Equity Indexed Annuities is designed for professional insurance producers and advisors who provide financial or retirement planning services to the consumer. Equity indexed annuities have become popular funding vehicles for the accumulation of funds on a tax-deferred basis for long-term needs. With interest crediting and accumulation linked to a market index, equity indexed annuities offer the potential for market-based returns while providing minimum guarantees that can protect the owner’s principal.

The purpose of the course is to provide a thorough discussion of these unique instruments: how they are designed, how they are used, and how the many and varied interest crediting methods serve to calculate and apply interest. The course reviews the basics of traditional fixed and variable annuities, which provides the basis for understanding the distinct features, benefits, and limitations indexed annuities provide. Indexing methods and the adjustments insurers commonly apply to their indexed crediting methods are explored in detail. Upon conclusion of this course, the student will understand how equity indexed annuities compare and contrast to other annuity forms, how they function, their advantages and disadvantages, how they are taxed, the types of needs they serve, and the suitability and compliance issues they present.

The course covers the following topics:

• What Are Annuities?
• How Tax-Deferred Annuities Work
• Basics of Fixed Annuities
• Equity Indexed Annuities
• Indexing Evaluation of Various Indexes
• Evaluating Indexing Methods
• Evaluating Adjustment Methods
• Benefits of the Equity Indexed Annuity
• Suitability
• Allocation of Assets
• Review of EIAs