Registration No. 333-24009
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
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POST-EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT NO. 11 TO
FORM S-3
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
THE EQUITABLE LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
NEW YORK
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
13-5570651
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
1290 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10104
(212) 554-1234
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number,
including area code, of registrant's
principal executive offices)
ROBIN WAGNER
VICE PRESIDENT AND COUNSEL
THE EQUITABLE LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES
1290 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10104
(212) 554-1234
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code,
of agent for service)
Please send copies of all communications to:
PETER E. PANARITES
FREEDMAN, LEVY, KROLL & SIMONDS
1050 CONNECTICUT AVENUE, N.W., SUITE 825
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20036
(202) 457-5100
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NOTE
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This Post-Effective Amendment No. 11 ("PEA") to the Form S-3 Registration
Statement No. 333-24009 ("Registration Statement") of The Equitable Life
Assurance Society of the United States ("Equitable Life") is being filed solely
for the purpose of including in the Registration Statement two Prospectuses for
new versions of Equitable Life's Accumulator variable and fixed deferred
annuity contract, and related exhibits.
The PEA does not amend or delete the other Accumulator Prospectuses dated
May 1, 1999 or October 18, 1999, any supplements thereto, or otherwise amend any
other part of the Registration Statement.
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EQUITABLE ACCUMULATOR (SM)
A combination variable and fixed deferred annuity contract
Please read and keep this prospectus for future reference. It contains important
information that you should know before purchasing or taking any other action
under your contract. Also, at the end of this prospectus you will find attached
the prospectus for EQ Advisors Trust, which contains important information about
its portfolios.
PROSPECTUS DATED , 2000
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WHAT IS THE EQUITABLE ACCUMULATOR?
Equitable Accumulator is a deferred annuity contract issued by THE EQUITABLE
LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES. It provides for the accumulation of
retirement savings and for income. The contract offers income and death benefit
protection. It also offers a number of payout options. You invest to accumulate
value on a tax-deferred basis in one or more of our variable investment options,
fixed maturity options, or the account for special dollar cost averaging
("investment options").
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VARIABLE INVESTMENT OPTIONS
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o Alliance Money Market o JPM Core Bond
o Alliance High Yield o Lazard Large Cap Value
o Alliance Common Stock o Lazard Small Cap Value
o Alliance Aggressive Stock o MFS Growth with Income
o Alliance Small Cap Growth o MFS Research
o EQ/Alliance Premier Growth o MFS Emerging Growth Companies
o BT Equity 500 Index o Merrill Lynch Basic Value Equity
o BT Small Company Index o Merrill Lynch World Strategy
o BT International Equity Index o Morgan Stanley Emerging
o Capital Guardian U.S. Equity Markets Equity
o Capital Guardian Research o EQ/Putnam Growth & Income
o Capital Guardian International Value
o EQ/Evergreen o EQ/Putnam Investors Growth
o EQ/Evergreen Foundation o EQ/Putnam International Equity
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You may allocate amounts to any of the variable investment options. Each
variable investment option is a subaccount of our Separate Account No. 49. Each
variable investment option, in turn, invests in a corresponding securities
portfolio of EQ Advisors Trust. Your investment results in a variable investment
option will depend on the investment performance of the related portfolio.
FIXED MATURITY OPTIONS. You may allocate amounts to one or more fixed maturity
options. These amounts will receive a fixed rate of interest for a specified
period. Interest is earned at a guaranteed rate set by us. We make a market
value adjustment (up or down) if you make transfers or withdrawals from a fixed
maturity option before its maturity date.
ACCOUNT FOR SPECIAL DOLLAR COST AVERAGING. This account also pays fixed interest
at guaranteed rates.
TYPES OF CONTRACTS. We offer the contracts for use as:
o A nonqualified annuity ("NQ") for after-tax contributions only.
o An individual retirement annuity ("IRA"), either traditional IRA or Roth IRA.
We offer two versions of the traditional IRA: "Rollover IRA" and "Flexible
Premium IRA." We also offer two versions of the Roth IRA: "Roth Conversion
IRA" and "Flexible Premium Roth IRA."
o An annuity that is an investment vehicle for a qualified defined contribution
or defined benefit plan ("QP").
o An Internal Revenue Code Section 403(b) Tax-Sheltered Annuity ("TSA") -
("Rollover TSA").
A contribution of at least $5,000 is required to purchase an NQ, Rollover IRA,
Roth Conversion IRA, QP, or Rollover TSA contract. For Flexible Premium IRA or
Flexible Premium Roth IRA contracts, we require a contribution of $2,000 to
purchase a contract.
Registration statements relating to this offering have been filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). The statement of additional
information ("SAI") dated , 2000 is a part of one of the registration
statements. The SAI is available free of charge. You may request one by writing
to our processing office or calling 1-800-789-7771. The SAI has been
incorporated by reference into this prospectus. This prospectus and the SAI can
also be obtained from the SEC's Web site at http://www.sec.gov. The table of
contents for the SAI appears at the back of this prospectus.
THE SEC HAS NOT APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED THESE SECURITIES OR DETERMINED IF THIS
PROSPECTUS IS ACCURATE OR COMPLETE. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A
CRIMINAL OFFENSE. THE CONTRACTS ARE NOT INSURED BY THE FDIC OR ANY OTHER AGENCY.
THEY ARE NOT DEPOSITS OR OTHER OBLIGATIONS OF ANY BANK AND ARE NOT BANK
GUARANTEED. THEY ARE SUBJECT TO INVESTMENT RISKS AND POSSIBLE LOSS OF PRINCIPAL.
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2 CONTENTS OF THIS PROSPECTUS
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CONTENTS OF THIS PROSPECTUS
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EQUITABLE ACCUMULATOR (SM)
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Index of key words and phrases 4
Who is Equitable Life? 5
How to reach us 6
Equitable Accumulator at a glance - key features 8
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FEE TABLE 11
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Examples 14
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1
CONTRACT FEATURES AND BENEFITS 16
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How you can purchase and contribute to your contract 16
Owner and annuitant requirements 20
How you can make your contributions 20
What are your investment options under the contract? 20
Allocating your contributions 24
Your benefit base 25
Annuity purchase factors 26
Our baseBUILDER option 26
Guaranteed minimum death benefit 28
Your right to cancel within a certain number of days 28
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2
DETERMINING YOUR CONTRACT'S VALUE 30
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Your account value and cash value 30
Your contract's value in the variable investment options 30
Your contract's value in the fixed maturity options 30
Your contract's value in the account for special dollar
cost averaging 30
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"We," "our," and "us" refer to Equitable Life. When we address the reader of
this prospectus with words such as "you" and "your," we mean the person who has
the right or responsibility that the prospectus is discussing at that point.
This is usually the contract owner. When we use the word "contract" it also
includes certificates that are issued under group contracts in some states.
