Form 485BPOS Brighthouse Variable
As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 17, 2025
File Nos. 333-200255
811-05200
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM N-4
| REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 |
|
| Pre-Effective Amendment No. |
☐ |
| Post-Effective Amendment No. 11 |
☒ |
| and |
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| REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 |
|
| Amendment No. 327 |
☒ |
(Check Appropriate Box or Boxes)
Brighthouse Variable Annuity Account C
(Exact Name of Registrant)
Brighthouse Life Insurance Company
(Name of Depositor)
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277
(Address of Depositor's Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
Charlotte, NC 28277
(Address of Depositor's Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)
Depositor's Telephone Number, including Area Code
(980) 365-7100
(980) 365-7100
(Name and Address of Agent for Service)
Brighthouse Life Insurance Company
c/o The Corporation Trust Company
1209 Orange Street
Corporation Trust Center
New Castle County
Wilmington, DE 19801
(800) 448-5350
c/o The Corporation Trust Company
1209 Orange Street
Corporation Trust Center
New Castle County
Wilmington, DE 19801
(800) 448-5350
Copies to:
W. Thomas Conner
Carlton Fields
1025 Thomas Jefferson St., N.W.
Suite 400 West
Washington, DC 20007-5208
Carlton Fields
1025 Thomas Jefferson St., N.W.
Suite 400 West
Washington, DC 20007-5208
Approximate Date of Proposed Public Offering: On April 28, 2025 or as soon
thereafter as practicable.
It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box):
☐
immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)
☒
on April
28,
2025 pursuant to paragraph (b)
☐
60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
☐
on (date) pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) of rule 485 under the Securities Act.
If appropriate, check the following box:
☐
this post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed
post-effective amendment.
The Fixed And
Variable Annuity
issued
by
Brighthouse Life Insurance
Company
and
Brighthouse Variable Annuity
Account C
COVA VARIABLE ANNUITY, FIRSTAR SUMMIT VARIABLE ANNUITY, PREMIER ADVISOR VARIABLE ANNUITY, DESTINY SELECT VARIABLE ANNUITY,
PREVAIL VARIABLE
ANNUITY
April 28, 2025
This prospectus describes Cova Variable Annuity, Firstar Summit
Variable Annuity, Premier Advisor Variable Annuity, Destiny Select Variable Annuity, and Prevail Variable Annuity (the “contracts”), flexible premium deferred variable annuity
contracts offered by Brighthouse Life Insurance Company (“BLIC”, the
“Company”, or “we” or “us”). The contract is offered for individuals and some tax qualified and non-tax qualified retirement plans. Currently the contract is not available for
new sales. The contract has a fixed account that offers an interest rate guaranteed by us
and variable investment portfolios.
Additional information about certain investment products, including
variable annuities, has been prepared by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s staff and is available at Investor.gov.
The contracts:
•are not bank deposits
•are not FDIC insured
•are not insured by any federal government agency
•are not guaranteed by any bank or credit union
•may be subject to loss of principal
The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or determined if this prospectus is
accurate or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal
offense.
1
TABLE OF CONTENTSPage
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| A-1 | |
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| B-1 | |
| B-1 |
2
Because of the complex nature of the contract, we have used certain words or terms in this prospectus which may need an explanation. We have identified the
following as some of these words or terms. The page that is indicated here is where you
will find the best explanation for the word or term. These words and terms are in italics on the indicated page.
Page
account value or contract value15
accumulation phase11
accumulation unit14
annuitant 12
annuity date11
annuity option12
annuity payments12
annuity unit14
beneficiary 46
BLIC, Company, we, us42
contracts1
fixed account11
income phase11
investment portfolios or variable investment portfolios15
joint owner46
owner 46
purchase payment14
Separate Account42
tax deferral11
Page
account value or contract value15
accumulation phase11
accumulation unit14
annuitant 12
annuity date11
annuity option12
annuity payments12
annuity unit14
beneficiary 46
BLIC, Company, we, us42
contracts1
fixed account11
income phase11
investment portfolios or variable investment portfolios15
joint owner46
owner 46
purchase payment14
Separate Account42
tax deferral11
3
IMPORTANT INFORMATION YOU SHOULD
CONSIDER ABOUT THE CONTRACT
| |
Fees and Expenses |
Location in
Prospectus | |||
| Charges for Early
Withdrawals |
Fee Table and
Examples
Expenses – Withdrawal Charge | ||||
| Transaction
Charges |
In addition to withdrawal charges, you also may be charged for the
following transactions: transfers of cash value between
investment options, which include the
variable investment portfolios and the
fixed account.
Transfer Fee. Currently, we allow unlimited transfers among the investment options without charge. However, we reserve the right to charge for transfers
after the first 12 transfers per year. |
Fee Table and
Examples
Expenses –
Transfer Fee | |||
| Ongoing Fees and
Expenses (annual charges) |
The table below describes the fees and expenses that you may pay
each year,
depending on the options you choose. Please refer to your contract
specifications page for information about the specific
fees you will pay each year. |
||||
| Annual Fee |
Minimum |
Maximum | |||
| Base contract1 |
1.43% |
1.43% | |||
| Investment options
(portfolio company fees and
expenses)2 |
0.40% |
1.10% | |||
| 1 As a percentage of average account value in the Separate Account. The charge shown also
includes the contract maintenance charge.
2 As a percentage of fund assets before temporary expense reimbursements and/or fee waivers. | |||||
| Because your contract is customizable, the choices you make affect how
much you will pay. To help you understand the cost of owning your
contract, the following table shows the lowest and
highest cost you could pay each year, based on current charges. This estimate
assumes that you do not take withdrawals from the
contract, which could add withdrawal charges
that substantially increase costs. |
|||||
| Lowest Annual Cost
$1,670 |
Highest Annual Cost
$2,138 | ||||
| Assumes: |
Assumes: | ||||
| ●Investment of $100,000 ●5% annual appreciation ●Least expensive portfolio company fees and expenses ●No additional purchase payments,
transfers, or withdrawals ●No sales charges |
●Investment of $100,000 ●5% annual appreciation ●Most expensive portfolio company fees and expenses ●No sales charges | ||||
| |
Risks |
| |||
| Risk of Loss |
You can lose money by investing in this contract, including loss of
principal. |
Principal Risks of Investing in the Contract | |||
4
| |
Risks |
| |||
| Not a Short-Term
Investment |
This contract is not a short-term investment and is not appropriate for
an investor who needs ready access to cash.
Withdrawal charges may apply for the first 5 years following a Purchase
Payment. Withdrawal charges will reduce the value of your
contract if you withdraw money during that
time. The benefits of tax deferral mean the contract is
more beneficial to investors with a long time
horizon. |
Principal Risks
of Investing in
the Contract | |||
| Risks Associated
with Investment
Options |
●An investment in this contract is subject to the risk of poor investment
performance and can vary depending on the performance of the investment
options available under the contract (e.g.,
variable investment portfolios). ●Each investment option, including the fixed account, has its own unique
risks. ●You should review the prospectuses for the available funds and the
prospectus disclosure concerning the
fixed account before making an
investment decision. |
Principal Risks
of Investing in
the Contract | |||
| Insurance
Company Risks |
An investment in the contract is subject to the risks related to us.
Any obligations (including under the
fixed account), or guarantees and benefits of
the contract that exceed the assets of the
Separate Account are subject to our
claims-paying ability. If we experience financial distress, we may not
be able to meet our obligations to you. More information
about BLIC, including our financial strength ratings, is
available by contacting us at (888) 243-1968. |
Principal Risks
of Investing in
the Contract | |||
| |
Restrictions |
| |||
| Investments |
●Certain investment portfolios may not be available depending on the
version of the contract that you purchased.
●Currently, we allow unlimited transfers without charge among investment
options during the
accumulation phase. However, we reserve the right to
impose a charge for transfers in excess of 12 per
year. ●We reserve the right to limit transfers in circumstances of
frequent or large transfers. ●We reserve the right to remove or substitute the investment portfolios
available as investment options under the contract. |
||||
| |
Taxes |
| |||
| Tax Implications |
●Consult with a tax professional to determine the tax implications of an
investment in and payments received under this contract.
●If you purchase the contract through a tax-qualified plan or individual
retirement account, you do not get any additional tax
benefit. ●You will generally not be taxed on increases in the value of
the contract until they are withdrawn. Withdrawals will
be subject to ordinary income tax, and may be subject to
tax penalties if you take a withdrawal before age
59 1∕2. |
Federal
Income Tax
Status | |||
| |
Conflicts of Interest |
| |||
| Investment
Professional
Compensation |
Your investment professional may receive compensation for selling this
contract to you, in the form of commissions, additional
cash benefits (e.g., bonuses), and non-cash compensation.
This conflict of interest may influence your investment
professional to recommend this contract over another
investment for which the investment professional is not compensated or
compensated less. |
Other
Information –
Compensation
Paid to Selling
Firms | |||
| Exchanges |
If you already own an insurance contract, some investment professionals
may have a financial incentive to offer you a new
contract in place of the one you own. You should only
exchange a contract you already own if you determine,
after comparing the features, fees, and risks of both contracts, that it is better for you to purchase the new contract rather than continue to
own your existing contract. |
Replacement of Contracts and Other Exchanges | |||
5
OVERVIEW OF THE
CONTRACT
Purpose. The contract is a variable annuity contract. It provides a means for investing on a tax-deferred basis
in our fixed account and the variable investment portfolios (or investment portfolios),
together “investment options.” The contract is designed generally for an investor who intends to hold the contract for a long period of time and then use the contract value (in the form of
either withdrawals or annuity payments) for retirement savings or other long-term
investment purposes. The contract has various features that may be appropriate for you based on your financial situation and objectives, including certain death benefit features which can be used to
transfer assets to your beneficiaries. Because of the withdrawal charge (which is in effect
for many years) and the possibility of income tax and tax penalties on early withdrawals, the
contract should not be viewed as an investment vehicle offering low cost liquidity. Your
financial goal in acquiring the contract should focus on a long-term insurance product,
offering the prospect of investment growth.
Phases of the Contract. The contract has two phases: The accumulation phase and the income phase. During the accumulation phase, earnings accumulate on a
tax-deferred basis and are taxed as income when you make a withdrawal. To help you
accumulate assets during the accumulation phase, you can invest your purchase payments and
contract value in: (1) investment portfolios available under the contract, each of which has its own investment strategies and risks; investment adviser(s); expense ratio; and performance history; and (2)
the fixed account option, which offers a guaranteed interest rate. A list of investment portfolios in which you can invest is provided in Appendix A.
The income phase occurs when you or a designated payee begin receiving regular annuity payments from
your contract. All death benefits terminate without value at the start of the income phase.
In addition, once the income phase begins you generally may no longer take withdrawals from
the contract. Depending on the annuity option you elect, any remaining guarantee may be paid to your beneficiary (or beneficiaries).
Contract Features. The following is a brief description of the contract’s primary features.
Contract Versions. This prospectus describes the following versions of the contract: Cova Variable Annuity, Firstar Summit Variable Annuity, Premier
Advisor Variable Annuity, Destiny Select Variable Annuity, and Prevail
Variable Annuity. Certain investment portfolios may not be available to you depending on which version
of the contract you purchased.
Accessing your Money. Before you annuitize, you can withdraw money from your contract at any time. If you take a withdrawal, you may have to pay a withdrawal charge and/or income taxes, including a tax penalty
if you are younger than age 59 1∕2.
Tax Treatment. You can transfer money among the investment options without tax implications, and earnings (if any) on your investments are generally
tax-deferred. You are only subject to tax upon: (1) making a withdrawal; (2) receiving a
payment from us; or (3) payment of a death benefit.
Death Benefit. The contract includes, at no additional cost, a standard death benefit that will pay a death benefit
to your beneficiary (ies) if you die during the accumulation phase. The standard death
benefit options differ depending on the date on which, and the state in which, you
purchased your contract.
Additional Services.
•Dollar Cost Averaging Program. This program allows you to systematically transfer a set amount each month between certain Investment
Portfolios and the Fixed
Account.
•Automatic Rebalancing Program. This program directs us to automatically rebalance your contract to return to your original percentage investment
allocations on a periodic basis.
•Systematic Withdrawal Program. This program allows you to receive regular automatic monthly withdrawals from your contract up to 10% of your total purchase payments each year. No withdrawal charge will be imposed on these payments.
•Electronic Delivery. As an owner, you may elect to receive electronic delivery of current prospectuses related to this contract, as well as other contract related documents.
6
FEE TABLE AND
EXAMPLES
The following tables describe the fees and expenses
that you will pay when buying, owning, and surrendering, or making withdrawals from the contract. Please refer to your contract specifications page for information about the specific fees you will pay each year.
The first table describes the fees and expenses that
you will pay at the time that you buy the contract, surrender the contract, make withdrawals from the contract, or transfer contract value between investment options. State premium taxes of 0% to 3.5% may also be deducted.
Transaction Expenses
| Withdrawal Charge (Note 1)
(as a percentage of purchase payments withdrawn) |
5% |
| |
|
| Transfer Fee (Note 2) |
$25 or 2% of transfer, whichever is less, per transfer $0 (First 12 per year) |
Note 1. If an amount withdrawn is determined to include the withdrawal of prior purchase payments, a withdrawal charge may be assessed. After we
have the purchase payment for 5 years there is no charge for withdrawal of that purchase payment. See “Expenses – Withdrawal Charge.”
Note 2. There is no charge for the first 12 transfers in a contract year; thereafter the fee is the lesser of $25 or 2% of the transfer. We currently are waiving the transfer fee, but reserve the right to charge the fee in the future.
The next table describes the fees and expenses that you will pay each year during the time that you own the contract, not including investment portfolio fees and expenses.
| Annual Contract Expenses |
|
|
| Administrative Expenses (Note 1) |
$30 |
|
| Base Contract Expenses (Note 2) |
1.40% |
|
| (as a percentage of account value in the Separate Account) |
|
|
Note 1. We call these expenses the “contract maintenance charge” in your contract, as well as in other places in this prospectus. It is
charged every year on the anniversary of the date when your contract was issued if the value of your contract is less than $50,000. It may be charged at the time you make
a complete withdrawal. Different policies apply during the income phase of the contract. For instance, if the value of your contract on the annuity date is less than $50,000, then we will not deduct the charge. After the annuity date, the charge will be collected monthly out of the annuity payment, regardless of the size of your contract. See “Expenses” section of the prospectus, under the sub-heading “Contract Maintenance Charge.” In the section entitled “Important Information You Should Consider About Your Contract” earlier in this prospectus, we are required to present this charge as part of the base contract.
Note 2. We call these expenses “Insurance Charges” in
your contract, as well as in other places in this prospectus. These charges are comprised of the mortality and expense risk premium equal to 1.25% and the administrative
expense charge equal to 0.15%. These charges are deducted solely from contract value in the Separate Account. See “Expenses” section of the prospectus, under
the sub-heading “Insurance Charges” for more information.
The next table shows the minimum and maximum total operating expenses charged by the
investment portfolios that you may pay periodically during the time that you own the contract. A complete list of investment portfolios available under the contract, including their annual expenses, may be found in Appendix A.
Annual Investment Portfolio Expenses
| |
Minimum |
Maximum |
| Total Annual Investment Portfolio Expenses |
|
|
| (expenses that are deducted from Investment Portfolio assets, including
management fees, distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees, and other
expenses) |
0.40% |
1.10% |
7
Examples
These Examples are intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the contract with the cost of investing in other variable annuity contracts. These costs include Transaction Expenses, Annual Contract Expenses, and Annual Portfolio Company Expenses.
The Examples assume that you invest $100,000 in the contract for the time
periods indicated. The Examples also assume that your investment has a 5% return each year and assumes the most expensive Annual Portfolio Company Expenses (“maximum”) or the least expensive Annual Portfolio Expenses (“minimum”).
Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these
assumptions, your costs would be the following:
(1) If you surrender your contract at the end of the applicable time
period:
| Time Periods | ||||
| |
1 year |
3 years |
5 years |
10 years |
| maximum |
$7,390 |
$11,798 |
$16,968 |
$26,637 |
| minimum |
$6,830 |
$10,104 |
$14,124 |
$20,853 |
(2) If you do not surrender your contract or if you annuitize at the end of
the applicable time period:
| Time Periods | ||||
| |
1 year |
3 years |
5 years |
10 years |
| maximum |
$2,390 |
$7,298 |
$12,468 |
$26,637 |
| minimum |
$1,830 |
$5,604 |
$9,624 |
$20,853 |
The Examples should not be considered a representation of past or future expenses or annual rates of return of any investment portfolio. Actual expenses and annual rates of return may be more or less than those assumed for the purpose of the Examples.
8
PRINCIPAL RISKS OF INVESTING IN
THE CONTRACT
Unsuitable as Short-Term Savings Vehicle. The contract is intended for retirement savings or other long-term investment purposes. The benefits of tax deferral mean the contract is more beneficial to investors
with a long time horizon. It is not suitable as a short-term savings vehicle. This means if
you plan to withdraw money or surrender the contract for short-term needs, it may not be
the right contract for you. A charge may be assessed on withdrawals and surrenders, and it
could be substantial. Please discuss your insurance needs and financial
objectives with your financial representative.
Investment Risk. You bear the risk of any decline in the contract value of your contract resulting from the performance of the investment portfolios you have chosen. The contract value could decline very
significantly, and there is a risk of loss of the entire amount invested. This risk varies
with each investment portfolio. This risk could have a significant negative impact on certain benefits and guarantees under the contract. The investment risks are described in the prospectuses for the investment
portfolio.
Insurance Company Risk. It is possible that we could experience financial difficulty in the future and even become insolvent, and therefore unable to provide
all of the guarantees and benefits that exceed the assets in the Separate Account that we
promise. Likewise, our experiencing financial difficulty could impair our ability to
fulfill our obligations under the fixed account offered under this contract.
Tax Consequences. Withdrawals are generally taxable (to the extent of any earnings in the contract), and prior to age 59 1∕2 a tax penalty may apply. In addition, even if the contract is held for years before any withdrawal is made, the withdrawals are taxable as ordinary income
rather than capital gains.
Cybersecurity and Certain Business Continuity Risks. Our variable annuity contract business is largely conducted through complex information technology and communications systems operated by us and our
service providers and business partners (e.g., the investment portfolios and the firms
involved in the distribution and sale of our variable annuity contracts). Our operations rely
on the secure processing, storage and transmission of confidential and other information in
our systems and the systems of third-party service providers. For example,
many routine operations, such as processing Owners’ requests and elections and day-to-day
recordkeeping, are all executed through computer networks and systems. We have established
administrative and technical controls and business continuity and resilience plans to protect our operations against attempts by unauthorized third parties to improperly access, modify, disrupt the
operation of, or prevent access to critical networks or systems or data within them (a
“cyber-attack”). Despite these protocols, the techniques used to attack systems and networks change frequently, are becoming more sophisticated, and can originate from a wide variety of sources including
terrorists, nation states, financially motivated actors, internal actors, or third parties,
such as external service providers, and the techniques used change frequently or are often
not recognized until after they have been launched. The rapid evolution and increased adoption of artificial intelligence technologies may intensify our cybersecurity risks, including the deployment of artificial
intelligence technologies by threat actors. There may be an increased risk of cyber-attacks
during periods of geo-political or military conflict.
A cyber-attack could have a material, negative impact on BLIC and the Separate Account, as well as individual Owners and their contracts. There are inherent
limitations in our plans and systems, including the possibility that certain risks have not
been identified or that unknown threats may emerge in the future. Unanticipated problems
with, or failures of, our disaster recovery systems and business continuity plans could
have a material impact on our ability to conduct business and on our financial condition
and operations, and such events could result in regulatory fines or sanctions, litigation, penalties or financial losses, reputational harm, loss of customers, and/or additional compliance costs for us. Our
operations also could be negatively impacted by a cyber-attack affecting a third party,
such as a service provider, business partner, another participant in the financial markets, or a governmental or regulatory authority. Potential attacks can occur through a variety of sources,
including, but not limited to, cyber-attacks, phishing attacks, account takeover attempts,
the introduction of computer viruses or malicious code, ransomware or other extortion tactics, denial of service attacks, credential stuffing, and other computer-related penetrations. Hardware,
software or applications developed by us or received from third parties may contain
exploitable vulnerabilities, bugs, or defects in design, maintenance or manufacture or other issues that could compromise information and cybersecurity.
9
Malicious actors may attempt to
fraudulently induce employees, customers, or other users of our systems to disclose
credentials or other similar sensitive information in order to gain access to our systems or data, or that of our customers, through social engineering, phishing, mobile phone malware, and other methods. Cybersecurity
threats can originate from a wide variety of sources including, but not limited to, natural
catastrophe, military or terrorist actions, public health crises (such as the COVID-19
pandemic), and unanticipated problems with our or our service providers’ disaster
recovery systems. Such disasters and events may adversely affect our ability to conduct
business or administer the contract, particularly if our employees or the employees of our
service providers are unable or unwilling to perform their responsibilities as a result of
any such event.
Cyber-attacks, disruptions or failures to our business operations can interfere with our processing of
contract transactions, including the processing of transfer orders from our website or with
the investment portfolios; impact our ability to calculate Accumulation Unit values; cause the release and/or possible loss, misappropriation or corruption of confidential Owner or business
information; or impede order processing or cause other operational issues. Cyber-attacks,
disruptions or failures may also impact the issuers of securities in which the investment portfolios invest, and it is possible the funds underlying your contract could lose value. There can be no assurance that we or
our service providers or the investment portfolios will avoid losses affecting your
contract due to cyber-attacks, disruptions or failures in the future. Although we continually make efforts to identify and reduce our exposure to cybersecurity risk, there is no guarantee that we will be able to
successfully manage and mitigate this risk at all times. Furthermore, we cannot control the
cybersecurity plans and systems implemented by third parties, including service providers or
issuers of securities in which the investment portfolios invest.
10
THE ANNUITY CONTRACT
This prospectus describes the Fixed and Variable Annuity Contract issued by BLIC. Currently, BLIC is not
offering this contract for new sales. However, you may continue to make additional purchase
payments to your contract.
The contract is intended for retirement savings or other long-term investment purposes. The contract has
features and benefits that may be appropriate for you based on your financial situation and
objectives, but we are not a fiduciary and do not give advice or make recommendations
regarding insurance or investment products, or any securities transactions or investment
strategies involving securities (including account recommendations). You should ask your
financial representative for guidance regarding whether the contract may be appropriate for you. Please bear in mind that your financial representative, or any financial firm or financial professional
you consult to provide advice, is acting on your behalf. We are not a party to any
agreement between you and your financial professional.
An annuity is a contract between you, the owner, and an insurance company (in this case BLIC), where the insurance company promises to pay an income to you, in
the form of annuity payments. Annuity payments must begin on a designated date that is at
least 30 days in the future. Until you decide to begin receiving annuity payments, your
annuity is in the accumulation phase. If you die during the accumulation phase, your beneficiary (or beneficiaries) will receive the death benefit under your contract (see “Death Benefit” for more information).
Once you begin receiving annuity payments, your contract switches to the
income phase. There is no death benefit during the income phase; however, depending on the annuity option you elect,
any remaining guarantee may be paid to your beneficiary (or beneficiaries) (see
“Annuity Payments (The Income Phase)” for more information).
The contract benefits from tax deferral. Tax deferral means that you are not taxed on earnings or appreciation on the assets in your contract until you take money
out of your contract.
The contract is called a variable annuity because you can choose among the investment portfolios and, depending upon market conditions, you can make or lose money
in any of these portfolios. If you select the variable annuity portion of the contract, the
amount of money you are able to accumulate in your contract during the accumulation phase
depends upon the investment performance of the
investment portfolio(s) you select. The amount of the annuity payments you receive during the income
phase from the variable annuity portion of the contract also depends, in part, on the
investment performance of the investment portfolios you select for the income phase. We do
not guarantee the investment performance of the variable annuity portion. You bear the full investment risk for all amounts allocated to the variable annuity portion.
The contract also contains a fixed account. The fixed account offers an interest rate that is guaranteed by BLIC. BLIC guarantees that the interest rate
credited to the fixed account will not be less than 3%. Because of exemptive and
exclusionary provisions, interests in the fixed account have not been registered under the
Securities Act of 1933, and neither the fixed account nor the general account has been
registered as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940. If you select
the fixed account, your money will be placed with the other general assets of BLIC, and the
amount of money you are able to accumulate in your contract during the accumulation phase depends upon the total interest credited to your contract. The amount of the annuity payments you receive during the
income phase from the fixed account portion of the contract will remain level for the
entire income phase. All guarantees as to purchase payments or account value allocated to the fixed account, interest credited to the fixed account, and fixed annuity payments are subject to our financial
strength and claims-paying ability.
As owner of the contract, you exercise all interest and rights under the contract. You can change the owner at any time by notifying BLIC in writing. You and
your spouse can be named joint owners. We have described more information on this under
“Other Information –
Ownership.”
ANNUITY PAYMENTS (THE INCOME PHASE)
Annuity Date
Under the contract you can receive regular income payments (referred to as annuity payments). You can
choose the month and year in which those payments begin. We call that date the annuity date. Your annuity date will be the first day of the calendar month unless, subject to our current established administrative
procedures, we allow you to select another day of the month as your annuity date.
We ask you to choose your annuity date when you purchase the contract. You can change it at any time
before
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the annuity date with 30 days’
notice to us. Your annuity date cannot be any earlier than one month after you buy the
contract.
Please be aware that once your contract is annuitized, your beneficiary (or beneficiaries)
is ineligible to receive the death benefit you have selected.
Annuity Payments
You will receive annuity payments during the income phase. In general, annuity payments must begin by the annuitant’s 85th birthday or 10 years from
the date the contract was issued, whichever is later (this requirement may differ slightly
for special programs). We may allow you to extend your annuity date, subject to restrictions
imposed by your selling firm and our current established administrative procedures. The
annuitant is the person whose life we look to when we make annuity payments.
During the income phase, you have the same investment choices you had just before the start of the income phase.At the annuity date, you can choose whether payments will come from the:
•fixed account,
•the investment portfolio(s) or
•a combination of both.
If you don’t tell us otherwise, your annuity payments will be based on the investment allocations
that were in place on the annuity date.
If you choose to have any portion of your annuity payments come from the investment portfolio(s), the dollar amount of your payment will depend upon 3
things:
1) the value of your contract in the investment portfolio(s) on the annuity date,
2) the 3% assumed investment return used in the annuity table for the contract, and
3) the performance of the investment portfolios you selected.
If the actual performance exceeds the 3% assumed investment return, your annuity payments will increase.
Similarly, if the actual investment rate is less than 3%, your annuity payments will
decrease.
Annuity payments are made monthly unless you have less than $5,000 to apply toward a payment, except in
New Jersey ($2,000 if the contract is issued in
Massachusetts or Texas). In that case, BLIC may pay your annuity payment in a single lump sum. Likewise,
if your annuity payments would be less than $100 a month ($20 in Texas), BLIC has the right
to change the frequency of payments so that your annuity payments are at least $100 ($20 in
Texas).
