Equitable Novation Overview

Depending on the block of inforce contracts/policies (as detailed below), Equitable Financial will be replaced by:

• Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company of America (“Equitable America” or EFLOA): our insurance legal entity domiciled in Arizona and wholly-owned by Equitable Holdings, the parent company of Equitable Financial ; or
• Equitable Financial Life and Annuity Company (“Equitable Colorado” or EFLA) : our insurance legal entity domiciled in Colorado and wholly-owned by Equitable Holdings; or
• Venerable Insurance and Annuity Company (“VIAC”): an insurance legal entity domiciled in Iowa and wholly-owned by Venerable Holdings, the company with which we engaged in our $12bn reinsurance transaction in 2021. VIAC specializes in variable annuity inforce management and administration, and in addition to its own annuity block of business, it currently administers policies issued by other insurance entities. Equitable Holdings has a 9.1% equity stake in the parent company of Venerable Holdings and a seat on its Board of Directors.

Equitable America

The following products issued on or before September 30, 2022 (except as noted below), out of Equitable Financial (excluding New York issued and resident contracts/policies, Virgin Islands resident contracts/policies, externally reinsured contracts, contracts with non-US mailing addresses, annuitized contracts, and some additional exceptions):

Annuities

• Retirement Cornerstone^® (RC): All Series (excluding RC 15 Series E)
• Structured Capital Strategies^®(SCS): All Series
• Investment Edge^®: All Series (excluding the original product series launched in November 2013)
• EQUI-VEST^®: All Series/Markets (issued on or before January 31, 2023)
  • Excludes EQUI-VEST Vantage and EQUI-VEST Strategies Group plans

Life insurance

• Athena Universal Life: 2/3/4/5: All Series
• Athena Indexed Universal Life: Series 151

Equitable Colorado

Accumulator^®: Series 02, 04, 06, 07, 7.5, 8.1, 8.2 and 09 variable annuity contracts

• Excluding Series 06, 07, and 8.1 contracts that are reinsured by Venerable.
• Excluding New York, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico issued and resident contracts, contracts with Fixed Maturity Options (FMOs), contracts with non-US mailing addresses, externally reinsured contracts, annuitized contracts, and some additional minor exceptions.

VIAC

Accumulator^®: Series 06, 07, and 8.1 contracts reinsured by Venerable

• Excluding Alaska and Puerto Rico issued contracts, New York issued and resident contracts, contracts with FMOs, and contracts with non-US mailing addresses.
• Contracts that are annuitized beginning June 1, 2021, and later are included in the novation. Contracts annuitized prior to this date are not included in the novation.

Based on the jurisdiction and the replacement insurance entity, there will be three different client consent requirements. Only one of the options below will apply to a contract/policy:

• Opt-in (Affirmative) Consent: clients in certain states will receive an offer letter and need to return the enclosed response form, accepting the offer. If the client does not respond, the contract/policy will not be transferred and will remain with Equitable Financial.
• Opt-out (Negative) Consent: in other states, the client will receive an offer letter indicating that the contract/policy will be transferred by default, unless the client returns the enclosed response form rejecting the offer. If the client does not respond, the contract/policy will be transferred.
• Automatic (No) Consent: for contracts being transferred to Equitable America in certain jurisdictions, the client will receive a notification letter indicating that the contract/policy will be transferred. There is no action the client can take. 

The state consent chart provides you with greater details on the applicable consent requirement for each jurisdiction based on the replacement insurance entity.

For offers requiring either Opt-in consent or Opt-out consent, at least 2 notices may be sent to the client with the response deadline ranging from 3 months to up to 30 months, depending on the state requirements, which are detailed in the chart referenced above.

An owner with multiple Equitable Financial products will be mailed a package for each contract/policy. 

Our planned implementation is outlined below. Please note that the dates represent current estimates, are subject to change, and are contingent on receipt of required regulatory approvals:

• No. All features and benefits applicable to the respective contracts/policies will continue to operate as stated per the terms of the contracts/policies.

