational damage. Cybersecurity risks may also impact the issuers of securities in which the underlying funds invest, which may cause the underlying funds to lose value. The preventative actions we take to reduce the frequency and severity of cybersecurity incidents and protect our computer systems may be insufficient to prevent a cybersecurity breach from impacting our operations or your contract value. There can be no assurance that we or the underlying funds or our service providers and intermediaries will be able to avoid cybersecurity breaches affecting your contract.

 

The development and deployment of AI tools and technologies, including generative AI, and its use and anticipated use by us or by third parties on whom we rely, may increase our existing operational risks or create new operational risks that we are not currently anticipating. AI and generative AI may be misused by us or by third parties upon which we rely, and that risk is increased by the relative newness of the technology, the speed at which it is being adopted, and the uncertain and evolving policy and regulatory landscape governing its use. Such misuse could expose us to legal or regulatory risk. Because the generative AI technology is so new, many of the potential risks of generative AI are currently unknowable.

 

In addition, we are also exposed to risks related to natural and disasters, including, but not limited to, the occurrence of any storms, fires, floods, earthquakes, public health crises, malicious acts, and terrorist acts or any other event, which could adversely affect our ability to conduct business. A natural or disaster, including a pandemic such as could result in our workforce, and/or employees of service providers and/or third-party administrators, being compromised and unable or unwilling to fully perform their responsibilities, which could likewise result in interruptions in our service. This could interfere with our processing of contract transactions, including processing orders from owners and orders with the underlying funds, impact our ability to calculate contract value, or have other adverse impacts on our operations. These events may also negatively affect the our service providers and intermediaries, the underlying funds and issuers of securities in which the underlying funds invest, which may cause the funds underlying your contract to lose value. There can be no assurance that we or the underlying funds or our service providers and intermediaries will be able to avoid negative impacts associated with natural and disasters.

 

Benefits Available Under the Contract

 

 

 

Summary of Benefits

 

The following tables summarize important information about the benefits available under the contract.

 

 

These death benefits are available during the accumulation phase:

 

 

 

 

This living benefit is available during the accumulation phase:

 

 

 

 

These other benefits are available during the accumulation phase:

 

 

 

 

There are no restrictions on which investment options you can invest in for the death benefits. The variable investment option may be conservative in nature and you may receive a higher rate of return from other investment options. If you are seeking more aggressive investment options the allowable investments may not be appropriate for you.

 

Death benefits

 

 

For the purposes of determining the death benefit under your Retirement Cornerstone Series contract, we treat your Investment Performance account and any Guaranteed minimum death benefit funded by your Protection with Investment Performance account differently.

 

The death benefit in connection with your Investment Performance account is equal to your Investment Performance account value as of the date we receive satisfactory proof of death, any required instructions for the method of payment, and any required information and forms necessary to effect payment. The death benefit payable in connection with your Protection with Investment Performance account will be based on the greater of (i) your Protection with Investment Performance account value, and (ii) the benefit base of your Guaranteed minimum death benefit.

 

The total death benefit under your Retirement Cornerstone contract will depend on your values in either one or both sides of the contract. If you selected a Guaranteed minimum death benefit but never funded your Protection with Investment Performance account, your death benefit will be based on your Investment Performance account value only. Likewise, if you funded your Guaranteed minimum death benefit through allocations to the Protection with Investment Performance account and had no Investment Performance account value, your death benefit would be based strictly on the Guaranteed minimum death benefit you selected. Also, it is possible that upon your death, you have value in both your Investment Performance account and a Guaranteed minimum death benefit that has been funded through allocations to the Protection with Investment Performance account. In that case, your beneficiaries would receive the Investment Performance account value, plus the value of your Guaranteed minimum death benefit.

 

Guaranteed minimum death benefits

 

At issue, if you are age 0 – 75 (0 – 70 for Series CP) you may elect one of our optional Guaranteed minimum death benefit options (GMDBs) in connection with your Protection with Investment Performance account as follows:

 

 

 

 

The “Greater of” death benefit can only be elected in combination with the GIB. The Return of Principal death benefit and the Highest Anniversary Value death benefit are available with or without the GIB. The Highest Anniversary Value death benefit and “Greater of” death benefit are available at an additional charge. There is no charge for the Return of

Principal death benefit. The Return of Principal death benefit will be issued with all eligible contracts if you do not elect either the Highest Anniversary Value or the “Greater of” death benefit at the time you apply for your Retirement Cornerstone contract.

 

When you have a GMDB, you can allocate your contributions to any of the following:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Only amounts you allocate to the Protection with Investment Performance variable investment options and amounts in a Special DCA program designated for the Protection with Investment Performance variable investment options will fund your GMDB. These amounts will be included in your respective GMDB benefit base and will become part of your Protection with Investment Performance account value.

 

For Series CP contracts, any credit amounts attributable to your contributions allocated to the Protection with Investment Performance account are not included in your respective GMDB benefit base. If you decide to transfer amounts from your Investment Performance account to your Protection with Investment Performance variable investment options, only amounts representing contributions and earnings will increase your GMDB benefit base. Credit amounts to your Investment Performance account are considered transferred first, though any amount of that transfer that represents a credit will be excluded from your GMDB benefit base. All transfers, however, will increase your Protection with Investment Performance account value by the amount of the transfer.

 

Your death benefit in connection with your Protection with Investment Performance account is equal to one of the following — whichever provides a higher amount:

 

 

 

 

Your Return of Principal guaranteed minimum death benefit is equal to your Return of Principal death benefit base. There is no additional charge for this benefit. This benefit base is not an account value or cash value. It is equal to:

 

 

 

 

 

Please see Appendix “Guaranteed benefit base examples” for an example of how the Return of Principal benefit base is calculated.

 

 

Your Highest Anniversary Value guaranteed minimum death benefit is equal to your Highest Anniversary Value benefit base. The current charge for this benefit is 0.25%. This benefit base is not an account value or cash value. The calculation of your Highest Anniversary Value benefit base will depend on whether you have taken a withdrawal from your Protection with Investment Performance account.

 

If you have not taken a withdrawal from your Protection with Investment Performance account, your Highest Anniversary Value benefit base is equal to one of the following — whichever provides a higher amount:

 

 

 

 

-OR-

 

 

If you take a withdrawal from your Protection with Investment Performance account, your Highest Anniversary Value benefit base will be reduced on a pro rata basis (including

any applicable withdrawal charges). Reduction on a pro rata basis means that we calculate the percentage of your Protection with Investment Performance account value that is being withdrawn and we reduce your Highest Anniversary Value benefit base by the same percentage. See “How withdrawals affect your Guaranteed benefits”. The amount of any withdrawal charge is described under “Withdrawal charge” in “Charges and expenses”.

 

At any time after a withdrawal, your Highest Anniversary Value benefit base is equal to one of the following — whichever provides a higher amount:

 

 

-OR-

 

 

For Series CP contracts, any credit amounts that are part of your Protection with Investment Performance account value are included in the calculation of your Highest Anniversary Value benefit base. Please note, however, that credit amounts are not part of the Highest Anniversary Value benefit base until a reset occurs.

 

Please see Appendix “Guaranteed benefit base examples” for an example of how the Highest Anniversary Value benefit base is calculated.

 

If you have a Series ADV contract, please discuss deducting advisory fees from your contract with your financial professional before making an election.

 

 

Your “Greater of” guaranteed minimum death benefit has a benefit base. The current charge for this benefit is 0.95% The benefit base is not an account value or cash value. It is equal to the greater of:

 

 

 

The to age 85 benefit base is used only in connection with the “Greater of” death benefit. It is equal to:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In order to elect the “Greater of” death benefit, you must also elect the GIB. Beginning with the contract year that follows the contract year in which you fund your Protection with Investment Performance account, and until the contract year following age 85, if your Lifetime GIB payments under the GIB have not begun, you may withdraw up to your Annual withdrawal amount without reducing your to age 85 benefit base. However, these same withdrawals will reduce the Annual amount that would otherwise be applied to your to age 85 benefit base at the end of the year. Remember that the amount applicable under your contract does not become part of your to age 85 benefit base until the end of the contract year.

 

On every contract date anniversary from your contract date up to the contract date anniversary following your 85th birthday or contract maturity, if earlier, your to age 85 benefit base will automatically reset to equal your Protection with Investment Performance account value if your Protection

with Investment Performance account value is greater than the calculation described above. The to age 85 benefit base reset is described in more detail below.