Annuity Options
You can choose among income plans. We call those annuity options. We ask you to choose an annuity option when you purchase the contract. You can change it at any time
before the annuity date with 30 days’ notice to us. If you do not choose an annuity
option at the time you purchase the contract, we will assume that you selected Option 2 which
provides a life annuity with 10 years of guaranteed payments.
You can choose one of the following annuity options or any other annuity option acceptable to BLIC,
subject to the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code. After annuity payments begin, you
cannot change the annuity option.
Option 1. Life Annuity. Under this option, we will make an annuity payment each month so long as the annuitant is alive. After the annuitant dies, we stop
making annuity payments. It is possible under this option to receive only one annuity
payment if the annuitant dies before the due date of the second payment or only two annuity
payments if death occurs before the due date of the third payment, and so on.
Option 2. Life Annuity with 5, 10 or 20 Years Guaranteed. Under this option, we will make an annuity payment each month so long as the annuitant is alive.
However, if, when the annuitant dies, we have made annuity payments for less than the
selected guaranteed period, we will then continue to make annuity payments for the rest of
the guaranteed period to the beneficiary. If the beneficiary does not want to receive annuity payments, he or she can ask us for a single lump sum. Due to underwriting or Internal Revenue Code considerations,
there may be limitations on the payments or duration of the guarantee period under Option
2.
Option 3. Joint and Last Survivor Annuity. Under this option, we will make annuity payments each month so long as the annuitant and a second person are
both alive. When either of these people dies, we will continue to make annuity payments, so
long as the survivor continues to live. The amount of the annuity payments we will make to the survivor can be equal to 100%, 66⅔% or 50% of the amount that we would have paid if both were
alive. If both
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annuitants die after the first payment
and before the second payment, then we will make only one payment. Due to underwriting,
administrative or Internal Revenue Code considerations, there may be limitations on payments to the survivor under Option 3 and/or the duration of the guarantee period under Option 2.
We may require proof of age or sex of an annuitant before making any annuity payments under the contract
that are measured by the annuitant’s life. If the age or sex of the annuitant has
been misstated, the amount payable will be the amount that the account value would have provided at the correct age or sex. Once annuity payments have begun, any underpayments will be made up in one sum
with the next annuity payment. Any overpayments will be deducted from future annuity
payments until the total is repaid.
Where required by state law, the annuitant’s sex will not be taken into consideration. If you were
issued a contract before state law mandated unisex annuity rates (if applicable in your
state) and that contract had annuity rates that took the annuitant’s sex into account, the annuity rates we use for that contract will not be less than the guaranteed rates in the contract when it was
issued.
You may not commute any option involving a life contingency, whether fixed or variable, prior to the
death of the last surviving annuitant. Under Option 2 described above, upon the death of
the last surviving annuitant, the beneficiary may choose to continue receiving income
payments or to receive a single lump sum equal to the commuted value of the remaining
guaranteed payments. The commuted value will be equal to the present value of remaining
payments as of the date of receipt of due proof of death in good order. For variable annuity options, the calculation of the commuted value will be done using the assumed investment return applicable to the
Contract (See “Variable Annuity Payments”). For fixed annuity options, the
calculation of the commuted value will be done using the then current annuity option rates.
In addition to the annuity options described above, we may offer an additional payment option that would
allow your beneficiary to take distribution of the contract value over a period not
extending beyond his or her life expectancy. Under this option, annual distributions would not be made in the form of an annuity, but would be calculated in a manner similar to the calculation of required
minimum distributions from IRAs. (See “Federal Income Tax Status.”) We intend
to make this payment option available to both tax qualified and non-tax qualified contracts.
In the event that you purchased the contract as the
beneficiary of a deceased person’s IRA, you must take distribution of the contract
value in accordance with the minimum required distribution rules set forth in applicable
tax law. (See “Federal Income Tax Status.”) You may choose any death benefit
available under the contract, but certain other contract provisions and programs will not be
available. Upon your death, the death benefit would be required to be distributed to your
beneficiary at least as rapidly as under the method of distribution in effect at the time
of your death.
Variable Annuity Payments
The Adjusted Contract Value (the account value, less any applicable premium taxes, account fee, and any prorated rider charge) is determined at the annuity date.
The first variable annuity payment will be based upon the Adjusted Contract Value, the
annuity option elected, the annuitant’s age and sex, and the appropriate variable annuity option table. In some states, the payment does not vary based on the sex of the annuitant. If, as of the
annuity calculation date, the then current variable annuity option rates applicable to this
class of contracts provide a first annuity payment greater than that which is guaranteed under the same annuity option under this contract, the greater payment will be made.
The dollar amount of variable annuity payments after the first payment is determined as follows:
•The dollar amount of the first variable annuity payment is divided by the value of an annuity unit for each applicable investment portfolio as of the
annuity date. This establishes the number of annuity units for each payment. The number of
annuity units for each applicable investment portfolio remains fixed during the annuity
period, provided that transfers among the subaccounts will be made by converting the number of annuity units being transferred to the number of annuity units of the subaccount to which the transfer
is made, and the number of annuity units will be adjusted for transfers to a fixed annuity
option. Please see “Transfers During the Income Phase” for details.
•The fixed number of annuity units per payment in each investment portfolio is multiplied by the annuity unit value for that investment portfolio for the last
Valuation Period of the month preceding the month for which the payment is due. This result
is the dollar amount of the payment for each applicable investment
13
portfolio, less any
account fee. The account fee will be deducted pro rata out of each annuity payment.
•The total dollar amount of each variable annuity payment is the sum of all investment portfolio variable annuity payments.
Annuity Unit. The initial annuity unit value for each investment portfolio of the Separate Account was set by us. The subsequent annuity unit value for each
investment portfolio is determined by multiplying the annuity unit value for the
immediately preceding business day by the net investment factor (see the Statement of Additional Information for a definition) for the investment portfolio for the current business day and multiplying
the result by a factor for each day since the last business day which represents the daily
equivalent of the AIR.
Fixed Annuity Payments
The Adjusted Contract Value (defined above under “Variable Annuity Payments”) is determined on the annuity calculation date, which is a
business day no more than five (5) business days before the annuity date. This value will be
used to determine a fixed annuity payment. The annuity payment will be based upon the
annuity option elected and the appropriate annuity option table. In some states, the
payment does not vary based on the sex of the annuitant. If, as of the annuity calculation
date, the then current annuity option rates applicable to this class of contracts provide
an annuity payment greater than that which is guaranteed under the same annuity option under this contract, the greater payment will be made. You may not make a transfer from the fixed annuity option to
the variable annuity option.
PURCHASE
Purchase Payments
A purchase payment is the money you give us to invest in the contract. The maximum total purchase payments for the contract is $1,000,000, without prior approval from us. You can make additional purchase payments of
$500 or more during the accumulation phase. BLIC reserves the right to reject any purchase
payment (except in New Jersey).
We reserve the right to refuse purchase payments made via a personal check in excess of $100,000. Purchase payments over $100,000 may be accepted in other forms,
including but not limited to, EFT/wire transfers, certified checks, corporate checks, and
checks written on financial
institutions. The form in which we receive a purchase payment may determine how soon subsequent disbursement requests may be fulfilled. (See “Access To Your Money.”)
If you send your purchase payments or transaction requests to an address other than the one we have
designated for receipt of such purchase payments or requests, we may return the purchase
payment to you, or there may be a delay in applying the purchase payment or transaction to
your contract. We will not accept purchase payments made with cash, money orders, or
travelers checks.
Allocation Of Purchase Payments
If you make additional purchase payments, we will allocate them in the same way as your first purchase payment unless you tell us otherwise. There is a $500
minimum allocation requirement for the fixed account and for each investment
portfolio.
If you make additional purchase payments, we will credit these amounts to your contract within one
business day. Our business day closes when the New York Stock Exchange closes, usually 4:00
P.M. Eastern Time.
See Appendix A to this prospectus for more information about available investment portfolios. We reserve
the right to make certain changes to the investment portfolios. (See “Investment
Options — Substitution.”)
Accumulation Units
The value of the variable annuity portion of your contract will go up or down depending upon the investment performance of the investment portfolio(s) you choose.
In order to keep track of the value of your contract, we use a unit of measure we call an
accumulation unit. (An accumulation unit works like a share of a mutual fund.) In addition to the investment performance of the
investment portfolio, the deduction of Separate Account charges also affects an investment
portfolio’s accumulation unit value, as explained below. During the income phase of the
contract we call the unit an annuity unit.
Every business day we determine the value of an accumulation unit for
each of the investment portfolios by multiplying the accumulation unit value for the
immediately preceding business day by a factor for the current business day. The factor is
determined by:
1) dividing the net asset value of an investment portfolio at the end of the current business day, plus any
dividend or capital gains per share declared on behalf
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of the investment portfolio as of that day, by the net asset value of an investment portfolio for the previous business
day, and
2) multiplying it by one minus the daily amount of the insurance charges and any charges for each day since
the last business day for taxes.
The value of an accumulation unit may go up or down from day to day.
When you make a purchase payment, we credit your contract with accumulation units. The number of accumulation units credited is determined by dividing
the amount of the purchase payment allocated to an investment portfolio by the value of the
accumulation unit for that investment portfolio.
We calculate the value of an accumulation unit for each investment portfolio after the New York Stock Exchange closes each day (generally 4:00 P.M. Eastern
Time) and then credit your contract.
Example:
On Monday we receive an additional purchase payment of $5,000 from you before 4:00 P.M. Eastern Time.
You have told us you want this to go to the T. Rowe Price Large Cap Value Portfolio. When
the New York Stock Exchange closes on that Monday, we determine that the value of an
accumulation unit for the T. Rowe Price Large Cap Value Portfolio is $13.90. We then divide
$5,000 by $13.90 and credit your contract on Monday night with 359.71 accumulation units
for the T. Rowe Price Large Cap Value Portfolio.
Account Value / Contract Value
Account value or contract value is equal to the sum of your interests in the investment portfolios and the fixed account. Your interest in each investment portfolio
is determined by multiplying the number of accumulation units for that portfolio by the
value of the accumulation unit.
INVESTMENT
OPTIONS
The contract currently offers a number of investment portfolios, all of which may not be available under your contract. (See Appendix B for a list of the investment portfolios available under your contract.)
Additional or fewer investment portfolios may be available in the future.
Information regarding each investment portfolio, including its name, its type
(e.g. money market fund, bond fund, balanced fund, etc.) or a brief
statement concerning its investment objective, its investment adviser and any subadviser,
current expenses and performance is available in Appendix A to this
prospectus. Each investment portfolio has issued a prospectus that contains
more detailed information about the investment portfolio.
You should read the prospectuses for these funds carefully before investing. The
prospectuses and other information can be found online at
https://dfinview.com/BHF/PUFT/BHF236 for Cova Variable Annuity, https://dfinview.com/BHF/PUFT/BHF148 for Firstar Summit Variable Annuity, https://dfinview.com/BHF/PUFT/BHF149 for Premier Advisor Variable Annuity, https://dfinview.com/BHF/PUFT/BHF147 for Destiny Select Variable Annuity and https://dfinview.com/BHF/PUFT/BHF150 for Prevail Variable Annuity. You can also request copies of this information at no cost by calling
(800) 343-8496 or sending an email request to
[email protected].
The investment objectives and policies of certain of the investment portfolios may be similar to the investment objectives and policies of other mutual funds
that certain of the investment portfolios' investment advisers manage. Although the
objectives and policies may be similar, the investment results of the investment portfolios may be higher or lower than the results of such other mutual funds. The investment advisers cannot guarantee,
and make no representation, that the investment results of similar funds will be comparable
even though the funds may have the same investment advisers. Also, in selecting your
investment portfolios, you should be aware that certain investment portfolios may have
similar investment objectives but differ with respect to fees and charges.
Shares of the investment portfolios may be offered to insurance company separate accounts of both variable annuity and variable life insurance contracts and
to qualified plans. Due to differences in tax treatment and other considerations, the
interests of various owners participating in, and the interests of qualified plans
investing in the investment portfolios may conflict. The investment portfolios will monitor
events in order to identify the existence of any material irreconcilable conflicts and
determine what action, if any, should be taken in response to any such conflict.
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Certain Payments We Receive with
Regard to the Investment Portfolios. An investment adviser (other than our affiliate Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC) or subadviser of an Investment Portfolio, or
its affiliates, may make payments to us and/or certain of our affiliates. These payments
may be used for a variety of purposes, including payment of expenses for certain administrative, marketing, and support services with respect to the contracts and, in our role as an intermediary, with respect to
the Investment Portfolios. We and our affiliates may profit from these payments. These
payments may be derived, in whole or in part, from the advisory fee deducted from Investment
Portfolio assets. Contract Owners, through their indirect investment in the Investment
Portfolios, bear the costs of these advisory fees (see the prospectuses for the Investment
Portfolios for more information). The amount of the payments we receive is based on a
percentage of assets of the Investment Portfolios attributable to the contracts and certain
other variable insurance products that we and our affiliates issue. These percentages differ and some advisers or subadvisers (or their affiliates) may pay us more than others. These percentages currently range up
to 0.50%.
Additionally, an investment adviser (other than our affiliate Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC) or
subadviser of an Investment Portfolio or its affiliates may provide us with wholesaling
services that assist in the distribution of the contracts and may pay us and/or certain of our affiliates amounts to participate in sales meetings. These amounts may be significant and may provide the adviser
or subadviser (or its affiliate) with increased access to persons involved in the
distribution of the contracts.
We and/or certain of our affiliated insurance companies have joint ownership interests in our affiliated
investment adviser, Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC, which is formed as a
“limited liability company.” Our ownership interests in Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC entitle us to profit distributions if the adviser makes a profit with respect to the advisory fees it receives from
the Investment Portfolios. We will benefit accordingly from assets allocated to the
Investment Portfolios to the extent they result in profits to the adviser.
Certain Investment Portfolios have adopted a Distribution
Plan under Rule 12b-1 of the Investment Company Act of 1940. An Investment Portfolio's
12b-1 Plan, if any, is described in more detail in the Investment Portfolio's prospectus.
Any payments we receive pursuant to those 12b-1 Plans are paid to us or our distributor. (See “Other Information — Distributor” for more information.)
Payments under an Investment Portfolio's 12b-1 Plan
decrease the Investment Portfolio's investment return.
We select the Investment Portfolios offered through this contract based on a number of criteria, including asset class coverage, the strength of the adviser's or
subadviser's reputation and tenure, brand recognition, performance, and the capability and
qualification of each investment firm. Another factor we consider during the selection
process is whether the Investment Portfolio's adviser or subadviser is one of our
affiliates or whether the Investment Portfolio, its adviser, its subadviser(s), or an
affiliate will make payments to us or our affiliates. In this regard, the profit
distributions we receive from our affiliated investment adviser are a component of the total
revenue that we consider in configuring the features and investment choices available in
the variable insurance products that we and our affiliated insurance companies issue. Since
we and our affiliated insurance companies may benefit more from the allocation of assets to portfolios advised by our affiliates than to those that are not, we may be more inclined to offer portfolios
advised by our affiliates in the variable insurance products we issue. We review the
Investment Portfolios periodically and may remove an Investment Portfolio or limit its
availability to new Purchase Payments and/or transfers of Account Value if we determine
that the Investment Portfolio no longer meets one or more of the selection criteria, and/or if the Investment Portfolio has not attracted significant allocations from contract Owners. In some cases, we
have included Investment Portfolios based on recommendations made by selling firms. These
selling firms may receive payments from the Investment Portfolios they recommend and may
benefit accordingly from the allocation of Account Value to such Investment Portfolios.
We do not provide any investment advice and do not recommend or endorse any particular
Investment Portfolio. You bear the risk of any decline in the Account Value
of your contract resulting from the performance of the Investment Portfolios
you have chosen.
Transfers
You can transfer a portion of your account value among the fixed account and the investment
portfolios.
BLIC has reserved the right during the year to terminate or modify the transfer provisions described
below, subject to applicable Federal and state laws and regulations. (See “Investment
Options – Restrictions on Transfers.”) We
16
also may be required to suspend the
right to transfers in certain circumstances (see “Access to Your Money – Suspension of Payments or Transfers”).
Transfers by Telephone or Other Means. You and/or your financial representative on your behalf, can make transfers by telephone, Internet or other means acceptable to BLIC. Telephone transfers will be
automatically permitted unless you tell us otherwise. If you own the contract with a joint
owner, unless BLIC is instructed otherwise, BLIC will accept instructions from either you or
the other owner. (See “Other Information – Requests and Elections.”) BLIC will use reasonable procedures to confirm that instructions given us by telephone are genuine. BLIC may tape record telephone
instructions. We will consider telephone and Internet transfer requests received after 4:00
P.M. Eastern Time, or on a day when the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is not open, to be
received on the next day that the NYSE is open.
Transfers During The Accumulation Phase. You can make 12 transfers every year during the accumulation phase without charge. We measure a year from the anniversary of the day we issued your contract. You can
make a transfer to or from the fixed account and to or from any investment portfolio. If
you make more than 12 transfers in a year, there is a transfer fee deducted. The following
apply to any transfer during the accumulation phase:
1. The minimum amount which you can transfer is $500 or your entire value in the investment portfolio or fixed account.
2. Your request for transfer must clearly state which investment portfolio(s) or the fixed account are
involved in the transfer.
3. Your request for transfer must clearly state how much the transfer is for.
4. You cannot make any transfers within 7 calendar days of the annuity date.
Transfers During The Income Phase. You can only make transfers between the investment portfolios once each year. We measure a year from the anniversary of the day we issued your contract. You cannot transfer
from the fixed account to an investment portfolio, but you can transfer from one or more
investment portfolios to the fixed account at any time.
Restrictions on Transfers
Restrictions on Frequent Transfers. Frequent requests from owners to transfer account value may dilute the value of an investment portfolio’s shares if the frequent trading involves an attempt to take
advantage of pricing inefficiencies created by a lag between a change in the value of the
securities held by the investment portfolio and the reflection of that change in the investment portfolio’s share price (“arbitrage trading”). Frequent transfers involving arbitrage trading may adversely
affect the long-term performance of the investment portfolios, which may in turn adversely
affect owners and other persons who may have an interest in the contracts (e.g., annuitants and beneficiaries).
We have policies and procedures that attempt to detect and deter frequent transfers in situations where we determine there is a potential for arbitrage trading.
Currently, we believe that such situations may be presented in the international, small-cap
and high-yield investment portfolios. We monitor transfer activity in the following
investment portfolios (the “Monitored Portfolios”):
Baillie Gifford International Stock Portfolio
Brighthouse Small Cap
Value Portfolio
CBRE Global Real Estate Portfolio
Invesco
Global Equity Portfolio
Invesco V.I. EQV International Equity Fund
MFS®
Research International Portfolio
Neuberger Berman Genesis Portfolio
SSGA
Emerging Markets Enhanced Index Portfolio
T. Rowe Price Small Cap Growth Portfolio
Templeton Foreign VIP Fund
Western Asset Management Strategic Bond Opportunities Portfolio
We employ various means to monitor transfer activity, such as examining the frequency and size of transfers into and out of the Monitored Portfolios within given
periods of time. For example, we currently monitor transfer activity to determine if, for
each category of international, small-cap, and high-yield investment portfolios, in a 12-month period there were (1) six or more transfers involving the given category; (2) cumulative gross transfers
involving the given category that exceed the current account value; and (3) two or more
“round-trips” involving any investment portfolio in the given category. A round-trip generally is defined as a transfer in followed by a transfer out within seven calendar days or a transfer out followed by a
transfer in within seven calendar days, in either case subject to certain criteria. We do not believe that other investment
17
portfolios present a significant
opportunity to engage in arbitrage trading and therefore do not monitor
transfer activity in those investment portfolios. We may change the Monitored
Portfolios at any time without notice in our sole discretion.
Our policies and procedures may result in transfer restrictions being applied to deter frequent transfers. Currently, when we detect transfer activity in
the Monitored Portfolios that exceeds our current transfer limits, we will impose transfer
restrictions on the entire contract and will require future transfer requests to or from any investment portfolio under that contract to be submitted in writing with an original signature. A first occurrence will result in a warning letter; a
second occurrence will result in the imposition of this restriction for a six-month period;
a third occurrence will result in the permanent imposition of the restriction.
Transfers made under a Dollar Cost Averaging Program, a rebalancing program or, if applicable, any asset
allocation program described in this prospectus are not treated as transfers when we
monitor the frequency of transfers.
The detection and deterrence of harmful transfer activity involves judgments that are inherently
subjective, such as the decision to monitor only those investment portfolios that we
believe are susceptible to arbitrage trading or the determination of the transfer limits. Our ability to detect and/or restrict such transfer activity may be limited by operational and technological systems, as well
as our ability to predict strategies employed by owners to avoid such detection. Our
ability to restrict such transfer activity may also be limited by provisions of the contract.
Accordingly, there is no assurance that we will prevent all transfer activity that may
adversely affect owners and other persons with interests in the contracts. We do not
accommodate frequent transfers in any investment portfolios and there are no arrangements
in place to permit any owner to engage in frequent transfers; we apply our policies and
procedures without exception, waiver or special arrangement.
The investment portfolios may have adopted their own policies and procedures with respect to frequent transfers in their respective shares and we reserve the
right to enforce these policies and procedures. For example, investment portfolios may
assess a redemption fee (which we reserve the right to collect) on shares held for a relatively short period. The prospectuses for the investment portfolios describe any such policies and procedures, which
may be
more or less restrictive than the policies and procedures we have adopted. Although we may not have the
contractual authority or the operational capacity to apply the frequent transfer policies
and procedures of the investment portfolios, we have entered into a written agreement, as
required by SEC regulation, with each investment portfolio or its principal underwriter
that obligates us to provide to the investment portfolio promptly upon request certain
information about the trading activity of individual owners, and to execute instructions
from the investment portfolio to restrict or prohibit further purchases or transfers by
specific owners who violate the frequent transfer policies established by the investment portfolio.
In addition, owners and other persons with interests in the Contracts should be aware that the purchase
and redemption orders received by the investment portfolios generally are
“omnibus” orders from intermediaries, such as retirement plans or separate accounts funding variable insurance contracts. The omnibus orders reflect the aggregation and netting of multiple orders from
individual owners of variable insurance contracts and/or individual retirement plan
participants. The omnibus nature of these orders may limit the investment portfolios in their ability to apply their frequent transfer policies and procedures. In addition, the other insurance companies and/or
retirement plans may have different policies and procedures or may not have any such
policies and procedures because of contractual limitations. For these reasons, we cannot
guarantee that the investment portfolios (and thus owners) will not be harmed by transfer
activity relating to other insurance companies and/or retirement plans that may invest in
the investment portfolios. If an investment portfolio believes that an omnibus order reflects one or more transfer requests from owners engaged in frequent trading, the investment portfolio may reject the
entire omnibus order.
In accordance with applicable law, we reserve the right to modify or terminate the transfer privilege at any time. We also reserve the right to defer or restrict
the transfer privilege at any time that we are unable to purchase or redeem shares of any
of the investment portfolios, including any refusal or restriction on purchases or
redemptions of their shares as a result of their own policies and procedures on frequent
transfers (even if an entire omnibus order is rejected due to the frequent transfers of a
single owner). You should read the investment portfolio prospectuses for more
details.
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Restrictions on Large
Transfers. Large transfers may increase brokerage and administrative costs of the underlying investment portfolios and may disrupt portfolio management strategy, requiring an investment
portfolio to maintain a high cash position and possibly resulting in lost investment
opportunities and forced liquidations. We do not monitor for large transfers to or from investment portfolios except where the portfolio manager of a particular underlying investment portfolio has
brought large transfer activity to our attention for investigation on a case-by-case basis.
For example, some portfolio managers have asked us to monitor for “block transfers” where transfer requests have been submitted on behalf of multiple owners by a third party such as an
investment adviser. When we detect such large trades, we may impose restrictions similar to
those described above where future transfer requests from that third party must be submitted in writing with an original signature. A first occurrence will result in a warning letter; a second
occurrence will result in the imposition of this restriction for a six-month period; a
third occurrence will result in the permanent imposition of the restriction.
Dollar Cost Averaging Program
The Dollar Cost Averaging Program allows you to systematically transfer a set amount each month from the BlackRock Ultra-Short Term Bond Portfolio or
the fixed account to any of the other investment portfolio(s) you select. By allocating
amounts on a regular schedule as opposed to allocating the total amount at one particular
time, you may be less susceptible to the impact of market fluctuations. The Dollar Cost
Averaging Program is available only during the accumulation phase.
For example, you can instruct us to transfer $1,000 on the
first of each month from the BlackRock Ultra-Short Term Bond Portfolio to another
investment portfolio that you have selected, such as the MetLife Aggregate Bond Index
Portfolio. Hypothetically, the $1,000 allocation may have bought 50 accumulation units of
the MetLife Aggregate Bond Index Portfolio in January, 65 accumulation units in February,
and 45 accumulation units in March. In these three months, you allocated $3,000 to the MetLife Aggregate Bond Index Portfolio which has resulted in 160 accumulation units. The value of each
accumulation unit is an average of the three values used at the time of allocation. If you
had allocated the entire $3,000 at one time, the total value might be higher or lower.
The minimum amount which can be transferred each
month is $500. You must have at least $6,000 in the BlackRock Ultra-Short Term Bond
Portfolio or the fixed account (or the amount required to complete your program, if less)
in order to participate in the Dollar Cost Averaging Program. Currently, BLIC does not charge for participating in the Dollar Cost Averaging Program. BLIC will waive the minimum transfer amount and the
minimum amount required to establish dollar cost averaging if you establish dollar cost
averaging for 6 or 12 months at the time you bought the contract.
If you make an additional purchase payment while the Dollar Cost Averaging Program is in effect, we will not allocate the additional payment to the Program
unless you tell us to do so. Instead, unless you previously provided different allocation
instructions for future purchase payments or provide new allocation instructions with the
payment, we will allocate the additional purchase payment directly to the same destination
investment portfolios under the Dollar Cost Averaging Program. Any purchase payments
received after the Program has ended will be allocated as described in
“Purchase — Allocation of Purchase Payments.” BLIC reserves the right to modify, terminate or suspend the Dollar Cost
Averaging Program.
If you participate in the Dollar Cost Averaging Program, the transfers made under the program are not
taken into account in determining any transfer fee. You may not participate in the Dollar
Cost Averaging Program and Automatic Rebalancing Program at the same time. BLIC may, from
time to time, offer other dollar cost averaging programs which may have terms different from those described above.
Automatic Rebalancing Program
Once your money has been allocated to the investment portfolios, the performance of each portfolio may
cause your allocation to shift. You can direct us to automatically rebalance your contract
to return to your original percentage allocations by selecting our Automatic Rebalancing
Program. You can tell us whether to rebalance quarterly, semi-annually or annually. An automatic rebalancing program is intended to transfer contract value from those portfolios that have increased in
value to those that have declined or not increased as much in value. Over time, this method
of investing may help you “buy low and sell high,” although there can be no assurance that this objective will be achieved. Automatic rebalancing does not guarantee profits nor does it assure that you
will not have
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losses. We will measure these periods
from the anniversary of the date we issued your contract. The transfer date will be the 1st
business day after the end of the period you selected.