• Equitable America & Equitable Colorado: There will be no changes to the contract/policy forms as of the novation date and contract/policy numbers will remain unchanged. When a contract is novated, the contract/policy owner will receive a “Certificate of Assumption” that will append their annuity contract or life insurance policy as applicable. Contracts will not be re-issued.
• VIAC: When contracts are novated to VIAC, VIAC will issue a Certificate of Assumption with a new contract number and VIAC will be the insurer without any changes to the features and benefits as of the novation date.

• An Exchange Offer Prospectus Supplement and either an Initial Summary Prospectus (ISP) or Statutory Prospectus (as applicable) will accompany the novation offer. 
  • The exchange offer prospectus supplement for Equitable Colorado references Accumulator 11, 13 and 13A. Please note that these product series are not included in the novation offer.
• After a contract is novated to Equitable America or Equitable Colorado, contract owners will begin to receive inforce prospectuses that are co-branded to reflect all issuing companies.
• After a contract is novated to VIAC, contract owners will begin to receive inforce prospectuses from VIAC.

• Yes; The transaction has been approved by the New York State Department of Financial Services and the insurance departments of Arizona, Colorado, and Iowa (the domiciliary states of Equitable America, Equitable Colorado and VIAC, respectively).
• Nationwide filings for the respective novations to VIAC, Equitable America and Equitable Colorado are currently in progress with a substantial number of approvals received to date. 
• The transaction has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the variable annuity products.

• Closer to the initial client mailing in July 2024, servicing FPs can log on to www.equitable.com and navigate to My Business > Book of Business > Novation for a detailed list of contracts he/she services that are in scope for novation.
• The novation reports in the book of business will include information on which company the contract would novate to, clients’ scheduled mailings, response deadlines, transfer status and scheduled transfer date. This information will be updated periodically as client responses are received.
• If an FP is not registered for access on www.equitable.com, on the login page, click ‘Register Now’ and he/she will be asked to confirm his/her identity using client contract/policy numbers.

• For contracts/policies novated to Equitable America and Equitable Colorado, service forms will be co-branded to reflect the appropriate insurance entity. 
• For contracts novated to VIAC, new service forms from VIAC will be made available to financial professionals and clients. 

• No, a temporary redirecting message will be shown that the client’s contract has been transferred and that the contract information can be found on VIAC’s online portal. Clients who novate to Venerable will receive a welcome kit including details on how to access their information. 

• Equitable America and Equitable Colorado:
  • Contracts/policies transferred to Equitable America and Equitable Colorado will continue to be serviced and administered by Equitable Service Centers as they are today.
• VIAC:
  • Contracts transferred to VIAC will be serviced and administered by the Venerable Customer Experience Center at www.venerable.com or by calling 800-366-0066.¹ Prior to a contract being transferred, the Venerable Customer Experience Center will not be able to assist with contracts.
  • The VIAC portal will continue to offer dynamic solutions to users, including pre-populated forms and a variety of self-service options for financial and non-financial transactions.
  • If you have contracts that will transfer to VIAC, your broker dealer may be required to either update your current selling and service agreements with VIAC or enter into a new agreement if you do not currently have one.
  • When we begin to mail communications to your clients, an increased number of customer service representatives will be available at each service center to address increased client inquiries regarding the package received to ensure an optimal client experience.

• Equitable America: All FPs who have sold at least one variable annuity since January 1, 2019, are already appointed with Equitable America and nothing further is required after a contract serviced by the FP is novated to Equitable America. For FPs servicing novated contracts who do not fall into the above category, appointments will be on an “as needed” basis.
• Equitable Colorado & VIAC: All contracts novating to Equitable Colorado or VIAC no longer accept additional contributions in most jurisdictions and do not require an appointment for the FP servicing such contracts. For FPs in jurisdictions where contributions are permitted into the contract, appointments will be on an “as needed” basis.

• Current commission payments remain unchanged for the corresponding products regardless of whether contracts are novated to VIAC, Equitable America or Equitable Colorado.
• Note that for contracts novated to VIAC, the payor will change from Equitable Distributors to Directed Services LLC. If you service contracts in this block, your broker dealer may be required to either update your current selling and service agreements with VIAC or enter into a new agreement if you do not currently have one.

• There will be no impact to recurring distributions that are being taken out of contracts.
• For contracts transferred to Equitable America and Equitable Colorado, distributions will be made according to the existing cadence and paid in the manner as requested by the client.
• For contracts transferred to VIAC, distributions will continue to be made according to the existing cadence and paid in the manner as originally requested by the client. However, the payor of the distributed amount will now be VIAC instead of Equitable Financial.