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CONTENTS OF THIS PROSPECTUS 3
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3
TRANSFERRING YOUR MONEY AMONG
INVESTMENT OPTIONS 31
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Transferring your account value 31
Rebalancing your account value 31
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4
ACCESSING YOUR MONEY 32
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Withdrawing your account value 32
How withdrawals are taken from your account value 33
How withdrawals affect your guaranteed minimum
income benefit and guaranteed minimum death
benefit 33
Loans under Rollover TSA contracts 34
Surrendering your contract to receive its cash value 35
When to expect payments 35
Your annuity payout options 36
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5
CHARGES AND EXPENSES 39
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Charges that Equitable Life deducts 39
Charges that EQ Advisors Trust deducts 41
Group or sponsored arrangements 42
Other distribution arrangements 42
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6
PAYMENT OF DEATH BENEFIT 43
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Your beneficiary and payment of benefit 43
How death benefit payment is made 44
Beneficiary continuation option for Rollover IRA and
Flexible Premium IRA contracts 44
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7
TAX INFORMATION 46
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Overview 46
Transfers among investment options 46
Taxation of nonqualified annuities 46
Special rules for NQ contracts issued in Puerto Rico 47
Individual retirement arrangements (IRAs) 48
Special rules for nonqualified contracts in qualified plans 58
Tax-Sheltered Annuity contracts (TSAs) 58
Federal and state income tax withholding and
information reporting 63
Impact of taxes to Equitable Life 64
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8
MORE INFORMATION 65
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About our Separate Account No. 49 65
About EQ Advisors Trust 65
About our fixed maturity options 66
About the general account 67
About other methods of payment 67
Dates and prices at which contract events occur 68
About your voting rights 69
About legal proceedings 70
About our independent accountants 70
Financial statements 70
Transfers of ownership, collateral assignments, loans,
and borrowing 70
Distribution of the contracts 70
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9
INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE 72
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Benchmarks 72
Communicating performance data 81
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10
INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS BY
REFERENCE 83
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APPENDICES
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I - Purchase considerations for QP contracts A-1
II - Market value adjustment example B-1
III - Guaranteed minimum death benefit example C-1
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STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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4 INDEX OF KEY WORDS AND PHRASES
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INDEX OF KEY WORDS AND PHRASES
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This index should help you locate more information on the terms used in this
prospectus.
PAGE PAGE
account for special dollar cost Flexible Premium Roth IRA cover
averaging 23 guaranteed minimum death benefit 27
account value 30 guaranteed minimum income benefit 26
annuitant 16 IRA 48
annuity payout options 35 IRS 46
baseBUILDER 26 investment options 20
beneficiary 43 loan reserve account 35
benefit base 25 market adjusted amount 22
business day 68 market value adjustment 23
cash value 30 maturity value 22
conduit IRA 52 NQ 46
contract date 10 participant 20
contract date anniversary 10 portfolio cover
contract year 10 processing office 6
contributions to Roth IRAs 55 QP 58
regular contributions 55 rate to maturity 22
rollover contributions 56 Required Beginning Date 52
conversion contributions 56 Rollover IRA cover
direct custodian-to-custodian Rollover TSA cover
transfers 56 Roth Conversion IRA cover
contributions to traditional IRAs 48 Roth IRA 55
regular contributions 49 SAI cover
rollover contributions 51 SEC cover
direct custodian-to-custodian TOPS 6
transfers 51 TSA 58
ERISA 34 traditional IRA 48
fixed maturity amount 22 unit 30
fixed maturity options 22 variable investment options 20
Flexible Premium IRA cover
To make this prospectus easier to read, we sometimes use different words than in
the contract or supplemental materials. This is illustrated below. Although we
use different words, they have the same meaning in this prospectus as in the
contract or supplemental materials. Your registered representative can provide
further explanation about your contract.
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PROSPECTUS CONTRACT OR SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS
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fixed maturity options Guarantee Periods (Guaranteed Fixed
Interest Accounts in supplemental materials)
variable investment options Investment Funds
account value Annuity Account Value
rate to maturity Guaranteed Rates
unit Accumulation Unit
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WHO IS EQUITABLE LIFE? 5
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WHO IS EQUITABLE LIFE?
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We are The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States ("Equitable
Life"), a New York stock life insurance corporation. We have been doing business
since 1859. Equitable Life is a subsidiary of AXA Financial, Inc. (previously,
The Equitable Companies Incorporated). The majority shareholder of AXA
Financial, Inc. is AXA, a French holding company for an international group of
insurance and related financial services companies. As a majority shareholder,
and under its other arrangements with Equitable Life and Equitable Life's
parent, AXA exercises significant influence over the operations and capital
structure of Equitable Life and its parent. No company other than Equitable
Life, however, has any legal responsibility to pay amounts that Equitable Life
owes under the contract.
AXA Financial, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries managed approximately
$394.4 billion in assets as of September 30, 1999. For over 100 years Equitable
Life has been among the largest insurance companies in the United States. We are
licensed to sell life insurance and annuities in all fifty states, the District
of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Our home office is
located at 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y. 10104.
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6 WHO IS EQUITABLE LIFE?
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HOW TO REACH US
You may communicate with our processing office as listed below for any of the
following purposes:
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FOR CONTRIBUTIONS SENT BY REGULAR MAIL:
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Equitable Accumulator
P.O. Box 13014
Newark, NJ 07188-0014
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FOR CONTRIBUTIONS SENT BY EXPRESS DELIVERY:
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Equitable Accumulator
c/o Bank One, N.A.
300 Harmon Meadow Boulevard, 3rd Floor
Attn: Box 13014
Secaucus, NJ 07094
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FOR ALL OTHER COMMUNICATIONS (E.G.,
REQUESTS FOR TRANSFERS, WITHDRAWALS, OR
REQUIRED NOTICES) SENT BY REGULAR MAIL:
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Equitable Accumulator
P.O. Box 1547
Secaucus, NJ 07096-1547
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FOR ALL OTHER COMMUNICATIONS (E.G., REQUESTS FOR TRANSFERS, WITHDRAWALS, OR
REQUIRED NOTICES) SENT BY EXPRESS DELIVERY:
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Equitable Accumulator
200 Plaza Drive, 4th Floor
Secaucus, NJ 07094
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REPORTS WE PROVIDE:
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o written confirmation of financial transactions;
o statement of your contract values at the close of each calendar quarter (four
per year); and
o annual statement of your contract values as of the close of the contract
year.
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TELEPHONE OPERATED PROGRAM SUPPORT
("TOPS") AND EQ ACCESS SYSTEMS:
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TOPS is designed to provide you with up-to-date information via touch-tone
telephone. EQ Access is designed to provide this information through the
Internet. You can obtain information on:
o your current account value;
o your current allocation percentages;
o the number of units you have in the variable investment options;
o rates to maturity for the fixed maturity options; and
o the daily unit values for the variable investment options.
You can also:
o change your allocation percentages and/or transfer among the investment
options; and
o obtain or change your personal identification number (PIN).
TOPS and EQ Access are normally available seven days a week, 24 hours a day. You
may use TOPS by calling toll free 1-888-909-7770. You may use EQ Access by
visiting our Web site at http://www.equitable.com and click on EQAccess. Of
course, for reasons beyond our control, these services may sometimes be
unavailable.
We have established procedures to reasonably confirm that the instructions
communicated by telephone or Internet are genuine. For example, we will require
certain personal identification information before we will act on telephone or
Internet instructions and we will provide written confirmation of your
transfers. If we do not employ reasonable procedures to confirm the genuineness
of telephone or Internet instructions, we may be liable for any losses arising
out of any act or omission that constitutes negligence, lack of good faith, or
willful misconduct. In light of our procedures, we will not be liable for
following telephone or Internet instructions we reasonably believe to be
genuine.
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WHO IS EQUITABLE LIFE? 7
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CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE:
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You may also use our toll-free number (1-800-789-7771) to speak with one of our
customer service representatives. Our customer service representatives are
available on any business day from 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., Eastern time.