 

For more information, see “Annual amount and Annual to age 85 benefit base adjustment”.

 

From time to time, we may offer you some form of payment or incentive in return for terminating or modifying certain guaranteed benefits. See “Guaranteed benefit offers” for more information.

 

 

The Annual rate is used to calculate amounts credited to your to age 85 benefit base for the contract year in which the first withdrawal is made from your Protection with Investment Performance account and all subsequent contract years. This rate is calculated using the Treasuries Rate Formula. See “Annual Rate” under “Guaranteed income benefit” in “Benefits available under the contract” for more information regarding this formula.

 

A different rate is used to calculate amounts credited to your to age 85 benefit base in the contract years prior to the first withdrawal from your Protection with Investment Performance account — the “Deferral bonus rate,” described below.

 

 

The Deferral bonus rate is used to calculate amounts credited to your to age 85 benefit base through the end of the contract year that precedes the contract year in which the first withdrawal is made from your Protection with Investment Performance account.

 

Beginning in the first contract year in which you fund your Protection with Investment Performance account, the amount credited to your to age 85 benefit base at the end of the contract year (the “Deferral bonus amount”) will be calculated using the Deferral bonus rate. Once you take a withdrawal from your Protection with Investment Performance account, the Deferral bonus amount will not be credited at the end of the contract year in which the withdrawal was taken and will terminate for the life of the contract. Instead, the Annual amount will be credited. This rate is calculated using the Deferral bonus Treasuries Rate Formula. See “Deferral bonus Rate” under “Guaranteed income benefit” in “Benefits available under the contract” for more information regarding this formula.

 

The Deferral bonus rate is designed as an incentive to defer taking your first withdrawal from your Protection with Investment Performance account until later contract years while potentially building greater Guaranteed benefit bases.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Annual amount is an amount credited to your to age 85 benefit base on each contract date anniversary if there has ever been a withdrawal from your Protection with Investment Performance account. This amount is calculated by taking into account your to age 85 benefit base from the preceding contract date anniversary, the Annual rate under your contract, contributions and transfers to the Protection with Investment Performance account during the contract year and any withdrawals up to the Annual withdrawal amount during the contract year. The Annual amount adjustment to your to age 85 benefit base is the primary way to increase the value of the to age 85 component of your “Greater of” death benefit base. The crediting of any Annual amount ends on the contract date anniversary following the owner reaching age 85.

 

Your Annual amount at the end of the contract year is calculated as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the event of your death, a portion of the amount will be added to the to age 85 benefit base.

 

Withdrawals in excess of the Annual withdrawal amount may have a harmful effect on your to age 85 benefit base and “Greater of” death benefit. A withdrawal in excess of your Annual withdrawal amount will always reduce your to age 85 benefit base on a pro rata basis. When the owner reaches age 85, withdrawals will reduce your to age 85 benefit base on a basis up to your Annual withdrawal amount. For more information, see “How withdrawals affect your Guaranteed benefits”.

 

 

The Deferral bonus amount is an amount credited to your to age 85 benefit base on each contract date anniversary provided you have never taken a withdrawal from your Protection with Investment Performance account. This amount is calculated by taking into account your to age 85 benefit base from the preceding contract date anniversary, the applicable Deferral bonus rate under your contract, and contributions and transfers to the Protection with Investment Performance account during the contract year. The Deferral bonus amount adjustment to your to age 85 benefit base is the primary way to increase the value of the to age 85 component of your “Greater of” death benefit base. The crediting of any Deferral bonus amount ends on the contract date anniversary following the owner reaching age 85.

 

Your Deferral bonus amount at the end of the contract year is calculated as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the event of your death, a portion of the Deferral bonus amount will be added to the to age 85 benefit base.

 

 

 

Your to age 85 benefit base will automatically “reset” to equal the Protection with Investment Performance account value, if higher, on every contract date anniversary from your contract date, up to the contract date anniversary following your 85th birthday or contract maturity, if earlier.

 

For Series CP contracts, any credit amounts that are part of your Protection with Investment Performance account value are included in the calculation of your to age 85 benefit base reset.

 

If a reset is not applicable on your contract date anniversary, the to age 85 benefit base will not be eligible to be reset again until the next contract date anniversary. For jointly-owned contracts, eligibility to reset the to age 85 benefit base is based on the age of the older owner. For owned contracts, eligibility is based on the age of the annuitant or older joint annuitant.

 

 Please see the “Fee table” and “Charges and expenses” for more information about the charge. Your to age 85 benefit base will reset automatically unless you opt out. We will notify you at least 45 days prior to your contract date anniversary if a fee increase for the “Greater of” death benefit has been declared. If you do not want your fee to increase, you must notify us on the specified form that we provide at least one business day prior to the contract date anniversary that you want to opt out of the reset. You can notify us on the specified

form that we provide to opt back in to automatic resets at a later date. The then current fee for the “Greater of” death benefit will apply upon the next reset.

 

If we do not increase the charge for the “Greater of” death benefit when the to age 85 benefit base resets, the total dollar amount charged may still increase as a result of the reset since the charges may be applied to a higher “Greater of” death benefit base than would have been otherwise applied. See “Charges and expenses” for more information.

 

 

If you elected the “Greater of” death benefit and the GIB, both your to age 85 benefit base and GIB benefit base are calculated the same way until age 85. Therefore, your to age 85 benefit base and GIB benefit base are equal until age 85. On the contract date anniversary following the owner’s (or older joint owner, if applicable) 85th birthday, your to age 85 benefit base will (i) no longer roll up; (ii) no longer be eligible for resets; and (iii) be reduced by withdrawals up to your Annual withdrawal amount. In contrast, the roll ups and resets for the GIB benefit base calculation continue until age 95. Therefore, after age 85, your to age 85 benefit base and your GIB benefit base may differ.

 

 Beginning with the contract year that follows the contract year in which you first fund your Protection with Investment Performance account, if Lifetime GIB payments have not begun, you may withdraw up to your Annual withdrawal amount without reducing your to age 85 benefit base.

 

An Excess withdrawal reduces your to age 85 benefit base on a pro rata basis. A withdrawal from your Protection with Investment Performance account in the first contract year in which the Protection with Investment Performance account is funded is an Excess withdrawal. A withdrawal that causes your Protection with Investment Performance account value to go to zero will terminate your “Greater of” death benefit.

 

The reduction of your to age 85 benefit base on a pro rata basis means that we calculate the percentage of your current Protection with Investment Performance account value that is being withdrawn and we reduce your current to age 85 benefit base by the same percentage. A pro rata withdrawal will have a significant adverse effect on your to age 85 benefit base in cases where the Protection with Investment Performance account value is less than the to age 85 benefit base. For an example of how pro rata reduction works, see “How withdrawals affect your Guaranteed benefits”.

 

 

 

 

For contracts with owners, the to age 85 benefit base will be based on the annuitant’s (or older joint annuitant’s) age.

 

Please see Appendix “Guaranteed benefit base examples” for an example of how the to age 85 benefit base that is part of the “Greater of” guaranteed minimum death benefit is calculated.

 

 

 

If you change ownership of the contract, generally the Guaranteed minimum death benefit will automatically terminate, except under certain circumstances. See “Transfers of ownership, collateral assignments, loans and borrowing” in “More information” for more information.

 

The Guaranteed minimum death benefits are subject to state availability and your age at contract issue. For a description of all material variations of this contract, see Appendix “State contract availability and/or variations of certain features and benefits”.

 

For contracts with owners, the available death benefits are based on the annuitant’s age.

 

Please see both “Effect of your account values falling to zero” in “Determining your contract’s value” and “How withdrawals affect your Guaranteed benefits” and the section entitled “Charges and expenses” for more information on these Guaranteed benefits.

 

See Appendix “Guaranteed benefit base examples” for examples of how the benefit bases for the Guaranteed minimum death benefits work.

 

If you have a Series ADV contract, please discuss deducting advisory fees from your contract with your financial professional before making an election.

 

Payment of Death Benefit

 

Your beneficiary and payment of benefit

 

You designate your beneficiary when you apply for your contract. You may change your beneficiary at any time while you are alive and the contract is in force. The change will be effective as of the date the written request is executed, whether or not you are living on the date the change is received in our processing office. We are not responsible for any beneficiary change request that we do not receive. We will send you a written confirmation when we receive your request.

