Overview: Transfer of Certain Equitable Annuity Contracts and Life Insurance Policies

This is a legitimate offer from Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company (Equitable Financial). There are two ways to verify this offer is not fraudulent:

• You can log into equitable.com with your username and password to view specific contract or policy information, along with digital copies of the transfer offer package received in the mail. (If you have never registered on equitable.com, you will need your contract/policy number and some personal information to complete registration.)You can also contact your Financial Professional to confirm.
• You can also contact your Financial Professional to confirm.

The transfer offer and transaction has been approved by the New York State Department of Financial Services and the insurance departments of Arizona, Colorado, and Iowa (the states where Equitable America, Equitable Colorado and Venerable are based, respectively). The transaction was also filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the variable annuity products and the prospectuses have been declared effective.

Your transfer offer will outline your applicable options. The action you need to take depends on the requirements of your particular transfer:

• Negative Consent/Opt-out: No action is required if you consent to the transfer. To reject the offer, you will need to complete and return the response form in the package to stay with Equitable Financial.
• Affirmative Consent/Opt-in: You must complete and return the response form in the package to accept the transfer offer and the contract/policy will be transferred.
• Automatic (No) Consent: No action is required. The transfer is automatic and we will not require a response.

It depends on the requirements in your residence state and the type of contract or policy you have.

In states with Affirmative Consent/Opt-in requirements:

Yes, you have a choice. You sign and send back the form to accept the transfer offer. Keep in mind transferring to Equitable America or Equitable Colorado will have no impact on the features, benefits, and services you have today. There will be no change to the way you access information and request transactions. Transferring to Venerable also would not impact your features or benefits, but the ways you access your account will change.

Negative Consent/Opt-out:

Yes, you have a choice. You must sign and send back the form to reject the transfer offer and the contract will stay with Equitable Financial. Keep in mind transferring to Equitable America or Equitable Colorado will have no impact on the features, benefits, and services you have today. There will be no change to the way you access information and request transactions. Transferring to Venerable also would not impact your features or benefits, but the ways you access your account will change.

Automatic (No) Consent:

Equitable America is our flagship company for issuing new life insurance and annuity business and as a result, we are not requiring consent for transfers to that company in states where that is permissible. For transfers to Venerable and Equitable Colorado, we are offering clients an opportunity to opt-out in states without express consent requirements for life insurance contracts. Please note consent requirements are subject to regulatory approval and may change after state filings.

One of the following three receiving companies will be the replacement insurer, depending on the contract or policy owned:

• Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company of America (“Equitable America” or EFLOA) based in Arizona and wholly-owned by Equitable Holdings, the parent company of Equitable Financial
• Equitable Financial Life and Annuity Company (“Equitable Colorado” or EFLA): based in Colorado and wholly-owned by Equitable Holdings
• Venerable Insurance and Annuity Company (“Venerable”), based in Iowa and wholly-owned by Venerable Holdings. Note Equitable’s relationship with this company began with a $12bn reinsurance transaction in 2021. Equitable Holdings now has a 9.1% equity stake in the parent company, as well as a seat on its Board of Directors.

• Contracts/policies eligible for transfer are as follows:

• The contract/policy transfers will be implemented in waves estimated to occur in 2025, 2026 and 2027 as follows:

Established in 1969, Equitable America is a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Equitable Holdings that provides annuities, life insurance and employee benefit products to individuals and small to medium-sized businesses. It is now our flagship company and issues most of our new business.

Equitable America maintains strong financial strength ratings, which rank among the highest levels across top rating agencies. [AM Best (A); S&P (A+); Moody’s (A1)] Equitable Holdings, Inc. is committed to ensuring that Equitable America and its other operating entities are well-capitalized at or above its minimum capitalization targets. Additionally, regulators ensure the company has adequate reserves to meet its obligations.

As part of the Equitable family, servicing and administration of transferred contracts will continue to be provided uninterrupted by the Equitable Service Centers once the transfer is complete.

Established in 1984, Equitable Colorado is a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Equitable Holdings, providing life insurance products to individuals. Its offerings are now being expanded to include annuities.

Equitable Colorado maintains a strong financial strength rating (A+), which ranks among the highest levels with a top rating agency (S&P). Equitable Holdings, Inc. is committed to ensuring that Equitable Colorado and its other operating entities are well-capitalized at or above its minimum capitalization targets. Additionally, regulators ensure the company has adequate reserves to meet its obligations.

As part of the Equitable family, servicing and administration of transferred contracts will continue to be provided uninterrupted by the Equitable Service Centers once the transfer is complete.

Venerable began issuing annuities nearly 50 years ago. Following the merger of several other insurers, Venerable became the flagship retail annuity issuer under ING Group and was later spun off as Voya Financial.