The Automatic Rebalancing Program is available only during the accumulation phase. Currently, BLIC does not charge for participating in the Automatic
Rebalancing Program. If you participate in the Automatic Rebalancing Program, the transfers
made under the program are not taken into account in determining any transfer fee.
For example, assume that you want your initial purchase payment split between 2 investment portfolios.
You want 40% to be in the Western Asset Management Strategic Bond Opportunities Portfolio
and 60% to be in the T. Rowe Price Large Cap Value Portfolio. Hypothetically, over the next
2 1∕2 months the bond market does very well while the stock market performs poorly. At the end of the first quarter, the Western Asset Management
Strategic Bond Opportunities Portfolio now represents 50% of your holdings because of its
increase in value. If you have chosen to have your holdings rebalanced quarterly, on the first day of the next quarter, BLIC will sell some of your units in the Western Asset Management Strategic Bond
Opportunities Portfolio to bring its value back to 40% and use the money to buy more units
in the T. Rowe Price Large Cap Value Portfolio to increase those holdings to 60%.
Voting Rights
BLIC is the legal owner of the investment portfolio shares. However, BLIC believes that when an investment portfolio solicits proxies in conjunction with a vote of
shareholders, it is required to obtain from you and other affected owners instructions as
to how to vote those shares. When we receive those instructions, we will vote all of the shares we own in proportion to those instructions. This will also include any shares that we own on our own
behalf. The effect of this proportional voting is that a small number of contract owners
may control the outcome of a vote. Should BLIC determine that it is no longer required to comply with the above, it will vote the shares in its own right.
Substitution
If investment in the investment portfolios or a particular investment portfolio is no longer possible,
in our judgment becomes inappropriate for purposes of the contract or for any other reason
in our sole discretion, we may substitute another investment portfolio or investment portfolios without your consent. The substituted investment portfolio may have different fees and expenses.
Substitution may be
made with respect to existing investments or the investment of the future purchase payments, or both.
However, we will not make such substitution without any necessary approval of the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Furthermore, we may close investment portfolios to allocation of purchase payments or account value, or both, at any time in our sole discretion.
EXPENSES
There are charges and other expenses associated with the contracts that reduce the return on your
investment in the contract.These charges and expenses are:
Insurance Charges (Base Contract Expenses)
Each day, BLIC makes a deduction for its insurance charges. BLIC does this as part of its calculation of the value of the accumulation units and the annuity units (i.e., during the accumulation phase and the
income phase). The insurance charge has two parts:
•the mortality and expense risk premium, and
•the administrative expense charge.
Mortality And Expense Risk Premium. This charge is equivalent, on an annual basis, to 1.25% of the average daily net asset value of each investment portfolio. This charge generally compensates us for providing
the insurance benefits under the contract (e.g., guarantee of annuity rates, the death
benefits), for certain expenses of the contract, and for assuming the risk (expense risk) that the current charges will be insufficient in the future to cover the cost of administering the contract.
If the charges under the contract are not sufficient, then BLIC will bear the loss. BLIC
does, however, expect to profit from this charge. The mortality and expense risk premium cannot be increased. BLIC may use any profits it makes from this charge to pay for the costs of distributing the
contract.
For Premier Advisor Variable Annuity, Destiny Select Variable Annuity and Prevail Variable Annuity, we
are waiving an amount of the mortality and expense risk premium equal to the investment
portfolio expenses that are in excess of (1) 0.67% for account value allocated to the T.
Rowe Price Large Cap Growth Portfolio (Class A) and (2) 0.59% for account value allocated to the T. Rowe Price Large Cap Value Portfolio (Class A). For Cova Variable Annuity, we are waiving an amount of the
mortality and expense risk premium equal to the investment portfolio expenses that are in
excess of 0.83% for account value allocated to the T. Rowe Price Large Cap
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Value Portfolio (Class A) and in excess
of 0.87% for account value allocated to the Invesco Global Equity Portfolio (Class
B).
Administrative Expense Charge. This charge is equal, on an annual basis, to 0.15% of the average daily net asset value of the each investment
portfolio. This charge, together with the contract maintenance charge (see below),
generally compensates us for the expenses associated with the administration of the contract. Some of these expenses are: preparation of the contract, confirmations, annual reports and statements,
maintenance of contract records, personnel costs, legal and accounting fees, filing fees,
and computer and systems costs. Because this charge is taken out of every unit value, you may pay more in administrative costs than those that are associated solely with your contract. BLIC does not
intend to profit from this charge. However, if this charge and the contract maintenance
charge are not enough to cover the costs of the contracts in the future, BLIC will bear the loss.
Contract Maintenance Charge
During the accumulation phase, every year on the anniversary of the date when your contract was issued, BLIC deducts $30 from your contract as a contract
maintenance charge. (In South Carolina, the charge is the lesser of $30 or 2% of the value
of the contract.) This charge generally compensates us for administrative expenses (see
above). This charge cannot be increased.
BLIC will not deduct this charge during the accumulation phase if
when the deduction is to be made, the value of your contract is $50,000 or more. BLIC may some time in the future discontinue this practice and deduct the charge.
If you make a complete withdrawal from your contract, the contract maintenance charge will also be deducted.
A pro rata portion of the charge will be deducted on the annuity date, or upon a full withdrawal, if the date is other than an anniversary. After the annuity
date, the charge will be collected monthly out of the annuity payment.
Withdrawal Charge
We impose a withdrawal charge to reimburse us generally for contract sales expenses, including
commissions and other distribution, promotion, and acquisition expenses. During the
accumulation phase, you can make withdrawals from your contract. BLIC keeps track of each purchase payment. Once a year after the first year (and once a year during the first year for purposes of payment
of charitable remainder trust administration fees), you can withdraw up
to 10% of your total purchase payments and no withdrawal charge will be assessed on the 10%, if on the
day you make your withdrawal (in New Jersey, on the day BLIC processes the withdrawal) the
value of your contract is $5,000 or more. Withdrawals for purposes of payment of charitable
remainder trust administration fees are included in the 10% free withdrawal amount. Otherwise, the charge is 5% of each purchase payment you take out unless the purchase payment was made more than 5
years ago. After BLIC has had a purchase payment for 5 years, there is no charge when you
withdraw that purchase payment. BLIC does not assess a withdrawal charge on earnings
withdrawn from the contract. Earnings are defined as the value in your contract minus the remaining purchase payments in your contract. The withdrawal order for calculating the withdrawal charge is shown
below.
•10% of purchase payments free.
•Remaining purchase payments that are over 5 years old and not subject to a withdrawal charge.
•Earnings in the contract free.
•Remaining purchase payments that are less than 5 years old and are subject to a
withdrawal charge.
For purposes of calculating the withdrawal charge, slightly different rules may apply to Section 1035
exchanges.
When the withdrawal is for only part of the value of your contract, you may choose to have the
withdrawal charge deducted from the remaining contract value, if sufficient, or from the
amount withdrawn. If you choose to have the charge deducted from the amount withdrawn, you would receive less than the dollar amount you requested. If you choose to have the withdrawal charge deducted
from the remaining contract value, you would receive the full dollar amount you requested,
however, this may result in a higher withdrawal charge because the charge would be based on a
larger total dollar amount withdrawn from your contract value.
The withdrawal charge may be assessed if prior purchase payments are withdrawn pursuant to a divorce or
separation instrument, if permissible under tax law. The withdrawal could have a
significant negative impact on the death benefit and on any optional rider benefit.
BLIC does not assess the withdrawal charge on any payments paid out as annuity payments or as death
benefits. In addition, we do not assess the withdrawal charge on withdrawals of required
minimum distributions or excess contributions from Qualified Contracts. This
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exception only applies to amounts
required to be distributed from the contract.
For participants of 403(b) arrangements, 401(a), 401(k) and 457 plans, if you make a transfer to another funding vehicle or annuity contract issued by us or by
one of our affiliates, we may waive the withdrawal charge if it is permitted in your
state.
NOTE: For tax purposes, earnings are considered to come out first.
Reduction or Elimination of the Withdrawal Charge
General. BLIC may reduce or eliminate the amount of the withdrawal charge when the contract is sold under
circumstances which reduce its sales expense. Some examples are: if there is a large group
of individuals that will be purchasing the contract or a prospective purchaser already had
a relationship with BLIC. BLIC may not deduct a withdrawal charge under a contract issued to an officer, director or employee of BLIC or any of its affiliates and we may not deduct a withdrawal charge
under a contract issued to an officer, director or employee or family member of an officer,
director or employee of a broker-dealer which is participating in the offering of the contract.
Nursing Home Waiver. After you have owned the contract for one year, if you, or your joint owner, becomes confined to a nursing home or hospital for
at least 90 consecutive days under a doctor’s care and you need part or all of the
money from your contract, BLIC will not impose a withdrawal charge. You or your joint owner
cannot have been so confined when you purchased your contract (confinement must begin after
the first contract anniversary) if you want to take advantage of this provision. This is
called the Nursing Home Waiver.
Hypothetically, assume you purchased the contract and shortly after one year of owning the contract, you
become confined to a nursing home and then request to take a withdrawal that would have
normally been subject to a 5% withdrawal charge. In that instance, if you satisfy the
conditions of the Nursing Home Waiver, we would not impose that withdrawal charge that
would have otherwise applied to that withdrawal.
Premium Taxes And Other Taxes
Some states and other governmental entities (e.g., municipalities) charge premium taxes or similar
taxes. BLIC is responsible for the payment of these taxes and will make a deduction from
the value of the contract for them.
Some of these taxes are due when the contract is issued, others are due when annuity payments begin. It
is BLIC’s current practice to not charge anyone for these taxes until annuity
payments begin. BLIC may, some time in the future, discontinue this practice and assess the charge when the tax is due. Premium taxes generally range from 0% to 3.5%, depending on the state.
We also reserve the right to deduct from purchase payments, contract values, withdrawals or income
payments, any taxes (including, but not limited to, premium taxes) paid by us to any
government entity relating to the contracts. Examples of these taxes include, but are not
limited to, generation skipping transfer tax or a similar excise tax under federal or state tax law which is imposed on payments we make to certain persons and income tax withholdings on withdrawals and income
payments to the extent required by law. We will, at our sole discretion, determine when
taxes relate to the contracts. We may, at our sole discretion, pay taxes when due and deduct
that amount from the contract value at a later date. Payment at an earlier date does not
waive any right we may have to deduct amounts at a later date.
Transfer Fee
You can make 12 free transfers every year. We measure a year from the day we issue your contract. If you
make more than 12 transfers a year, we will deduct a transfer fee of $25 or 2% of the
amount that is transferred, whichever is less.
The transfer fee compensates us generally for the costs of processing transfers.
If the transfer is part of the Dollar Cost Averaging Program or the Automatic Rebalancing Program, it will not count in determining the transfer fee.
Income Taxes
We reserve the right to deduct from the contract for any income taxes which we incur because of the contract. In general, we believe under current federal income
tax law, we are entitled to hold reserves with respect to the contract that offset Separate
Account income. If this should change, it is possible we could incur income tax with respect to the contract, and in that event we may deduct such tax from the contract. At the present time, however, we
are not incurring any such income tax or making any such deductions.
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Investment Portfolio
Expenses
There are deductions from and expenses paid out of the assets of the investment portfolios that are
described in the investment portfolio prospectuses. These deductions and expenses are not
charges under the terms of the contract but are represented in the share values of the investment options.
An investment portfolio may assess a redemption fee up to 2% on assets that are redeemed out of an investment portfolio in connection with a withdrawal or
transfer. Each investment portfolio determines the amount of the redemption fee and when
the fee is imposed. The redemption fee is retained by or paid to the investment portfolio
and is not retained by us. The redemption fee will be deducted from your account value. For more information, see the investment portfolio prospectus.
ACCESS TO YOUR MONEY
You (or in the case of (3) and (4) below, your beneficiary) can have access to the money in your contract:
(1) by making a withdrawal (either a partial or a complete withdrawal);
(2) by electing to receive annuity payments;
(3) when
a death benefit is paid to your beneficiary; or
(4) under annuity option 2 described under “Annuity Payments (The Income Phase) – Annuity Options” which provides for continuing annuity
payments or a single lump sum upon death of the last surviving annuitant during the
guaranteed period.
Under most circumstances, withdrawals can only be made during the accumulation phase.
When you make a complete withdrawal you will receive the withdrawal value of the contract. The
withdrawal value of the contract is the value of the contract at the end of the business
day when BLIC receives a written request for a withdrawal in good order prior to the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (currently 4:00 P.M. Eastern Time):
•less any applicable withdrawal charge,
•less any premium tax, and
•less any contract maintenance charge.
Unless you instruct BLIC otherwise, any partial withdrawal will be made pro-rata from all the investment
portfolios and the fixed account. Under most circumstances, the
amount of any partial withdrawal must be for at least $500. BLIC requires that after a withdrawal is
made you keep at least $500 in any selected investment portfolio. If the remaining
withdrawal value would be less than $500 ($1,000 in New Jersey) after you make a partial
withdrawal, the partial withdrawal amount will be the remaining withdrawal value.
We have to receive your withdrawal request at our Annuity Service Center prior to the annuity date or
your death; provided, however, that you may submit a written withdrawal request any time prior to the annuity date that indicates that the withdrawal should be
processed as of the annuity date. Solely for the purpose of calculating and processing such
a withdrawal request, the request will be deemed to have been received on, and the withdrawal
amount will be priced according to the accumulation unit value calculated as of, the
annuity date. Your request must be received at our Annuity Service Center on or before the
annuity date.
We may withhold payment of surrender or withdrawal proceeds if any portion of those proceeds would be derived from a contract owner’s check that has
not yet cleared (i.e., that could still be dishonored by your banking institution). We may
use telephone, fax, Internet or other means of communications to verify that payment from the contract owner’s check has been or will be collected. We will not delay payment longer than necessary for
us to verify that payment has been or will be collected. Contract owners may avoid the
possibility of delay in the disbursement of proceeds coming from a check that has not yet cleared by providing us with a certified check.
When you make a withdrawal, the amount of the death benefit may be reduced. See “Death Benefits.”
There are limits to the amount you can withdraw from qualified plans, including 403(b) plans. For a more complete explanation see “Federal Income Tax
Status” and the discussion in the Statement of Additional
Information.
Income taxes, tax penalties and certain restrictions may apply to any withdrawal you
make.
Systematic Withdrawal Program
You may use the Systematic Withdrawal Program. This program provides an automatic monthly payment to you
of up to 10% of your total purchase payments each year. For example, you may elect to have
$500 withdrawn from your contract value automatically every month, provided that
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such withdrawals do not exceed 10% of
your total purchase payments, and we will send it to you either by mail or directly into a
bank account on file.
No withdrawal charge will be made for these payments. BLIC does not have any charge for this program,
but reserves the right to charge in the future. While the Systematic Withdrawal Program is
in effect, you can make additional withdrawals. However, such withdrawals plus the
systematic withdrawals will be considered when determining the applicability of any withdrawal charge. For a discussion of the withdrawal charge and the 10% free withdrawal, see “Expenses.”
Income taxes, tax penalties and certain restrictions may apply to systematic withdrawals. (See “Federal Income Tax Status.”)
Suspension Of Payments Or Transfers
BLIC may be required to suspend or postpone payments for withdrawals or transfers for any period
when:
•the New York Stock Exchange is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings);
•trading on the New York Stock Exchange is restricted;
•an emergency exists, as determined by the Securities and Exchange Commission, as a
result of which disposal of shares of the investment portfolios is not reasonably
practicable or BLIC cannot reasonably value the shares of the investment portfolios; or
•during any other period when the Securities and Exchange Commission, by order, so permits for the protection of owners.
BLIC has reserved the right to defer payment for a withdrawal or transfer from the fixed account for the
period permitted by law but not for more than six months.
Federal laws designed to counter terrorism and prevent money laundering might, in certain circumstances, require us to block a contract owner’s ability
to make certain transactions and thereby refuse to accept any requests for transfers,
withdrawals, surrenders, or death benefits until instructions are received from the appropriate regulator. We may also be required to provide additional information about you and your contract to government
regulators.
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BENEFITS AVAILABLE UNDER THE
CONTRACT
The following table summarizes information about the benefits under the
contract.
| Name of
Benefit |
Purpose |
Standard
or
Optional |
Maximum
Annual Fee |
Current
Charges |
Brief Description of
Restrictions / Limitations |
| Dollar Cost
Averaging
Program |
Allows you to systematically
transfer a set amount each
month from an investment
portfolio or the fixed
account to other available
investment portfolios |
Standard |
No Charge |
N/A |
●Available only during the accumulation phase ●Transfers only available from the fixed account or the BlackRock Ultra-Short Term Bond Portfolio ●Minimum monthly transfer amount is $500 ●Must have at least $6,000 in the BlackRock Ultra- Short Term Bond Portfolio or the fixed account (or the amount required to complete your program, if less) in order to participate ●Minimum dollar requirements waived if 6 or 12 month duration established at time of contract purchase ●May not participate in dollar cost averaging and automatic rebalancing at the same time |
| Automatic
Rebalancing
Program |
Allows us to automatically
rebalance your contract
value to return to your
original percentage
allocations |
Standard |
No Charge |
N/A |
●Available only during the accumulation phase ●May not participate in dollar cost averaging and automatic rebalancing at the same time |
| Systematic
Withdrawal
Program |
Allows you to set up an
automatic monthly
payments of up to 10% of
your total purchase
payments each year free of
withdrawal charges |
Standard |
No Charge |
N/A |
●Systematic withdrawals limited to 10% of total purchase payments each year |
| Nursing
Home Waiver |
Allows you to withdraw
contract value without a
withdrawal charge |
Standard |
No Charge |
N/A |
●Must own contract for at
least one year ●You or your joint owner must be confined to a nursing home or hospital for at least 90 days under a doctor’s care ●Not available in all states |
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| Name of
Benefit |
Purpose |
Standard
or
Optional |
Maximum
Annual Fee |
Current
Charges |
Brief Description of
Restrictions /
Limitations |
| Death Benefit
Option A |
Pays a minimum death
benefit at least equal to the
greater of (i) total purchase
payments less any
withdrawals; (ii) contract
value, or (iii) greatest
contract value on a contract
anniversary prior to age 80,
adjusted for purchase
payments and withdrawals |
Standard |
No Charge |
N/A |
●Generally available under contracts issued May 1, 1998 to April 30, 1999 ●Available under contracts issued on or after May 1, 1999 if Death Benefit Option E was not approved in your state ●Availability subject to state approval ●Withdrawals could significantly reduce the benefit |
| Death Benefit
Option B |
Pays a minimum death
benefit at least equal to the
greater of (i) total purchase
payments, less any
withdrawals, accumulated
at an annual rate of 4%
prior to age 80; (ii) contract
value, or (iii) greatest
contract value on any five-
year contract anniversary
prior to age 80, adjusted for
purchase payments and
withdrawals |
Standard |
No Charge |
N/A |
●Generally available under contracts issued at any time ●Availability subject to
state approval ●Withdrawals could significantly reduce the benefit |
| Death Benefit
Option C |
Pays a minimum death
benefit at least equal to the
greater of (i) total purchase
payments less any
withdrawals; (ii) contract
value, or (iii) greatest
contract value on a contract
anniversary prior to age 80,
adjusted for purchase
payments and withdrawals |
Standard |
No Charge |
N/A |
●Generally available under contracts issued before May 1, 1998 ●Not available if owner was 80 or older on May 1, 1998 ●Availability subject to state approval ●Withdrawals could significantly reduce the benefit |
| Death Benefit
Option D |
Pays a minimum death
benefit at least equal to the
greater of (i) total purchase
payments, less any
withdrawals, accumulated
at an annual rate of 4%
prior to age 80; (ii) contract
value, or (iii) contract value
on the most recent five year
anniversary before age 80,
adjusted for purchase
payments and withdrawals |
Standard |
No Charge |
N/A |
●Generally available under
contracts issued before
May 1, 1998 ●Availability subject to state approval ●Withdrawals could significantly reduce the benefit |
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| Name of
Benefit |
Purpose |
Standard
or
Optional |
Maximum
Annual Fee |
Current
Charges |
Brief Description of
Restrictions /
Limitations |
| Death Benefit
Option E |
Pays a minimum death
benefit at least equal to the
greater of (i) total purchase
payments less any
withdrawals; (ii) contract
value, or (iii) greatest
contract value on a contract
anniversary prior to age 80,
adjusted for purchase
payments and withdrawals |
Standard |
No Charge |
N/A |
●Generally available under
contracts issued on or
after May 1, 1999 ●Availability subject to state approval ●Withdrawals may reduce the benefit, and such reductions could be significant |
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DEATH BENEFIT
Upon Your Death
If you die before annuity payments begin, BLIC will pay a death benefit to your beneficiary (or beneficiaries) (see below). If you die during the income phase
(after you begin receiving annuity payments), there is no death benefit; however, depending
on the annuity option you elect, any remaining guarantee may be paid to your beneficiary (or
beneficiaries) (see “Annuity Payments (The Income Phase)” for more
information).
The death benefit will be determined when BLIC receives both due proof of death and an election for the
payment method. Until the beneficiary submits the necessary documentation in good order,
the account value attributable to his/her portion of the death benefit remains in the
investment portfolios and is subject to investment risk.
If you have a joint owner, the death benefit will be paid when the first of you dies. Joint owners must be spouses. The surviving joint owner will be treated as
the beneficiary. Note that if BLIC is presented in good order with notification of your
death before any requested transaction is completed (including transactions under a dollar cost averaging, portfolio rebalancing or systematic withdrawal program), we will cancel the request.
For contracts issued on or after May 1, 1999, you can select Death Benefit Option B or E. If you do not
choose an option on the forms provided by BLIC, Option E will be your death benefit. If, at
the time you buy the contract, the endorsement for Death Benefit Option E is not approved in
your state, you can select Death Benefit Option A or B. If you do not choose an option on
the forms provided by BLIC, Option A will be your death benefit.
If your contract was issued before May 1, 1998, you were
given the opportunity to choose Death Benefit Option B or C on your next contract
anniversary after May 1, 1998 (or during a 60 day period after both options were approved in
your state). If you did not make an election during such time period, your death benefit
was automatically enhanced to Death Benefit Option B. If on May 1, 1998, you or your joint
owner were 80 or older, you were unaffected by the changes in the death benefits and Option
D continues to be your death benefit.
From May 1, 1998, to April 30, 1999, at the time you bought the contract, you were given the opportunity to select Death Benefit Option A or B. If you did
not choose
an option on the forms provided by BLIC, Option A is your death benefit.
The death benefits are described below. If you have a joint owner, the death benefit is determined based
on the age of the oldest joint owner and the death benefit is payable on the death of the
first joint owner.
Death Benefit Option A:
Prior to you, or your joint owner, reaching age 80, the death benefit will be the greatest of:
1. Total purchase payments, less any withdrawals (and any withdrawal charges paid on the withdrawals); or
2. The value of your contract at the time the death benefit is to be paid; or
3. The greatest adjusted contract value (GACV) (as explained below).
The GACV is evaluated at each contract anniversary prior to the date of your or your joint owner’s death, and on each day a purchase payment or withdrawal
is made. On the contract anniversary, if the current contract value is greater than the
GACV, the GACV will be increased to the current value of your contract. If a purchase payment is made, the amount of the purchase payment will increase the GACV. If a withdrawal is made, the GACV will
be reduced by the amount withdrawn (and any associated withdrawal charges) divided by the
value of your contract immediately before the withdrawal multiplied by the GACV immediately
prior to the withdrawal. The following example describes the effect of a withdrawal on the GACV:
Example: Assumed facts for example:
$10,000 current GACV
$8,000 contract value
$2,100 partial withdrawal ($ 2,000 withdrawal + $100 withdrawal charge)
$8,000 contract value
$2,100 partial withdrawal ($ 2,000 withdrawal + $100 withdrawal charge)
New GACV = $10,000 - [($2,100/$8,000) X $10,000] which results in the current GACV of $10,000 being reduced by $2,625
The new GACV is $7,375.
After you, or your joint owner, reaches age 80, the death benefit will be the greatest of:
1. Total purchase payments made, less any withdrawals (and any withdrawal charges paid on the withdrawals); or
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2. The value of your contract at the time the death benefit is to be paid; or
3. The greatest adjusted contract value (GACV) (as explained below).
The GACV is evaluated at each contract anniversary on or before your, or your joint owner’s, 80th birthday, and on each day a purchase payment or
withdrawal is made. On the contract anniversary on or before your, or your joint
owner’s, 80th birthday, if the current contract value is greater than the GACV, the
GACV will be increased to the current value of your contract. If a purchase payment is
made, the amount of the purchase payment will increase the GACV. If a withdrawal is made,
the example above explains the effect of a withdrawal on the GACV.
Death Benefit Option B:
Prior to you, or your joint owner, reaching age 80, the death benefit will be the greatest of:
1. Total purchase payments, less any withdrawals (and any withdrawal charges paid on the withdrawals)
accumulated at an annual rate of 4% until the date of death; or
2. The value of your contract at the time the death benefit is to be paid; or
3. The greatest of the values of your contract resulting from taking the contract value on any five (5)
year contract anniversary prior to your, or your joint owner’s death; plus any
payments you made subsequent to that contract anniversary, less any withdrawals (and any
withdrawal charges paid on the withdrawals) subsequent to that contract anniversary.
After you, or your joint owner, reaches age 80, the death benefit will be the greatest of:
1. Total purchase payments made on or before your, or your joint owner’s, 80th birthday, less any withdrawals (and any withdrawal charges paid on the
withdrawals) accumulated at an annual rate of 4% until you, or your joint owner, reach age
80, plus any subsequent purchase payments, less any subsequent withdrawals (and any
withdrawal charges paid on the withdrawals); or
2. The value of your contract at the time the death benefit is to be paid; or
3. The greatest of the values of the contract resulting from taking the contract value on any prior five
(5) year contract anniversary on or before your or your joint owner’s 80th birthday, plus any purchase payments made
after that contract anniversary, less any withdrawals (and any withdrawal charges paid on the withdrawals) made after that contract anniversary.
Death Benefit Option C:
Prior to you, or your joint owner, reaching age 80, the death benefit will be the greatest of:
1. Total purchase payments, less any withdrawals (and any withdrawal charges paid on the withdrawals);
or
2. The value of your contract at the time the death benefit is to be paid; or
3. The greatest adjusted contract value (GACV) as determined below.
The GACV is initially the death benefit determined as of the day BLIC receives notice that you have
elected this death benefit option. This figure is based on your existing death benefit as
defined in your contract, Option D (not as defined in the endorsement for this option). The GACV is then evaluated at each subsequent contract anniversary prior to your or your joint owner’s death
and on each subsequent day a purchase payment or withdrawal is made. On the contract
anniversary, if the current contract value is greater than the GACV, the GACV will be increased to the current value of your contract. If a purchase payment is made, the amount of the purchase payment will
increase the GACV. If a withdrawal is made, the GACV will be reduced by the amount
withdrawn (and any associated withdrawal charges) divided by the value of your contract
immediately before the withdrawal multiplied by the GACV immediately prior to the
withdrawal. The example above under Death Benefit Option A explains the effect of a
withdrawal on the GACV under this death benefit option.
