Index credits are based on the capped cumulative monthly changes in the S&P 500® Index for the policy year. The monthly cap rate is the upper-limit imposed on the change in the index on a monthly basis. There is no floor imposed on a negative change in the index on a monthly basis. The date of each monthly index value used is the date of your policy anniversary.
The percentage change in the index from month to month, adjusted for the monthly cap, is tracked. At the end of the policy year (your policy anniversary date), the sum of the monthly percentage changes in the index, adjusted for the monthly cap, is credited to your policy’s Accumulation Value.
The cap rate may be reset annually at the beginning of each policy year at the discretion of EquiTrust, but can never be less than the guaranteed minimum monthly cap rate.
Index credits for any crediting period can only be positive, or zero. Once added to your Accumulation Value, index credits are locked in. If the index is down for the year, the credited amount is zero. If index values decline in later years, any index credits previously added cannot be lost. However, policy expense charges, cost-of-insurance rates and policy fees can reduce your Accumulation Value.
The “S&P Multi-Asset Risk Control 5% Excess Return Index” and “S&P 500®” Indices (“Indices”) are products of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC or its affiliates (“SPDJI”) and have been licensed for use by EquiTrust Life Insurance Company (“the Company”). Standard & Poor’s® and S&P® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“S&P”); Dow Jones® is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC (“Dow Jones”); and these trademarks have been licensed for use by SPDJI and sublicensed for certain purposes by the Company. The products are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by SPDJI, Dow Jones, S&P, or their respective affiliates and none of such parties make any representation regarding the advisability of investing in such product(s) nor do they have any liability for any errors, omissions, or interruptions of the Indices.
Index annuities are not stock-market investments and do not directly participate in any equity investments. The market index does not include dividends paid on underlying stocks, and therefore does not reflect the total return of underlying stocks. Purchases of an index annuity are not direct investments in the S&P 500® Index. Withdrawals from an index annuity may be subject to surrender charges.