You should send all contributions, notices, and requests to our processing
office at the address above.
WE REQUIRE THAT THE FOLLOWING TYPES OF COMMUNICATIONS BE ON SPECIFIC FORMS WE
PROVIDE FOR THAT PURPOSE:
(1) authorization for telephone transfers by your registered representative;
(2) conversion of a traditional IRA contract to a Roth Conversion IRA or
Flexible Premium Roth IRA contract;
(3) election of the automatic investment program;
(4) election of the rebalancing program;
(5) requests for loans under Rollover TSA contracts;
(6) spousal consent for loans under Rollover TSA contracts;
(7) contract surrender and withdrawal requests;
(8) tax withholding election; and
(9) election of the beneficiary continuation option.
WE ALSO HAVE SPECIFIC FORMS THAT WE RECOMMEND YOU USE FOR THE FOLLOWING TYPES OF
REQUESTS:
(1) address changes;
(2) beneficiary changes; and
(3) transfers between investment options.
TO CANCEL OR CHANGE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING WE REQUIRE WRITTEN NOTIFICATION
GENERALLY AT LEAST SEVEN CALENDAR DAYS BEFORE THE NEXT SCHEDULED TRANSACTION:
(1) automatic investment program;
(2) general dollar cost averaging;
(3) rebalancing;
(4) special dollar cost averaging;
(5) substantially equal withdrawals;
(6) systematic withdrawals; and
(7) the date annuity payments are to begin.
You must sign and date all these requests. Any written request that is not on
one of our forms must include your name and your contract number along with
adequate details about the notice you wish to give or the action you wish us to
take.
SIGNATURES:
The proper person to sign forms, notices and requests would normally be the
owner. If there are joint owners both must sign.
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8 EQUITABLE ACCUMULATOR AT A GLANCE - KEY FEATURES
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EQUITABLE ACCUMULATOR AT A GLANCE - KEY FEATURES
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PROFESSIONAL Equitable Accumulator's variable investment
INVESTMENT options invest in 26 different portfolios
MANAGEMENT managed by professional investment advisers.
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FIXED MATURITY o 10 fixed maturity options with maturities
OPTIONS. ranging from approximately 1 to 10 years.
o Each fixed maturity option offers a guarantee of
principal and interest rate if you hold it to
maturity.
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If you make withdrawals or transfers from a fixed
maturity option before maturity, there will be
a market value adjustment due to differences in
interest rates. This may increase or decrease any
value that you have left in that fixed maturity
option. If you surrender your contract, a market
value adjustment may also apply.
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ACCOUNT FOR SPECIAL DOLLAR Available for dollar cost averaging all or a
COST AVERAGING portion of your initial contribution.
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TAX ADVANTAGES o On earnings inside No tax on any dividends,
the contract interest or capital
gains until you make
withdrawals from your
contract or receive
annuity payments.
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o On transfers inside No tax on transfers
the contract among investment options.
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If you are buying a contract to fund a retirement
plan that already provides tax deferral under
sections of the Internal Revenue Code (such as
IRA, QP, and Rollover TSA), you should do so for
the contract's features and benefits other
than tax deferral. In such situations, the tax
deferral of the contract does not provide
additional benefits.
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baseBUILDER(Reg. TM) baseBUILDER combines a guaranteed minimum income
PROTECTION benefit with the guaranteed minimum death benefit
provided under the contract. The guaranteed
minimum income benefit provides income protection
for you while the annuitant lives. The guaranteed
minimum death benefit provides a death benefit for
the beneficiary should the annuitant die.
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CONTRIBUTION AMOUNTS o NQ, Rollover IRA, Roth Conversion IRA, QP,
and Rollover TSA contracts
o Initial minimum: $5,000
o Additional minimum: $1,000
$100 monthly and $300
quarterly under our
automatic investment
program (NQ contracts)
--------------------------------------------------
o Flexible Premium IRA and Flexible Premium Roth
IRA contracts
o Initial minimum: $2,000
o Additional minimum: $50 ($50 under our
automatic investment
program)
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Maximum contribution limitations may apply.
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EQUITABLE ACCUMULATOR AT A GLANCE - KEY FEATURES 9
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ACCESS TO YOUR MONEY o Lump sum withdrawals
o Several withdrawal options on a periodic basis
o Loans under Rollover TSA contracts
o Contract surrender
You may incur a withdrawal charge for certain
withdrawals or if you surrender your contract.
You may also incur income tax and a tax penalty.
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PAYOUT ALTERNATIVES o Annuity payout options
o Income Manager(Reg. TM) payout options
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ADDITIONAL FEATURES o Guaranteed minimum death benefit even if you do not
elect baseBUILDER
o Dollar cost averaging
o Automatic investment program
o Account value rebalancing (quarterly, semiannually,
and annually)
o Unlimited free transfers
o Waiver of withdrawal charge for disability, terminal
illness, or confinement to a nursing home
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FEES AND CHARGES o Daily charges on amounts invested in the variable
investment options for mortality and expense risks,
administrative charges and distribution charges at an
annual rate of 1.55%.
o Annual 0.30% benefit base charge for the optional
baseBUILDER benefit until you exercise your guaranteed
minimum income benefit, elect another annuity payout
option or the contract date anniversary after the
annuitant reaches age 85, whichever occurs first. The
benefit base is described under "Your benefit base" in
"Contract features and benefits." If you do not elect
baseBUILDER you still receive a guaranteed minimum
death benefit under your contract at no additional
charge.
o Under Flexible Premium IRA and Flexible Premium Roth
IRA contracts, if your account value at the end of the
contract year is less than $25,000, we deduct an
annual administrative charge equal to $30 or during
the first two contract years 2% of your account value,
if less. If your account value is $25,000 or more, we
will not deduct the charge.
o No sales charge deducted at the time you make
contributions.
o During the first seven contract years following a
contribution, a charge will be deducted from amounts
that you withdraw that exceed 15% of your account
value. We use the account value on the most recent
contract date anniversary to calculate this 15% amount
available. The charge begins at 7% in the first
contract year following a contribution. It declines by
1% each year to 1% in the seventh contract year. There
is no withdrawal charge in the eighth and later
contract years following a contribution. In addition
there is no withdrawal charge if the annuitant is age
86 or older when the contract is issued. Certain
other exemptions apply.
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10 EQUITABLE ACCUMULATOR AT A GLANCE - KEY FEATURES
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-------------------------------------------------------
FEES AND The "contract date" is the effective date of a
CHARGES (CONTINUED) contract. This usually is the business day we receive
your initial contribution. Your contract date will be
shown in your contract. The 12-month period beginning
on your contract date and each 12-month period after
that date is a "contract year." The end of each
12-month period is your "contract date anniversary."
-------------------------------------------------------
o We deduct a charge for taxes such as premium taxes
that may be imposed in your state. This charge is
generally deducted from the amount applied to an
annuity payout option.
o We generally deduct a $350 annuity administrative fee
from amounts applied to purchase certain life annuity
payout options.
o Annual expenses of EQ Advisors Trust portfolios are
calculated as a percentage of the average daily net
assets invested in each portfolio. These expenses
include management fees ranging from 0.25% to 1.15%
annually, 12b-1 fees of 0.25% annually, and other
expenses.