 

Under jointly owned contracts, the surviving owner is considered the beneficiary, and will take the place of any other beneficiary. Under a contract with a owner that has joint annuitants, the surviving annuitant is considered the beneficiary, and will take the place of any other beneficiary. In a QP contract, the beneficiary must be the plan trust.

Where an NQ contract is owned for the benefit of a minor pursuant to the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act or the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act, the beneficiary must be the estate of the minor. Where an IRA contract is owned in a custodial individual retirement account, the custodian must be the beneficiary.

 

The death benefit in connection with your Investment Performance account is equal to your Investment Performance account value as of the date we receive satisfactory proof of the owner’s (or older joint owner’s, if applicable) death, any required instructions for the method of payment, forms necessary to effect payment and any other information we may require. For Series CP contracts, the Investment Performance account value used to determine the death benefit will first be reduced by the amount of any credits applied in the period prior to the owner’s (or older joint owner’s, if applicable) death.

 

The death benefit in connection with any amount in your Protection with Investment Performance account is equal to your Protection with Investment Performance account value or, if greater, the applicable Guaranteed minimum death benefit. We determine the amount of the death benefit (other than the applicable Guaranteed minimum death benefit), as of the date we receive satisfactory proof of the owner’s (or older joint owner’s, if applicable) death, any required instructions for the method of payment, forms necessary to effect payment and any other information we may require. However, this is not the case if the beneficiary of your contract is your spouse and he or she decides to roll over the death benefit to another contract issued by us. See “Effect of the owner’s death”. For Series CP contracts, the Protection with Investment Performance account value used to determine the death benefit will first be reduced by the amount of any credits applied in the period prior to the owner’s (or older joint owner’s, if applicable) death. The amount of the applicable Guaranteed minimum death benefit will be such Guaranteed minimum death benefit as of the date of the owner’s (or older joint owner’s, if applicable) death adjusted for any subsequent withdrawals. Payment of the death benefit terminates the contract.

 

 

 

 

Subject to applicable laws and regulations, you may impose restrictions on the timing and manner of the payment of the death benefit to your beneficiary. For example, your beneficiary designation may specify the form of death benefit payout (such as a life annuity), provided the payout you elect is one that we offer both at the time of designation and when the death benefit is payable. In general, the beneficiary will have no right to change the election. However, you should be aware that (i) in accordance with current federal income tax

 

rules, we apply a predetermined death benefit annuity payout election only if payment of the death benefit amount begins within one year following the date of death, which payment may not occur if the beneficiary has failed to provide all required information before the end of that period, (ii) we will not apply the predetermined death benefit payout election if doing so would violate any federal income tax rules or any other applicable law, and (iii) a beneficiary or a successor owner who continues the contract under one of the continuation options described below will have the right to change your annuity payout election.

 

In general, if the annuitant dies, the owner (or older joint owner, if applicable) will become the annuitant, and the death benefit is not payable. If the contract had joint annuitants, it will become a single annuitant contract.

 

 

 

 

In general, if the owner dies while the contract is in force, the contract terminates and the applicable death benefit is paid. If the contract is jointly owned, the death benefit is payable upon the death of the older owner. If the contract has a owner, the death benefit is payable upon the death of the annuitant.

 

There are various circumstances, however, in which the contract can be continued by a successor owner or under a Beneficiary continuation option (“BCO”). For contracts with spouses who are joint owners, the surviving spouse will automatically be able to continue the contract under the “Spousal continuation” feature or under our Beneficiary continuation option, as discussed below. For contracts with joint owners, the joint owner will be able to continue the contract as a successor owner subject to the limitations discussed under “Non-spousal joint owner contract continuation.”

If you are the sole owner, your surviving spouse may have the option to:

 

 

 

 

If your surviving spouse rolls over the death benefit proceeds into a contract issued by us, the amount of the death benefit will be calculated as of the date we receive all requirements necessary to issue your spouse’s new contract. Any death proceeds will remain invested in this contract until your spouse’s new contract is issued. The amount of the death benefit will be calculated to equal the greater of the account value (as of the date your spouse’s new contract is issued) and the applicable guaranteed minimum death benefit (as of the date of your death). This means that the death benefit proceeds could vary up or down, based on investment performance, until your spouse’s new contract is issued.

 

If the surviving joint owner is not the surviving spouse, or, for single owner contracts, if the beneficiary is not the surviving spouse, federal income tax rules generally require payments of amounts under the contract to be made within five years of an owner’s death (the rule”). In certain cases, an individual beneficiary or surviving joint owner may opt to receive payments over his/her life (or over a period not in excess of his/her life expectancy) if payments commence within one year of the owner’s death. Any such election must be made in accordance with our rules at the time of death. If the beneficiary of a contract with one owner or a younger joint owner continues the contract under the rule, in general, all Guaranteed benefits and their charges will end. For more information on joint owner contract continuation, see the section immediately below.

 

joint owner contract continuation

 

Upon the death of either owner, the surviving joint owner becomes the sole owner.

 

Any death benefit (if the older owner dies first) or cash value (if the younger owner dies first) must be fully paid to the surviving joint owner within five years. The surviving owner may instead elect to receive a life annuity, provided payments begin within one year of the deceased owner’s death. If the life annuity is elected, the contract and all benefits terminate.

 

If the older owner dies first, we will increase the account value to equal the Guaranteed minimum death benefit, if higher. The surviving owner can elect to (1) take a lump sum payment; (2) annuitize within one year; (3) continue the contract for up to five years and any GIB and charge will be terminated; or (4) continue the contract under the Beneficiary continuation option. For Series CP contracts, if any contributions are made during the period prior to the owner’s death, the account value will first be reduced by any credits applied to any such contributions.

 

If the contract continues, any Guaranteed minimum death benefit and associated charge will be discontinued. Withdrawal charges, if applicable, will no longer apply, and no subsequent contributions will be permitted.

 

If the younger owner dies first, the surviving owner can elect to (1) take a lump sum payment; (2) annuitize within one year; (3) continue the contract for up to five years; or (4) continue the contract under the Beneficiary continuation option. If the contract continues under the rule”, the death benefit is not payable and the Guaranteed minimum death benefit, if applicable, will continue without change. In general, the GIB and charge will be discontinued. Withdrawal charges, if applicable, will continue to apply and no subsequent contributions will be permitted.

 

Spousal continuation

 

If you are the contract owner and your spouse is the sole primary beneficiary or you jointly own the contract with your younger spouse, your spouse may elect to continue the contract as successor owner upon your death. Spousal beneficiaries (who are not also joint owners) must be 85 or younger as of the date of the deceased spouse’s death in order to continue the contract under Spousal continuation. The determination of spousal status is made under applicable state law. However, in the event of a conflict between federal and state law, we follow federal rules.

 

Upon your death, the younger spouse joint owner (for NQ contracts only) or the spouse beneficiary (under a Single owner contract), may elect to receive the death benefit, continue the contract under our Beneficiary continuation option (as discussed below in this section) or continue the contract, as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The GIB may continue, as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where an NQ contract is owned by a Living Trust, as defined in the contract, and at the time of the annuitant’s death the annuitant’s spouse is the sole beneficiary of the Living Trust, the Trustee, as owner of the contract, may request that the spouse be substituted as annuitant as of the date of the annuitant’s death. No further change of annuitant will be permitted.

 

Where an IRA contract is owned in a custodial individual retirement account, and your spouse is the sole beneficiary of the account, the custodian may request that the spouse be substituted as annuitant after your death.

 

For jointly owned NQ contracts, if the younger spouse dies first no death benefit is paid, and the contract continues as follows:

 

 

 

 

If you divorce, Spousal continuation does not apply.

 

Beneficiary continuation option

 

 

 

 

Under the Beneficiary continuation option for IRA and Roth IRA contracts:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Generally, payments will be made once a year to the beneficiary over the beneficiary’s life expectancy, determined on a term certain basis and in the year payments start. These payments must begin no later than one year after the date of your death and are referred to as “scheduled payments.” The beneficiary may choose the rule” instead of scheduled payments over life expectancy. If the beneficiary chooses the rule, there will be no scheduled payments. Under the rule, the beneficiary may take withdrawals as desired, but the entire account value must be fully withdrawn by the fifth anniversary of your death.

