Lincoln Financial has released a new index-linked annuity, Lincoln Level Advantage 2 which launched May 20th.
Lincoln’s next generation product offers the following enhancements:
- Secure Lock+SM, a feature that allows clients to lock in the account value during a term, as often as once per year. Then, they can reset the growth potential and downside protection and finish the term without having to reallocate into a new crediting strategy.
- Lincoln states that they have the only index-linked annuity to offer Capital Group ETF strategies:
- Capital Group Growth ETF (CGGR) seeks growth by investing in a broad group of companies that have potential for capital appreciation.
- Capital Group Global Growth Equity ETF (CGGO) takes a bottom-up approach, analyzing all aspects of companies with significant growth potential, including where they do business, their position in their industry, their products and the health of their supply chains.
- Simplified options so you can focus on what investors want with a more streamlined offering.
For more information, contact your Lincoln representative.
Nationwide recently announced changes to their registered index-linked annuity (RILA) offerings. Here is a summary of those changes:
Nationwide announced a new version of the Nationwide Defined Protection® Annuity (DPA), the Nationwide Defined Protection® Annuity 2.0 (DPA 2.0), which launched May 20, 2024, bringing to market key features of the original DPA product, with several updates to provide further flexibility, customization, and enhance the client and advisor experience.
Please note: this is a regulatory change and May 19, 2024 was the last day that DPA 1.0 can be sold. DPA 2.0 will replace the currently offered DPA product.
| Defined Protection® Annuity Enhancements | ||
| DPA 1.0 Features | DPA 2.0 Features | |
| Protection on Interim Value | Proprietary formula provided protection from interim strategy values dropping below the floor provided by the Protection Levels | Protection Level – the protection and resulting floor are applied daily. This means the strategy values will never dip below the floor provided by the Protection Levels |
| Multiple Index Strategies | Select up to 5 Index Strategies at any given time | Select up to 10 Index Strategies at any given time – this allows clients to further diversify and customize among different indexes, term lengths, and protection levels |
| Performance Lock | Lock-in feature allowed client to lock the Index Performance, and the values associated with that Index Strategy were based on that Index Value for the remainder of the Strategy Term | Performance Lock: once per Strategy Term, client may lock in the Index Strategy ValueThe value of the Index Strategy will move to the Fixed StrategyOn next contract anniversary, client may move to new strategy or remain in the Fixed Strategy |
| Simplified Contract Values | Contract Accumulation Value (CAV) is total of Strategy Accumulation Values (SAVs), which fluctuate daily based upon proprietary formula | Contract Value is interim value and is based on Black- Scholes formula. This will simplify the client and advisor experience and make firm data feeds more straightforward |
| Free Withdrawal | Preferred Withdrawals received preferential calculations of gains and losses, while Non-Preferred Withdrawals did not, and received a Non-Preferred Withdrawal AdjustmentCDSC ended after 6-years, but the concept of Preferred and Non-Preferred Withdrawals continued throughout the life of the contract | Removed concept of Preferred/Non-Preferred WithdrawalsFree Withdrawals (only during CDSC Period) – 10% of the contract value at the beginning of the contract year or the required minimum distribution amount (whichever is greater) |
| Fixed Strategy | No | Yes – will allow clients to earn a fixed rate of return during 1-year terms |
| What’s staying the same | ||
| Fees | No annual administrative or contract fee – costs integrated into the crediting strategies, so there are no contract-level fees that could take value below the floor (CDSC and MVA may apply to withdrawals) | |
| Protection Levels | 90%, 95% and 100% Protection – guarantees losses will never be greater than 10%, 5% and 0% for an Index Strategy Term | |
| Term Lengths | 1- and 3-year terms | |
| Indexes | Same 7 indexes available. More info. can be found here: https://www.definedprotection.com/index-options/ | |
| DPA 1.0 Transition Period – No state or firm exceptions to these dates, regardless of product approval date. Access to DPA 1.0 paperwork and Order Entry will be turned off at end-of-day on Sunday, May 19. Nationwide cannot make exceptions on issue date. | |
| New Business Step | Date Required |
| Application and TOA Signed Date / Electronic Ticket Submit Date | 5/19/24 |
| Last Day for NW to receive Application/TOA | 5/24/24 |
| Last Day to Receive Money | 6/26/24 |
NAIC training:
- Product training is required in all NAIC states. All annuity producers in all NAIC states are required to complete Nationwide Defined Protection Annuity 2.0 product training prior to solicitation:
- Advisors can find training at: RegEd and Kaplan (Product Code: DefinedProtect2.0)
- This product training will satisfy NAIC requirements in those states that require NAIC training
- Advisors already trained on the currently offered Nationwide Defined Protection Annuity 1.0 will not need to retrain – they will receive supplementary training via email
TC142139(0524)1