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ANNUITANT ISSUE AGES NQ: 0-90
Rollover IRA, Roth Conversion IRA,
Flexible Premium Roth IRA, and
Rollover TSA: 20-90
Flexible Premium IRA: 20-70
QP: 20-75
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THE ABOVE IS NOT A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF ALL MATERIAL PROVISIONS OF THE
CONTRACT. IN SOME CASES RESTRICTIONS OR EXCEPTIONS APPLY. ALSO, ALL FEATURES OF
THE CONTRACT ARE NOT NECESSARILY AVAILABLE IN YOUR STATE OR AT CERTAIN AGES.
For more detailed information we urge you to read the contents of this
prospectus, as well as your contract. Please feel free to speak with your
registered representative, or call us, if you have any questions.
OTHER CONTRACTS
We offer a variety of fixed and variable annuity contracts. They may offer
features, including investment options, fees and/or charges that are different
from those in the contracts offered by this prospectus. Not every contract is
offered through the same distributor. Upon request, your registered
representative can show you information regarding other Equitable Life annuity
contracts that he or she distributes. You can also contact us to find out more
about any of the Equitable Life annuity contracts.
<PAGE>
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FEE TABLE 11
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FEE TABLE
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The fee table below will help you understand the various charges and expenses
that apply to your contract. The table reflects charges you will directly incur
under the contract, as well as charges and expenses of the portfolios that you
will bear indirectly. Charges for taxes, such as premium taxes, may also apply.
Also, an annuity administrative fee may apply when your annuity payments are to
begin. Each of the charges and expenses is more fully described in "Charges and
expenses" later in this prospectus. For a complete description of portfolio
charges and expenses, please see the attached prospectus for EQ Advisors Trust.
The fixed maturity options and the account for special dollar cost averaging are
not covered by the fee table and examples. However, the annual administrative
charge and the withdrawal charge do apply to the fixed maturity options and the
account for special dollar cost averaging. A market value adjustment (up or
down) may apply as a result of a withdrawal, transfer, or surrender of amounts
from a fixed maturity option.
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CHARGES WE DEDUCT FROM YOUR VARIABLE INVESTMENT OPTIONS EXPRESSED AS AN ANNUAL
PERCENTAGE OF DAILY NET ASSETS
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Mortality and expense risks (1) 1.10%
Administrative (2) 0.25%
*Distribution 0.20%
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Total annual expenses 1.55%
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FLEXIBLE PREMIUM IRA AND FLEXIBLE PREMIUM ROTH IRA CONTRACTS ONLY: CHARGES WE
DEDUCT FROM YOUR ACCOUNT VALUE ON EACH CONTRACT DATE ANNIVERSARY
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Maximum annual administrative charge (3)
If your account value on a contract date anniversary is less than $25,000 $30
If your account value on a contract date anniversary is $25,000 or more $0
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CHARGES WE DEDUCT FROM YOUR ACCOUNT VALUE AT THE TIME YOU REQUEST CERTAIN
TRANSACTIONS
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Withdrawal charge as a percentage of contributions Contract
(deducted if you surrender your contract or make certain year
withdrawals. The withdrawal charge percentage we use is 1 .........7.00%
determined by the contract year in which you make the 2 .........6.00%
withdrawal or surrender your contract. For each 3 .........5.00%
contribution, we consider the contract year in which we 4 .........4.00%
receive that contribution to be "contract year 1")(4) 5 .........3.00%
6 .........2.00%
7 .........1.00%
8+ ........0.00%
Charge if you elect a life annuity payout option $350
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CHARGES WE DEDUCT FROM YOUR ACCOUNT VALUE EACH YEAR IF YOU ELECT THE OPTIONAL
BENEFIT
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baseBUILDER benefit charge (calculated as a percentage
of the benefit base. Deducted annually on each contract
date anniversary)(5) 0.30%
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12 FEE TABLE
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EQ ADVISORS TRUST ANNUAL EXPENSES
(AS A PERCENTAGE OF AVERAGE DAILY NET ASSETS IN EACH PORTFOLIO)
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<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
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TOTAL
OTHER ANNUAL
EXPENSES EXPENSES
MANAGEMENT (AFTER EXPENSE (AFTER EXPENSE
FEES(6) 12-B-1 FEES(7) LIMITATION)(8) LIMITATION)(9)
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<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Alliance Money Market 0.35% 0.25% 0.03% 0.63%
Alliance High Yield 0.60% 0.25% 0.04% 0.89%
Alliance Common Stock 0.36% 0.25% 0.04% 0.65%
Alliance Aggressive Stock 0.54% 0.25% 0.04% 0.83%
Alliance Small Cap Growth 0.90% 0.25% 0.06% 1.21%
EQ/Alliance Premier Growth 0.90% 0.25% 0.00% 1.15%
BT Equity 500 Index 0.25% 0.25% 0.05% 0.55%
BT Small Company Index 0.25% 0.25% 0.25% 0.75%
BT International Equity Index 0.35% 0.25% 0.40% 1.00%
Capital Guardian U.S. Equity 0.65% 0.25% 0.05% 0.95%
Capital Guardian Research 0.65% 0.25% 0.05% 0.95%
Capital Guardian International 0.75% 0.25% 0.20% 1.20%
EQ/Evergreen 0.75% 0.25% 0.05% 1.05%
EQ/Evergreen Foundation 0.63% 0.25% 0.07% 0.95%
JPM Core Bond 0.45% 0.25% 0.10% 0.80%
Lazard Large Cap Value 0.55% 0.25% 0.15% 0.95%
Lazard Small Cap Value 0.80% 0.25% 0.15% 1.20%
MFS Growth with Income 0.55% 0.25% 0.05% 0.85%
MFS Research 0.55% 0.25% 0.05% 0.85%
MFS Emerging Growth Companies 0.55% 0.25% 0.05% 0.85%
Merrill Lynch Basic Value Equity 0.55% 0.25% 0.05% 0.85%
Merrill Lynch World Strategy 0.70% 0.25% 0.25% 1.20%
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Equity 1.15% 0.25% 0.35% 1.75%
EQ/Putnam Growth & Income Value 0.55% 0.25% 0.05% 0.85%
EQ/Putnam Investors Growth 0.55% 0.25% 0.15% 0.95%
EQ/Putnam International Equity 0.70% 0.25% 0.25% 1.20%
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
Notes:
(1) A portion of this charge is for providing the guaranteed minimum death
benefit.
(2) We reserve the right to increase this charge to a maximum annual rate of
0.55%.
(3) During the first two contract years this charge is equal to the lesser of
$30 or 2% of your account value if it applies. Thereafter, the charge is $30
for each contract year.
(4) Deducted upon a withdrawal of amounts in excess of the 15% free withdrawal
amount and upon surrender of a contract.
(5) This charge is for providing a guaranteed minimum income benefit in
combination with the guaranteed minimum death benefit available under the
contract. The benefit base is described under "Our baseBUILDER Option" in
"Contract features and benefits."
<PAGE>
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FEE TABLE 13
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- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(6) The management fees for each portfolio cannot be increased without a vote of
that portfolio's shareholders.
(7) Portfolio shares are all subject to fees imposed under the distribution plan
(the "Rule 12b-1 Plan") adopted by EQ Advisors Trust pursuant to Rule 12b-1
under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The 12b-1 fee will not be
increased for the life of the contracts. Prior to October 18, 1999, the
total annual expenses for the Alliance Small Cap Growth portfolio were
limited to 1.20% under an expense limitation arrangement related to that
portfolio's Rule 12b-1 Plan. The arrangement is no longer in effect. The
amounts shown have been restated to reflect the expenses that would have
been incurred in 1998, absent the expense limitation agreement.