 

Under the Beneficiary continuation option for NQ contracts:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A surviving spouse should speak to his or her tax professional about whether Spousal continuation or the Beneficiary continuation option is appropriate for him or her. Factors to consider include, but are not limited to, the surviving spouse’s age, need for immediate income and a desire to continue any Guaranteed benefits under the contract.

 

Living Benefits

 

 

This section describes the Guaranteed income benefit, or “GIB”. The GIB guarantees, subject to certain restrictions, annual lifetime payments (“Lifetime GIB payments”) that are calculated by applying a percentage (which is based on age 95 (or the age of a younger joint life, if applicable) or your age at the time your Protection with Investment Performance account goes to zero or contract maturity) to your GIB benefit base. The current charge for this benefit is 0.95%. The GIB also allows you to take certain withdrawals (your “Annual withdrawal amount”) prior to the beginning of your Lifetime GIB payments. Your Annual withdrawal amount for the next contract year is calculated each contract date anniversary by applying a percentage (“the Annual rate”) to your GIB benefit base. Lifetime GIB payments and your Annual withdrawal amount are described later in this section. This benefit provides a minimum guarantee that may never come into effect. With respect to your GIB, it is important to note the following:

 

 

In order to fund your Guaranteed income benefit, you must make contributions or transfers to the Protection with Investment Performance account. All allocations to the Protection with Investment Performance account must be made in accordance with our Custom Selection Rules. The Custom Selection Rules require that all of your Protection with Investment Performance account value be allocated according to certain category and investment option limits. This will also limit the amount that may be allocated to the “Equitable Strategic Allocation” Category. For detailed information on how our Custom Selection Rules work, see “Allocating your contributions” in “Purchasing the Contract”.

 

The GIB is issued with all eligible contracts unless you tell us you do not want it (or “opt out”) at the time you apply for your Retirement Cornerstone contract. The GIB is issued to owners age 20 – 75 (ages 20 – 70 for Series CP) and with all contract types except Inherited IRA. If the contract is jointly owned, eligibility for the GIB will be issued based on the older owner’s age. The GIB cannot be added to your contract later if you decide to

 

You can drop your GIB at any time prior to funding your Protection with Investment Performance account. For all Series except Series C and Series ADV, if you fund your Protection with Investment Performance account at issue, you can drop your GIB provided that the contributions to the contract are no longer subject to withdrawal charges. If you fund your Protection with Investment Performance account after issue, you cannot drop the GIB until the later of (i) the contract date anniversary following the date the Protection with Investment Performance account is funded, and (ii) the expiration of all withdrawal charges. For Series C and Series ADV contracts, if you fund the Protection with Investment Performance account at issue, you can drop your GIB if your contract has been in force for at least four contract years. It is important to note that if you decide to drop your GIB, either before or after funding your Protection with Investment Performance account, your Guaranteed minimum death benefit may be affected. Please see “Dropping or changing your Guaranteed benefits” and Appendix “Dropping or changing Guaranteed benefits” for more information.

 

 

 

 

When you purchase a contract with the GIB, you can combine it with one of our Guaranteed minimum death benefits: (i) the Return of Principal death benefit, (ii) the Highest Anniversary Value death benefit, or (iii) the “Greater of” death benefit.

 

There is an additional charge for the GIB which is described under “Guaranteed income benefit charge” in “Charges and expenses”.

 

If you elected the GIB and change ownership of the contract, this benefit will automatically terminate, except under certain

 

circumstances. See “Transfers of ownership, collateral assignments, loans and borrowing” in “More information”.

 

 

 

 

 

Your GIB has a benefit base. Your GIB benefit base is not an account value or cash value. The GIB benefit base is used to calculate your Lifetime GIB payments, your Annual withdrawal amount and the charge for the benefit. Your GIB benefit base is equal to:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beginning in the contract year that follows the contract year in which you fund your Protection with Investment Performance account, if your Lifetime GIB payments have not begun, you can withdraw up to your Annual withdrawal amount without reducing your GIB benefit base. However, those same withdrawals will reduce the Annual amount that would otherwise be applied to the GIB benefit base at the end of the contract year. Remember that the amount applicable under your contract does not become part of your GIB benefit base until the end of the contract year.

 

On every contract date anniversary from your contract date up to the contract date anniversary following your 95th

birthday or contract maturity (if earlier), your GIB benefit base will automatically reset to equal your Protection with Investment Performance account value if your Protection with Investment Performance account value is greater than the calculation described above. The GIB benefit base reset is described in more detail below.

 

Only amounts you allocate to the Protection with Investment Performance variable investment options and amounts in a Special DCA program designated for the Protection with Investment Performance variable investment options will fund your GIB. These amounts will be included in your GIB benefit base and will become part of your Protection with Investment Performance account value. See “Allocating your contributions” for more information.

 

For example:

 

You purchase a Retirement Cornerstone — Series B contract with an initial contribution of $100,000 and allocate $60,000 to the Protection with Investment Performance variable investment options and $40,000 to the Investment Performance variable investment options. Your initial GIB benefit base will be $60,000.

 

Provided you did not opt out of the GIB, you can fund your GIB benefit by allocating money to the Protection with Investment Performance variable investment options (either directly or through a special DCA program) immediately or at some later date. Allocations to the Protection with Investment Performance variable investment options also fund your Guaranteed minimum death benefit. Please note that all allocations to your Protection with Investment Performance account must comply with our Custom Selection Rules. See “Allocating your contributions”.

 

Your “Deferral bonus amount” and “Annual amount” are described below. Your GIB benefit base stops “rolling up” on the contract date anniversary following the owner’s (or older joint owner’s, if applicable) 95th birthday. If the annuitant is older than the owner, the contract maturity date (the point at which Lifetime GIB payments must begin and will end) will precede the owner’s 95th birthday.

 

For contracts with owners, the GIB benefit base will be based on the annuitant’s (or older joint annuitant’s) age.

 

The amount of the deduction for an “Excess withdrawal” and the deduction for the Annual withdrawal amount are described under “How withdrawals affect your Guaranteed benefits”. The amount of any withdrawal charge is described under “Withdrawal charge” in “Charges and expenses”.

 

For Series CP contracts only, any credit amounts attributable to your contributions are not included in your GIB benefit base. This includes credit amounts transferred from your Investment Performance account. Credits to your Investment Performance account are always considered transferred first. Amounts transferred in excess of credit amounts, which may include earnings on the credit amounts, will increase your GIB benefit base. All transfers, however, will increase your Protection with Investment Performance account value by the total amount of the transfer.

 

For example, you make an initial contribution of $100,000 and allocate the entire $100,000 to the Investment Performance variable investment options. Your Investment Performance account is credited with $4,000 (4% x $100,000). Assume you later transfer $5,000 to the Protection with Investment Performance variable investment options, which represents the credit amount plus earnings, some of which are attributable to the credit amount. Your GIB benefit base would equal $1,000 ($5,000 – $4,000). However, your Protection with Investment Performance account value would still increase by the transfer, which in this example is $5,000. For more information, see “Series CP contracts and your Guaranteed benefit bases”.

 

As discussed earlier in this section, your GIB benefit base is not an account value or cash value. As a result, the GIB benefit base cannot be split or divided in any proportion in connection with a divorce. See “How divorce may affect your Guaranteed benefits” in “More information.”

 

Please see Appendix “Guaranteed benefit base examples” for an example of how the GIB benefit base is calculated.

 

You do not have an Annual withdrawal amount in the first contract year in which you fund your Protection with Investment Performance account. A withdrawal from your Protection with Investment Performance account in the first contract year in which you fund the Protection with Investment Performance account will reduce your GIB benefit base on a pro rata basis. Beginning with the contract year that follows the contract year in which you fund your Protection with Investment Performance account, if your Lifetime GIB payments have not begun, withdrawals up to your Annual withdrawal amount will not reduce your GIB benefit base. The portion of a withdrawal in excess of your Annual withdrawal amount will reduce your GIB benefit base on a pro rata basis. See “Annual withdrawal amount”.