• Equitable America & Equitable Colorado: Contracts/policies novated to Equitable America or Equitable Colorado may receive 2 of each of the 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 contract/policy was transferred.
• VIAC: Contracts novated to VIAC may receive 2 of each of the required tax forms: one from Equitable Financial for any distributions taken while the contract was insured by Equitable Financial, and one from VIAC for any distributions taken after the contract was transferred. 

• No. The novation transaction is not a taxable event and a 1099 will not be sent to the client when the insurer/event of the contract is changed.

• Equitable America & Equitable Colorado: Contracts transferred to Equitable America or Equitable Colorado will continue to be accessible in an FPs book of business dashboard/detailed contract/policy reports via www.equitable.com. There will be no change in the contract details shown in the “book of business”.
• VIAC: Details of contracts transferred to VIAC will no longer be accessible in an FPs book of business dashboard/detailed contract/policy reports via www.equitable.com. Instead, for 1 year after the novation, there will be a notice in the FP’s book of business indicating that the contract has been novated to VIAC. 

• At the time of novation, all FPs whose clients have contracts novating to VIAC will receive communication from VIAC either via email or physical mail (if VIAC has no email address on file).
• FPs with an existing book of business under VIAC will continue to have web portal access and transferred contracts will be accessible through that portal.
• FPs that are new to VIAC will be provided detailed instructions for gaining VIAC’s web portal access to manage novated accounts at the time of novation.
• The VIAC portal will continue to offer dynamic solutions to users, including pre-populated forms and a variety of self-service options for financial and non-financial transactions.

• Beginning in July 2024, clients who have contracts/policies that are in-scope for novation will be mailed regulatory approved notices for each contract/policy they own, together with required materials explaining the novation transaction and providing the essential information to make an informed decision.
• One mailing package will be mailed for each contract/policy a client owns.
• For Individual Retirement and Life Insurance, policies and contracts with joint owners residing at the same address will receive one package and joint owners residing at different addresses will each receive a package. For Group Retirement, each joint owner will receive a package even if they reside at the same address. For all joint owner contracts, consent from each owner is required to opt-in and a rejection from only one owner is required to opt out.
• The package(s) will comprise of the following documents:

• 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 waiting periods for each jurisdiction are provided in the state consent listing included with this communication. Click here for access to the state consent chart.

Please find sample documents linked to at the top of the page.

After client mailings begin on July 8th, 2024, clients may access a dedicated microsite at www.equitable.com/novation with access to FAQs and additional information available. 

When we begin to mail client communications, there will be two dedicated toll-free numbers with customer service representatives available to address client inquiries regarding the novation transaction and ensure a seamless transition:

• For novation to Equitable America or Equitable Colorado: 1-855-433-4015
• For novation to VIAC: 1-855-433-4025

• Prior to novation, all contracts that are in-scope for novation will display the novation status on the client portal with a link to the letter sent to the client.
• Equitable America and Equitable Colorado: After novation, contracts novated to Equitable America or Equitable Colorado will continue to display on the client portal with no changes. All tools that are currently accessible to the client will remain unchanged.
• VIAC: After novation, contracts novated to VIAC will no longer be displayed on the client portal. Instead, for 1 year after the novation, there will be a notice to clients indicating that the contract has been novated to VIAC with a link to VIAC’s website.

• Due to the regulatory nature of this transaction, clients must complete the provided response forms included in their package and return it back to Equitable in the colored business reply envelope (postage paid). 
• The service centers will not be able to accept instructions from you or your clients regarding the transfer.

If a client contacts you that they never received a package, and their address on file is correct (i.e., not a bad address) attached are actions to assist. Note: Due to the complexity of the transfer offer package, replacement packages cannot be sent.

• Direct the client to log into their account through equitable.com and navigate to My Documents. The transfer offer package and all related content provided to the client will be available to view, download and print.
• Copies of all client transfer packages are available through SalesForce and you can download and forward to them individually if unable to access equitable.com.
• Have the client contact the appropriate service center and the service center will assist the client in obtaining their documents electronically.