(8) The amounts shown as "Other Expenses" will fluctuate from year to year
depending on actual expenses. See footnote (9) for any expense limitation
agreements.
On October 18, 1999, the Alliance portfolios (other than EQ/Alliance Premier
Growth) became part of the portfolios of EQ Advisors Trust. The "Other
Expenses" for these portfolios have been restated to reflect the estimated
expenses that would have been incurred had these portfolios been portfolios
of EQ Advisors Trust for the year ended December 31, 1998. The restated
expenses reflect an increase of 0.01%.
(9) Equitable Life, EQ Advisors Trust's manager, has entered into an expense
limitation agreement with respect to certain portfolios. Under this
agreement Equitable Life has agreed to waive or limit its fees and assume
other expenses. Under the expense limitation agreement, total annual
operating expenses of certain portfolios (other than interest, taxes,
brokerage commissions, capitalized expenditures, extraordinary expenses, and
12b-1 fees) are limited as a percentage of the average daily net assets of
the following portfolios: 0.90% for EQ/Alliance Premier Growth; 0.30% for BT
Equity 500 Index; 0.50% for BT Small Company Index; 0.75% for BT
International Equity Index; 0.70% for Capital Guardian U.S. Equity and
Capital Guardian Research; 0.95% for Capital Guardian International; 0.80%
for EQ/Evergreen; 0.70% for EQ/Evergreen Foundation; 0.55% for JPM Core
Bond; 0.70% for Lazard Large Cap Value; 0.95% for Lazard Small Cap Value;
0.60% for MFS Growth with Income, MFS Research, MFS Emerging Growth
Companies, and Merrill Lynch Basic Value Equity; 0.95% for Merrill Lynch
World Strategy; 1.50% for Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Equity; 0.60% for
EQ/Putnam Growth & Income Value; 0.70% for EQ/Putnam Investors Growth; 0.95%
for EQ/Putnam International Equity. The expenses shown for the BT
International Equity Index, BT Small Company Index, EQ/Putnam Investors
Growth, and Lazard Large Cap Value portfolios reflect an increase effective
on May 1, 1999.
Absent the expense limitation, the "Other Expenses" for 1998 on an
annualized basis for each of the portfolios would have been as follows:
0.33% for BT Equity 500 Index; 1.31% for BT Small Company Index; 0.89% for
BT International Equity Index; 0.33% for JPM Core Bond; 0.40% for Lazard
Large Cap Value; 0.49% for Lazard Small Cap Value; 0.25% for MFS Research;
0.24% for MFS Emerging Growth Companies; 0.26% for Merrill Lynch Basic Value
Equity; 0.66% for Merrill Lynch World Strategy; 1.23% for Morgan Stanley
Emerging Markets Equity; 0.24% for EQ/Putnam Growth & Income Value; 0.29%
for EQ/Putnam Investors Growth; 0.51% for EQ/Putnam International Equity.
For the following portfolios, the "Other Expenses" for 1999, absent the
expense limitation, are estimated to be as follows: 0.74% for EQ/Alliance
Premier Growth, Capital Guardian U.S. Equity, and Capital Guardian Research;
1.03% for Capital Guardian International; 0.76% for EQ/Evergreen; 0.86% for
EQ/Evergreen Foundation; and 0.59% for MFS Growth with Income. Initial seed
capital was invested on December 31, 1998 for the EQ/Evergreen, EQ/Evergreen
Foundation, and MFS Growth with Income portfolios and April 30, 1999 for the
EQ/Alliance Premier Growth, Capital Guardian U.S. Equity, Capital Guardian
Research, and Capital Guardian International portfolios and therefore
expenses have been estimated.
Each portfolio may at a later date make a reimbursement to Equitable Life
for any of the management fees waived or limited and other expenses assumed
and paid by Equitable Life pursuant to the expense limitation agreement
provided that, among other things, such portfolio has reached sufficient
size to permit such reimbursement to be made and provided that the
portfolio's current annual operating expenses do not exceed the operating
expense limit determined for such portfolio. For more information see the
prospectus for EQ Advisors Trust.
<PAGE>
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14 FEE TABLE
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXAMPLES
The examples below show the expenses that a hypothetical contract owner (who has
purchased a Flexible Premium IRA or Flexible Premium Roth IRA contract and
elected baseBUILDER) would pay in the situations illustrated. We assume that a
$1,000 contribution is invested in one of the variable investment options listed
and a 5% annual return is earned on the assets in that option.(1) The annual
administrative charge is based on the charges that apply to a mix of estimated
contract sizes, resulting in an estimated administrative charge for the purpose
of these examples of $0.57 per $1,000. Since the annual administrative charge
only applies under Flexible Premium IRA and Flexible Premium Roth IRA contracts,
the charges shown in the examples would be lower for NQ, Rollover IRA, Roth
Conversion IRA, QP, and Rollover TSA contracts.
These examples should not be considered a representation of past or future
expenses for each option. Actual expenses may be greater or less than those
shown. Similarly, the annual rate of return assumed in the examples is not an
estimate or guarantee of future investment performance.
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IF YOU SURRENDER YOUR CONTRACT AT THE END IF YOU DO NOT SURRENDER YOUR CONTRACT AT
OF EACH PERIOD SHOWN, THE EXPENSES THE END OF EACH PERIOD SHOWN, THE
WOULD BE: EXPENSES WOULD BE:
------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------
1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS 1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Alliance Money Market $ 92.71 $126.18 $162.50 $286.88 $ 25.86 $ 79.65 $136.33 $ 291.77
Alliance High Yield $ 95.29 $133.91 $175.37 $312.35 $ 28.44 $ 87.38 $149.20 $ 317.24
Alliance Common Stock $ 92.91 $126.77 $163.49 $288.86 $ 26.06 $ 80.24 $137.32 $ 293.75
Alliance Aggressive Stock $ 94.69 $132.13 $172.40 $306.52 $ 27.84 $ 85.60 $146.23 $ 311.41
Alliance Small Cap Growth $ 98.46 $143.37 $191.01 $342.85 $ 31.61 $ 96.84 $164.84 $ 347.74
EQ/Alliance Premier Growth $ 97.87 $141.59 -- -- $ 31.02 $ 95.06 -- --
BT Equity 500 Index $ 91.91 $123.78 $158.50 $278.91 $ 25.06 $ 77.25 $132.33 $ 283.80
BT Small Company Index $ 93.90 $129.75 $168.45 $298.71 $ 27.05 $ 83.22 $142.28 $ 303.60
BT International Equity Index $ 96.38 $137.17 $180.77 $322.94 $ 29.53 $ 90.64 $154.60 $ 327.83
Capital Guardian U.S. Equity $ 95.88 $135.69 -- -- $ 29.03 $ 89.16 -- --
Capital Guardian Research $ 95.88 $135.69 -- -- $ 29.03 $ 89.16 -- --
Capital Guardian International $ 98.36 $143.07 -- -- $ 31.51 $ 96.54 -- --
EQ/Evergreen $ 96.88 $138.66 -- -- $ 30.03 $ 92.13 -- --
EQ/Evergreen Foundation $ 95.88 $135.69 -- -- $ 29.03 $ 89.16 -- --
JPM Core Bond $ 94.40 $131.25 $170.95 $303.63 $ 27.55 $ 84.72 $144.78 $ 308.52
Lazard Large Cap Value $ 95.88 $135.69 $178.31 $318.13 $ 29.03 $ 89.16 $152.14 $ 323.02
Lazard Small Cap Value $ 98.36 $143.07 $190.52 $341.90 $ 31.51 $ 96.54 $164.35 $ 346.79
MFS Growth with Income $ 94.89 $132.71 -- -- $ 28.04 $ 86.18 -- --
MFS Research $ 94.89 $132.71 $173.39 $308.48 $ 28.04 $ 86.18 $147.22 $ 313.37
MFS Emerging Growth Companies $ 94.89 $132.71 $173.39 $308.48 $ 28.04 $ 86.18 $147.22 $ 313.37
Merrill Lynch Basic Value Equity $ 94.89 $132.71 $173.39 $308.48 $ 28.04 $ 86.18 $147.22 $ 313.37
Merrill Lynch World Strategy $ 98.36 $143.07 $190.52 $341.90 $ 31.51 $ 96.54 $164.35 $ 346.79
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Equity $103.82 $159.20 $216.95 $392.22 $ 36.97 $112.67 $190.78 $ 397.11
EQ/Putnam Growth & Income Value $ 94.89 $132.71 $173.39 $308.48 $ 28.04 $ 86.18 $147.22 $ 313.37
EQ/Putnam Investors Growth $ 95.88 $135.69 $178.31 $318.13 $ 29.03 $ 89.16 $152.14 $ 323.02
EQ/Putnam International Equity $ 98.36 $143.07 $190.52 $341.90 $ 31.51 $ 96.54 $164.35 $346.79
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
- ----------------
(1) The amount accumulated from the $1,000 contribution could not be paid in the
form of an annuity payout option at the end of any of the periods shown in
the examples. This is because if the amount applied to purchase an annuity
payout option is less than $2,000, or the initial payment is less than $20,
we may pay the amount to you in a single sum instead of payments under an
annuity payout option. See "Accessing your money."