 

 

The Annual rate is used to calculate your Annual withdrawal amount. It is also used to calculate amounts credited to your GIB benefit base for the contract year in which the first withdrawal is made from your Protection with Investment Performance account and all subsequent contract years. A different rate is used to calculate amounts credited to your GIB benefit base in the contract years prior to the first withdrawal from your Protection with Investment Performance account — it is called the “Deferral bonus rate”. The Deferral bonus rate is described below.

 

The Annual rate is variable and is tied to the Treasuries Formula Rate described below, but the minimum rate will never be less than 4% or greater than 8% in all contract years. The Annual rate will be set at our discretion, subject to the stated minimum. We reserve the right, however, to declare an Annual rate that is greater than 8%.

 

 

 

The Deferral bonus rate is only used to calculate amounts credited to your GIB benefit base through the end of the contract year that precedes the contract year in which the first withdrawal is made from your Protection with Investment Performance account. The Deferral bonus rate is never used to calculate your Annual withdrawal amount under the GIB.

 

Beginning with the first contract year in which you fund your Protection with Investment Performance account, the amount credited to your GIB benefit base at the end of the contract year (the “Deferral bonus amount”) will be calculated using the Deferral bonus rate. Once you take a withdrawal from your Protection with Investment Performance account, the Deferral bonus amount will not be credited at the end of the contract year in which the withdrawal was taken and will terminate for the life of the contract. Instead, the Annual amount will be credited.

 

The Deferral bonus rate is designed as an incentive to defer taking your first withdrawal from your Protection with Investment Performance account until later contract years while potentially building greater Guaranteed benefit bases with a higher rate.

 

The Deferral bonus rate is variable and is tied to the Deferral Bonus Treasuries Formula Rate described below. The minimum Deferral bonus rate will never be less than 4% or greater than 8% in all contract years up until the first withdrawal from the Protection with Investment Performance account. The Deferral bonus rate will be set at our discretion, subject to the stated minimum. We reserve the right, however, to declare a Deferral bonus rate that is greater than 8%.

 

 

As described above, both the Annual rate and the Deferral bonus rate will never be less than 4% or greater than 8% in all contract years. Based on the underlying formula rates that are used in arriving at the two rates, it is expected that the Deferral bonus rate will generally be 0.50% greater than the Annual rate. However, this is not guaranteed. In certain interest rate environments, the Deferral bonus rate may not always be 0.50% greater than the Annual rate. In some cases, it may be more or less than 0.50% greater than the Annual rate.

 

Examples:

 

 

 

It is important to note that on each contract date anniversary, we will apply either the Annual rate or the Deferral bonus rate to your GIB benefit base based on whether you have ever taken a withdrawal from the Protection with Investment Performance account. In statements we provide you, we will show you the amounts under both rate scenarios. Once you take a withdrawal from your Protection with Investment Performance account, the Deferral bonus rate will no longer be shown on your statements.

 

 

 

You sign your application for Retirement Cornerstone Series contract on September 15th. On that date the Annual rate and Deferral bonus rates are 4.50% and 5.00%, respectively. Your initial contribution is received by way of a roll-over contribution on October 5th and the contract is issued the next day. On that date the Annual rate and Deferral bonus rates are 4.25% and 4.75%, respectively. In this example, your contract will be issued with the rates that were “locked in” at the time you signed your application, not the lower rates that were in effect on the date your contract was issued.

 

These are your initial Annual and Deferral bonus rates and they will apply to your contract for two full contract years. In the next contract year, Renewal rates will apply. For contracts issued before September 1, 2011, these rates applied for one full contract year. In the next contract year, Renewal rates will apply.

 

 

These Renewal rates may be more than or less than, or equal to, your initial Annual rate and Deferral bonus rate. We also reserve the right to set new business rates that are higher than Renewal rates.

 

Any transfers or contributions to the Protection with Investment Performance variable investment options, either directly or through a Special DCA program and any contribution amounts in a Special DCA program that are designated for future transfers to the Protection with Investment Performance variable investment options, after the first day of any contract year will get the Annual rate and Deferral bonus rate in effect as of the most recent contract date anniversary.

 

 

well as the previous year’s Annual rate or Deferral bonus rate (whichever applies) for your contract. This information can also be found online, through your Equitable Client portal.

 

 

 

 

 

The Annual amount is an amount credited to your GIB benefit base on each contract date anniversary if there has ever been a withdrawal from your Protection with Investment Performance account. This amount is calculated by taking into account your GIB benefit base from the preceding contract date anniversary, the Annual rate under your contract, contributions and transfers to the Protection with Investment Performance account during the contract year and any withdrawals up to the Annual withdrawal amount during the contract year. The Annual amount adjustment to your GIB benefit base is a primary way to increase the value of your GIB benefit base.

 

Your Annual amount at the end of the contract year is calculated, as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Deferral bonus amount is an amount credited to your GIB benefit base on each contract date anniversary provided you have never taken a withdrawal from your

Protection with Investment Performance account. The amount is calculated by taking into account your GIB benefit base from the preceding contract date anniversary, the applicable Deferral bonus rate under your contract and contributions and transfers to the Protection with Investment Performance account during the contract year. The Deferral bonus amount adjustment to your GIB benefit base is a primary way to increase the value of your GIB benefit base. Your Deferral bonus amount at the end of the contract year is calculated as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The GIB benefit base stops rolling up on the contract date anniversary following the owner’s (or older joint owner, if applicable) 95th birthday or, if earlier, at contract maturity, or the owner’s (or older joint owner’s, if applicable) death.

 

 

Your GIB benefit base will automatically “reset” to equal the Protection with Investment Performance account value, if higher, on every contract date anniversary from your contract date, up to the contract date anniversary following your 95th birthday or contract maturity, if earlier.

 

For Series CP contracts, any credit amounts that are part of your Protection with Investment Performance account value are included in the calculation of your GIB benefit base reset.

If a reset is not applicable on your contract date anniversary, the GIB benefit base will not be eligible to be reset again until the next contract date anniversary. For jointly-owned contracts, eligibility to reset the GIB benefit base is based on the age of the older owner. For owned contracts, eligibility is based on the age of the annuitant or older joint annuitant.

 

Please see the “Fee table” and “Charges and expenses” for more information about the

charge. Your GIB benefit base will reset automatically unless

 

you opt out. We will notify you at least 45 days prior to your contract date anniversary if a fee increase has been declared. If you do not want your fee to increase, you must notify us in writing at least one business day prior to the contract date anniversary that you want to opt out of the reset. You can send us a written request to opt back in to automatic resets at a later date. The then current fee will apply upon the next reset.

 

If we do not increase the charge for the GIB when the GIB benefit base resets, the total dollar amount charged may still increase as a result of the reset since the charges may be applied to a higher GIB benefit base. See “Charges and expenses” for more information.

 

 

 

Your Annual withdrawal amount is calculated on the first day of each contract year beginning with the contract year that follows the contract year in which the Protection with Investment Performance account is funded, and is equal to:

 

 

 

Beginning with the contract year that follows the contract year in which you fund your Protection with Investment Performance account, if your Lifetime GIB payments have not begun, you may withdraw up to your Annual withdrawal amount without reducing your GIB benefit base and adversely affecting your Lifetime GIB payments. You do not have an Annual withdrawal amount in the contract year in which you fund the Protection with Investment Performance account. For a description of all material variations of this contract, including information on how withdrawals affect your Guaranteed benefit bases, see Appendix “State contract availability and/or variations of certain features and benefits”.

 

A withdrawal from your Protection with Investment Performance account in the first contract year in which the Protection with Investment Performance account is funded will reduce your GIB benefit base on a pro rata basis. The portion of a withdrawal from your Protection with Investment Performance account in excess of your Annual withdrawal amount, and all subsequent withdrawals from your Protection with Investment Performance account in that contract year, will always reduce your GIB benefit base on a pro rata basis. This is referred to as an “Excess withdrawal”. The reduction of your GIB benefit base on a pro rata basis means that we calculate the percentage of your current Protection with Investment Performance account

value that is being withdrawn and we reduce your current GIB benefit base by the same percentage. A pro rata withdrawal will have a significant adverse effect on your benefit base in cases where the Protection with Investment Performance account value is less than the benefit base. For an example of how a pro rata reduction works, see “How withdrawals affect your Guaranteed benefits”.