After you, or your joint owner, reaches age 80, the death benefit will be the greatest of:
1. Total purchase payments made, less any withdrawals (and any withdrawal charges paid on the withdrawals); or
2. The value of your contract at the time the death benefit is to be paid; or
3. The
GACV as determined below.
The GACV is initially the death benefit determined as of the day BLIC receives notice that you have
elected this
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death benefit option. This figure is
based on your existing death benefit as defined in your contract, Option D (not as defined
in the endorsement for this option). The GACV is then evaluated at each subsequent contract anniversary on or before your, or your joint owner’s, 80th birthday, and on each subsequent day a purchase
payment or withdrawal is made. On the contract anniversary on or before your, or your joint
owner’s, 80th birthday, if the current contract value is greater than the GACV, the GACV will be increased to the current value of your contract. If a purchase payment is made, the amount of the
purchase payment will increase the GACV. If a withdrawal is made, the GACV will be reduced
by the amount withdrawn (and any associated withdrawal charges) divided by the value of
your contract immediately before the withdrawal, multiplied by the GACV immediately prior
to the withdrawal. The example above under Death Benefit Option A explains the effect of a
withdrawal on the GACV under this death benefit option.
Death Benefit Option D:
Prior to you, or your joint owner, reaching age 80, the death benefit will be the greater of:
1. Total purchase payments, less any withdrawals (and any withdrawal charges paid on the withdrawals)
accumulated at an annual rate of 4% from the date your contract was issued until the date
of death; or
2. The value of your contract at the time the death benefit is to be paid; or
3. The value of your contract on the most recent five year anniversary before the date of death, plus any
subsequent purchase payments, less any withdrawals (and any withdrawal charges paid on the
withdrawals).
After you, or your joint owner, reaches age 80, the death benefit will be the greater of:
1. Total purchase payments, less any withdrawals (and any withdrawal charges paid on the withdrawals) accumulated at an annual rate of 4% from the date
your contract was issued until you, or your joint owner, reaches age 80, plus any
subsequent purchase payments, less any withdrawals (and any withdrawal charges paid on the
withdrawals); or
2. The value of your contract at the time the death benefit is to be paid; or
3. The value of your contract on the most recent five year anniversary on or before you or your joint owner
reaches 80, plus any purchase payments, less any withdrawals (and any withdrawal charges paid on the
withdrawals).
Death Benefit Option E:
Prior to you, or your joint owner, reaching age 80, the death benefit will be the greatest of:
1. Total purchase payments, less any withdrawals (and any withdrawal charges paid on the
withdrawals);
2. The value of your contract at the time the death benefit is to be paid; or
3. The greatest contract value on any contract anniversary prior to your, or your joint owner’s
death; plus any purchase payments you made subsequent to that contract anniversary, less
any withdrawals (and any withdrawal charges paid on the withdrawals) subsequent to that
contract anniversary.
After you, or your joint owner, reaches age 80, the death benefit will be the greatest of:
1. Total purchase payments, less any withdrawals (and any withdrawal charges paid on the
withdrawals);
2. The value of your contract at the time the death benefit is to be paid; or
3. The greatest contract value on any prior contract anniversary on or before your, or your joint
owner’s 80th birthday; plus any purchase payments you made after that contract
anniversary, less any withdrawals (and any withdrawal charges paid on the withdrawals) you
made after that contract anniversary.
CHECK YOUR CONTRACT AND APPLICABLE ENDORSEMENT FOR YOUR DEATH BENEFIT
The entire death benefit must be paid within 5 years (or in some cases 10 years for Qualified Contracts)
of the date of death unless the beneficiary elects to have the death benefit payable under
an annuity option. Generally, the payments under such an annuity option must be paid over the
beneficiary’s lifetime or for a period not extending beyond the beneficiary’s
life expectancy. Payment must begin within one year of the date of death. However, if the
Beneficiary under a Qualified Contract is the Annuitant's spouse, the tax law generally
allows distributions to begin by the later of the year following the Annuitant’s death or the year in which the Annuitant would have been required to begin taking required minimum distributions.
We may also offer a payment option under which your beneficiary
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may receive payments over a period not
extending beyond his or her life expectancy, under a method of distribution similar to the
distribution of required minimum distributions that are taken as withdrawals from Individual
Retirement Accounts. Such payment option may be limited to certain categories of
beneficiaries. If the beneficiary is the spouse of the owner, he/she can continue the contract in his/her own name at the then current value. If a lump sum payment is elected and all the necessary
requirements are met, the payment will be made within 7 days.
Spousal continuation will not satisfy minimum required distribution rules for tax qualified contracts other than IRAs.
There are comparable rules for distributions on the death of the annuitant under tax qualified plans. As
noted, we may offer a payment option under which your beneficiary may receive payments over
a period not extending beyond his or her life expectancy under a method of distribution
similar to the distribution of required minimum distributions from individual accounts. For
tax qualified plans, if this option is elected, we will issue a new contract to your
beneficiary in order to facilitate the distribution of payments. Your beneficiary may be able to choose any available optional death benefit under the new contract, but certain other contract provisions and
programs will not be available. Upon the death of your beneficiary, the death benefit would
be required to be distributed in accordance with applicable tax law requirements. In some cases, this will require that the proceeds be distributed more rapidly than the method of distribution in effect at
the time of your beneficiary’s death. See “Federal Income Tax Status.”
All contract provisions will be interpreted and administered in accordance with the requirements of the
Internal Revenue Code.
Death of Annuitant
If the annuitant, not an owner or joint owner, dies before annuity payments begin, you can name a new
annuitant. If no annuitant is named within 30 days of the death of the annuitant, you will
become the annuitant. However, if the owner is a non-natural person (for example, a
corporation), then the death or change of annuitant will be treated as the death of the
owner, and a new annuitant may not be named.
Upon the death of the annuitant after annuity payments begin, the death benefit, if any, will be as provided for in the annuity option selected.
Controlled Payout
You may elect to have the death benefit proceeds paid to your beneficiary in the form of annuity payments for life or over a period of time that does not exceed
your beneficiary’s life expectancy. This election must be in writing in a form
acceptable to us. You may revoke the election only in writing and only in a form acceptable to us. Upon your death, the beneficiary cannot revoke or modify your election.
Abandoned Property Requirements
Every state has unclaimed property laws which generally declare annuity contracts to be abandoned after a period of inactivity of three to five years from the
contract’s maturity date (the latest day on which annuity payments may begin under
the contract), the date the death benefit is due and payable, or such other date as required by state law. Contracts purchased through certain qualified plans, including IRAs and Roth IRAs, may be subject to
special or additional abandoned property rules under state law. For example, if the payment
of a death benefit has been triggered, but, if after a thorough search, we are still unable
to locate the beneficiary of the death benefit, or the beneficiary does not come forward to
claim the death benefit in a timely manner, the death benefit will be paid to the abandoned
property division or unclaimed property office of the state in which the beneficiary or the contract owner last resided, as shown on our books and records, or to our state of domicile. (Escheatment is the
formal, legal name for this process.) However, the state is obligated to pay the death
benefit (without interest) if your beneficiary steps forward to claim it with the proper documentation. To prevent your Contract’s proceeds from being paid to the state’s abandoned or unclaimed
property office, it is important that you update your beneficiary designations, including
addresses, if and as they change. Please call (800) 343-8496 to make such changes.
FEDERAL INCOME TAX STATUS
Introduction
The following information on taxes is a general discussion of the subject. It is not intended as tax
advice. The Code and the provisions of the Code that govern the contract are complex and
subject to change. The applicability of federal income tax rules may vary with your particular circumstances. This discussion does not include all the federal income tax rules that may affect you and
your contract. Nor does this discussion address other federal tax
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consequences (such as estate and gift
taxes, sales to foreign individuals or entities), or state or local tax consequences, which
may affect your investment in the contract. As a result, you should always consult a tax adviser for complete information and advice applicable to your individual situation.
We are not responsible for determining if your employer’s plan or arrangement satisfies the
requirements of the Code and/or the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
(ERISA).
We do not expect to incur federal, state or local income taxes on the earnings or realized capital gains
attributable to the Separate Account. However, if we do incur such taxes in the future, we
reserve the right to charge amounts allocated to the Separate Account for these taxes.
To the extent permitted under federal tax law, we may claim the benefit of the corporate dividends
received deduction and of certain foreign tax credits attributable to taxes paid by certain
of the Investment Portfolios to foreign jurisdictions.
For federal tax purposes, the term “spouse” refers to the
person to whom you are lawfully married, regardless of sex. The term “spouse”
generally will not include individuals who are in a registered domestic partnership or
civil union not denominated as marriage under state or other applicable law.
Non-Qualified Contracts
Introduction
This discussion assumes the contract is a “non-qualified” annuity contract for federal
income tax purposes, that is, a Contract not held in a tax qualified plan. Tax qualified
plans include arrangements described in Code Sections 401(a), 401(k), 403(a), 403(b) or tax
sheltered annuities (TSA), 408 or “IRAs” (including SEP and SIMPLE IRAs), 408A
or “Roth IRAs” and 457(b) plans. Contracts owned through such plans are referred to below as “Qualified Contracts.”
Accumulation
Generally, an Owner of a Non-Qualified Contract is not taxed on increases in the value of the contract
until there is a distribution from the contract, i.e. surrender, partial withdrawal, income
payment, or commutation. This deferral of taxation on accumulated value in the contract is
limited to contracts owned by or held for the benefit of “natural persons.” A
contract will be treated as held by a
natural person if the nominal Owner is a trust or other entity which holds the contract as an agent for
the exclusive benefit of a natural person.
In contrast, a contract owned by other than a “natural person,” such as a corporation, partnership, trust, or other entity (other than a trust holding
the Contract as an agent for a natural person), will be taxed currently on the increase in
accumulated value in the contract in the year earned. Note that in this regard, an employer which is the Owner of an annuity contract under a non-qualified deferred compensation arrangement for its employees,
or others, is considered a non-natural Owner and any annual increase in the Account Value
will be subject to current income taxation.
Surrenders or Withdrawals – Early Distribution
If you take a withdrawal from your contract, or surrender your contract prior to the date you commence
taking annuity or “income” payments (the “Annuity Starting Date”),
the amount you receive will generally be treated first as coming from earnings, if any, (and thus subject to income tax) and then from your Purchase Payments (which are not subject to income tax). If the
accumulated value is less than your Purchase Payments upon surrender of your contract, your
ability to claim any unrecovered Purchase Payments on your federal income tax return as a
miscellaneous itemized deduction is suspended under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017 and before January 1,
2026.
The portion of any withdrawal from an annuity contract that is subject to income tax will also be subject to a 10% federal income tax penalty for
“early” distribution if such withdrawal is taken prior to you reaching age
59 1∕2, unless an exception
applies. Exceptions include distributions made:
(a) on account of your death or disability,
(b) as part of a series of substantially equal periodic payments made at least annually payable for your
life (or life expectancy) or joint lives (or joint life expectancies) of you and your
designated Beneficiary, or
(c) under certain immediate income annuities.
If you receive systematic payments that you intend to qualify for the “substantially equal
periodic payments” exception noted above, any modifications (except due to death or
disability) to your payment before age
59 1∕2 or
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within five years after beginning these
payments, whichever is later, will result in the retroactive imposition of the 10% federal
income tax penalty with interest. Such modifications may include but are not limited to additional Purchase Payments to the contract (including tax-free transfers or rollovers) and additional withdrawals
from the contract.
Amounts received as a partial withdrawal may be fully includible in taxable income to the extent of gain in the contract.
If your contract has been purchased with an Optional Two Year Withdrawal Feature or is for a guaranteed
period only (term certain) annuity, and is terminated as a result of the exercise of the
withdrawal feature, the taxable portion of the payment will generally be the excess of the proceeds received over your remaining after-tax Purchase Payment.
Treatment of Separate Account Charges
It is possible that at some future date the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) may consider that contract
charges attributable to certain guaranteed death benefits are to be treated as
distributions from the contract to pay for such non-annuity benefits. Currently, these charges are considered to be an intrinsic part of the contract and we do not report these as taxable income.
However, if this treatment changes in the future, the charge could also be subject to a 10%
federal income tax penalty as an early distribution, as described above.
Aggregation
If you purchase two or more deferred annuity contracts after October 21, 1988, from us (or our
predecessors or affiliates) during the same calendar year, the law requires that all such
contracts must be treated as a single contract for purposes of determining whether any payments not received as an annuity (e.g., withdrawals) will be includible in income. Aggregation could affect the
amount of a withdrawal that is taxable and subject to the 10% federal income tax penalty
described above. Since the IRS may require aggregation in other circumstances as well, you
should consult a tax adviser if you are purchasing more than one annuity contract from the
same insurance company in a single calendar year. Aggregation does not affect distributions
paid in the form of an annuity (see “Taxation of Payments in Annuity Form” below).
Exchanges/Transfers
The annuity contract may be exchanged in whole or in part for another annuity contract or a long-term care insurance policy. An exchange in whole of an annuity
contract for another annuity contract or for a qualified long-term care insurance policy
will generally be a tax-free transaction under Section 1035 of the Code. The partial exchange of an annuity contract may be a tax-free transaction provided that, among other prescribed IRS conditions,
no amounts are distributed from either contract involved in the exchange for 180 days
following the date of the exchange – other than Annuity Payments made for life, joint lives, or for a term of 10 years or
more. If a distribution is made from either contract within the 180-day period after the
exchange or the exchange otherwise fails to satisfy other IRS prescriptions, the IRS reserves the right to characterize the exchange in a manner consistent with its substance, based on general tax
principles and all the facts and circumstances. For instance, such distribution from either
contract may be taxable to the extent of the combined gain attributable to both contracts, or only to the extent of your gain in the contract from which the distribution is paid. Some of the ramifications of a
partial exchange remain unclear. You should consult your tax adviser concerning potential
tax consequences prior to any partial exchange or split of annuity
contracts.
A transfer of ownership of the contract, or the designation of an Annuitant or other Beneficiary who is
not also the contract Owner, may result in income or gift tax consequences to the contract
Owner. You should consult your tax adviser if you are considering such a transfer or
assignment.
Death Benefits
For Non-Qualified Contracts, the death benefit is taxable to the recipient in the same manner as if paid
to the contract Owner (under the rules for withdrawals or income payments, whichever is
applicable).
After your death, any death benefit determined under the contract must be distributed according to
certain rules. The method of distribution that is required depends on whether you die
before or after the Annuity Starting Date.
If you die on or after the Annuity Starting Date, the remaining
portion of the interest in the contract must be distributed at least as rapidly as under the method of distribution being used as of the date of death.
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If you die before the Annuity Starting
Date, the entire interest in the contract must be distributed within five (5) years after
the date of death, or as periodic payments over a period not extending beyond the life or life expectancy of the designated Beneficiary (provided such payments begin within one year of your death)
and the Beneficiary must be a natural person.
Additionally, if the annuity is payable to (or for the benefit of) your surviving spouse, that portion of the contract may be continued with your spouse as the
Owner.
For contracts owned by a non-natural person, the required distribution rules apply upon the death of the
Annuitant. If there is more than one Annuitant of a contract held by a non-natural person,
then such required distributions will be triggered by the death of the first co-Annuitant.
Investor Control
In certain circumstances, Owners of Non-Qualified variable annuity contracts have been considered to be the owners of the assets of the underlying
Separate Account for federal income tax purposes due to their ability to exercise
investment control over those assets. When this is the case, the contract Owners have been
currently taxed on income and gains attributable to the variable account assets. There is
little guidance in this area, and some features of the contract, such as the number of Investment Portfolios available and the flexibility of the contract Owner to allocate Purchase Payments and transfer amounts
among the Investment Portfolios have not been addressed in public rulings. While we believe
that the contract does not give the contract Owner investment control over Separate Account
assets, we reserve the right to modify the contract as necessary to prevent a contract
Owner from being treated as the owner of the Separate Account assets supporting the
contract.
Taxation of Payments in Annuity Form
Payments received from the contract in the form of an annuity are taxable as ordinary income to the
extent they exceed the portion of the payment determined by applying the exclusion ratio to
the entire payment. The exclusion ratio is determined at the time the contract is annuitized
(i.e., the accumulated value is converted to an annuity form of distribution). Generally,
the applicable exclusion ratio is your investment in the contract divided by the total
payments expected to be received based on IRS factors, such as the form of annuity and
mortality. The excludable portion of each Annuity Payment is the return of
investment in the contract and it is excludable from your taxable income until your investment in the
contract is fully recovered. We will make this calculation for you. However, it is possible
that the IRS could conclude that the taxable portion of income payments under a Non-Qualified
Contract is an amount greater – or less — than the taxable amount determined by us and reported by us to you and the IRS.
Once you have recovered the investment in the contract, further Annuity Payments are fully taxable.
If you die before your investment in the contract is fully recovered, the balance of your investment may be deducted on your last tax return, or if Annuity
Payments continue after your death, the balance may be recovered by your
Beneficiary.
The IRS has not furnished explicit guidance as to how the excludable amount is to be determined each year under variable income annuities that permit transfers
between a fixed annuity option and variable investment options, as well as transfers
between investment options after the Annuity Starting Date.
Once Annuity Payments have commenced, you may not be able to transfer to another Non-Qualified Contract or a long-term care contract as part of a tax-free
exchange.
If the contract allows, you may elect to convert less than the full value of your contract to an annuity
form of pay-out (i.e., “partial annuitization”). In this case, your investment
in the contract will be pro-rated between the annuitized portion of the contract and the deferred portion. An exclusion ratio will apply to the Annuity Payments as described above, provided the annuity form you
elect is payable for at least 10 years or for the life of one or more individuals.
3.8% Tax on Net Investment Income
Federal tax law imposes a 3.8% Net Investment Income tax on the lesser of:
(1) the taxpayer’s “net investment income,” (from
non-qualified annuities, interest, dividends, and other investments, offset by specified
allowable deductions), or
(2) the taxpayer’s modified adjusted gross income in excess of a specified income threshold ($250,000 for married couples filing jointly and qualifying
surviving spouses, $125,000 for married couples filing separately, and $200,000 for single
filers).
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“Net investment income” in
Item 1 above does not include distributions from tax qualified plans (i.e., arrangements
described in Code Sections 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408, 408A, or 457(b)), but such income
will increase modified adjusted gross income in Item 2 above.
You should consult your tax adviser regarding the applicability of this tax to income under your annuity contract.
Puerto Rico Tax Considerations
The Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Code of 2011 (the “2011 PR Code”) taxes distributions from Non-Qualified Contracts differently than in the
U.S.
Distributions that are not in the form of an annuity (including partial surrenders and period certain
payments) are treated under the 2011 PR Code first as a return of investment. Therefore, a
substantial portion of the amounts distributed generally will be excluded from gross income
for Puerto Rico tax purposes until the cumulative amount paid exceeds your tax
basis.
The amount of income on annuity distributions in annuity form (payable over your lifetime) is also
calculated differently under the 2011 PR Code. Since the U.S. source income generated by a
Puerto Rico bona fide resident is subject to U.S. income tax and the IRS issued guidance in
2004 which indicated that the income from an annuity contract issued by a U.S. life insurer
would be considered U.S. source income, the timing of recognition of income from an annuity
contract could vary between the two jurisdictions. Although the 2011 PR Code provides a credit against the Puerto Rico income tax for U.S. income taxes paid, an individual may not get full credit
because of the timing differences.
You should consult with a personal tax adviser regarding the tax consequences of purchasing an annuity contract and/or any proposed distribution, particularly a
partial distribution or election to annuitize if you are a resident of Puerto Rico.
Qualified Contracts
Introduction
The contract may be purchased through certain types of retirement plans that receive favorable treatment
under the Code (“tax qualified plans” or “qualified plans”).
Tax-qualified plans include arrangements described in Code Sections 401(a), 401(k), 403(a),
403(b) or tax sheltered annuities (TSA), 408 or “IRAs” (including SEP and
SIMPLE IRAs), 408A or “Roth IRAs” and 457(b) plans. Extensive special tax rules apply to
qualified plans and to the annuity contracts used in connection with these plans.
Therefore, the following discussion provides only general information about the use of the
contract with the various types of qualified plans. Adverse tax consequences may result if
you do not ensure that contributions, distributions and other transactions with respect to the contract comply with the law.
The rights to any benefit under the plan will be subject to the terms and conditions of the plan itself as well as the terms and conditions of the contract.
We exercise no control over whether a particular retirement plan or a particular contribution to the
plan satisfies the applicable requirements of the Code, or whether a particular individual
is entitled to participate or benefit under a plan.
All qualified plans and arrangements receive tax deferral under the Code. Since there are no additional tax benefits in funding such retirement arrangements with
an annuity, there should be reasons other than tax deferral for acquiring the annuity
within the plan. Such non-tax benefits may include additional insurance benefits, such as
the availability of a guaranteed income for life.
A contract may also be available in connection with an employer’s non-qualified deferred compensation plan or qualified governmental excess benefit
arrangement to provide benefits to certain employees in the plan. The tax rules regarding
these plans are complex. Please consult your tax adviser about your particular situation.
Accumulation
The tax rules applicable to qualified plans vary according to the type of plan and the terms and conditions of the plan itself. Both the amount of the contribution
that may be made and the tax deduction or exclusion that you may claim for that
contribution under qualified plans are limited under the Code. See the SAI for a description of qualified plan types and annual current contribution limitations, which are subject to change from
year-to-year.
Purchase payments or contributions to IRAs or tax qualified retirement plans of an employer may be taken
from current income on a before tax basis or after tax basis. Purchase payments made on a
“before tax” basis entitle you to a tax deduction or are not subject to current
income tax. Purchase payments made on an “after tax” basis do not reduce your
taxable income or give you a tax
35
deduction. Contributions may also
consist of transfers or rollovers as described below and are not subject to the annual
limitations on contributions.
An IRA Contract will accept as a single Purchase Payment a transfer or rollover from another IRA
(including a SEP or SIMPLE IRA) or rollover from an eligible retirement plan of an employer
(i.e., 401(a), 401(k), 403(a), 403(b), or governmental 457(b) plan). A rollover or transfer from a SIMPLE IRA is allowed provided that the taxpayer has participated in such arrangement for at least two
years. As part of the single Purchase Payment, the IRA contract will also accept an IRA
contribution subject to the Code limits for the year of purchase.
For income annuities established as “pay-outs” of
SIMPLE IRAs, the contract will only accept a single Purchase Payment consisting of a
transfer or rollover from another SIMPLE IRA. For income annuities established in
accordance with a distribution option under a retirement plan of an employer (e.g., 401(a),
401(k), 403(a), 403(b), or 457(b) plan), the contract will only accept as its single
Purchase Payment a transfer from such employer retirement plan.
Taxation of Annuity Distributions
If contributions are made on a “before tax” basis, you generally pay income taxes on the full amount of money you receive under the contract. Withdrawals
attributable to any after-tax contributions are basis in the contract and not subject to
income tax (except for the portion of the withdrawal allocable to earnings, if any).
Under current federal income tax rules, the taxable portion of distributions under annuity contracts and
qualified plans (including IRAs) is not eligible for the reduced tax rate applicable to
long-term capital gains and qualifying dividends.
If you meet certain requirements, your Roth IRA, Roth 403(b) and Roth 401(k) earnings can be received free of federal income taxes.
With respect to IRA contracts, we will withhold a portion of the taxable amount of your withdrawal for
income taxes, unless you elect otherwise. The amount we will withhold is determined by the
Code.
Withdrawals Prior to Age 59 1∕2
A taxable withdrawal from a Qualified Contract which is subject to income tax may also be subject to a
10% federal income tax penalty for “early” distribution if taken prior to
age 59 1∕2, unless an
exception described below applies. The penalty rate is 25% for SIMPLE IRA plan contracts if the withdrawal occurs within the first 2 years of your participation in the plan.
Exceptions to the early distribution penalty for qualified plans include withdrawals or distributions
made:
(a) on
account of your death or disability,
(b) as part of a series of substantially equal periodic payments payable for your life (or life expectancy)
or joint lives (or joint life expectancies) of you and your designated Beneficiary and (in
the case of certain employer-sponsored qualified plans) you are separated from
employment,
(c) on separation from service after age 55. This rule does not apply to IRAs (including SEPs and SIMPLE
IRAs).
(d) pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order (“QDRO”). This rule does not apply to IRAs
(including SEPs and SIMPLE IRAs).
(e) to pay IRS levies (and made after December 31, 1999),
(f) to
pay deductible medical expenses, or
(g) in the case of IRAs only, to pay for medical insurance (if you are unemployed), qualified higher
education expenses, or for a qualified first-time home purchase up to $10,000.
Other exceptions may be applicable under certain circumstances and special rules apply or may become
applicable in connection with the exceptions enumerated above. Other exceptions include
certain provisions under the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 which may provide the ability to
recontribute an “early” distribution to an IRA or employer-sponsored qualified plan (subject to the provisions of the Code, the qualified plan/IRA, the Contract and our administrative rules). You should
consult your tax adviser to confirm whether an exception applies.
If you receive systematic payments or any other payments
that you intend to qualify for the “substantially equal periodic payments”
exception noted above, any modifications (except due to death or disability) to your
payment before age 59 1∕2 or within five
years after beginning these payments, whichever is later, will result in the retroactive
imposition of the 10% federal income tax penalty with interest. Such modifications may include but are not limited to additional Purchase Payments to the contract (including tax-free transfers or
rollovers) and additional withdrawals from the contract.
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The 10% federal income tax penalty on
early distribution does not apply to governmental 457(b) plan contracts. However, it does
apply to distributions from 457(b) plans of employers which are state or local governments to the extent that the distribution is attributable to rollovers accepted from other types of eligible
retirement plans.
Commutation Features Under Income Payment Types
Please be advised that the tax consequences resulting from the election of income payment types
containing a commutation feature (a feature that allows the Owner to receive a lump sum of
the present value of future Annuity Payments) are uncertain and the IRS may determine that
the taxable amount of income payments and withdrawals received for any year could be
greater than or less than the taxable amount reported by us. The exercise of the
commutation feature also may result in adverse tax consequences including:
•The imposition of a 10% federal income tax penalty on the taxable amount of the commuted value, if the taxpayer has not attained age 59 1∕2 at the time the
withdrawal is made. This 10% federal income tax penalty is in addition to the ordinary
income tax on the taxable amount of the commuted value.
•The retroactive imposition of the 10% federal income tax penalty on income payments
received prior to the taxpayer attaining age 59 1∕2.
•The possibility that the exercise of the commutation feature could adversely affect the amount excluded from federal income tax under any income payments
made after such commutation.
A payee should consult with his or her own tax adviser prior to electing to annuitize the contract and prior to exercising any commutation feature under an
income payment type.
Rollovers and Transfers
Your contract is non-forfeitable (i.e., not subject to the claims of your creditors) and
non-transferable (i.e., you may not transfer it to someone else).
Nevertheless, contracts held in certain employer plans subject to ERISA may be transferred in part pursuant to a QDRO.