Venerable debuted as a private company on June 1, 2018, a result of Voya divesting substantially all its annuity business. It is a leading variable annuity management company and is a trusted reinsurer for Equitable and other carriers. Equitable Holdings, Inc. has a 9.1% equity stake in the parent company of Venerable and has a seat on its Board of Directors.

Venerable maintains a robust capital position and has a strong financial strength rating (A) from Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA), one of 10 credit rating agencies designated as a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (“NRSRO”) by the SEC. Since Venerable no longer issues new business, additional ratings from other ratings agencies are not expected to be pursued.

An Exchange Offer Prospectus Supplement and either an Initial Summary Prospectus (ISP) or Statutory Prospectus (as applicable) are provided in the transfer offer package.

After a contract is transferred to Equitable America or Equitable Colorado, contract owners will begin to receive inforce prospectuses that are co-branded to reflect all issuing companies.

The initial transfer offer package includes:

1. Mailing cover page itemizing the contents of the package
2. Regulatory approved client Notice of Transfer letter with details of the offer. There are 3 different versions of the letter based on the consent requirement for the state/jurisdiction (opt-in, opt-out or automatic consent)
3. Opt-in or Opt-out consent response form (where applicable)
4. Postage-Paid Business Reply envelope – included with Opt-in and Opt-out consent packages
5. Financial Strength Ratings for Equitable Financial and the receiving company
6. Equitable Financial Balance Sheets – at least the most recent 2 year-ends and the latest quarter-end
7. Receiving company’s Balance Sheets – at least the most recent 2 year-ends and the latest quarter-end
8. Exchange Offer Prospectus Supplement (describing the offer) issued by the receiving company – applicable to variable annuity products only
9. Either an Initial Summary Prospectus or a Statutory Prospectus issued by the receiving company – applicable to variable annuity products only

Certain states require the inclusion of the Management’s Discussion and Analysis supplement for the most recent year end financial statement for Equitable Financial and the receiving company.

Each jurisdiction with an opt-in or opt-out consent requirement requires at least 2 mailings to the client if there is no response after the waiting period for the first mailing. The subsequent mailings may not include the Exchange Offer Prospectus Supplement and the Initial Summary/Statutory Prospectus.

The transfer offer package will be provided to you electronically via Equitable.com if:

• The replacement company is Equitable America
• The state has no explicit consent requirements for insurance contracts
• You are enrolled in Equitable’s e-delivery program

Depending on the contract/policy issued:

• Joint or multiple owners residing at the same address will receive one offer package with one response form capturing both signatures, with the exception of life insurance policy holders who will receive separate response forms for each owner's signature.
• Joint or multiple owners residing at different addresses will each receive an offer package.

Signature requirements vary, depending on the type of annuity or life insurance policy owned.

• For single owner contracts/policies, the owner’s signature is the only acceptable signature on the response form.
• For joint or multiple owner contracts/policies, a signature from each owner is required to opt-in. A signature from only one owner is required to opt-out.
• For non-natural owned contracts (other than custodial IRA contracts), signature of an authorized signer for the owner is acceptable.

Yes, you could receive additional communications in certain situations:

• Not in good order (NIGO) letter: You could receive a NIGO letter for any of these reasons:
  • ­Neither of the two boxes (accept or reject) was checked on the response form
  • ­Both boxes (accept and reject) were checked on the response form
  • ­The response form is not signed.
  • ­Only one owner’s signature is on the joint or multiple owner response form (for individual retirement contracts and life insurance policies where joint or multiple owners reside at the same address)
  • ­The response is not legible or is missing any legally required detail.
• Correspondence for contracts/policies that are no longer eligible for transfer: You could receive a letter removing your contract or policy from eligibility. To find out the specific reason why your contract is no longer eligible, you can call customer service at 855-433-4015 (Equitable America/Equitable Colorado), 855-433-4025 (for Venerable).
• Contract Transfer Effective Date Correspondence: You will receive a letter with the date the contract transfer will occur if your acceptance is received prior to the scheduled second mailing date. In such cases, the second mailing will not occur.  Note that the effective date of the transfer is included in your second mailing package if you have not responded before the second mailing date.

Within a few days of the transfer, you will receive:

• A “Certificate of Assumption” will be sent. This is a contract/policy endorsement from the receiving company that will append the annuity contract or life insurance policy and make it the new issuer or insurer. It should be kept with the original contract/policy for future reference. You may also receive a cover letter noting changes in banking information, if necessary. For joint or multiple owners, only one document will be sent to the primary joint or multiple owner’s address.