 

For more information, see “Example of how your Annual withdrawal amount; Annual amount and annual GIB benefit base adjustment; and the effect of an Excess withdrawal is calculated”. See also “How withdrawals affect your Guaranteed benefits” and see Appendix “Examples of how withdrawals affect your Guaranteed benefit bases” for examples of how withdrawals affect your Annual withdrawal amount.

 

Your Annual withdrawal amount is always calculated using the Annual rate in effect for your contract at the beginning of the contract year. The Deferral bonus rate, described above, is never used for the purposes of calculating the Annual withdrawal amount. Your Annual withdrawal amounts are not cumulative. If you withdraw less than your Annual withdrawal amount in any contract year, you may not add the remainder to your Annual withdrawal amount in any subsequent year. Your Annual withdrawal amount may be more than or less than your Lifetime GIB payments. See “Lifetime GIB payments”.

 

 

Assume you make a contribution of $200,000 and allocate $100,000 to your Protection with Investment Performance variable investment options and $100,000 to your Investment Performance variable investment options at issue. At the beginning of contract year three, assume you transfer $5,000 to your Protection with Investment Performance variable investment options. Also assume that your Annual rate is 4% and your Deferral bonus rate is 4.50% in each contract year. Accordingly, your GIB benefit base on your fifth contract date anniversary is $130,323.

 

The GIB benefit base of $130,323 is calculated as follows:

 

You start with $100,000 allocated to the Protection with Investment Performance variable investment options. This amount is your initial GIB benefit base.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your Annual withdrawal amount as of the beginning of contract year six is equal to $5,213, calculated as follows:

 

 

 

 

Please note that your Annual rate is used to calculate your Annual withdrawal amount. The Deferral bonus rate is never used to calculate your Annual withdrawal amount.

 

Further assume that during contract year six (on the 146th day of the contract year), you make a contribution of $10,000 to your Protection with Investment Performance variable investment options, making your current GIB benefit base after the contribution $140,323. Also assume that you withdraw your full Annual withdrawal amount of $5,213 during contract year six.

 

On your sixth contract date anniversary, your Annual amount is equal to $240, calculated as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please note that the withdrawal in contract year six terminated the Deferral bonus rate. Therefore on the sixth contract date anniversary, the Annual rate was used to calculate the Annual amount.

 

Your adjusted GIB benefit base is $140,563.

 

In contract year six, assume instead that you make a withdrawal of $8,213 (including any applicable withdrawal charges). This would result in an Excess withdrawal of $3,000 because your Annual withdrawal amount is only $5,213 ($8,213 – $5,213 = $3,000). Further, assume that your Protection with Investment Performance account value at the time of this withdrawal is $100,000. As described in this section, Excess withdrawals reduce your GIB benefit base on a pro rata basis. Accordingly, your GIB benefit base is reduced by $4,209 at the time of the withdrawal, calculated as follows:

 

 

 

 

On your sixth contract date anniversary, your adjusted GIB benefit base is $136,354, calculated as follows:

 

 

 

 

See Appendix “Examples of how withdrawals affect your Guaranteed benefit bases” for more examples of how withdrawals affect your Guaranteed benefit bases and Annual withdrawal amount.

 

 

The GIB guarantees annual lifetime payments (“Lifetime GIB payments”), which will begin at the earliest of:

 

 

 

 

Your Lifetime GIB payments will be calculated as described in this section. Whether your Lifetime GIB payments are triggered by your Protection with Investment Performance account value falling to zero or contract maturity or owner age 95, we use the same calculation to determine the amount of the payments. Neither a withdrawal of your Annual withdrawal amount nor a deduction of charges is considered an Excess withdrawal. Poor investment performance of the Protection with Investment Performance variable investment options may contribute to your Protection with Investment Performance account value falling to zero. Similarly, whether we pay you under a supplemental contract or under your Retirement Cornerstone Series contract, the calculation of the payments is not impacted.

 

For single owner contracts, the payout can be either based on a single life (the owner’s life) or joint lives. For IRA contracts, the joint life must be the spouse of the owner, and payments will be based on the age of the younger spouse. For jointly owned contracts, payments can be based on a single life (based on the life of the older owner) or joint lives (based on the age of the younger spouse). (For owners, payments are available on the same basis but are based on the annuitant or joint annuitant’s life). An owner may choose a single or joint life payout based on whether he or she wants Lifetime GIB payments to continue for the life of the younger spouse.

 

Your Lifetime GIB payments are calculated by applying a percentage to your GIB benefit base. If your Protection with Investment Performance account value is zero as described above, we will use your GIB benefit base as of the day your Protection with Investment Performance account value was reduced to zero. On the day your Protection with Investment Performance account value is reduced to zero, we calculate your GIB benefit base using the same formula described under “GIB benefit base”. Please note that there is no pro rata Annual amount added to your GIB benefit base on the day your Protection with Investment Performance account value is reduced to zero. Annual amounts are only added to your GIB benefit base at the end of the contract year.

 

Example:

 

Assume your Protection with Investment Performance account value goes to zero in the middle of the 10th contract year. At the beginning of the 10th contract year, the GIB benefit base is $100,000. If there were no contributions or transfers to the Protection with Investment Performance account or any excess withdrawals during that contract year, the GIB benefit base on the day your Protection with Investment Performance account value was reduced to zero would be $100,000.

 

If your Protection with Investment Performance account value is reduced to zero on your contract date anniversary as the result of the deduction of charges under the contract, we will add the Annual amount to your GIB benefit base.

The percentage is based on your age (or for Joint life contracts, the age of the younger spouse), as of the date your Protection with Investment Performance account value goes to zero or at contract maturity, as follows:

 

 

If your Protection with Investment Performance account value is reduced to zero, as described above, and you have no Investment Performance account value, the following applies:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If your Protection with Investment Performance account value is reduced to zero, as described above, and you have Investment Performance account value, the following applies:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If your Protection with Investment Performance account value has not fallen to zero before the contract maturity date or the contract date anniversary that follows the owner reaching age 95, whichever is sooner, the following applies:

 

 

 

 

-OR-

 

 

For example, assuming the current annuitization factors are greater than the guaranteed annuitization factors, a male contract owner who is age 95 and has a $100,000 GIB benefit base and $50,000 in Protection with Investment Performance account value would receive the greater of the following:

 

 

 

In this example, the contract owner’s monthly payment would be $1,065.

 

 

 

If you elected the GIB and your Protection with Investment Performance account value falls to zero due to an Excess withdrawal, we will terminate your GIB and you will receive no payment or supplementary life annuity contract, even if your GIB benefit base is greater than zero.

 

From time to time, we may offer you some form of payment or incentive in return for terminating or modifying certain guaranteed benefits. See “Guaranteed benefit offers” for more information.

 

Please see the Hypothetical illustrations in Appendix “Hypothetical illustrations” for an example of how Lifetime GIB payments are calculated when: (i) a hypothetical Protection with Investment Performance account value falls to zero, and (ii) a contract owner reaches age 95.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any credit amounts attributable to your contributions are not included in your GIB and GMDB benefit bases. If you decide to transfer amounts from your Investment Performance account to your Protection with Investment Performance variable investment options, only amounts representing contributions and earnings will increase your benefit bases. Credits to your Investment Performance account are considered transferred first, though any amount of that transfer that represents a credit will be excluded from your Guaranteed benefit bases. All transfers, however, will increase your Protection with Investment Performance account value by the total amount of the transfer.

 

For example:

 

On December 1st, you purchase a Series CP contract, make an initial contribution of $100,000. Your contract is issued with the GIB and the Return of Principal death benefit. You allocate the entire $100,000 contribution to the Investment Performance variable investment options and $0 to the Protection with Investment Performance variable investment options. In effect, you have not started to fund your Guaranteed benefits.

 

The credit applied to your contract is $4,000 ($100,000 x 4%), resulting in an initial Investment Performance account value of $104,000.

 

On December 15th, you decide to fund your Guaranteed benefits by transferring $10,000 to the Protection with Investment Performance variable investment options. After that transfer, your Protection with Investment Performance account value would be $10,000, but your GIB benefit base and Return of Principal benefit base would both be $6,000. ($10,000 – $4,000). This is because credits to your Investment Performance account are always considered transferred first.

 

How withdrawals affect your Guaranteed benefits

 

In general, withdrawals from your Protection with Investment Performance account will reduce your Guaranteed benefit bases on a pro rata basis. Reduction on a pro rata basis means that we calculate the percentage of your current Protection with Investment Performance account value that is being withdrawn and we reduce your current Guaranteed benefit bases by the same percentage.

