Index credits are based on the change in the index value for the contract year. The point-to-point strategy compares two points – the value of the S&P 500® at the beginning of the contract year to the value at the end of the contract year. If the index value is greater than the beginning value, you are credited with the percentage increase, subject to a specified cap.
The annual cap rate is the most that can be credited in that contract year. The cap may be reset at the beginning of each contract year at the discretion of EquiTrust, but can never be less than the guaranteed minimum 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.
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.