• Where applicable, a financial confirmation notice providing information on the transfer from Equitable Financial to the other company. Please note:

• ­Annuitized contracts and life insurance policies will not have a financial confirmation notice.
• ­For contracts transferring to Venerable, a confirmation notice will be sent by Equitable Financial showing the transfer of the contract out of Equitable Financial, and a corresponding confirmation notice will be sent by Venerable showing the receipt of the contract by Venerable.
• ­Like with any other confirmation notice, contracts with joint or multiple owners will be sent only one confirm notice to the primary joint or multiple owner’s address.

• Upon submission of your completed response in good order, please allow up to 28 days for it to be updated in the portal, taking into consideration both mail delivery and processing periods.

• If we receive your response but find it is not in good order (see question #24), Equitable will send you a letter asking for an updated submission.

Service support will depend on the receiving company:

• Equitable America and Equitable Colorado: Contracts/policies transferred to Equitable America and Equitable Colorado will continue to be administered by Equitable Service Centers as they are today.

• Venerable: Contracts transferred to Venerable will be administered and supported by the Venerable Customer Experience Center at www.Venerable.com or by calling 800-366-0066.^[1] Note that prior to contract transfer, the Venerable Customer Experience Center will not be able to assist with inquires.
• All Transfers: There are two dedicated toll-free numbers with customer service representatives available to address inquiries regarding the transfer and to ensure a seamless transition:
  • For transfers to Equitable America and Equitable Colorado, the number is (855) 433-4015
  • For transfers to Venerable, the number is (855) 433-4025

^[1]Digital solutions are at the cornerstone of Venerable’s service strategy, allowing for an enriched experience and prompt service response times for distributors and customers. An easy-to-use web-portal allows for book of business and account management, including use of pre-populated forms and a variety of other financial and non-financial transactions. This dynamic portal is coupled with a robust notification process that can be customized to individual needs. Venerable’s service teams are also equipped with knowledge management tools that provide quick access to customer and distributor account details, allowing for more effective interactions.

There will be no impact to recurring distributions that are being taken out of contracts/policies.

For contracts transferred to Equitable America and Equitable Colorado, distributions will be made according to the existing cadence and paid in the manner as originally requested, with a change in payor of the distributed amount to Equitable Colorado or Equitable America, respectively.

There will be no impact to the contract values as of the effective date of the contract transfer.

All features and benefits applicable to the respective contracts/policies will operate as stated per the terms of the contracts and policies.

• For contracts transferred to Equitable America and Equitable Colorado, service forms will be co-branded and will be updated to reflect all issuing companies.
• For contracts transferred to Venerable, new service forms from Venerable will be made available.

Tax forms will vary depending on the receiving company:

• Equitable America and Equitable Colorado: Contracts transferred to Equitable America or Equitable Colorado may receive 2 of each required tax forms: one from Equitable Financial for any distributions taken while the contract was insured by Equitable Financial, and one from either Equitable America or Equitable Colorado (as applicable) for any distributions taken after the transfer.
• Venerable: Contracts transferred to Venerable may receive 2 of each required tax forms: one from Equitable Financial for any distributions taken while the contract was insured by Equitable Financial, and one from Venerable for any distributions taken after the transfer. Tax forms for contracts transferred to Venerable will be available on Venerable’s web portal. They will also be available on the Equitable Client Portal for 3 years after the transfer date.

Prior to the transfer, all contracts/policies that are eligible for transfer offer will display a transfer status on equitable.com with copies of the documents provided in the transfer offer package. In addition:

• For Equitable America and Equitable Colorado: Contracts or policies transferred to Equitable America or Equitable Colorado will continue to display on your website with no changes. All tools currently accessible will remain unchanged.
• For Venerable: After a contract is transferred, the old Equitable contract number and the new Venerable contract number will both be displayed on the Equitable Client Portal for 1 year after the transfer, however, contract details will not be visible. There will be a notice indicating the contract has been transferred to Venerable with a link to Venerable’s website. Note that tax forms will be available on your Equitable Client Portal for 3 years after the transfer date.

For Equitable America and Equitable Colorado, there will be no changes as of the transfer date and the contract or policy number will remain unchanged. Upon transfer, you will receive a “Certificate of Assumption” that should be kept with your original annuity contract or life insurance policy, as applicable. For more information, please see FAQ #27 “What will I receive after a contract/policy transfers?”.

Any existing loans on a contract or policy will not be impacted. Loan conditions and repayments will stay the same as outlined in the loan agreement.

Any loan repayments will be made to the new insurer when the contract transfer becomes effective.

You can always review the status of your contract/policy through equitable.com. Information on the transfer offer mailing date, due date for a response (if applicable) and the scheduled transfer date will be provided for contracts/policies that have been mailed a transfer offer.