 

For example, if your Protection with Investment Performance account value is $30,000 and you withdraw $12,000, you have withdrawn 40% of your Protection with Investment Performance account value. If your Guaranteed benefit base was $40,000 before the withdrawal, it would be reduced by $16,000 ($40,000 X .40) and your new Guaranteed benefit base after the withdrawal would be $24,000 ($40,000 – $16,000).

 

If your Protection with Investment Performance account value is greater than your Guaranteed benefit base, an Excess withdrawal will result in a reduction of your Guaranteed benefit

 

base that will be less than the withdrawal. For example, if your Protection with Investment Performance account value is $30,000 and you withdraw $12,000, you have withdrawn 40% of your Protection with Investment Performance account value. If your Guaranteed benefit base was $20,000 before the withdrawal, it would be reduced by $8,000 ($20,000 X .40) and your new Guaranteed benefit base after the withdrawal would be $12,000 ($20,000 – $8,000).

 

A pro rata deduction means that if you take a withdrawal that reduces your Guaranteed benefit bases on a pro rata basis and your Protection with Investment Performance account value is less than your Guaranteed benefit base, the amount of the Guaranteed benefit base reduction will exceed the amount of the withdrawal.

 

For purposes of calculating the adjustment to your Guaranteed benefit bases, the amount of the withdrawal will include the amount of any applicable withdrawal charge. Using the example above, the $12,000 withdrawal would include the withdrawal amount paid to you and the amount of any applicable withdrawal charge deducted from your Protection with Investment Performance account value. For more information on the calculation of the charge, see “Withdrawal charge”.

 

If you have a Series ADV contract, please note that withdrawals to pay advisory fees reduce your death benefit on a pro rata basis, which means it could reduce the benefit base significantly and by substantially more than the actual amount of the deduction. For example, assume your starting account value is $100,000 (all invested in variable investment options) and that your decide to withdraw your advisory fee of 1.50% annual rate at the end of each quarter. Assuming a growth rate of 5% annually (net of all other fees and charges), if you withdraw the advisory fees from your Series ADV contract, by the end of one year you will withdraw $1,546.50 to pay your adviser, your account value will be $103,425.00 and the Return of Principal death benefit base will be $98,500. Had you chosen not to take advisory fees from your contract, your account value at the end of the year and, therefore, your death benefit amount at that time, would have been $105,000. Over ten years, assuming a constant net growth rate of 5%, the account value and death benefit amount would be lower by $22,848.43 and the Return of Principal death benefit base would be $85,973.04, due to the withdrawals to pay the advisory fee. You should consider whether it is in your best interest to take withdrawals from your contract to pay advisory fees or pay them from another source.

 

Withdrawals from your Protection with Investment Performance account always reduce your Highest Anniversary Value benefit base and Return of Principal benefit base on a pro rata basis, as described above.

 

Withdrawals affect your GIB benefit base and to age 85 benefit base, as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please see Appendix “Examples of how withdrawals affect your Guaranteed benefit bases” for examples of how withdrawals affect your Guaranteed benefit bases.

 

Dropping or changing your Guaranteed benefits

 

You can drop or change your Guaranteed benefits, subject to our rules. Your ability to do so depends on whether you have funded your Protection with Investment Performance account. If you have not funded your Protection with Investment Performance account, we call this a “pre-funding” drop or change. If you have funded your Protection with Investment Performance account, we call this a “post-funding” drop. Also, in order to make a change to your Guaranteed minimum death benefit, you must meet the eligibility requirements for the new benefit. If you drop a Guaranteed benefit, you will not be permitted to add it back to your contract.

 

 

Prior to funding your Protection with Investment Performance account, you can drop your GIB or Guaranteed minimum death benefit, or change your Guaranteed minimum death benefit. For contracts with the GIB, the Guaranteed minimum death benefit cannot be changed without first dropping the GIB. In Appendix “Dropping or changing Guaranteed benefits”, we provide a chart that lists the possible Guaranteed benefit combinations under the Retirement Cornerstone contract and our rules for dropping and changing benefits prior to funding your Protection with Investment Performance account.

 

 

 

If you funded your Protection with Investment Performance account at issue and contributions to the contract are no longer subject to withdrawal charges, you have the option to drop both your GIB and Guaranteed minimum death benefit. Also, in some cases, you can drop your GIB and retain your Guaranteed minimum death benefit. If you funded your Protection with Investment Performance account after issue, you cannot drop your Guaranteed benefit(s) until the later of: (i) the contract date anniversary following the date the Protection with Investment Performance account was funded, and (ii) the expiration of all withdrawal charges.

 

 

If you funded your Protection with Investment Performance account at issue and your contract has been in force for four contract years, you have the option to drop both your GIB and Guaranteed minimum death benefit or in some cases, drop your GIB and retain your Guaranteed minimum death benefit. If you funded your Protection with Investment Performance account after issue, you cannot drop or change your Guaranteed benefit(s) until the later of: (i) the contract date anniversary following the funding of your Protection with Investment Performance account, and (ii) four years from contract issue.

 

If you decide to drop all Guaranteed benefits post-funding, we require that you complete the administrative form we provide for this purpose. You must either take a full withdrawal of your Protection with Investment Performance account or make a transfer to the Investment Performance variable investment options and guaranteed interest option. The Guaranteed benefits and any applicable charges will be terminated as of the business day we receive the properly completed administrative form at our processing office. Please note that when a Guaranteed benefit (other than the Return of Principal death benefit) is dropped on any date other than a contract date anniversary, we will deduct a pro rata portion of the charge for that year.

 

For contracts with the GIB, the Guaranteed minimum death benefit cannot be dropped without first dropping the GIB. In Appendix “Dropping or changing Guaranteed benefits”, we provide a chart that lists the possible Guaranteed benefit combinations under the Retirement Cornerstone contract and our rules for dropping and changing benefits if you have already funded your Protection with Investment Performance account.

 

Guaranteed benefit offers

 

From time to time, we may offer you some form of payment or incentive in return for terminating or modifying certain guaranteed benefits. Previously, we made offers to groups of contract owners that provided for an increase in account value in return for terminating their guaranteed death or income benefits. In the future, we may make additional offers to these and other groups of contract owners.

When we make an offer, we may vary the offer amount, up or down, among the same group of contract owners based on certain criteria such as account value , the difference between account value and any applicable benefit base, investment allocations and the amount and type of withdrawals taken. For example, for guaranteed benefits that have benefit bases that can be reduced on either a pro rata or dollar-for-dollar basis, depending on the amount of withdrawals taken, we may consider whether you have taken any withdrawal that has caused a pro rata reduction in your benefit base, as opposed to a dollar-for-dollar reduction. Also, we may increase or decrease offer amounts from offer to offer. In other words, we may make an offer to a group of contract owners based on an offer amount, and, in the future, make another offer based on a higher or lower offer amount to the remaining contract owners in the same group.

 

If you accept an offer that requires you to terminate a guaranteed benefit, we will no longer charge you for it, and you will not be eligible for any future offers related to that type of guaranteed benefit, even if such future offer would have included a greater offer amount or different payment or incentive.

 

Other Benefits

 

Dollar cost averaging

 

We offer a variety of dollar cost averaging programs. Not all of the programs described here are available with each Retirement Cornerstone Series contract. You may only participate in one program at a time. Each program allows you to gradually allocate amounts to available investment options by periodically transferring approximately the same dollar amount to the investment options you select. Regular allocations to the variable investment options will cause you to purchase more units if the unit value is low and fewer units if the unit value is high. Therefore, you may get a lower average cost per unit over the long term.

 

All amounts in a dollar cost averaging program will be transferred at the completion of the time period you select. Currently, our Special DCA programs time periods do not extend beyond 12 months. These plans of investing do not guarantee that you will earn a profit or be protected against losses.