Under certain circumstances, you may be able to transfer amounts distributed from your contract to
another eligible retirement plan or IRA. For 457(b) plans maintained by
non-governmental employers, if certain conditions are met, amounts may be transferred into another
457(b) plan maintained by a non-governmental employer.
You may make rollovers and direct transfers into your SIMPLE IRA annuity contract from another SIMPLE IRA annuity contract or account. Rollovers from another
qualified plan can generally be made to your SIMPLE IRA after you have participated in the
SIMPLE IRA for at least two years.
Rollovers and direct transfers from a SIMPLE IRA can only be made to another SIMPLE IRA or account during the first two years that you participate in the SIMPLE
IRA plan. After this two-year period, rollovers and transfers may be made from your SIMPLE
IRA into a Traditional IRA or account, as well as into another SIMPLE IRA.
Federal income tax law allows you to make only one rollover from an IRA to another (or the same) IRA in any 12-month period, regardless of the number of
IRAs you own. Generally, this limit does not apply to trustee-to-trustee transfers between
IRAs. Because the rollover rules are complex, please consult with your tax advisor before
making an IRA rollover.
Generally, a distribution may be eligible for rollover but certain types of distributions cannot be rolled over, such as distributions received on account
of:
(a) minimum
distribution requirements,
(b) financial
hardship; or
(c) for
a period of ten or more years or for life.
20% Withholding on Eligible Rollover
Distributions
For certain qualified employer plans, we are required to withhold 20% of the taxable portion of your withdrawal that constitutes an “eligible rollover
distribution” for federal income taxes. The amount we withhold is determined by the
Code. You may avoid withholding if you directly transfer a withdrawal from this contract to another IRA or other qualified plan. Similarly, you may be able to avoid withholding on a transfer into this
contract from an existing qualified plan you may have with another provider by arranging to
have the transfer made directly to us. For taxable withdrawals that are not “eligible rollover distributions,” the Code imposes different withholding rules to determine the withholding
percentage.
37
Death Benefits
The death benefit in a Qualified Contract is taxable to the recipient in the same manner as if paid to
the contract Owner or plan participant (under the rules for withdrawals or income payments,
whichever is applicable).
Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) amounts are required to be distributed from a Qualified annuity
Contract (including a contract issued as a Roth IRA) following your death. Congress
recently changed the RMD rules for individuals who die after 2019. The after-death RMD
rules are complex, and you should consult your tax adviser about how they may apply to your situation.
Effective January 1, 2020, when an IRA owner or participant in a defined contribution plan dies, any
remaining interest generally must be distributed within 10 years (or in some cases five
years) after his or her death, unless an exception applies. An exception permits an
“eligible designated beneficiary” to take distributions over life or a period
not exceeding life expectancy, subject to special rules and limitations. An “eligible designated beneficiary” includes: the IRA owner/participant’s spouse or minor child (until the child
reaches age of majority), certain disabled or chronically ill individuals, and an
individual who is not more than 10 years younger than the IRA owner/participant. We may
limit any payment option over life, or a period not exceeding life expectancy, to certain
categories of eligible designed beneficiary.
Generally, distributions under this exception must start by the end
of the year following your death. However, if your surviving spouse is the sole designated beneficiary, distributions may generally be delayed until December 31 of the year you would have attained the
Applicable Age (as defined in the chart below), if your contract permits.
If you die after Annuity Payments have already begun under a Qualified Contract, any remaining payments under the contract also must be made in accordance
with the RMD rules. In some cases, those rules may require that the remaining payments be
made over a shorter period than originally elected or otherwise adjusted to comply with the
tax law.
Regardless of whether you die before or after your Required Beginning Date, the following will be applicable:
If your surviving spouse is the sole designated beneficiary of your Traditional or Roth IRA, then your surviving spouse may elect to treat the Traditional or Roth
IRA as his or her own.
Your designated Beneficiary is the person to whom benefit rights under the contract pass by reason of
death. The Beneficiary generally must be a natural person in order to elect a periodic
payment option based on life expectancy or a period exceeding five years. Different tax rules may apply if your Beneficiary is not a natural person, such as your estate.
Your spouse may be able to rollover the death proceeds into another eligible retirement plan in which he
or she participates, if permitted under the receiving plan, or he or she may elect to
rollover the death proceeds into his or her own IRA, or he or she may elect to transfer the death proceeds into an inherited IRA.
If your Beneficiary is not your spouse and your plan and contract permit, your Beneficiary may be able to rollover the death proceeds via a direct
trustee-to-trustee transfer into an inherited IRA. However, a non-spouse Beneficiary may
not treat the inherited IRA as his or her own IRA.
Additionally, for contracts issued in connection with qualified plans
subject to ERISA, the spouse or ex-spouse of the participant may have rights in the contract. In such a case, the participant may need the consent of the spouse or ex-spouse to change annuity options or make
a withdrawal from the contract.
Applicable Age for Required Minimum Distributions (RMD)
As used in the prospectus, “Applicable Age” means the following:
| If you… |
Your “Applicable
Age” is.. |
| When born on or before June 30,
1949 |
70 1∕2 |
| When born on or after July 1,
1949 (and attain age 72 prior to
January 1, 2023) |
72 |
| Attain age 72 on or after
January 1, 2023 (and attain
age 73 on or before December 31,
2032) |
73 |
| Attain age 73 on or after
January 1, 2033 |
75 |
38
Required Minimum
Distributions
Generally, you must begin receiving RMD amounts from your Qualified Contract by the Required Beginning
Date. Generally, for retirement plans, the “Required Minimum Date” is April 1
following the later of:
(a) the calendar year in which you reach the Applicable Age, or
(b) the calendar year you retire, provided you do not own more than 5% of the outstanding stock, capital, or
profits of your employer.
For IRAs (including SEPs and SIMPLEs), the Required Beginning Date by which you must begin receiving withdrawals is the year in which you attain the
Applicable Age, even if you have not retired, taking your first distribution no later than
April 1 of the year after you reach the Applicable Age.
For all subsequent years, including the first year in which you took your RMD by April 1, you must take the required minimum distribution for the year by December
31st. This will require you to take two distributions in the same calendar year if you wait to take your first
distribution until April 1 of the year after attaining the Applicable Age.
A tax penalty (an excise tax) of up to 25% applies to the
shortfall of any required minimum distribution you fail to receive.
You may not satisfy minimum distributions for one employer’s qualified plan (e.g., 401(a), 403(a),
457(b)) with distributions from another qualified plan of the same or a different employer.
However, an aggregation rule does apply in the case of IRAs (including SEP and SIMPLE IRAs)
or 403(b) plans. The minimum required distribution is calculated with respect to each IRA, but the aggregate distribution may be taken from any one or more of your IRAs/SEPs. Similarly, the amount of required
minimum distribution is calculated separately with respect to each 403(b) arrangement, but
the aggregate amount of the required distribution may be taken from any one or more of your
403(b) plan contracts. For SIMPLE IRAs, the aggregate amount of the required distribution may be taken from any one or more of your SIMPLE IRAs.
The regulations also require that the value of benefits under a deferred annuity including certain death benefits in excess of contract value must be added to the
amount credited to your account in computing the amount required to be distributed over the
applicable period. We will provide you with additional information regarding the amount that is
subject to minimum distribution under this rule. You should consult your own tax adviser as to how these
rules affect your own distribution under this rule.
If you intend to receive your minimum distributions in the form of Annuity Payments that are payable over the joint lives of you and a Beneficiary or over a
guaranteed duration of more than 10 years, be advised that federal tax law may require
that, after your death, any remaining payments be made over a shorter period or be reduced after your death to satisfy the RMD rules and avoid the up to 25% excise tax. Other complex rules also apply
to RMDs taken in the form of Annuity Payments. You should consult your own tax adviser as
to how these rules affect your own contract.
Required minimum distribution rules that apply to other types of IRAs while you are alive do not apply to Roth IRAs. However, in general, the IRA post-death
rules with respect to minimum distributions apply to beneficiaries of Roth IRAs. Effective
in 2024, similar rules apply to Roth account balances maintained in employer-sponsored
qualified plans. As a result, required minimum distribution rules that generally apply
under an employer-sponsored qualified plan once you attain your Applicable Age, will not
apply to any Roth account balance while you are alive. However, in general, post-death rules with respect to minimum distributions do apply to beneficiaries upon your death.
Additional Information Regarding TSA (ERISA and Non-ERISA) 403(b)
Special Rules Regarding Exchanges. In order to satisfy tax regulations, contract exchanges within a 403(b) plan after September 24, 2007, must, at a minimum, meet the following requirements: (1) the plan
must allow the exchange; (2) the exchange must not result in a reduction in a
participant’s or a Beneficiary’s accumulated benefit: (3) the receiving contract includes distribution restrictions that are no less stringent than those imposed on the contract being exchanged;
and (4) if the issuer receiving the exchanges is not part of the plan, the employer enters
into an agreement with the issuer to provide information to enable the contract provider to
comply with Code requirements. Such information would include details concerning severance
from employment, hardship withdrawals, loans and tax basis. You should consult your tax or
legal counsel for any advice relating to contract exchanges or any other matter relating to these regulations.
39
Withdrawals. If you are under age 59 1∕2, you generally
cannot withdraw money from your TSA contract unless the withdrawal:
(a)
related to Purchase Payments made prior to 1989 and pre-1989 earnings on those Purchase Payments;
(b)
is exchanged to another permissible investment under your 403(b) plan;
(c)
relates to contributions to an annuity contract that are not salary reduction elective deferrals, if your plan allows it;
(d)
occurs after you die, leave your job or become disabled (as defined by the Code);
(e)
is for financial hardship (but only to the extent of elective deferrals), if your plan allows it;
(f)
relates to distributions attributable to certain TSA plan terminations, if the conditions of the Code are met;
(g)
relates to rollover or after-tax contributions; or
(h)
is for the purchase of permissive service credit under a governmental defined benefit plan.
In addition, a Section 403(b) contract is permitted to distribute retirement benefits attributable to pre-tax contributions other than elective deferrals to
the participant no earlier than upon the earlier of the participant’s severance from
employment or upon the prior occurrence of some event, such as after a fixed number of years, the attainment of a stated age or disability.
Additional Information Regarding IRAs
Purchase Payments. Traditional IRA Purchase Payments (except for permissible rollovers and direct transfers) are limited in the aggregate to the
lesser of 100% of compensation or the deductible amount established each year under the
Code.A Purchase Payment up to the deductible amount can also be made for a non-working
spouse provided the couple’s compensation is at least equal to their aggregate
contributions. Individuals age 50 and older are permitted to make additional “catch-up” contributions if they have sufficient compensation. If you or your spouse are an active participant in a
retirement plan of an employer, your deductible contributions may be limited. If you exceed
Purchase Payment limits you may be subject to a tax penalty.
Roth IRA Purchase Payments for individuals are non-deductible (made on an “after tax” basis)
and are limited to the lesser of 100% of compensation or the annual deductible IRA amount.
Individuals age 50 and older can make an additional “catch-up” Purchase Payment each year (assuming the individual has sufficient compensation). You may contribute up to the annual Purchase
Payment limit if your modified adjusted gross income does not exceed certain limits. If you
exceed Purchase Payment limits, you may be subject to a tax penalty.
Withdrawals. If and to the extent that Traditional IRA Purchase Payments are made on an “after tax”
basis, withdrawals would be included in income except for the portion that represents a
return of non-deductible Purchase Payments. This portion is generally determined based upon
the ratio of all non-deductible Purchase Payments to the total value of all your
Traditional IRAs (including SEP IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs). We withhold a portion of the amount
of your withdrawal for income taxes, unless you elect otherwise. The amount we withhold is determined by the Code.
Generally, withdrawal of earnings from Roth IRAs are free from federal income tax if: (1) they are made at least five taxable years after the tax year for which
you made your first Purchase Payment to a Roth IRA; and (2) they are made on or after the
date you reach age 59 1∕2 or upon your death,
disability or for a qualified first-home purchase (up to $10,000). Withdrawals from a Roth IRA are made first from Purchase Payments and then from earnings. We may be required to withhold a portion of your
withdrawal for income taxes, unless you elect otherwise. The amount will be determined by
the Code.
Conversion. Traditional IRAs may be converted to Roth IRAs. Except to the extent you have non-deductible contributions, the amount converted from an existing
Traditional IRA into a Roth IRA is taxable. Generally, the 10% federal income tax penalty
does not apply. However, the taxable amount to be converted must be based on the fair
market value of the entire annuity contract being converted into a Roth IRA. Such fair market value, in general, is to be determined by taking into account the value of all benefits in addition to the Account
Value; as well as adding back certain loads and charges incurred during the prior twelve
month period. Your contract may include such benefits and applicable charges. Accordingly,
if you are considering such conversion of your annuity contract, please consult your tax
adviser. The taxable
40
amount may exceed the Account Value at
the date of conversion.
Prior to 2018, contributions made to a Traditional IRA that were converted to a Roth IRA could be recharacterized as made back to the Traditional IRA, if
certain conditions were met. Under a provision of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,
recharacterization cannot be used to unwind a conversion from a Traditional IRA to a Roth
IRA for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017. For conversions made to a Roth IRA
in 2017, the IRS has issued guidance allowing recharacterizations to be made in 2018.
Distinction for Puerto Rico Code
An annuity contract may be purchased by an employer for an employee under a qualified pension, profit sharing, stock bonus, annuity, or a “cash or
deferred” arrangement plan established pursuant to Section 1081.01 of the 2011 PR
Code. To be tax qualified under the 2011 PR Code, a plan must comply with the requirements
of Section 1081.01(a) of the 2011 PR Code which includes certain participation
requirements, among other requirements. A trust created to hold assets for a qualified plan
is exempt from tax on its investment income.
Contributions. The employer is entitled to a current income tax deduction for contributions made to a qualified plan, subject to statutory limitations on the
amount that may be contributed each year. The plan contributions by the employer are not
required to be included in the current income of the employee.
Distributions. Any amount received or made available to the employee under the qualified plan is includible in the
gross income of the employee in the taxable year in which received or made available. In
such case, the amount paid or contributed by the employer shall not constitute
consideration paid by the employee for the contract for purposes of determining the amount
of Annuity Payments required to be included in the employee’s gross income. Thus,
amounts actually distributed or made available to any employee under the qualified plan will be included in their entirety in the employee’s gross income. The value of accrued benefits in a qualified
retirement plan with respect to which the special 8% tax under Puerto Rico Act No. 77-2014
was prepaid will be considered as part of the participant’s tax basis in his retirement plan account. Thus, any distributions attributable to the benefits for which such taxes were prepaid will not be subject to
income taxes when the same are subsequently received by the participant. However, the
investment income and the
appreciation in value, if any, accrued on the benefits with respect to which the special tax was
prepaid, will be taxed as provided by the tax rules in effect at the time of distribution.
Lump-sum proceeds from a Puerto Rico qualified retirement plan due to separation of employment or termination of a retirement plan will generally be treated as ordinary income but will be subject to
a withholding tax rate of 20%.A special withholding tax rate of 10% may apply instead, if the plan satisfies the following requirements:
(1) the plan’s trust is organized under the laws of Puerto Rico, or has a Puerto Rico resident trustee
and uses such trustee as paying agent; and
(2) 10% of all plan’s trust assets (calculated based on the average balance of the investments of the trust) attributable to participants who are Puerto Rico
residents must be invested in “property located in Puerto Rico” for a
three-year period.
If these two requirements are not satisfied, the distribution will generally be subject to the 20% tax
rate. The three-year period includes the year of the distribution and the two immediately
preceding years. In the case of a defined contribution plan that maintains separate accounts for each participant, the described 10% investment requirement may be satisfied in the accounts of a participant
that chooses to invest in such fashion rather than at the trust level. Property located in
Puerto Rico includes shares of stock of a Puerto Rico registered investment company, fixed
or variable annuities issued by a domestic insurance company or by a foreign insurance corporation that derives more than 80% of its gross income from sources within Puerto Rico, and bank deposits. The 2011 PR Code
does not impose a penalty tax in cases of early (premature) distributions from a qualified
plan.
In the case of distributions from a qualified plan in the form of annuity or installments as a result of
termination of employment, amounts received are taxable in an amount equal to 3% of the
after-tax contributions not previously distributed, which would be considered the tax cost. The remaining portion is not taxable until you have recovered the total after-tax contributions made to the
qualified plan. You may be able to exclude from gross income up to $11,000, if you are less
than 60 years of age, or up to $15,000, if you are at least 60 years of age, of the taxable
portion of the installment payments received every year. The above-described distributions
that exceed the amount of $35,000 during a taxable year (amount which includes
41
the annual exclusion of $15,000) for
retirees that are 60 years old or older, and $31,000 (amount which includes the annual
exclusion of $11,000) for other retirees plus the recovery of the consideration paid for the annuity following the 3% recognition of income rule described above, will generally constitute ordinary income
subject to a 10% withholding tax.
Upon the occurrence of a “Declared Disaster”, like a hurricane, Retirement Plans are allowed to make Eligible Distributions to a participant resident of
Puerto Rico who requests the same. The Eligible Distribution may not exceed $100,000, be
made during a period of time to be identified by the Puerto Rico Treasury through
administrative guidance and be used to cover damages or losses suffered, and extraordinary
expenses incurred by the individual as a result of the Declared Disaster. The first $10,000
will be exempted from income taxation, including the alternate basic tax, and amounts exceeding $10,000 will be subject to a 10% income tax to be withheld at the source, in lieu of any other income tax,
including the alternate basic tax.
You should consult with a personal tax adviser regarding the tax consequences of purchasing an annuity contract and/or any proposed distribution if you
are a resident of Puerto Rico.
In contrast, if qualified retirement income, as defined in 4 U.S.C. Section 114(a), is distributed by a dual qualified plan (i.e., a plan qualified under Code
Section 401 and under Section 1081.01 of the 2011 PR Code that is funded through a U.S.
trust) to a non-Puerto Rico resident, such distribution is not subject to Puerto Rico income tax. The individual must not be a Puerto Rico resident at the time of the distribution and certain requirements
must be satisfied by him/her for the distribution to receive this tax treatment.
Rollover. Deferral of the recognition of income continues upon the receipt of a distribution by a participant from a qualified plan, if the distribution is
contributed to another qualified retirement plan or traditional individual retirement
account for the employee’s benefit no later than sixty (60) days after the distribution.
ERISA Considerations. In the context of a Puerto Rico qualified retirement plan trust, the IRS has held that the transfer of assets and liabilities from a
qualified retirement plan trust under the Code to that type of plan would generally be
treated as a distribution includible in gross income for U.S. income tax purposes even if the Puerto Rico retirement plan is a plan described in ERISA
Section 1022(i)(1). By contrast, a transfer from a qualified retirement plan trust under the Code to a Puerto Rico qualified retirement plan trust that has made an
election under ERISA Section 1022(i)(2) is not treated as a distribution from the
transferor plan for U.S. income tax purposes because a Puerto Rico retirement plan that has
made an election under ERISA Section 1022(i)(2) is treated as a qualified retirement plan
for purposes Code Section 401(a). The IRS has determined that the above described rules
prescribing the inclusion in income of transfers of assets and liabilities to a Puerto Rico retirement plan trust described in ERISA Section 1022(i)(1) would be applicable to transfers taking effect after
December 31, 2012. Notwithstanding the above, the IRS has held that a Puerto Rico
retirement plan described in ERISA Section 1022(i)(1) may participate in a 81-100 group trust
because it permits said plan to diversify its investments without adverse tax consequences
to the group trust or its investors.
OTHER INFORMATION
Brighthouse Life Insurance Company
Brighthouse Life Insurance Company is a Delaware stock life insurance company originally incorporated in Connecticut in 1863. BLIC is licensed to conduct business in all states of the United States (except New
York), the District of Columbia, the Bahamas, Guam, Puerto Rico, the British Virgin Islands
and the U.S. Virgin Islands. BLIC is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of, and ultimately
controlled by, Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (“BHF”), a publicly-traded company.
BHF, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, is one of the largest providers of annuities and life insurance in the U.S. BLIC’s executive offices are located at 11225 North Community House Road,
Charlotte, NC 28277.
The Separate Account
We have established a Separate Account, Brighthouse Variable Annuity Account C (Separate Account), to hold the assets that underlie the contracts. The Board
of Directors of MetLife Investors Insurance Company (MetLife Investors) adopted a
resolution to establish the Separate Account under Missouri insurance law on February 24,
1987. On November 14, 2014, following the close of business MetLife Investors merged into BLIC and the Separate Account became a separate account of BLIC. We have registered the Separate Account with the
SEC as a unit investment trust under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Separate
Account is divided into subaccounts.
42
The Separate Account’s assets are
solely for the benefit of those who invest in the Separate Account and no one else,
including our creditors. The assets of the Separate Account are held in our name on behalf
of the Separate Account and legally belong to us. All the income, gains and losses
(realized or unrealized) resulting from these assets are credited to or charged against the
contracts issued from this Separate Account without regard to our other business.
We reserve the right to transfer assets of the Separate Account to another account, and to modify the
structure or operation of the Separate Account, subject to necessary regulatory approvals.
If we do so, we will notify you of any such changes and we guarantee that the modification will not affect your Account Value.
We are obligated to pay all money we owe under the contracts — such as death benefits and income payments — even if that amount exceeds the assets in the Separate Account. Any such amount that exceeds the assets in the Separate Account is paid from our
general account. Any amount under any optional death benefit that exceeds the assets in the
Separate Account is also paid from our general account. Benefit amounts paid from the general
account are subject to our financial strength and claims paying ability and our long term
ability to make such payments. We issue other annuity contracts and life insurance policies
where we pay all money we owe under those contracts and policies from our general account.
BLIC is regulated as an insurance company under state law, which generally includes limits
on the amount and type of investments in our general account. However, there is no
guarantee that we will be able to meet our claims paying obligations; there are risks to
purchasing any insurance product.
The investment advisers to certain of the Investment Portfolios offered with the contracts or with other variable annuity contracts issued through the
Separate Account may be regulated as Commodity Pool Operators. While it does not concede
that the Separate Account is a commodity pool, BLIC has claimed an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” under the Commodities Exchange Act (CEA), and is not
subject to registration or regulation as a pool operator under the CEA.
Distributor
We have entered into a distribution agreement with our affiliate, Brighthouse Securities, LLC
(“Distributor”), 11225 North Community House Road, Charlotte, NC
28277, for the distribution of the contracts. Prior to March 6, 2017, the distributor of the contracts
was MetLife Investors Distribution Company. Distributor is a member of the Financial
Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). FINRA provides background information
about broker-dealers and their registered representatives through FINRA BrokerCheck. You
may contact the FINRA BrokerCheck Hotline at 1-800-289-9999, or log on to www.finra.org. An
investor brochure that includes information describing FINRA BrokerCheck is available
through the Hotline or on-line.
We and Distributor have entered into selling agreements with other broker-dealers (“selling firms”) for the sale of the contracts. We pay
compensation to Distributor for sales of the contracts by selling firms. We also pay amounts to Distributor that may be used for its operating and other expenses, including sales distribution
expenses.
Selling Firms
We and Distributor have entered into selling agreements with selling firms for the sale of the contracts. All selling firms receive commissions, and they may
receive some form of non-cash compensation. These commissions and other incentives or
payments are not charged directly to contract owners or the Separate Account. We intend to recoup commissions and other sales expenses through fees and charges deducted under the contract or from our
General Account. A portion of the payments made to selling firms may be passed on to their
sales representatives in accordance with their internal compensation programs. Those
programs may also include other types of cash and non-cash compensation and other benefits.
Compensation Paid To All Selling Firms
We and Distributor pay compensation to all selling firms in the form of commissions and may provide certain types of non-cash compensation. The maximum commission
payable for contract sales by selling firms is 5.75% of purchase payments, along with
annual trail commissions up to 1.00% of account value (less purchase payments received
within the previous 12 months). We also pay commissions when a contract owner elects to begin
receiving regular income payments (referred to as annuity payments). (See “Annuity
Payments (The Income Phase).”) Distributor may also provide non-cash compensation items
that we may provide jointly with Distributor. Non-cash items include expenses for
conference or seminar trips and certain gifts.
43
Replacement of Contracts and
Other Exchanges
If you already own an insurance contract, some investment professionals may have a financial incentive
to offer you a new contract in place of the one you own. You should only exchange a
contract you already own if you determine, after comparing the features, fees, and risks of both contracts, that it is better for you to purchase the new contract rather than continue to own your
existing contract.
Generally, you can exchange one variable annuity contract for another in a tax-free exchange under Section 1035 of the Internal Revenue Code. Before making an
exchange, you should compare both annuities carefully. You might have to pay a withdrawal
charge on your old annuity, and there may be a new withdrawal charge period for the new
annuity. Other charges may be higher (or lower) and the benefits may be different.
Generally, it is not advisable to purchase a contract as a replacement for an existing
variable annuity contract. Before you exchange another annuity for our contract, ask your
financial representative whether the exchange would be advantageous, given the contract
features, benefits and charges.
Requests and
Elections
We will treat your request for a contract transaction, or your submission of a purchase payment, as
received by us if
we receive a request conforming to our administrative procedures or a payment at our Annuity Service
Center before the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange on that day
(generally 4 p.m. Eastern Time). We will treat your submission of a purchase payment as
received by us if we receive a payment at our Annuity Service Center (or a designee
receives a payment in accordance with the designee’s administrative procedures)
before the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange on that day. If we
receive the request, or if we (or our designee) receive the payment, after the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange on that day, or if the New York Stock Exchange is not open that day, then
the request or payment will be treated as received on the next day when the New York Stock
Exchange is open. If you send your purchase payments or transaction requests to an address
other than the one we have designated for receipt of such purchase payments or requests, we may return the purchase payment to you, or there may be a delay in applying the purchase payment or transaction to your
contract.
Direct your requests and elections under your Contract, and inquiries about your Contract, to us as directed below, or by Internet at www.brighthousefinancial.com.
| Death Claims |
P.O. Box 4330
Clinton, IA 52733-4330
Fax: (877) 245-8163 |
| Annuity Payments/Income |
|
| • Requests to receive regular income payments (referred to as Annuity Payments) |
P.O. Box 4365 Clinton, IA 52733-4365 Telephone: (800) 882-1292 Fax: (877) 246-8424 |
| • Death Claims for Contracts receiving Annuity Payments |
P.O. Box 4364 Clinton, IA 52733-4364 Telephone: (800) 882-1292 Fax: (877) 245-8163 |
| • General requests and elections for Contracts receiving Annuity Payments |
P.O. Box 4363
Clinton, IA 52733-4363
Telephone: (800) 882-1292
Fax: (877) 246-8424 |
| All other requests and elections, including subsequent
Purchase Payments, and general inquiries |
P.O. Box 4301 Clinton, IA 52733-4301 Telephone: (888) 243-1932 Fax: (877) 246-8424 |
44
Some of the requests for service that
may be made by telephone or Internet include transfers of account value (see “Investment Options – Transfers – Transfers by Telephone or Other Means”) and changes to
the allocation of future purchase payments (see “Purchase
– Allocation of Purchase Payments”). We may
from time to time permit requests for other types of transactions to be made by telephone or Internet. All transaction requests must be in good order. Contact us for further information. Some selling firms may restrict the ability of their financial representatives to convey transaction requests by telephone or Internet on your behalf.