<PAGE>
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FEE TABLE 15
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- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IF YOU ELECT AN ANNUITY PAYOUT OPTION:
Assuming an annuity payout option could be issued (see note (1) above), and you
elect a life annuity payout option, the expenses shown in the example for "if
you do not surrender your contract" would, in each case, be increased by $4.43
based on the average amount applied to annuity payout options in 1998. See
"Annuity administrative fee" in "Charges and expenses."
<PAGE>
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16 CONTRACT FEATURES AND BENEFITS
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- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1
CONTRACT FEATURES AND BENEFITS
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOW YOU CAN PURCHASE AND CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR CONTRACT
You may purchase a contract by making payments to us that we call
"contributions." We require a minimum contribution amount for each type of
contract purchased. The following table summarizes our rules regarding
contributions to your contract. All ages in the table refer to the age of the
annuitant named in the contract.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The "annuitant" is the person who is the measuring life for determining contract
benefits. The annuitant is not necessarily the contract owner.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AVAILABLE
CONTRACT FOR ANNUITANT MINIMUM LIMITATIONS ON
TYPE ISSUE AGES CONTRIBUTIONS SOURCE OF CONTRIBUTIONS CONTRIBUTIONS
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
NQ o 0 through 90 o $5,000 (initial) o After-tax money. o For annuitants up to
age 83 at contract
o 0 through 85 in o $1,000 (additional) o Paid to us by check or issue, additional
New York and transfer of contract contributions may be
Pennsylvania value in a tax-deferred made up to age 84.
exchange under
Section 1035 of the o For annuitants age 84
Internal Revenue Code. and older additional
contributions may be
made up to one year
beyond your issue age.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flexible 20 through 70 o $2,000 (initial) o "Regular" traditional o No regular IRA
Premium IRA IRA contributions. contributions in the
o $50 (additional after calendar year you turn
the first contract year) o Rollovers from a age 70 1/2 and
qualified plan. thereafter.
o Rollovers from a TSA.
o Total regular
o Rollovers from another contributions may not
traditional individual exceed $2,000 for a
retirement year.
arrangement.
o No additional rollover
o Direct custodian- or direct transfer
to-custodian transfers contributions after
from another age 71.
traditional individual
retirement o Rollover and direct
arrangement transfer contributions
after age 70 1/2 must
be net of required
minimum distributions
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
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CONTRACT FEATURES AND BENEFITS 17
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AVAILABLE
CONTRACT FOR ANNUITANT MINIMUM LIMITATIONS ON
TYPE ISSUE AGES CONTRIBUTIONS SOURCE OF CONTRIBUTIONS CONTRIBUTIONS
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Although we accept rollover and direct transfer contributions under the Flexible
Premium IRA contract, we intend that this contract be used for ongoing regular
contributions.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rollover IRA o 20 through 90 o $5,000 (initial) o Rollovers from a o For annuitants up to
qualified plan. age 83 at contract
o 20 through 85 in o $1,000 (additional) issue, additional
New York and o Rollovers from a TSA. contributions may be
Pennsylvania o Rollovers from another made up to age 84.
traditional individual
retirement o For annuitants age 84
arrangement. and older additional
contributions may be
o Direct made up to one year
custodian-to-custodian beyond your issue age.
transfers from another
traditional individual o Contributions after
retirement age 70 1/2 must be net
arrangement. of required minimum
distributions.
o Regular IRA
contributions are not
permitted.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flexible o 20 through 90 o $2,000 (initial) o Regular after-tax o For annuitants up to
Premium Roth contributions. age 83 at contract
IRA o 20 through 85 in o $50 (additional after issue, additional
New York and the first contract year) o Rollovers from another contributions may be
Pennsylvania Roth IRA. made up to age 84.
o Conversion rollovers o For annuitants age 84
from a traditional IRA. and older additional
contributions may be
o Direct transfers from made up to one beyond
another Roth IRA. your issue age.
o Contributions are
subject to income limits
and other tax rules. See
"Contributions to Roth
IRAs" in "Tax
information."
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</TABLE>
<PAGE>
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18 CONTRACT FEATURES AND BENEFITS
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AVAILABLE
CONTRACT FOR ANNUITANT MINIMUM LIMITATIONS ON
TYPE ISSUE AGES CONTRIBUTIONS SOURCE OF CONTRIBUTIONS CONTRIBUTIONS
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Although we accept rollover and direct transfer contributions under the Flexible
Premium Roth IRA contract, we intend that this contract be used for ongoing regular
contributions.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roth o 20 through 90 o $5,000 (initial) o Rollovers from another o For annuitants up to
Conversion IRA Roth IRA. age 83 at contract
o 20 through 85 in o $1,000 (additional) issue, additional
New York and o Conversion rollovers contributions may be
Pennsylvania from a traditional IRA. made up to age 84.
o Direct transfers from o For annuitants age 84
another Roth IRA. and older additional
contributions may be
made up to one year
beyond your issue age.
o Conversion rollovers
after age 70 1/2 must be
net of required
minimum distributions
for the traditional IRA
you are rolling over.
o You cannot roll over
funds from a traditional
IRA if your adjusted
gross income is
$100,000 or more.
o Regular after-tax
contributions are not
permitted.