 

 

 

 

We offer the following dollar cost averaging programs in the Retirement Cornerstone Series contracts:

 

 

 

 

 

The only dollar cost averaging programs that are available to fund your Guaranteed benefits are special dollar cost averaging and special money market dollar cost averaging (together, the “Special DCA programs”). Depending on the Retirement

 

Cornerstone Series contract you own, you will have one of the Special DCA programs available to you, but not both. Amounts allocated to a Special DCA program that are designated for future transfers to the Protection with Investment Performance variable investment options are included in the benefit bases for your Guaranteed benefits. The Special DCA programs allow you to gradually fund your Guaranteed benefits through systematic transfers to the Protection with Investment Performance variable investment options. Also, you may make systematic transfers to the Investment Performance variable investment options and the guaranteed interest option. Amounts in the account for special dollar cost averaging are credited with an enhanced interest rate over the time period selected. Amounts in the account for special money market dollar cost averaging are immediately invested in the EQ/Money Market variable investment option. Only new contributions may be allocated to a Special DCA program. For information on how a Special DCA program may affect certain Guaranteed benefits, see “Guaranteed income benefit” and “Guaranteed minimum death benefits”.

 

General dollar cost averaging and Investment simplifier, on the other hand, can only be used for systematic transfers to your Investment Performance variable investment options. Our Investment simplifier program is available for scheduled transfers from the guaranteed interest option to the Investment Performance variable investment options. Our General dollar cost averaging program is available for scheduled transfers from the EQ/Money Market variable investment option to the Investment Performance variable investment options. Below, we provide detail regarding each of the programs.

 

Generally, you may not elect both a dollar cost averaging program and a rebalancing option. The only exception is if you elect our Investment simplifier program with Option I under our rebalancing programs, which does not rebalance amounts in the guaranteed interest option. For more information on our rebalancing programs, see “Rebalancing among your Investment Performance variable investment options and guaranteed interest option” in “Transferring your money among investment options.”

 

We do not deduct a transfer charge for any transfer made in connection with our dollar cost averaging programs. We may, at any time, exercise our right to terminate transfers to any of the variable investment options and to limit the number of variable investment options which you may elect. Not all dollar cost averaging programs are available in all states. For a description of all material variations of this contract, including information on the availability of our dollar cost averaging programs in your state, see Appendix “State contract availability and/or variations of certain features and benefits”.

 

 

 

Under the special dollar cost averaging program, you may dollar cost average from the account for special dollar cost averaging,

which is part of the general account. We credit daily interest, which will never be less than 2% or the guaranteed lifetime minimum rate for the guaranteed interest option, whichever is greater, to amounts allocated to this account. Currently, the guaranteed lifetime minimum rate is 1.00%. We guarantee to pay the current interest rate that is in effect on the date that your contribution is allocated to this account. That interest rate will apply to that contribution as long as it remains in the account for special dollar cost averaging. The guaranteed interest rate for the time period that you select will be shown in your contract for your initial contribution. We set the interest rates periodically, based on our discretion and according to procedures that we have. We reserve the right to change these procedures.

 

We will transfer amounts from the account for special dollar cost averaging into the investment options you designate over an available time period that you select. If the special dollar cost averaging program is selected at the time of the application to purchase the contract, a 60 day rate lock will apply from the date of application. Any contribution(s) received during this 60 day period will be credited with the interest rate offered on the date of application for the duration of the time period selected at application. Any contribution(s) received after the 60 day rate lock period has ended will be credited with the then current interest rate for the duration of the time period selected at application. Contribution(s) made to the account for special dollar cost averaging after the contract has been issued will be credited with the then current interest rate on the date the contribution is received by us for the time period initially selected by you. Once the time period you selected has ended, you may select another time period for future contributions. At that time, you may also select a different allocation for transfers to the investment options, or, if you wish, we will continue to use the allocation that you previously made.

 

 

Under the special money market dollar cost averaging program, you may dollar cost average from the account for special money market dollar cost averaging, which is part of the EQ/Money Market variable investment option. We will transfer amounts from the account for special money market dollar cost averaging into the Protection with Investment Performance variable investment options, the Investment Performance variable investment options and the guaranteed interest option over an available time period that you select. One of the primary benefits of the special money market dollar cost averaging program is that amounts in the program designated for the Protection with Investment Performance variable investment options count toward your Guaranteed benefits on the business day you establish the program.

 

Under both Special DCA programs, the following applies:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If your value in the EQ/Money Market variable investment option is at least $5,000, you may choose, at any time, to have a specified dollar amount or percentage of your value transferred from that option to any of the Investment Performance variable investment options. For a description of all material variations of this contract, including information on the availability of our general dollar cost averaging program, see Appendix “State contract availability and/or variations of certain features and benefits”.

 

You can select to have transfers made on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis. The transfer date will be the same calendar day of the month as the contract date, but not later than the 28th day of the month. You can also specify the number of

transfers or instruct us to continue making the transfers until all amounts in the EQ/Money Market variable investment option have been transferred out. The minimum amount that we will transfer each time is $250. The instructions for the program may differ from your allocation instructions on file.

 

If, on any transfer date, your value in the EQ/Money Market variable investment option is equal to or less than the amount you have elected to have transferred, the entire amount will be transferred. The general dollar cost averaging program will then end. You may change the transfer amount once each contract year or cancel this program at any time.

 

You may not participate in our optional rebalancing programs if you elect the general dollar cost averaging program.

 

 

 

In order to elect the fixed-dollar option, you must have a minimum of $5,000 in the guaranteed interest option on the date we receive your election form at our processing office. The transfer date will be the same calendar day of the month as the contract date but not later than the 28th day of the month. The minimum transfer amount is $50. Unlike the account for special dollar cost averaging, the fixed dollar option does not offer enhanced rates. Also, this option is subject to the guaranteed interest option transfer limitations described under “Transferring your account value” in “Transferring your money among investment options”. While the program is running, any transfer that exceeds those limitations will cause the program to end for that contract year. You will be notified if this occurs. You must send in a request form to resume the program in the next or subsequent contract years.

 

If, on any transfer date, your value in the guaranteed interest option is equal to or less than the amount you have elected to have transferred, the entire amount will be transferred, provided the transfer complies with the same guaranteed interest option transfer limitations referenced above. If the transfer does not comply with the transfer limitations, the transfer will not be made and the program will end. You may change the transfer amount once each contract year or cancel this program at any time.

 

 

amount in the guaranteed interest option falls below $7,500 at the beginning of the month, no transfer will be made that month. We will automatically cancel the interest sweep program if the amount in the guaranteed interest option is less than $7,500 on the last day of the month for two months in a row. For the interest sweep option, the first monthly transfer will occur on the last business day of the month following the month that we receive your election form at our processing office. Transfers under the Interest sweep option are subject to the guaranteed interest option transfer limitations described under “Transferring your account value” in “Transferring your money among investment options”.

 

Rebalancing among your Investment Performance variable investment options and guaranteed interest option

 

We offer two rebalancing programs that you can use to automatically reallocate your Investment Performance account value among your Investment Performance variable investment options and the guaranteed interest option. Option I allows you to rebalance your Investment Performance account value among the Investment Performance variable investment options. Option II allows you to rebalance your Investment Performance account value among the Investment Performance variable investment options and the guaranteed interest option.

 

To enroll in one of our rebalancing programs, you must notify us in writing or through Equitable Client portal and tell us:

 

 

 

Rebalancing will occur on the same day of the month as the contract date. If a contract is established after the 28th, rebalancing will occur on the first business day of the month following the contract date. If you elect quarterly rebalancing, the rebalancing in the last quarter of the contract year will occur on the contract date anniversary.

 

Once it is available, you may elect or terminate the rebalancing program at any time. You may also change your allocations under the program at any time. Once enrolled in the rebalancing program, it will remain in effect until you instruct us in writing to terminate the program. Requesting an investment option transfer while enrolled in our rebalancing program will not automatically change your allocation instructions for rebalancing your account value. This means that upon the next scheduled rebalancing, we will transfer amounts among your investment options pursuant to the allocation instructions previously on file for your program. Changes to your allocation instructions for the rebalancing program (or termination of your enrollment in the program) must be in writing and sent to our processing office. Termination requests can be made online through Equitable Client portal. See “How to reach us” in “The Company”. There is no charge for the rebalancing feature.

 

 

 

Appendix: Investment options available under the contract

 

 

 

Variable Investment options

 

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#EQH146634. You can request this information at no cost by calling 1-877-522-5035 or by sending an email request to EquitableFunds@dfinsolutions.com. If you elect a Guaranteed benefit, you may only invest in the Portfolios listed in the Protection with Investment Performance account table below.

 

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.