We will use reasonable procedures such as requiring certain identifying
information, tape recording the telephone instructions, and providing written confirmation of the transaction, in order to confirm that instructions communicated by
telephone, fax, Internet or other means are genuine. Any telephone, fax or Internet instructions reasonably believed by us to be genuine will be your responsibility, including losses arising from any errors in the communication of instructions. As a result of this policy, you will bear the risk of loss. If we do not employ reasonable procedures to confirm that instructions communicated by telephone, fax or Internet are genuine, we may be liable for any losses due to unauthorized or fraudulent transactions. All other requests and elections under your contract must be in writing signed by the proper party, must include any necessary documentation and must be received at our Annuity Service Center to be effective. If acceptable to us, requests or elections relating to beneficiaries and ownership will take effect as of the date signed unless we have already acted in reliance on the prior status. We are not responsible for the validity of any written request or action.
We are not a fiduciary and do not give advice or make recommendations regarding insurance or investment products. Ask your financial representative for guidance regarding any requests or elections and for information about your particular investment needs. Please bear in mind that your financial representative, or any financial firm or financial professional you consult to provide advice, is acting on your behalf. We are not a party to any agreement between you and your financial professional. We do not recommend and are not responsible for any securities transactions or investment strategies involving securities (including account recommendations).
Good Order. A request or transaction generally is considered in good order if it complies with our administrative procedures and the required information is complete and
accurate. A request or transaction may be rejected or delayed if not in good order. Good order generally means the actual receipt by us of the instructions relating to
the requested transaction in writing (or, when permitted, by telephone or Internet as described above) along with all forms, information and supporting legal documentation necessary to effect the transaction. This information and documentation generally includes to the extent applicable to the transaction: your completed application; your contract number; the transaction amount (in dollars or percentage terms); the names and allocations to and/or from the investment portfolios affected by the requested transaction; the signatures of all contract owners (exactly as indicated on the contract), if necessary; Social Security Number or Tax I.D.; and any other information or supporting documentation that we may require, including any spousal or joint owner’s consents. With respect to purchase payments, good order also generally includes receipt by us of sufficient funds to effect the purchase. We may, in our sole discretion, determine whether any particular transaction request is in good order, and we reserve the right to change or waive any good order requirement at any time. If you have any questions, you should contact us or your financial representative before submitting the form or request.
Telephone and Computer Systems. Telephone and computer systems may not always be available. Any telephone or computer system, whether
it is yours, your service provider’s, your agent’s, or ours, can experience outages or slowdowns for a variety of reasons. These outages or slowdowns may
delay or prevent our processing of your request. Although we have taken precautions to help our systems handle heavy use, we cannot promise complete reliability under all
circumstances. If you experience technical difficulties or problems, you should make your transaction request in writing to our Annuity Service Center.
Confirming Transactions. We will send out written statements confirming that a transaction was recently completed. Unless you
inform us of any errors within 60 days of receipt, we will consider these communications to be accurate and complete.
45
Ownership
Owner. You, as the owner of the contract, have all the interest and rights under the contract. Prior to
the annuity date, the owner is as designated at the time the contract is issued, unless changed. On and after the annuity date, the annuitant is the owner (this may be a taxable event). The beneficiary becomes the owner when a death benefit is payable. When this occurs, some ownership rights may be limited.
Joint Owner. The contract can be owned by joint owners. Any joint owner must be the spouse of the other owner (except in Pennsylvania). Upon the death of
either joint owner, the surviving spouse will be the designated beneficiary. Any other beneficiary designation at the time the contract was issued or as may have been
later changed will be treated as a contingent beneficiary unless otherwise indicated.
Beneficiary
The beneficiary is the person(s) or entity you name to receive any death benefit. The
beneficiary is named at the time the contract is issued unless changed at a later date. Unless an irrevocable beneficiary has been named, you can change the beneficiary at any time before you die.
Assignment
You can assign the contract at any time during your lifetime. BLIC will not be bound by the assignment until it receives the written notice of the assignment. BLIC will not be liable for any payment or other action it takes in accordance with the contract before it receives notice of the assignment. An assignment may be a taxable
event.
If the contract is issued pursuant to a qualified plan, there may be limitations on your ability to assign the contract.
Financial Statements
The financial statements of BLIC and the financial statements of the Separate Account have been included in the Statement of Additional Information.
46
APPENDIX A
Investment Portfolios Available Under the Contract
The following is a list of investment
portfolios under the contract. More information about the investment portfolios is available in the prospectuses for the investment portfolios, which may be amended from time to time and can be found online at https://dfinview.com/BHF/PUFT/BHF236 for Cova
Variable Annuity, https://dfinview.com/BHF/PUFT/BHF148 for Firstar
Summit Variable Annuity, https://dfinview.com/BHF/PUFT/BHF149 for Premier Advisor Variable Annuity, https://dfinview.com/BHF/PUFT/BHF147 for Destiny Select Variable Annuity and https://dfinview.com/BHF/PUFT/BHF150 for Prevail
Variable Annuity. You can also request this information at no cost by calling (800) 343-8496 or sending an email request to [email protected]. Depending on the
version of the contract that you purchased, you may not be able to invest in certain investment portfolios. See Appendix B:
Investment Portfolios Available By Contract Version.
The current expenses and performance information below reflects fees and expenses of the investment portfolio, 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 investment portfolio’s past performance is not necessarily an indication of future performance.
| Investment Objectives |
Portfolio Company and
Adviser/Sub-Adviser |
Current
Expenses |
Average Annual
Total Returns
(as of 12/31/2024) | ||
| 1
Year |
5
Year |
10
Year | |||
| Seeks long-term growth of capital. |
Invesco V.I. EQV International
Equity Fund — Series I# Invesco Advisers, Inc. |
0.90% |
0.62% |
3.23% |
4.36% |
| Seeks long-term capital appreciation. |
Brighthouse Small Cap Value
Portfolio — Class A# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: Allspring Global
Investments, LLC |
0.83% |
8.40% |
7.27% |
8.09% |
| Seeks total return through
investment in real estate securities,
emphasizing both capital
appreciation and current income. |
CBRE Global Real Estate
Portfolio — Class A# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: CBRE Investment
Management Listed Real Assets
LLC |
0.65% |
0.66% |
1.87% |
3.38% |
| Seeks capital growth and income. |
Invesco Comstock
Portfolio — Class B# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: Invesco Advisers,
Inc. |
0.82% |
14.73% |
11.42% |
9.39% |
| Seeks capital appreciation. |
Invesco Global Equity
Portfolio — Class A# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: Invesco Advisers,
Inc. |
0.58% |
16.42% |
9.71% |
10.10% |
| Seeks capital appreciation. |
Invesco Global Equity
Portfolio — Class B# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: Invesco Advisers,
Inc. |
0.83% |
16.15% |
9.43% |
9.82% |
A-1
| Investment Objectives |
Portfolio Company and
Adviser/Sub-Adviser |
Current
Expenses |
Average Annual
Total Returns
(as of 12/31/2024) | ||
| 1
Year |
5
Year |
10
Year | |||
| Seeks long-term growth of capital. |
Loomis Sayles Growth
Portfolio — Class A# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: Loomis, Sayles &
Company, L.P. |
0.55% |
34.47% |
18.33% |
12.15% |
| Seeks long-term growth of capital. |
Loomis Sayles Growth
Portfolio — Class B# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: Loomis, Sayles &
Company, L.P. |
0.80% |
34.13% |
18.04% |
11.87% |
| Seeks capital appreciation. |
MFS® Research International
Portfolio — Class A# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: Massachusetts
Financial Services Company
|
0.64% |
3.17% |
4.12% |
5.49% |
| Seeks capital appreciation. |
Morgan Stanley Discovery
Portfolio — Class A# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: Morgan Stanley
Investment Management Inc.
|
0.66% |
39.34% |
10.89% |
12.29% |
| Seeks maximum total return,
consistent with the preservation of
capital and prudent investment
management. |
PIMCO Total Return
Portfolio — Class A# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: Pacific Investment
Management Company LLC
|
0.59% |
2.73% |
0.11% |
1.68% |
| Seeks to provide total return,
primarily through capital
appreciation. |
SSGA Emerging Markets Enhanced
Index Portfolio — Class A# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: SSGA Funds
Management, Inc |
0.66% |
11.41% |
3.02% |
— |
| Seeks long-term capital appreciation
by investing in common stocks
believed to be undervalued. Income
is a secondary objective. |
T. Rowe Price Large Cap Value
Portfolio — Class A# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: T. Rowe Price
Associates, Inc. |
0.53% |
11.37% |
8.69% |
8.72% |
| Seeks long-term growth of capital. |
T. Rowe Price Mid Cap Growth
Portfolio — Class B# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: T. Rowe Price
Associates, Inc.
Sub-Subadviser: T. Rowe Price
Investment Management, Inc. |
0.94% |
9.31% |
7.65% |
10.11% |
A-2
| Investment Objectives |
Portfolio Company and
Adviser/Sub-Adviser |
Current
Expenses |
Average Annual
Total Returns
(as of 12/31/2024) | ||
| 1
Year |
5
Year |
10
Year | |||
| Seeks high total return by investing
in equity securities of mid-sized
companies. |
Victory Sycamore Mid Cap Value
Portfolio — Class A# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: Victory Capital
Management Inc. |
0.60% |
10.10% |
11.03% |
8.59% |
| Seeks long-term growth of capital. |
Baillie Gifford International Stock
Portfolio — Class A# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: Baillie Gifford
Overseas Limited |
0.73% |
4.62% |
2.16% |
5.53% |
| Seeks long-term growth of capital. |
Baillie Gifford International Stock
Portfolio — Class B# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: Baillie Gifford
Overseas Limited |
0.98% |
4.36% |
1.91% |
5.27% |
| Seeks a competitive total return
primarily from investing in fixed-
income securities. |
BlackRock Bond Income
Portfolio — Class A# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: BlackRock Advisors,
LLC |
0.39% |
1.51% |
-0.05% |
1.66% |
| Seeks a competitive total return
primarily from investing in fixed-
income securities. |
BlackRock Bond Income
Portfolio — Class B# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: BlackRock Advisors,
LLC |
0.64% |
1.24% |
-0.30% |
1.40% |
| Seeks long-term growth of capital. |
BlackRock Capital Appreciation
Portfolio — Class A# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: BlackRock Advisors,
LLC |
0.56% |
31.99% |
16.00% |
15.07% |
| Seeks a high level of current income
consistent with prudent investment
risk and preservation of capital. |
BlackRock Ultra-Short Term Bond
Portfolio — Class A# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: BlackRock Advisors,
LLC |
0.37% |
5.11% |
2.34% |
1.68% |
| Seeks to provide a growing stream of
income over time and, secondarily,
long-term capital appreciation and
current income. |
Brighthouse/Wellington Core Equity
Opportunities Portfolio — Class A# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: Wellington
Management Company LLP
|
0.62% |
8.61% |
8.97% |
10.16% |
| Seeks long-term growth of capital. |
Jennison Growth
Portfolio — Class A# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: Jennison Associates
LLC |
0.54% |
30.28% |
17.53% |
16.37% |
A-3
| Investment Objectives |
Portfolio Company and
Adviser/Sub-Adviser |
Current
Expenses |
Average Annual
Total Returns
(as of 12/31/2024) | ||
| 1
Year |
5
Year |
10
Year | |||
| Seeks long-term growth of capital. |
Jennison Growth
Portfolio — Class B# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: Jennison Associates
LLC |
0.79% |
30.00% |
17.24% |
16.08% |
| Seeks a favorable total return
through investment in a diversified
portfolio. |
MFS® Total Return
Portfolio — Class A# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: Massachusetts
Financial Services Company
|
0.62% |
7.78% |
6.16% |
6.51% |
| Seeks capital appreciation. |
MFS® Value Portfolio — Class B# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: Massachusetts
Financial Services Company
|
0.83% |
11.66% |
7.96% |
8.61% |
| Seeks high total return, consisting
principally of capital appreciation. |
Neuberger Berman Genesis
Portfolio — Class A# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: Neuberger Berman
Investment Advisers LLC
|
0.81% |
9.10% |
8.58% |
9.70% |
| Seeks long-term growth of capital. |
T. Rowe Price Large Cap Growth
Portfolio — Class A# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: T. Rowe Price
Associates, Inc. |
0.56% |
30.31% |
13.40% |
13.89% |
| Seeks long-term capital growth. |
T. Rowe Price Small Cap Growth
Portfolio — Class A
Brighthouse Investment Advisers,
LLC
Subadviser: T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. |
0.51% |
13.47% |
8.32% |
10.10% |
| Seeks to maximize total return
consistent with preservation of
capital. |
Western Asset Management Strategic
Bond Opportunities
Portfolio — Class A# Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC Subadviser: Western Asset
Management Company LLC
|
0.56% |
4.88% |
1.01% |
2.95% |
| Seeks reasonable income. The fund
will also consider the potential for
capital appreciation. The fund’s goal
is to achieve a yield which exceeds
the composite yield on the securities
comprising the S&P 500® Index. |
Equity-Income Portfolio — Initial
Class
Fidelity Management & Research
Company LLC
Subadviser: FMR UK, FMR HK, and FMR Japan |
0.47% |
15.35% |
10.08% |
9.21% |
| Seeks to provide capital growth. |
Growth Opportunities
Portfolio — Initial Class
Fidelity Management & Research
Company LLC
Subadviser: FMR UK, FMR HK, and FMR Japan |
0.57% |
38.89% |
18.76% |
18.22% |
A-4
| Investment Objectives |
Portfolio Company and
Adviser/Sub-Adviser |
Current
Expenses |
Average Annual
Total Returns
(as of 12/31/2024) | ||
| 1
Year |
5
Year |
10
Year | |||
| Seeks long-term capital growth. |
Templeton Foreign VIP
Fund — Class 1# Templeton Investment Counsel, LLC |
0.81% |
-0.79% |
2.86% |
2.64% |
| Seeks capital growth and current
income. |
Putnam VT Large Cap Value
Fund — Class IB
Putnam Investment Management,
LLC |
0.80% |
19.14% |
12.45% |
10.88% |
#
Certain Investment Portfolios
and their investment advisers have entered into temporary expense reimbursements and/or fee waivers, which are reflected in the Current Expenses. Please see the Investment Portfolios' prospectuses for additional information regarding these arrangements.
‡
This
Investment Portfolio is a fund of funds and invests substantially all of its assets in other
underlying funds. Because the Investment Portfolio invests in other funds, it will bear its pro rata portion of the operating expenses of those
underlying funds, including the management fee.
A-5
APPENDIX B
Investment Portfolios Available by Contract Version
Certain investment portfolios
listed in Appendix A may not be available under your contract depending on which version of the contract you purchased. The following lists the investment portfolios available by contract version.
If you purchased the COVA VARIABLE ANNUITY, the
following portfolios are available:
Brighthouse Funds Trust I
Invesco Comstock Portfolio — Class B
Invesco Global Equity Portfolio — Class B
MFS® Research International Portfolio — Class A
Morgan Stanley Discovery Portfolio — Class A
PIMCO Total Return Portfolio — Class A
T. Rowe Price Large Cap Value Portfolio — Class A
Victory Sycamore Mid Cap Value Portfolio — Class A
Brighthouse Funds Trust II
BlackRock Bond Income Portfolio — Class B
BlackRock Ultra-Short Term Bond Portfolio — Class A
Brighthouse/Wellington Core Equity Opportunities Portfolio — Class A
Jennison Growth Portfolio — Class B
MFS® Total Return Portfolio — Class A
MFS® Value Portfolio — Class B
Neuberger Berman Genesis Portfolio — Class A
T. Rowe Price Small Cap Growth Portfolio — Class A
Western Asset Management Strategic Bond
Opportunities Portfolio — Class A
Putnam Variable Trust — Class IB
Putnam VT Large Cap Value Fund
Closed Portfolios For This Product
Invesco V.I. EQV International Equity Fund — Series I
Invesco Global Equity Portfolio — Class A
Loomis Sayles Growth Portfolio — Class B
T. Rowe Price Mid Cap Growth Portfolio — Class B
Baillie Gifford International Stock Portfolio — Class B
BlackRock Capital Appreciation Portfolio — Class A
T. Rowe Price Large Cap Growth Portfolio — Class A
Templeton Foreign VIP Fund — Class 1
If you purchased the FIRSTAR SUMMIT VARIABLE ANNUITY, the following portfolios are
available:
AIM Variable
Insurance Funds (Invesco Variable Insurance Funds) — Series I
Invesco V.I. EQV International Equity Fund
Brighthouse Funds Trust I — Class A
MFS® Research International Portfolio
PIMCO Total Return Portfolio
SSGA Emerging Markets Enhanced Index Portfolio
T. Rowe Price Large Cap Value Portfolio
Brighthouse Funds Trust II — Class A
Baillie Gifford International Stock Portfolio
BlackRock Ultra-Short Term Bond Portfolio
Jennison Growth Portfolio
Neuberger Berman Genesis Portfolio
Western Asset Management Strategic Bond Opportunities Portfolio
Franklin Templeton Variable Insurance Products Trust — Class 1
Templeton Foreign VIP Fund
Closed Portfolios For This Product
BlackRock Capital Appreciation Portfolio — Class A
If you purchased the PREMIER ADVISOR VARIABLE ANNUITY, the following portfolios are available:
AIM Variable Insurance Funds (Invesco Variable Insurance Funds) — Series I
Invesco V.I. EQV International Equity Fund
Brighthouse Funds Trust I — Class A
CBRE Global Real Estate Portfolio
Invesco Global Equity Portfolio
Loomis Sayles Growth Portfolio
MFS® Research International Portfolio
Morgan Stanley Discovery Portfolio
PIMCO Total Return Portfolio
SSGA Emerging Markets Enhanced Index Portfolio
T. Rowe Price Large Cap Value Portfolio
Victory Sycamore Mid Cap Value Portfolio
Brighthouse Funds Trust II — Class A
BlackRock Bond Income Portfolio
BlackRock Ultra-Short Term Bond Portfolio
Brighthouse/Wellington Core Equity
Opportunities Portfolio
Jennison Growth Portfolio
Neuberger Berman Genesis Portfolio
T. Rowe Price Large Cap
Growth Portfolio
T. Rowe Price Small Cap Growth Portfolio
Western Asset Management Strategic Bond
Opportunities Portfolio
Fidelity® Variable Insurance Products — Initial Class
Equity-Income
Portfolio
Growth Opportunities Portfolio
B-1
Franklin Templeton
Variable Insurance Products Trust — Class 1
Templeton Foreign VIP Fund
Closed Portfolios For This Product
BlackRock Capital Appreciation Portfolio — Class A
If you purchased the DESTINY SELECT VARIABLE ANNUITY, the following portfolios are available:
AIM Variable Insurance Funds (Invesco Variable Insurance Funds) — Series I
Invesco V.I. EQV International Equity Fund
Brighthouse Funds Trust I — Class A
CBRE Global Real Estate Portfolio
Invesco Global Equity Portfolio
Loomis Sayles Growth Portfolio
MFS® Research International Portfolio
Morgan Stanley Discovery Portfolio
PIMCO Total Return Portfolio
SSGA Emerging Markets Enhanced Index Portfolio
T. Rowe Price Large Cap Value Portfolio
Victory Sycamore Mid Cap Value Portfolio
Brighthouse Funds Trust II — Class A
Brighthouse/Wellington Core Equity Opportunities
Portfolio
Jennison Growth Portfolio
Neuberger Berman Genesis Portfolio
T. Rowe Price Large Cap Growth Portfolio
Western Asset Management Strategic Bond Opportunities Portfolio
Fidelity® Variable Insurance Products — Initial Class
Equity-Income Portfolio
Growth Opportunities Portfolio
Franklin Templeton Variable Insurance Products Trust — Class 1
Templeton Foreign VIP Fund
Closed Portfolios For This
Product
Brighthouse
Small Cap Value Portfolio — Class A
BlackRock Capital Appreciation Portfolio — Class A
T. Rowe Price Small Cap Growth
Portfolio — Class A
If you purchased the PREVAIL VARIABLE ANNUITY, the following portfolios are available:
AIM Variable Insurance Funds (Invesco Variable Insurance Funds) — Series I
Invesco V.I. EQV International Equity Fund
Brighthouse Funds Trust I — Class A
MFS® Research International Portfolio
Morgan Stanley Discovery Portfolio
PIMCO Total Return Portfolio
T. Rowe Price Large Cap Value Portfolio
Victory Sycamore Mid Cap Value Portfolio
Brighthouse Funds Trust II — Class A
BlackRock Bond Income Portfolio
BlackRock Ultra-Short Term Bond Portfolio
Brighthouse/Wellington Core Equity
Opportunities Portfolio
Jennison Growth Portfolio
Neuberger Berman Genesis Portfolio
T. Rowe Price Large Cap
Growth Portfolio
Western Asset Management Strategic Bond Opportunities Portfolio
Fidelity® Variable Insurance Products — Initial Class
Equity-Income
Portfolio
Growth Opportunities Portfolio
Closed Portfolios For This Product
BlackRock Capital Appreciation Portfolio — Class A
B-2
The statement of additional
information (“SAI”) dated April 28, 2025 includes additional information about the Separate Account. The SAI is incorporated by reference. The SAI is available, without charge, upon request. For a free copy of the SAI, or to request other information about the Contract, and to make investor inquiries, call us at (888) 243-1932.
Reports and other information about the Separate Account are available on the SEC’s website at
https://www.sec.gov, and copies of this information may be obtained, upon payment of a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following email address: [email protected].
EDGAR Contract Identifier No. is C000151846
Statement of Additional Information
Individual Fixed and Variable Deferred
Annuity Contract
issued by
Brighthouse Variable Annuity Account C
and
Brighthouse Life Insurance Company
This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus but relates to, and should be read in conjunction with, the Prospectus dated April 28, 2025. A copy of the Individual Fixed and Variable Deferred Annuity Contract Prospectus may be obtained by writing to Brighthouse Life
Insurance Company, P.O. Box 4301, Clinton, IA 52733-4301, or by calling (800)
343-8496, by visiting https://dfinview.com/BHF/PUFT/BHF236 for COVA Variable Annuity, https://dfinview.com/BHF/PUFT/BHF148 for Firstar Summit Variable Annuity, https://dfinview.com/BHF/PUFT/BHF149 for Premier Advisor Variable Annuity, https://dfinview.com/BHF/PUFT/BHF147 for Destiny Select Variable Annuity and https://dfinview.com/BHF/PUFT/BHF150 for Prevail Variable Annuity or by accessing the
Securities and Exchange Commission's website at http://www.sec.gov.
The SAI contains information in addition to the information described in the
Prospectus for the Individual Fixed and Variable Deferred Annuity Contract (the “Contract”) offered by Brighthouse Life Insurance Company (“we, ”our“, or the ”Company“). The Prospectus concisely sets forth information that a prospective investor ought to know before investing.
This Statement of Additional Information is dated April
28, 2025.
Book 623 SAI
1
THE COMPANY
Brighthouse Life Insurance Company (“BLIC” or the “Company”) is a Delaware
corporation originally incorporated in Connecticut in 1863. Prior to March 6, 2017, BLIC
was known as MetLife Insurance Company USA. BLIC is licensed to conduct business in all U.S. states (except New York), the District of Columbia, the Bahamas, Guam, Puerto Rico, the British Virgin Islands
and the U.S. Virgin Islands. BLIC is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of, and
ultimately controlled by, Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (“BHF”), a publicly-traded company. The Company was an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of MetLife, Inc. until August 4, 2017, when BHF became
an independent, publicly-traded company following the completion of a separation
transaction. BHF, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, is one of the largest providers of
annuities and life insurance in the U.S. BLIC’s executive offices are located at
11225 North Community House Road, Charlotte, NC 28277.
Brighthouse Life Insurance Company History
MetLife Insurance Company USA: From the close of business on November 14, 2014 to March 6, 2017, BLIC was called MetLife Insurance Company USA
(“MetLife USA”). MetLife USA was established following the close of business on
November 14, 2014, when MetLife Investors USA Insurance Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of
MetLife Insurance Company of Connecticut, MetLife Investors Insurance Company and Exeter
Reassurance Company, Ltd. were merged into MetLife Insurance Company of Connecticut, and
MetLife Insurance Company of Connecticut was then renamed MetLife Insurance Company USA.
Simultaneously, MetLife USA changed its domicile from Connecticut to the state of Delaware. As a result of this merger, MetLife USA assumed legal ownership of all of the assets of these predecessor
companies, including assets held in the separate accounts, and became responsible for
administering the contracts and paying any benefits due under all contracts issued by each of its corporate predecessors. These predecessor companies that issued contracts on and prior to November 14, 2014 were
the following:
•MetLife Insurance Company of Connecticut: MetLife Insurance Company of Connecticut (“MICC”), originally chartered in Connecticut in 1863, was
known as Travelers Insurance Company prior to May 1, 2006.
MICC changed its
name to MetLife Insurance Company USA and its state of domicile to Delaware after November
14, 2014 as described under “MetLife Insurance Company USA” above.
•MetLife Life and Annuity Company of
Connecticut: MetLife Life and Annuity Company of Connecticut (MLAC), originally chartered in Connecticut in 1973, was known as Travelers Life and Annuity Company prior to May 1, 2006. On or about December 7, 2007, MLAC merged with and into MICC.
•MetLife Investors USA Insurance Company: MetLife Investors USA Insurance Company (MLI USA), originally chartered in Delaware in 1960, was known as Security First Life Insurance Company prior to January 8, 2001. MLI USA was merged into BLIC after
the close of business on November 14, 2014, as described under “MetLife Insurance
Company USA” above.
•MetLife Investors Insurance Company: MetLife Investors Insurance Company (MLI), originally chartered in Missouri in 1981, was known as Cova Financial Services Life Insurance Company prior to February 12, 2001. MLI was merged into BLIC after
the close of business on November 14, 2014, as described under “MetLife Insurance
Company USA” above.
•MetLife Investors Insurance Company of California: MetLife Investors Insurance Company of California (MLI-CA), originally chartered in California in 1972, was known as Cova Financial Life Insurance Company prior to February 12, 2001. On November 9, 2006 MLI-CA merged with and into MLI.
THE SEPARATE ACCOUNT
We have established a Separate Account, Brighthouse Variable Annuity Account C (the “Separate Account”), to hold the assets that underlie the
contracts. The Board of Directors of our predecessor, MetLife Investors Insurance Company
(MLI), adopted a resolution to establish the Separate Account under Delaware insurance law on
February 24, 1987. We have registered the Separate
3
Account with the SEC as a unit
investment trust under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The Separate Account is divided
into subaccounts.