Only rollover and direct transfer contributions are permitted under the Roth
Conversion IRA contract.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
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CONTRACT FEATURES AND BENEFITS 19
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AVAILABLE
CONTRACT FOR ANNUITANT MINIMUM LIMITATIONS ON
TYPE ISSUE AGES CONTRIBUTIONS SOURCE OF CONTRIBUTIONS CONTRIBUTIONS
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
QP 20 through 75 o $5,000 (initial) o Only transfer o Regular ongoing
contributions from an payroll contributions
o $1,000 (additional) existing qualified plan are not permitted.
trust as a change of
investment vehicle o No additional transfer
under the plan. contributions after
age 76.
o The plan must be
qualified under Section o For defined benefit
401(a) of the Internal plans, employee
Revenue Code. permitted.
o For 401(k) plans, o Contributions after age
transferred 70 1/2 must be net of
contributions may only any required minimum
include employee distributions.
pre-tax contributions.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rollover TSA o 20 through 90 o $5,000 (initial) o Rollovers from another o For annuitants up to
TSA contract or age 83 at contract
o 20 through 85 in o $1,000 (additional) arrangement. issue, additional
New York and contributions may be
Pennsylvania o Rollovers from a made up to age 84.
traditional IRA which
was a "conduit" for o For annuitants age 84
TSA funds previously and older additional
rolled over. contributions may be
made up to one year
o Direct transfers from beyond your issue age.
another contract or
arrangement under o Contributions after
Section 403(b) of the age 70 1/2 must be net
Internal Revenue Code, of required minimum
complying with IRS distributions.
Revenue Ruling 90-24.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
See "Tax information" for a more detailed discussion of sources of contributions
and certain contribution limitations. We may refuse to accept any contribution
if the sum of all contributions under all Equitable Accumulator contracts with
the same annuitant would then total more than $1,500,000. We reserve the right
to limit aggregate contributions made after the first contract year to 150% of
first-year contributions. We may also refuse to accept any contribution if the
sum of all contributions under all Equitable Life annuity accumulation contracts
that you own would then total more than $2,500,000.
For information on when contributions are credited under your contract see
"Dates and prices at which contract events occur" in "More information" later in
this prospectus.
<PAGE>
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
20 CONTRACT FEATURES AND BENEFITS
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OWNER AND ANNUITANT REQUIREMENTS
Under NQ contracts, the annuitant can be different than the owner. A joint owner
may also be named. Only natural persons can be joint owners. This means that an
entity such as a corporation cannot be a joint owner.
Under all IRA and Rollover TSA contracts, the owner and annuitant must be the
same person.
Under QP contracts, the owner must be the trustee of the qualified plan and the
annuitant must be the plan participant/employee. See Appendix I for more
information on QP contracts.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A "participant" is an individual who is currently, or was formerly,
participating in an eligible employer's QP or TSA plan.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOW YOU CAN MAKE YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Except as noted below, contributions must be by check drawn on a U.S. bank, in
U.S. dollars, and made payable to Equitable Life. We do not accept third-party
checks endorsed to us except for rollover contributions, tax-free exchanges or
trustee checks that involve no refund. All checks are subject to our ability to
collect the funds. We reserve the right to reject a payment if it is received in
an unacceptable form.
For your convenience, we will accept initial and additional contributions by
wire transmittal from certain broker-dealers who have agreements with us for
this purpose. Additional contributions may also be made under our automatic
investment program. These methods of payment are discussed in detail in "More
information" later in this prospectus.
Your initial contribution must generally be accompanied by an application and
any other form we need to process the payments. If any information is missing or
unclear, we will try to obtain that information. If we are unable to obtain all
of the information we require within five business days after we receive an
incomplete application or form, we will inform the registered representative
submitting the application on your behalf. We will then return the contribution
to you unless you specifically direct us to keep your contribution until we
receive the required information.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our "business day" is any day the New York Stock Exchange is open for trading.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SECTION 1035 EXCHANGES
You may apply the value of an existing nonqualified deferred annuity contract
(or life insurance or endowment contract) to purchase an Equitable Accumulator
NQ contract in a tax-free exchange if you follow certain procedures as shown in
the form that we require you to use. Also see "Tax information" later in this
prospectus.
WHAT ARE YOUR INVESTMENT OPTIONS UNDER THE CONTRACT?
Your investment options are the variable investment options, the fixed maturity
options, and the account for special dollar cost averaging.
VARIABLE INVESTMENT OPTIONS
Your investment results in any one of the 26 variable investment options will
depend on the investment performance of the underlying portfolios. Listed below
are the currently available portfolios, their investment objectives, and their
advisers.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can choose from among 26 variable investment options.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<PAGE>
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTRACT FEATURES AND BENEFITS 21
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PORTFOLIOS OF EQ ADVISORS TRUST
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PORTFOLIO NAME OBJECTIVE ADVISER
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S> <C> <C>
High level of current income while preserving
Alliance Money Market assets and maintaining liquidity Alliance Capital Management L.P.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
High return by maximizing current income and,
to the extent consistent with that objective,
Alliance High Yield capital appreciation Alliance Capital Management L.P.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Long-term growth of capital and increasing
Alliance Common Stock income Alliance Capital Management L.P.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alliance Aggressive Stock Long-term growth of capital Alliance Capital Management L.P.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alliance Small Cap Growth Long-term growth of capital Alliance Capital Management L.P.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQ/Alliance Premier Growth Long-term growth of capital Alliance Capital Management L.P.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Replicate as closely as possible (before
deduction of portfolio expenses) the total return
of the Standard & Poor's 500 Composite Stock
BT Equity 500 Index Price Index Bankers Trust Company
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Replicate as closely as possible (before
deduction of portfolio expenses) the total return
BT Small Company Index of the Russell 2000 Index Bankers Trust Company
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Replicate as closely as possible (before
deduction of portfolio expenses) the total return
of the Morgan Stanley Capital International
BT International Equity Index Europe, Australia, Far East Index Bankers Trust Company
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Capital Guardian U.S. Equity Long-term growth of capital Capital Guardian Trust Company
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Capital Guardian Research Long-term growth of capital Capital Guardian Trust Company
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Long-term growth of capital by investing
Capital Guardian International primarily in non-United States equity securities Capital Guardian Trust Company
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQ/Evergreen Capital appreciation Evergreen Asset Management Corp.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In order of priority, reasonable income,
EQ/Evergreen Foundation conservation of capital, and capital appreciation Evergreen Asset Management Corp.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
High total return consistent with moderate risk
JPM Core Bond of capital and maintenance of liquidity J. P. Morgan Investment Management Inc.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lazard Large Cap Value Capital appreciation Lazard Asset Management
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lazard Small Cap Value Capital appreciation Lazard Asset Management
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reasonable current income and long-term
MFS Growth with Income growth of capital and income Massachusetts Financial Services Company
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
22 CONTRACT FEATURES AND BENEFITS
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PORTFOLIOS OF EQ ADVISORS TRUST (CONTINUED)
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PORTFOLIO NAME OBJECTIVE ADVISER
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S> <C> <C>
MFS Research Long-term growth of capital and future income Massachusetts Financial Services Company
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MFS Emerging Growth Long-term capital growth Massachusetts Financial Services Company
Companies
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Merrill Lynch Basic Value Equity Capital appreciation and secondarily, income Merrill Lynch Asset Management, L.P.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Merrill Lynch World Strategy High total investment return Merrill Lynch Asset Management, L.P.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morgan Stanley Emerging Long-term capital appreciation Morgan Stanley Asset Management
Markets Equity
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQ/Putnam Growth & Income Capital growth, current income is a secondary Putnam Investment Management, Inc.