SERVICES
BLIC maintains certain books and records of the Separate Account and provides certain issuance and other
administrative services for the Contracts. Pursuant to a services agreement, Computer
Sciences Corporation, through its affiliate Alliance-One Services, Inc. provides certain
other administrative and recordkeeping services for the Contracts as well as other contracts and policies issued by BLIC. The amount paid to Computer Sciences Corporation for the period January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022 was $17,646,514, for the period January 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023 was $16,715,871, and for the period January 1, 2024 through December 31, 2024 was $15,552,762.
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
The financial statements comprising each of the Sub-Accounts of Brighthouse Variable Annuity Account C, and the financial statements of Brighthouse Life
Insurance Company, incorporated by reference in this Statement of Additional Information,
have been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting
firm, as stated in their reports. Such financial statements are incorporated by reference
in reliance upon the reports of such firm given their authority as experts in accounting and
auditing.
The principal business address of Deloitte & Touche LLP is 650 South Tryon Street, Suite 1800, Charlotte, North Carolina 28202-3512.
CUSTODIAN
Brighthouse Life Insurance Company, 11225 North Community House Road, Charlotte, NC 28277, is the
custodian of the assets of the Separate Account. The custodian has custody of all cash of
the Separate Account and handles the collection of proceeds of shares of the underlying
funds bought and sold by the Separate Account.
DISTRIBUTION
Information about the distribution of the contracts is contained in the prospectus. (See
“Distribution of the Contracts.”) Additional information is provided below.
Currently the contract is not available for new sales.
Brighthouse Securities, LLC (Distributor) serves as principal underwriter for the contracts. The Distributor and the Company are affiliates because they are both
under common control of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. The Distributor’s principal
business address is located at 11225 North Community House Road, Charlotte, NC 28277.
Distributor is registered as a broker-dealer with the Securities and Exchange Commission
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is a member of the Financial Industry
Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Distributor has entered into selling agreements with other broker-dealers (“selling firms”) and compensates them for their services.
The following table shows the amount of commissions paid to and the
amount of commissions retained by the Distributor
| Fiscal year
|
Aggregate Amount
of Commissions Paid to Distributor |
Aggregate Amount
of Commissions Retained by Distributor After Payments to
Selling Firms |
| 2024 |
$724,114,938 |
$0 |
| 2023 |
$665,088,655 |
$0 |
| 2022 |
$666,009,009 |
$0 |
The Distributor passes through commissions to selling firms for their sales. In addition we pay
compensation to the Distributor to offset its expenses, including compensation costs,
marketing and distribution expenses, advertising, wholesaling, printing, and other expenses of distributing the contracts.
As noted in the prospectus, we and the Distributor pay compensation to all selling firms in the form of commissions and certain types of non-cash compensation.
We and the Distributor may pay additional compensation to selected firms, including
marketing allowances, introduction fees, persistency payments, preferred status fees and
industry conference fees. The terms of any particular agreement governing compensation may vary among selling firms and the amounts may be significant. The amount of additional compensation
(non-commission
4
amounts) paid to selected selling firms
during 2024 ranged from $95 to $14,506,319.* The amount of commissions paid to selected
selling firms during 2024 ranged from $3,606 to $77,173,746. The amount of total compensation
(includes non-commission as well as commission amounts) paid to selected selling firms
during 2024 ranged from $3,606 to $91,680,065.*
* For purposes of calculating this range, the additional compensation (non-commission) amounts received by a selling firm includes additional compensation
received by the firm for the sale of insurance products issued by our affiliate Brighthouse
Life Insurance Company of NY.
The following list sets forth the names of selling firms that received additional compensation in 2024
in connection with the sale of our variable annuity contracts, variable life policies and
other insurance products (including the contracts offered by the prospectus). The selling firms are listed in alphabetical order.
Atria Wealth Solutions
American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc.
Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.
Ameritas Investment Corp.
Arvest Investments, Inc.
Avantax Investment Services, Inc.
Benjamin F. Edwards & Company, Inc.
BNY Mellon Securities Corporation
Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc.
Calton & Associates, Inc.
Cambridge Investment Research, Inc.
Capital Investment Brokerage, Inc.
Capital Investments Group, Inc.
Centaurus Financial, Inc.
Cetera Advisors LLC
Cetera Advisor Networks LLC
Cetera Financial Specialists LLC
Cetera Investment Services LLC
CFD Investments, Inc.
Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
Citizens Securities, Inc.
Commonwealth Financial Network
Concourse Financial Group Securities, Inc.
Copper Financial
CUSO Financial Services, L.P.
Equitable Advisors, LLC
Equity Services, Inc.
Fifth Third Securities, Inc.
American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc.
Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.
Ameritas Investment Corp.
Arvest Investments, Inc.
Avantax Investment Services, Inc.
Benjamin F. Edwards & Company, Inc.
BNY Mellon Securities Corporation
Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc.
Calton & Associates, Inc.
Cambridge Investment Research, Inc.
Capital Investment Brokerage, Inc.
Capital Investments Group, Inc.
Centaurus Financial, Inc.
Cetera Advisors LLC
Cetera Advisor Networks LLC
Cetera Financial Specialists LLC
Cetera Investment Services LLC
CFD Investments, Inc.
Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
Citizens Securities, Inc.
Commonwealth Financial Network
Concourse Financial Group Securities, Inc.
Copper Financial
CUSO Financial Services, L.P.
Equitable Advisors, LLC
Equity Services, Inc.
Fifth Third Securities, Inc.
First Citizens Investor Services,
Inc.
First Heartland Capital, Inc.
First Horizon Advisors, Inc.
Founders Financial Securities LLC
FSC Securities Corporation
Grove Point Investments, LLC
GWN Securities Inc.
Independent Financial Group, LLC
Infinex Investments, Inc.
Investacorp Inc.
Janney Montgomery Scott LLC
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
J.W. Cole Financial, Inc.
Kestra Investment Services, LLC
Key Investment Services LLC
Lincoln Investment Planning, Inc.
Lion Street Financial, LLC
LPL Financial Corp. Affiliates
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc
MML Investors Services, LLC
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC
Navy Federal Brokerage Services LLC
NEXT Financial Group, Inc.
Oakwood Capital Securities, Inc.
OneAmerica Securities, Inc.
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.
OSAIC Wealth, Inc.
Park Avenue Securities LLC
Parkland Securities, LLC
PFS Investments Inc.
Raymond James & Associates, Inc.
RBC Wealth Management, LLC
Royal Alliance Associates, Inc.
SagePoint Financial, Inc.
Santander Securities LLC
Securities America, Inc.
Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated
The Investment Center, Inc.
The Leaders Group, Inc.
The O.N. Equity Sales Company
Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc.
Triad Advisors LLC
UBS Financial Services Inc.
U.S. Bancorp Advisors, LLC
U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc.
USA Financial Securities Corporation
ValMark Securities, Inc.
First Heartland Capital, Inc.
First Horizon Advisors, Inc.
Founders Financial Securities LLC
FSC Securities Corporation
Grove Point Investments, LLC
GWN Securities Inc.
Independent Financial Group, LLC
Infinex Investments, Inc.
Investacorp Inc.
Janney Montgomery Scott LLC
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC
J.W. Cole Financial, Inc.
Kestra Investment Services, LLC
Key Investment Services LLC
Lincoln Investment Planning, Inc.
Lion Street Financial, LLC
LPL Financial Corp. Affiliates
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc
MML Investors Services, LLC
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC
Navy Federal Brokerage Services LLC
NEXT Financial Group, Inc.
Oakwood Capital Securities, Inc.
OneAmerica Securities, Inc.
Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.
OSAIC Wealth, Inc.
Park Avenue Securities LLC
Parkland Securities, LLC
PFS Investments Inc.
Raymond James & Associates, Inc.
RBC Wealth Management, LLC
Royal Alliance Associates, Inc.
SagePoint Financial, Inc.
Santander Securities LLC
Securities America, Inc.
Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated
The Investment Center, Inc.
The Leaders Group, Inc.
The O.N. Equity Sales Company
Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc.
Triad Advisors LLC
UBS Financial Services Inc.
U.S. Bancorp Advisors, LLC
U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc.
USA Financial Securities Corporation
ValMark Securities, Inc.
5
Vanderbilt Securities, LLC
Voya Financial Advisors, Inc.
Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC
Woodbury Financial Services, Inc.
Western International Securities, Inc.
Voya Financial Advisors, Inc.
Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC
Woodbury Financial Services, Inc.
Western International Securities, Inc.
There are other broker dealers who receive compensation for servicing our contracts, and the Account
Value of the contracts or the amount of added Purchase Payments received may be included in
determining their additional compensation, if any.
PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
Historical Unit Values
The Company may show historical Accumulation Unit values in certain advertisements containing
illustrations. These illustrations will be based on actual Accumulation Unit values.
In addition, the Company may distribute sales literature which compares the percentage change in
Accumulation Unit values for any of the against established market indices such as the
Standard & Poor’s 500 Composite Stock Price Index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average or other management investment companies which have investment objectives similar to the Investment Portfolio
being compared. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Composite Stock Price Index is an
unmanaged, unweighted average of 500 stocks, the majority of which are listed on the New York
Stock Exchange. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is an unmanaged, weighted average of
thirty blue chip industrial corporations listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Both the
Standard & Poor’s 500 Composite Stock Price Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average assume quarterly reinvestment of dividends.
Reporting Agencies
The Company may also distribute sales literature which compares the performance of the Accumulation Unit
values of the contracts with the unit values of variable annuities issued by other
insurance companies. Such information may be derived from an entity such as Morningstar which may provide statistical data that tracks the performance of thousands of investment companies. Information
compiled from such a service may or may not reflect the deduction of asset-based insurance
charges. The Company’s sales literature utilizing these rankings will indicate whether or not such charges have been deducted. Where the charges
have not been deducted, the sales
literature will indicate that if the charges had been deducted, and any information
concerning rankings means the ranking might have been lower.
ANNUITY PROVISIONS
Variable Annuity
A variable annuity is an annuity with payments which: (1) are not predetermined as to dollar amount; and (2) will vary in amount with the net investment results
of the applicable investment portfolio(s) of the Separate Account.
At the Annuity Date, the Contract Value in each investment
portfolio will be applied to the applicable Annuity Tables. The Annuity Table used will
depend upon the Annuity Option chosen. If, as of the Annuity Date, the then current Annuity
Option rates applicable to this class of Contracts provide a first Annuity Payment greater than guaranteed under the same Annuity Option under this Contract, the greater payment will be made.
The dollar amount of Annuity Payments after the first is determined as follows:
(1)
the dollar amount of the first Annuity Payment is divided by the value of an Annuity Unit as of the Annuity Date. This establishes the number of Annuity
Units for each monthly payment. The number of Annuity Units remains fixed during the
Annuity Payment period.
(2)
the fixed number of Annuity Units is multiplied by the Annuity Unit value for the last Valuation Period of the month preceding the month for which the payment
is due. This result is the dollar amount of the payment.
The total dollar
amount of each Variable Annuity Payment is the sum of all investment portfolios’ Variable Annuity Payments reduced by the applicable Contract Maintenance Charge.
Fixed Annuity
The Adjusted Contract Value (defined under “Variable Annuity Payments” in the prospectus) is determined on the annuity calculation date, which is a
business day no more than five (5) business days before the annuity date. This value will
be used to determine a fixed annuity payment.
6
Annuity Unit Value
The value of an Annuity Unit for each investment portfolio was arbitrarily set initially at $10. This
was done when the first investment portfolio shares were purchased. The investment
portfolio Annuity Unit value at the end of any subsequent Valuation Period is determined by multiplying the investment portfolio Annuity Unit value for the immediately preceding Valuation Period by the
product of (a) the Net Investment Factor for the day for which the Annuity Unit value is
being calculated, and (b) 0.999919.
Net Investment Factor
The Net Investment Factor for any investment portfolio for any Valuation Period is determined by dividing:
(a)
the Accumulation Unit value as of the close of the current Valuation Period, by
(b)
the Accumulation Unit value as of the close of the immediately preceding Valuation Period.
The Net Investment Factor
may be greater or less than one, as the Annuity Unit value may increase or decrease.
Mortality and Expense Guarantee
The Company guarantees that the dollar amount of each Annuity Payment after the first Annuity Payment will not be affected by variations in mortality or
expense experience.
LEGAL OR REGULATORY RESTRICTIONS ON TRANSACTIONS
If mandated under applicable law, the Company may be required to reject a Purchase Payment. The Company
may also be required to block a contract Owner’s account and thereby refuse to pay
any request for transfers, withdrawals, surrenders, death benefits or continue making Annuity
Payments until instructions are received from the appropriate regulator.
ADDITIONAL FEDERAL TAX CONSIDERATIONS
Non-Qualified Contracts
Diversification. In order for your Non-Qualified Contract to be considered an annuity contract for federal income tax purposes, we must comply with certain diversification standards with respect to the
investments underlying the contract. We believe that we satisfy and will continue to
satisfy these diversification standards. Failure to
meet these standards would result in
immediate taxation to contract Owners of gains under their contracts. Inadvertent failure
to meet these standards may be correctable.
Changes to Tax Rules and Interpretations
Changes to applicable tax rules and interpretations can adversely affect the tax treatment of your contract. These changes may take effect retroactively.
We reserve the right to amend your contract where necessary to maintain its status as a variable annuity
contract under federal tax law and to protect you and other contract Owners in the
Investment Portfolios from adverse tax consequences.
Qualified Contracts
Annuity contracts purchased through tax qualified plans are subject to limitations imposed by the Code
and regulations as a condition of tax qualification. There are various types of tax
qualified plans which have certain beneficial tax consequences for contract Owners and plan
participants.
Types of Qualified Plans
The following list includes individual account-type plans which may hold an annuity contract as
described in the Prospectus. Except for Traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs, they are
established by an employer for participation of its employees.
IRA
A traditional IRA is
established by an individual under Section 408(a) or 408(b) of the Code. See also Roth IRAs
below.
SIMPLE IRA
Established by a
for-profit employer with 100 or fewer employees that does not maintain another retirement plan. A SIMPLE IRA, established under section 408(p) of the Code, is based on IRA accounts for each
participant.
SEP
Established by a for-profit employer under Section 408(k) of the Code, based on IRA accounts for each participant. Generally, only employers make contributions.
If the SEP IRA permits non-SEP contributions, an employee can make regular IRA
contributions (including IRA catch up contributions) to the SEP IRA, up to the maximum annual
limit.
7
401(k), 401(a)
Established by for-profit
employers, Section 501(c)(3) tax exempt and non-tax exempt entities, Indian Tribes.
403(b) or Tax Sheltered Annuity (“TSA”)
Established by Section 501(c)(3) tax exempt entities, public schools (K-12), public colleges, universities, churches, synagogues and mosques.
457(b) - Governmental Sponsor
Established by state and local governments, public schools (K-12), public colleges and universities.
457(b) - Non-Governmental Sponsor
Established by a
tax-exempt entity. Under a non-governmental plan, which must be a tax-exempt entity under
Section 501(c) of the Code, all investments of the plan are owned by and are subject to the claims of the general creditors of the sponsoring employer. In general, all amounts received under a non-governmental
Section 457(b) plan are taxable and are subject to federal income tax withholding as
wages.
Additional Information Regarding 457(b) Plans
A 457(b) plan may provide a one-time election to make special one-time “catch-up” contributions in one or more of the participant’s last
three taxable years ending before the participant’s normal retirement age under the plan. Participants in governmental 457(b) plans may make two types of catch up contributions, the age 50 or
older catch-up and the special one-time catch-up contribution. However, both catch up
contribution types cannot be made in the same taxable year. In general, contribution limits with respect to elective deferral and to age 50 plus catch-up contributions are not aggregated with
contributions under the other types of qualified plans for the purposes of determining the
limitations applicable to participants.
403(a) Annuity Plans
Similar in structure to 401(a) plans except that, instead of trusts, annuity contracts are the funding vehicle.
Roth Accounts
Individual or employee
plan contributions made to certain plans on an after-tax basis. An IRA may be established as a Roth IRA under Section 408A, and 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) plans may provide for Roth accounts.
Contributions to a Roth IRA are limited based on the level of your modified adjusted gross
income.
Comparison of Plan Limits for
Individual Contributions:
| Plan Type |
Elective
Contribution |
Maximum
Catch-up
Contribution
(ages 50-59
and 64+) |
Maximum
Catch-up
Contribution (ages 60-63) |
| IRA |
$7,000 |
$1,000 |
$1,000 |
| SIMPLE
IRA |
$16,500
($17,600
for certain
small
employer
plans) |
$3,500
($3,850 for
certain
small
employer
plans) |
$5,250 |
| 401(k) |
$23,500 |
$7,500 |
$11,250 |
| SEP/401(a) |
(Employer
contributions
only) |
|
|
| 403(b)
[TSA] |
$23,500 |
$7,500 |
$11,250 |
| 457(b) |
$23,500 |
$7,500 |
$11,250 |
Dollar limits are for 2025 and are subject to cost-of-living adjustments in future years.
Employer-sponsored individual account plans (other than 457(b) plans) may provide for
additional employer contributions not to exceed the lesser of $70,000 and 100% of an
employee’s compensation for 2025 (reduced by an employee elective contributions). If
allowed by the plan, special catch-up provisions may increase the catch-up contribution
limit starting in 2025 for participants in 401(k), 403(b), SIMPLE and government 457(b)
plans who are age 60-63. Certain grandfathered SARSEP plans may also allow for employee contributions, catch-up contributions and, starting in 2025, enhanced catch-up contributions for employees aged 60-63.
If allowed under the plan, the elective contribution and the catchup contribution for ages
50-59 (and ages 64 and older) may be increased for certain small employer SIMPLE plans
(generally employers with 25 or fewer employees) if certain conditions are met. Consult a tax adviser and consult your plan administrator if you participate in one of these employer-sponsored retirement
plans.
ERISA
If your plan is subject to ERISA and you are married, the income payments, withdrawal provisions, and methods of payment of the death benefit under your contract
may be subject to your spouse’s rights as described below.
Generally, the spouse must give qualified consent whenever
you:
8
(a)
choose income payments other than on a qualified joint and survivor annuity basis (“QJSA”) (one under which we make payments to you during your
lifetime and then make payments reduced by no more than 50% to your spouse for his or her
remaining life, if any): or choose to waive the qualified pre-retirement survivor annuity
benefit (“QPSA”) (the benefit payable to the surviving spouse of a participant who dies with a vested interest in an accrued retirement benefit under the plan before payment of the benefit has
begun);
(b)
make certain withdrawals under plans for which a qualified consent is required;
(c)
name someone other than the spouse as your Beneficiary; or
(d)
use your accrued benefit as security for a loan, if available, exceeding $5,000.
Generally, there is no
limit to the number of your elections as long as a qualified consent is given each time. The
consent to waive the QJSA must meet certain requirements, including that it be in writing,
that it acknowledge the identity of the designated Beneficiary and the form of benefit be
selected, dated, signed by your spouse, witnessed by a notary public or plan representative, and that it be in a form satisfactory to us. The waiver of the QJSA generally must be executed during the 180 day period (90
days for certain loans) ending on the date on which income payments are to commence, or the
withdrawal or the loan is to be made, as the case may be. If you die before benefits
commence, your surviving spouse will be your Beneficiary unless he or she has given a
qualified consent otherwise.
The qualified consent to waive the QPSA benefit and the Beneficiary designation must be made in writing
that acknowledges the designated Beneficiary, dated, signed by your spouse, witnessed by a
notary public or plan representative and in a form satisfactory to us. Generally, there is
no limit to the number of Beneficiary designations as long as a qualified consent accompanies each designation. The waiver of, and the qualified consent for, the QPSA benefit generally may not be given
until the plan year in which you attain age 35. The waiver period for the QPSA ends on the
date of your death.
If the present value of your benefit is worth $5,000 or less, your plan generally may provide for
distribution of your entire interest in a lump sum without spousal
consent.
Federal Estate Taxes
While no attempt is being made to discuss the federal estate tax implications of the contract, you
should bear in mind that the value of an annuity contract owned by a decedent and payable
to a Beneficiary by virtue of surviving the decedent is included in the decedent’s gross estate. Depending on the terms of the annuity contract, the value of the annuity included in the gross estate
may be the value of the lump sum payment payable to the designated Beneficiary or the
actuarial value of the payments to be received by the Beneficiary. Consult an estate planning
adviser for more information.
Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax
Under certain circumstances, the Code may impose a “generation-skipping transfer tax” when
all or part of an annuity contract is transferred to, or a death benefit is paid to, an
individual two or more generations younger than the contract Owner. Regulations issued under the Code may require us to deduct the tax from your contract, or from any applicable payment, and pay it directly to
the IRS.
SECURE 2.0 Act Considerations
As part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, Congress passed the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (the “Act”) which was signed into law on December
29, 2022. The Act includes many provisions updating the Code affecting employer sponsored
qualified plans and IRAs, including provisions that become effective immediately and
provisions which become effective in later years through 2033. For example, the Act
includes provisions affecting required minimum distribution (RMD), certain contribution and
other limits affecting IRAs and qualified plans, as well as provisions providing new exceptions to the 10% federal income tax penalty for “early” distributions which may also provide for the
ability to recontribute such early distributions to an IRA or qualified plan (subject to
the provisions of the Code, the qualified plan/IRA, the Contract and our administrative
rules). This prospectus does not attempt to provide a complete discussion of the Act and
its provisions. Individuals should consult with a qualified tax adviser.
9
Annuity Purchase Payments By
Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Entities
The discussion above provides general information regarding U.S. federal income tax consequences to annuity purchasers that are U.S. citizens or
residents. Purchasers that are not U.S. citizens or residents will generally be subject to
U.S. federal withholding tax on taxable distributions from annuity contracts at a 30% rate, unless a lower treaty rate applies. In addition, purchasers may be subject to state and/or municipal taxes and
taxes that may be imposed by the purchaser’s country of citizenship or residence.
Prospective purchasers are advised to consult with a qualified tax adviser regarding U.S., state and foreign taxation with respect to an annuity contract purchase.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The financial statements of the Company should be considered only as
bearing upon the ability of the Company to meet its obligations under the contract.
10
PART C - OTHER
INFORMATION
Item 27.
Exhibits
(a)
(i)
Resolutions of the Board of Directors of COVA Financial Services Life Insurance Company authorizing the establishment of the Variable Account. Incorporated herein by reference to Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 15 (File Nos. 033-39100 and 811-05200) filed electronically on April 29, 1999.
(ii)
Resolutions of the Board of Directors of MetLife
Investors Insurance Company (including Agreement and Plan of Merger attached as Exhibit A to the
resolutions) (adopted August 13, 2014). Incorporated herein by reference to Registrant’s Registration
Statement on Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-200255 and 811-05200) filed electronically on November 17,
2014.
(iii)
Resolutions of the Board of Directors of
MetLife Insurance Company of Connecticut authorizing the acceptance of the Separate Account (adopted
September 17, 2014). Incorporated herein by reference to Registrant’s Registration Statement
on Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-200255 and 811-05200) filed electronically on November 17, 2014.
(b)
Not
Applicable.
(c)
(i)(a)
Distribution and Principal Underwriting
Agreement between MetLife Insurance Company of Connecticut and MetLife Investors Distribution
Company effective November 24, 2009. Incorporated herein by reference to MetLife of CT Separate
Account Eleven for Variable Annuities’ Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to Form N-4 (File
Nos. 333-152199 and 811-21262) filed electronically on April 8, 2009.
(b)
Amendment to the Distribution and Principal
Underwriting Agreement. Incorporated herein by reference to Registrant’s Registration Statement
on Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-200255 and 811-05200) filed electronically on November 17, 2014.
(c)
Amendment No. 2 to the Distribution and Principal
Underwriting Agreement between MetLife Insurance Company USA and MetLife Investors Distribution
Company (effective December 7, 2015). Incorporated herein by reference to MetLife of CT Separate
Account Eleven for Variable Annuities’ Post-Effective Amendment No. 26 to Form N-4 (File
Nos. 333-101778 and 811-21262) filed electronically on April 6, 2016.
(ii)
Master Retail Sales Agreement (MLIDC) (9-2012).
Incorporated herein by reference to Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 37 on Form N-4
(File Nos. 033-39100 and 811-05200) filed electronically on April 23, 2013.
(iii)
Principal Underwriting and Distribution Agreement
between Brighthouse Life Insurance Company and Brighthouse Securities, LLC (effective March 6,
2017). Incorporated herein by reference to Brighthouse Separate Account A’s Post-Effective
Amendment No. 1 to Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-209053 and 811-03365) filed electronically on April
12, 2017.
(iv)
Form of Brighthouse Securities, LLC Sales
Agreement. Incorporated herein by reference to Brighthouse Separate Account A’s Post-Effective
Amendment No. 7 to Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-209053 and 811-03365) filed electronically on December
14, 2017.
(v)
Form of Brighthouse Securities, LLC Sales Agreement
(7-19 NY). Incorporated herein by reference to Brighthouse Variable Annuity Account C’s Post-Effective
Amendment No. 9 to Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-200255 and 811-05200) filed electronically on April 19,
2023.
(d)
(i)
Individual Flexible Purchase Payment Deferred Variable Annuity Contract. Incorporated herein by reference to Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 15 (File Nos. 033-39100 and 811-05200) filed electronically on April 29, 1999.
(ii)
Death Benefit Endorsements. Incorporated herein by reference
to Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 15 (File Nos. 033-39100 and 811-05200) filed electronically
on April 29,
1999.
(iii)
Charitable Remainder Trust Endorsement. Incorporated herein
by reference to Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 15 (File Nos. 033-39100 and 811-05200) filed electronically
on April 29,
1999.
(iv)
(v)
403(b) Nationwide Tax Sheltered Annuity Endorsement
(MLI-398-3 (12/08)). Incorporated herein by reference to Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment
No. 27 on Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-51950 and 811-05200) filed electronically on April 12, 2011.
(vi)
Merger Endorsement (effective November 14,
2014) (MetLife Investors Insurance Company merged into MetLife Insurance Company USA) 6-E119-14.
Incorporated herein by reference to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-4 (File
Nos. 333-200255 and 811-05200) filed electronically on November 17, 2014.
(vii)
Non-Qualified Annuity Endorsement MLI-NQ
(11/04)-1. Incorporated herein by reference to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form
N-4 (File Nos. 333-200255 and 811-05200) filed electronically on November 17,
2014.
(viii)
Brighthouse Life Insurance Company Name Change
Endorsement (effective March 6, 2017) 5-E132-16. Incorporated herein by reference to Brighthouse
Separate Account A’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-209053 and
811-03365) filed electronically on April 12, 2017.
(e)
(f)
(i)
Copy of Certificate of Incorporation of the
Company and Certificate of Amendment (effective November 14, 2014). Incorporated herein by reference
to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-200255 and 811-05200) filed
electronically on November 17, 2014.
(ii)
Copy of the By-Laws of the Company. Incorporated
herein by reference to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-200255
and 811-05200) filed electronically on November 17, 2014.
(iii)
Copy of Certificate of Amendment of Incorporation
of the Company (effective March 6, 2017). Incorporated herein by reference to Brighthouse Separate
Account A’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-209053 and 811-03365)
filed electronically on April 12, 2017.
(iv)
Copy of Amended and Restated Bylaws of the
Company. Incorporated herein by reference to Brighthouse Separate Account A’s Post-Effective
Amendment No. 1 to Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-209053 and 811-03365) filed electronically on April 12,
2017.
(g)
(i)
Amended and Restated Indemnity Retrocession Agreement with coverage effective as of October 1, 2005 between MetLife Insurance Company USA and Catalyst Re Ltd. Incorporated herein by reference to Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-200244 and 811-05200) filed electronically on April 28, 2015.
(ii)
Notice of Final Adjusted Recapture Payment
Amount in respect of the Amended and Restated Indemnity Retrocession Agreement, effective as of October
1, 2005 between MetLife Insurance Company USA and Catalyst Re Ltd. (effective July 31, 2015). Incorporated
herein by reference to Brighthouse Separate Account A’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 2 to Form
N-4 (File Nos. 333-200253 and 811-03365) filed electronically on April 15, 2016.
(h)
(i)(a)
Participation Agreement among Met Investors Series Trust, Met Investors Advisory, LLC, MetLife Investors Distribution Company, The Travelers Insurance Company and The Travelers Life and Annuity Company (effective 11-01-05). Incorporated herein by reference to The Travelers Fund ABD for Variable Annuities’ Post-Effective Amendment No. 14 to Form N-4 (File Nos. 033-65343 and 811-07465) filed electronically on April 6, 2006.
(b)
First Amendment to Participation Agreement
among Met Investors Series Trust, MetLife Advisers, LLC, MetLife Investors Distribution Company
and MetLife Insurance Company of Connecticut (effective 05-01-09). Incorporated herein by
reference to MetLife of CT Separate Account Eleven for Variable Annuities’ Post-Effective
Amendment No. 4 to Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-152189 and 811-21262) filed electronically on
April 4, 2012).
(c)
Amendment to Participation Agreement
among Met Investors Series Trust, MetLife Advisers, LLC, MetLife Investors Distribution
Company and MetLife Insurance Company of Connecticut, et. al. (effective 4-30-10). Incorporated
herein by reference to MetLife of CT Separate Account Eleven for Variable Annuities’
Post-Effective Amendment No. 4 to Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-152189 and 811-21262) filed electronically
on April 4, 2012).
(d)
Amendment to Participation Agreement with
Met Investors Series Trust. Incorporated herein by reference to Registrant’s Registration
Statement on Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-200255 and 811-05200) filed electronically on November 17,
2014.
(ii)(a)
Participation Agreement among Metropolitan
Series Fund, Inc., MetLife Advisers, LLC, MetLife Investors Distribution Company and MetLife
Insurance Company of Connecticut (effective 08-31-07). Incorporated herein by reference to MetLife
of CT Separate Account Nine for Variable Annuities’ Post-Effective Amendment No. 11 to Form
N-4 (File Nos. 333-65926 and 811-09411) filed electronically on October 31,
2007.
(b)
Amendment to Participation Agreement
among Metropolitan Series Fund, Inc., MetLife Advisers, LLC, MetLife Investors Distribution
Company and MetLife Insurance Company of Connecticut (effective 4-30-10). Incorporated
herein by reference to MetLife of CT Separate Account Eleven for Variable Annuities’
Post-Effective Amendment No. 4 to Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-152189 and 811-21262) filed electronically
on April 4, 2012).
(iii)(a)
Participation Agreement among AIM Variable
Insurance Funds, AIM Distributors, Inc., The Travelers Insurance Company, The Travelers Life
and Annuity Company and Travelers Distribution LLC effective October 1, 2000 and Amendments
to the Participation Agreement (respectively effective May 1, 2003, March 31, 2005 and April
28, 2008). Incorporated herein by reference to MetLife of CT Separate Account Eleven for Variable
Annuities’ Post-Effective Amendment No. 19 to Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-101778 and 811-21262)
filed electronically on April 7, 2009.
(b)
Amendments dated April 30, 2010
to the Participation Agreement dated October 1, 2000 by and among AIM Variable Insurance
Funds, A I M Distributors, Inc., MetLife Insurance Company of Connecticut and MetLife
Investors Distribution Company. Incorporated herein by reference to MetLife of CT Separate
Account Eleven for Variable Annuities’ Post-Effective Amendment No. 21 to Form N-4
(File Nos. 333-101778 and 811-21262) filed electronically on April 5, 2011.
(c)
Amendment dated April 30, 2010
to the Participation Agreement dated October 1, 2000 between AIM Variable Insurance Funds
(Invesco Variable Insurance Funds) ("AVIF"), Invesco Distributors, Inc. and MetLife Insurance
Company of Connecticut. Incorporated herein by reference to MetLife of CT Separate Account
Eleven for Variable Annuities' Post-Effective Amendment No. 21 to Form N-4 (File Nos.
333-101778 and 811-21262) filed electronically April 5, 2011.
(d)
Amendment to Participation Agreement with
AIM Variable Insurance Funds (Invesco Variable Insurance Funds). Incorporated herein by reference
to Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-200255 and 811-05200)
filed electronically on November 17, 2014.
(e)
Amendment to Participation Agreement among
AIM Variable Insurance Funds (Invesco Variable Insurance Funds), Invesco Distributors, Inc., Brighthouse
Life Insurance Company and Brighthouse Securities, LLC (effective March 6, 2017). Incorporated
herein by reference to Brighthouse Separate Account Eleven for Variable Annuities' Post-Effective
Amendment No. 29 to Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-101778 and 811-21262) filed electronically on April
25, 2018.
(f)
Amendment No. 8 to Participation Agreement
Among AIM Variable Insurance Funds (Invesco Variable Insurance Funds, Invesco Distributors, Inc.,
Brighthouse Life Insurance Company and Brighthouse Securities, LLC (effective January 1, 2021).
Incorporated herein by reference to Brighthouse Separate Account Eleven for Variable Annuities'
Post-Effective Amendment No. 33 to Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-101778 and 811-21262) filed electronically
on April 7, 2021.
(iv)(a)
Amended and Restated Participation
Agreement among Franklin Templeton Variable Insurance Products Trust, Franklin/Templeton
Distributors, Inc., The Travelers Insurance Company, The Travelers Life and Annuity Company
and Travelers Distribution LLC dated May 1, 2004 and Amendments. Incorporated herein by reference
to MetLife of CT Fund UL III for Variable Life Insurance’s Post-Effective Amendment
No. 15 to Form N-6 (File Nos. 333-71349 and 811-09215) filed electronically on April 9, 2009.
(b)
Amendment No. 5 dated October 5, 2010 to
the Amended and Restated Participation Agreement dated May 1, 2004 among Franklin Templeton Variable
Insurance Products Trust, Franklin/Templeton Distributors, Inc., MetLife Insurance Company of Connecticut
and MetLife Investors Distribution Company. Incorporated herein by reference to MetLife of CT
Separate Account Eleven for Variable Annuities’ Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 to Form N-4
(File Nos. 333-152189 and 811-21262) filed electronically on April 5, 2011.
(c)
MetLife of CT Separate Account Eleven for Variable Annuities’ Post-Effective Amendment No. 4
to Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-152189 and 811-21262) filed electronically on April 4, 2012).
(d)
Amendment dated January 15, 2013 to the
Participation Agreement among Franklin Templeton Variable Insurance Products Trust, Franklin/Templeton
Distributors, Inc., MetLife Insurance Company of Connecticut and MetLife Investors Distribution
Company. Incorporated herein by reference to MetLife of CT Separate Account Eleven for Variable
Annuities’ Post-Effective Amendment No. 23 to Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-101778 and 811-21262)
filed electronically on April 3, 2013.
(e)
Amendment No. 7 to Participation Agreement
with Franklin Templeton Variable Insurance Products Trust. Incorporated herein by reference to
Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-200255 and 811-05200) filed
electronically on November 17, 2014.
(f)
Amendment to Participation Agreement between
Franklin Templeton Variable Insurance Products Trust, Franklin/Templeton Distributors, Inc., MetLife
Insurance Company of Connecticut and MetLife Investors Distribution Company (effective August 1,
2014). Incorporated herein by reference to MetLife of CT Separate Account Eleven for Variable
Annuities’ Post-Effective Amendment No. 26 to Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-101778 and
811-21262) filed electronically on April 6, 2016.
(g)
Participation Agreement among Franklin Templeton
Variable Insurance Products Trust, Franklin/Templeton Distributors, Inc., Brighthouse Life Insurance
Company, Brighthouse Life Insurance Company of NY and Brighthouse Securities, LLC (effective March
6, 2017). Incorporated herein by reference to Brighthouse Separate Account Eleven for Variable
Annuities' Post-Effective Amendment No. 29 to Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-101778 and 811-21262) filed
electronically on April 25, 2018.
(v)(a)
Amended and Restated Participation
Agreement among Putnam Variable Trust, Putnam Retail Management, L.P., The Travelers Insurance
Company and The Travelers Life and Annuity Company dated June 1, 2001 and Amendments. Incorporated
herein by reference to MetLife of CT Fund UL III for Variable Life Insurance’s Post-Effective
Amendment No. 15 to Form N-6 (File Nos. 333-71349 and 811-09215) filed electronically on
April 9, 2009.
(b)
Amendment to Participation Agreement with
Putnam Variable Trust. Incorporated herein by reference to Registrant’s Registration Statement
on Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-200255 and 811-05200) filed electronically on November 17, 2014.
(c)
Amendment to Participation Agreement among
Putnam Variable Trust, Putnam Retail Management Limited Partnership and Brighthouse Life Insurance
Company (effective March 6, 2017). Incorporated herein by reference to Brighthouse Fund UL III
for Variable Life Insurance's Post-Effective Amendment No. 25 to Form N-6 (File Nos. 333-71349
and 811-09215) filed electronically on April 25, 2018.
(d)
Amendments to Participation Agreement among
Putnam Variable Trust, Putnam Retail Management Limited Partnership and Brighthouse Life Insurance
Company (effective 2021). Incorporated herein by reference to Registrant’s Post-Effective
Amendment No. 8 to Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-200255 and 811-05200) filed electronically on April 21,
2022.
(vi)(a)
Amended and Restated Participation
Agreement among Fidelity Variable Insurance Products Funds, Fidelity Distributors Corporation
and The Travelers Insurance Company and Amendments. Incorporated herein by reference to MetLife
of CT Fund UL III for Variable Life Insurance’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 15 to
Form N-6 (File Nos. 333-71349 and 811-09215) filed electronically on April 9, 2009.
(b)
Summary Prospectus Agreement among Fidelity
Distributors Corporation and MetLife Insurance Company of Connecticut effective April 30, 2010.
Incorporated herein by reference to MetLife of CT Separate Account Eleven for Variable Annuities’
Post-Effective Amendment No. 3 to Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-152189 and 811-21262) filed electronically
on April 5, 2011.
(c)
Amendments to Participation Agreement with
Fidelity Variable Insurance Products Funds. Incorporated herein by reference to Registrant’s
Registration Statement on Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-200255 and 811-05200) filed electronically on
November 17, 2014.
(d)
Amended and Restated Participation Agreement
among Variable Insurance Products Funds, Fidelity Distributors Corporation and Brighthouse Life
Insurance Company (effective March 6, 2017). Incorporated herein by reference to Brighthouse Separate
Account Eleven for Variable Annuities' Post-Effective Amendment No. 29 to Form N-4 (File Nos.
333-101778 and 811-21262) filed electronically on April 25, 2018.
(e)
Amendment to Participation Agreement among
Brighthouse Life Insurance Company, Variable Insurance Products Fund, Variable Insurance Products
Fund II, Variable Insurance Products Fund III, Variable Insurance Products Fund IV, Variable Insurance
Products Fund V, and Fidelity Distributors Company LLC (effective 03-01-21). Incorporated herein
by reference to Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 8 to Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-200255
and 811-05200) filed electronically on April 21, 2022.
(vii)(a)
Participation Agreement among The Travelers
Insurance Company, The Travelers Life and Annuity Company, Travelers Distribution LLC, Scudder
Variable Series II, Scudder Distributors, Inc. and Deutsche Asset Management effective June
5, 2001 and Amendments to the Participation Agreement (respectively effective August 1, 2003,
December 2, 2003, May 3, 2004, November 2, 2004 and December 20, 2004). Incorporated herein
by reference to MetLife of CT Separate Account Eleven for Variable Annuities’ Post-Effective
Amendment No. 19 to Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-101778 and 811-21262) filed electronically on April
7, 2009.
(b)
Amendment dated April 30, 2010 to
the Participation Agreement dated June 5, 2003 between DWS Variable Series II, DWS Investments
Distributors, Inc., Deutsche Investment Management Americas Inc. and MetLife Insurance
Company of Connecticut. Incorporated herein by reference to MetLife of CT Separate Account
Eleven for Variable Annuities’ Post-Effective Amendment No. 21 to Form N-4 (File
Nos. 333-101778 and 811-21262) filed electronically on April 5, 2011.
(c)
Amendment to Participation Agreement with
Deutsche Variable Series II. Incorporated herein by reference to Registrant’s Registration
Statement on Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-200255 and 811-05200) filed electronically on November 17,
2014.
(viii)(a)
Participation Agreement among Brighthouse
Funds Trust I, Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC, Brighthouse Securities, LLC and Brighthouse
Life Insurance Company (effective March 6, 2017). Incorporated herein by reference to Brighthouse
Separate Account A’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-209053 and
811-03365) filed electronically on April 12, 2017.
(b)
Amendment to Participation Agreement among
Brighthouse Funds Trust I, Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC, Brighthouse Securities, LLC and
Brighthouse Life Insurance Company (effective 01-01-21). Incorporated herein by reference to
Registrant’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 8 to Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-200255 and 811-05200)
filed electronically on April 21, 2022.
(ix)(a)
Participation Agreement among Brighthouse
Funds Trust II, Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC, Brighthouse Securities, LLC and Brighthouse
Life Insurance Company (effective March 6, 2017). Incorporated herein by reference to Brighthouse
Separate Account A’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-209053 and
811-03365) filed electronically on April 12, 2017.
(b)
Amendment to Participation Agreement among
Brighthouse Funds Trust II, Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC, Brighthouse Securities, LLC and
Brighthouse Life Insurance Company (effective 01-01-21). Incorporated herein by reference to Registrant’s
Post-Effective Amendment No. 8 to Form N-4 (File Nos. 333-200255 and 811-05200) filed electronically
on April 21, 2022.
(i)
(j)
Not
Applicable.
(k)
Not Applicable.
(l)
(m)
Not Applicable.
(n)
(o)
Not Applicable.
ITEM 28.
Directors and Officers of the Depositor
The following are the Officers
and Directors who are engaged directly or indirectly in activities relating to the Registrant’s Separate
Account or the Contracts,
and for executive officers including the Depositor’s president, secretary, treasurer, and vice presidents who have authority to act as president in the president’s
absence.
| Name and Principal Business Address |
Positions and Offices with Insurance Company |
| Eric Steigerwalt
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Chairman of the Board, President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director |
| Myles Lambert
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Director and Vice President |
|
| David A. Rosenbaum
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Director and Vice President |
| Jonathan Rosenthal
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Director, Vice President and Chief Investment Officer |
|
| Edward A. Spehar
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Director, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |
| Michele Abate
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President |
| Richard A. Cook
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer |
| Patrisha Cox
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President |
| Leda DeBarba
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President and Appointed Actuary |
| Andrew DeRosa
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President |
|
| Devon DiBenedetto
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer |
| David Dooley
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President |
| Meghan Doscher
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President |
| Micah Dowling
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President |
| Tara Figard
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President |
| Gianna H. Figaro-Sterling 11225 North Community House Road Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President and Controller |
| Kevin Finneran
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President and Illustration Officer |
| Jason Frain
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President |
| James Grady
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President |
|
| Christopher Hartsfield 11225 North Community House Road Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President and Assistant Secretary |
| Jeffrey Hughes
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President and Chief Technology Officer |
| Jacob Jenkelowitz
285 Madison Avenue, Suite 1400
New York, NY 10017 |
Vice President and Secretary |
| Donald Leintz
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President |
| John Lima 11225
North Community House Road Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Chief Derivatives Officer |
| Allie Lin 11225
North Community House Road Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President |
| Philip Melville
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President and Chief Risk Officer |
|
| Tiffanie Moore
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President and Assistant Secretary |
| Janet Morgan
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President and Treasurer |
| Rosemary Morgan
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer |
| Gerard Nigro
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President |
| Alan Otis 11225
North Community House Road Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President |
| James Painter, Jr.
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President |
| Melissa Pavlovich
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President and Tax Director |
| Phillip Pfotenhauer 11225 North Community House Road Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President |
| Marc Pucci 11225
North Community House Road Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President |
|
| Matthew Sheperd
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President – Dividend Actuary |
| Kristi Slavin
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President |
| Gregor Speakman
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President |
|
| Michael Villella
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President and Illustration Actuary |
| Julienne Warr
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President |
| Natalie Wright
11225 North Community House Road
Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President |
Item 29.
Persons Controlled by or Under Common Control with the Depositor or the
Registrant
The Registrant is a separate account of Brighthouse Life Insurance Company
(“BLIC” or the “Company”) under Delaware insurance law. BLIC is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Brighthouse Financial, Inc., a publicly-traded
company. The following outline indicates those entities that are controlled by Brighthouse Financial, Inc. or are under the common control of Brighthouse Financial, Inc.
No person is controlled by the Registrant, and none of the entities listed below files
financial statements that are
consolidated with the Registrant's financial statements. The
Registrant does not have any subsidiaries.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF BRIGHTHOUSE FINANCIAL, INC. AND
SUBSIDIARIES
AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2024
AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2024
The following is a list of subsidiaries of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. as of December 31, 2024.
The entity which is listed at the left margin (labeled with a capital letter) is a direct subsidiary of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. (DE)
Each entity which is indented under another entity is a subsidiary of such other entity and, therefore, an indirect subsidiary of Brighthouse Financial, Inc.
The voting securities of the subsidiaries listed are 100% owned by their respective parent
companies. The jurisdiction of domicile of each subsidiary listed is set forth in the parenthetical following the name of such subsidiary. All of the entities listed below are included in the consolidated financial statements of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. Each of the
entities listed under Section 2 is included in the consolidated financial statements of Brighthouse Life Insurance Company. Both Brighthouse Financial, Inc. and Brighthouse Life Insurance Company file consolidated financial statements with
the SEC pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
| A. |
Brighthouse Holdings, LLC (DE) | |||
| |
1. |
New England Life Insurance Company (MA) | ||
| |
2. |
Brighthouse Life Insurance Company (DE) | ||
| |
|
a. |
|
Brighthouse Reinsurance Company of Delaware (DE) |
| |
|
b. |
|
Brighthouse Life Insurance Company of NY (NY) |
| |
|
|
(i.) |
BLICNY Property Ventures, LLC
(DE) |
| |
|
c. |
|
Brighthouse Renewables Holdings, LLC (DE) |
| |
|
|
(i.) |
Greater Sandhill I, LLC (DE)
|
| |
|
d. |
|
Brighthouse Assignment Company (CT) |
| |
|
e. |
|
Euro TL Investments LLC (DE) |
| |
|
f. |
|
TLA Holdings LLC (DE) |
| |
|
|
(i.) |
The Prospect Company, LLC (DE)
|
| |
|
g. |
|
BLIC Property Ventures, LLC (DE) |
| |
3. |
Brighthouse Securities, LLC (DE) | ||
| |
4. |
Brighthouse Services, LLC (DE) | ||
| |
5. |
Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLC (DE) | ||
Item 30.
Indemnification
Pursuant to applicable provisions of Brighthouse
Life Insurance Company’s by-laws or internal corporate policies adopted by Brighthouse Life Insurance Company or Brighthouse Financial, Inc., its ultimate parent, the
directors, officers and other controlling persons of Brighthouse Life Insurance Company and of Brighthouse Life Insurance Company’s affiliate and the underwriter, Brighthouse Securities, LLC, who are made or threatened to be made a party to
an action or proceeding, may be eligible to obtain indemnification against judgments, fines, amounts paid in settlement and reasonable expenses, including attorneys’ fees,
incurred as a result of such action or proceeding. Under the principal underwriting agreement between Brighthouse Life Insurance Company and Brighthouse Securities, LLC, the parties have agreed to indemnify each other against certain liabilities and expenses from legal proceedings arising out
of Brighthouse Securities LLC’s distribution of the Contracts.
Brighthouse Financial, Inc. also maintains directors and officers and professional liability insurance policies under which the Registrant, the Depositor and the Underwriter, as well as certain other Brighthouse subsidiaries, are covered.
Brighthouse Financial, Inc. also has secured a financial institutions bond.
Insofar as indemnification for liability arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Company pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Company has been advised that
in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a
claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Company of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Company in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or
controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Company will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent,
submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final
adjudication of such issue.
Item 31.
Principal Underwriters
(a)
Brighthouse Securities, LLC is the principal underwriter for the following investment companies (including the
Registrant):
Brighthouse Fund UL for Variable Life Insurance
Brighthouse Fund UL III for Variable Life Insurance
Brighthouse Funds Trust I
Brighthouse Funds Trust II
Brighthouse Separate Account A
Brighthouse Separate Account Eleven for Variable Annuities
Brighthouse Separate Account QPN for Variable Annuities
Brighthouse Variable Annuity Account B
Brighthouse Variable Annuity Account C
Brighthouse Variable Life Account A
Brighthouse Variable Life Account One
New England Variable Annuity Separate Account
New England Variable Life Separate Account
Brighthouse Fund UL III for Variable Life Insurance
Brighthouse Funds Trust I
Brighthouse Funds Trust II
Brighthouse Separate Account A
Brighthouse Separate Account Eleven for Variable Annuities
Brighthouse Separate Account QPN for Variable Annuities
Brighthouse Variable Annuity Account B
Brighthouse Variable Annuity Account C
Brighthouse Variable Life Account A
Brighthouse Variable Life Account One
New England Variable Annuity Separate Account
New England Variable Life Separate Account
(b)
Brighthouse Securities, LLC is the principal underwriter for the Contracts. The following
persons are the officers and managers of Brighthouse Securities, LLC.:
| Name and Principal Business Address |
Positions and Offices with Underwriter |
| Myles Lambert
11225 North Community House Road Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Manager, President and Chief Executive Officer |
| Philip Beaulieu
11225 North Community House Road Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Manager and Vice President |
| Amy Cusson 11225
North Community House Road Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Manager |
| Michael Davis
11225 North Community House Road Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Manager and Vice President |
| Meghan Doscher
11225 North Community House Road Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Manager |
| Kevin Macilvane, Jr. 11225 North Community House Road Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Manager |
| Gerard Nigro
11225 North Community House Road Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Manager and Vice President |
| Richard Cook
11225 North Community House Road Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President |
| Christopher Hartsfield 11225 North Community House Road Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President and Assistant Secretary |
| Jacob Jenkelowitz
285 Madison Avenue, Suite 1400 New York, NY 10017 |
Vice President and Secretary |
| Donald Leintz
11225 North Community House Road Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President |
| John Lima 11225
North Community House Road Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President and Chief Derivatives Officer |
| John Martinez
11225 North Community House Road Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Principal Financial Officer |
| Tiffanie Moore
11225 North Community House Road Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President and Assistant Secretary |
| Janet Morgan
11225 North Community House Road Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President and Treasurer |
| James Painter, Jr.
11225 North Community House Road Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President |
| Melissa Pavlovich
11225 North Community House Road Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President and Tax Director |
| Kristin Prohonic
11225 North Community House Road Charlotte, NC 28277 |
Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer |
(c)
Compensation to the Distributor. The following aggregate amount of commissions and other compensation was received by the
Distributor, directly or indirectly, from the Registered Separate Account and the other separate accounts of the Insurance Company, which also
issue variable annuity contracts, during their last fiscal year.
| (1) Name of Principal Underwriter |
(2) Net Underwriting Discounts
And Commissions |
(3) Compensation On
Redemption |
(4) Brokerage Commissions
|
(5) Other Compensation
|
| Brighthouse Securities, LLC |
$724,114,938 |
$0 |
$0 |
$0 |
Item 32.
Location of Accounts and Records
Omitted.
Item 33.
Management Services
Not Applicable.
Item 34.
Fee Representation and Undertakings
Brighthouse Life Insurance
Company (the "Company") hereby represents that the fees and charges deducted under the Contracts, in the aggregate, are reasonable in relation to the services rendered, the
expenses to be incurred, and the risks assumed by the Company.
The Company hereby represents that it is relying upon the Securities and Exchange Commission
No-Action Letter issued to the American Council of Life Insurance dated November 28, 1988 (Commission ref. IP-6-88) and that the following provisions have been complied with:
1.
Include appropriate disclosure regarding the redemption restrictions imposed by Section
403(b)(11) in each registration statement, including the prospectus, used in connection with the offer of the contract;
2.
Include appropriate disclosure regarding the redemption restrictions imposed by Section 403(b)(11) in any sales literature
used in connection with the offer of the contract;
3.
Instruct sales representatives who solicit participants to purchase the contract specifically
to bring the redemption restrictions imposed by Section 403(b)(11) to the attention of the potential participants;
4.
Obtain from each plan participant who purchases a Section 403(b) annuity contract, prior to or at the time of such purchase,
a signed statement acknowledging the participant's understanding of (1) the restrictions on redemption imposed by Section 403(b)(11), and (2) other investment alternatives
available under the employer's Section 403(b) arrangement to which the participant may elect to transfer his contract value.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirements for effectiveness of this registration statement under rule 485(b) under the Securities Act and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, duly authorized, in the City of Charlotte, and State of North Carolina, on this 11th day of April,
2025.
| |
BRIGHTHOUSE VARIABLE ANNUITY ACCOUNT C
(Registrant) | |
| |
By: |
BRIGHTHOUSE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY |
| |
By: |
/s/
Donald A. Leintz |
| |
|
Donald A. Leintz Vice President |
| |
By: |
BRIGHTHOUSE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY |
| |
|
(Depositor) |
| |
By: |
/s/
Donald A. Leintz |
| |
|
Donald A. Leintz Vice President |
Pursuant to the requirements of
the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities indicated on April 11, 2025.
| /s/ Eric
Steigerwalt* |
Chairman of the Board, President, Chief Executive Officer
and a Director |
| Eric Steigerwalt | |
| |
|
| /s/
Myles Lambert* |
Director |
| Myles Lambert | |
| |
|
| /s/
David A. Rosenbaum* |
Director |
| David A. Rosenbaum | |
| |
|
| /s/
Jonathan Rosenthal* |
Director |
| Jonathan Rosenthal | |
| |
|
| /s/
Edward A. Spehar* |
Director, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |
| Edward A. Spehar | |
| |
|
| /s/
Richard A. Cook* |
Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer |
| Richard A. Cook | |
| |
|
| /s/
Gianna H. Figaro-Sterling* |
Vice President and Controller |
| Gianna H. Figaro-Sterling |
| |
*By: |
/s/
Michele H. Abate |
| |
|
Michele H. Abate, Attorney-In-Fact April 11, 2025 |
*
Brighthouse Life Insurance Company. Executed by Michele H. Abate, Esquire on behalf of those indicated pursuant to powers of attorney filed herewith.
INDEX TO EXHIBITS
(l)
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (Deloitte & Touche
LLP)
(p)
Powers of Attorney
ATTACHMENTS / EXHIBITS
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM (D&T)
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