Value objective
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQ/Putnam Investors Growth Long-term growth of capital and any increased Putnam Investment Management, Inc.
income that results from this growth
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQ/Putnam International Equity Capital appreciation Putnam Investment Management, Inc.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
Other important information about the portfolios is included in the prospectus
for EQ Advisors Trust attached at the end of this prospectus.
FIXED MATURITY OPTIONS
We offer fixed maturity options with maturity dates ranging from one to ten
years. You can allocate your contributions to one or more of these fixed
maturity options. These amounts become part of our general account assets. They
will accumulate interest at the "rate to maturity" for each fixed maturity
option. The total amount you allocate to and accumulate in each fixed maturity
option is called the "fixed maturity amount." The fixed maturity options are not
available in contracts issued in Maryland.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fixed maturity options range from one to ten years to maturity.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The rate to maturity you will receive for each fixed maturity option is the rate
to maturity in effect for new contributions allocated to that fixed maturity
option on the date we apply your contribution. If you make any withdrawals or
transfers from a fixed maturity option before the maturity date, we will make a
"market value adjustment" that may increase or decrease any fixed maturity
amount you have left in that fixed maturity option. We discuss the market value
adjustment below and in greater detail later in this prospectus in "More
information."
On the maturity date of a fixed maturity option your fixed maturity amount,
assuming you have not made any withdrawals or transfers, will equal your
contribution to that fixed maturity option plus interest, at the rate to
maturity for that contribution, to the date of the calculation. This is the
fixed maturity option's "maturity value." Before maturity, the current value we
will report for your fixed maturity amounts will reflect a market value
adjustment. Your current value will reflect the market value adjustment that we
would make if you were to withdraw all of your fixed maturity amounts on the
date of the report. We call this your "market adjusted amount."
<PAGE>
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTRACT FEATURES AND BENEFITS 23
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FIXED MATURITY OPTIONS AND MATURITY DATES. We currently offer fixed maturity
options ending on February 15th for each of the maturity years 2001 through
2010. Not all of these fixed maturity options will be available for annuitant
ages 76 and older. See "Allocating your contributions" below. As fixed maturity
options expire, we expect to add maturity years so that generally 10 fixed
maturity options are available at any time.
We will not accept allocations to a fixed maturity option if on the date the
contribution is to be applied:
o the fixed maturity option's maturity date is within the current calendar
year; or
o the rate to maturity is 3%.
YOUR CHOICES AT THE MATURITY DATE. We will notify you on or before December 31st
of the year before each of your fixed maturity options is scheduled to mature.
At that time, you may choose to have one of the following take place on the
maturity date, as long as none of the conditions listed above or in "Allocating
your contributions," below would apply:
(a) transfer the maturity value into another available fixed maturity option or
into any of the variable investment options; or
(b) withdraw the maturity value (there may be a withdrawal charge).
If we do not receive your choice on or before the fixed maturity option's
maturity date, we will automatically transfer your maturity value into the fixed
maturity option that will mature next.
MARKET VALUE ADJUSTMENT. If you make any withdrawals (including transfers,
surrender of your contract, or when we make deductions for charges) from a fixed
maturity option before it matures we will make a market value adjustment, which
will increase or decrease any fixed maturity amount you have in that fixed
maturity option. The amount of the adjustment will depend on two factors:
(a) the difference between the rate to maturity that applies to the amount being
withdrawn and the rate to maturity in effect at that time for new
allocations to that same fixed maturity option, and
(b) the length of time remaining until the maturity date.
In general, if interest rates rise from the time that you originally allocate an
amount to a fixed maturity option to the time that you take a withdrawal, the
market value adjustment will be negative. Likewise, if interest rates drop at
the end of that time, the market value adjustment will be positive. Also, the
amount of the market value adjustment, either up or down, will be greater the
longer the time remaining until the fixed maturity option's maturity date.
Therefore, it is possible that the market value adjustment could greatly reduce
your value in the fixed maturity options, particularly in the fixed maturity
options with later maturity dates.
We provide an illustration of the market adjusted amount of specified maturity
values, an explanation of how we calculate the market value adjustment, and
information concerning our general account and investments purchased with
amounts allocated to the fixed maturity options, in "More information" later in
this prospectus. Appendix II of this prospectus provides an example of how the
market value adjustment is calculated.
ACCOUNT FOR SPECIAL DOLLAR COST AVERAGING
The account for special dollar cost averaging is part of our general account. We
pay interest at guaranteed rates in this account. We will credit interest to the
amounts that you have in the account for special dollar cost averaging every
day. We set the interest rates periodically, according to procedures that we
have. We reserve the right to change these procedures.
We guarantee to pay our current interest rate that is in effect on the date that
your contribution is allocated to this account. Your guaranteed interest rate
for the time period you select will be shown in your contract. The rate will
never be less than 3%.
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24 CONTRACT FEATURES AND BENEFITS
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ALLOCATING YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS
You may choose from among three ways to allocate your contributions under your
contract: self-directed, principal assurance, or dollar cost averaging.
SELF-DIRECTED ALLOCATION
You may allocate your contributions to one or more, or all, of the variable
investment options and fixed maturity options. Allocations must be in whole
percentages and you may change your allocations at any time. However, the total
of your allocations must equal 100%. If the annuitant is age 76 or older, you
may allocate contributions to fixed maturity options if their maturities are
five years or less. Also, you may not allocate amounts to fixed maturity options
with maturity dates that are later than the February 15th immediately following
the date annuity payments are to begin.
PRINCIPAL ASSURANCE ALLOCATION
Under this allocation program you select a fixed maturity option. We specify the
portion of your initial contribution to be allocated to that fixed maturity
option in an amount that will cause the maturity value to equal the amount of
your entire initial contribution on the fixed maturity option's maturity date.
The maturity date you select generally may not be later than 10 years, or
earlier than 7 years from your contract date. You allocate the rest of your
contribution to the variable investment options however you choose.
For example, if your initial contribution is $10,000, and on November 1, 1999
you chose the fixed maturity option with a maturity date of February 15, 2009,
since the rate to maturity was 5.68% on November 1, 1999, we would have
allocated $5,987.74 to that fixed maturity option and the balance to your choice
of variable investment options. On the maturity date your value in the fixed
maturity option would be $10,000.
The principal assurance allocation is only available for annuitant ages 75 or
younger when the contract is issued. If you are purchasing a Rollover IRA,
Flexible Premium IRA, QP, or Rollover TSA contract, before you select a maturity
year that would extend beyond the year in which you will reach age 701|M/2, you
should consider whether your value in the variable investment options, or your
other traditional IRA or TSA funds are sufficient to meet your required minimum
distributions. See "Tax information."
You may not elect principal assurance if the special dollar cost averaging
program is in effect.
DOLLAR COST AVERAGING
We offer two dollar cost averaging programs. Each program allows you to
gradually allocate amounts to the variable investment options by periodically
transferring approximately the same dollar amount to the variable investment
options you select. This will cause you to purchase more units if the unit's
value is low and fewer units if the unit's value is high. Therefore, you may get
a lower average cost per unit over the long term. These plans of investing,
however, do not guarantee that you will earn a profit or be protected against
losses.
Units measure your value in each variable investment option.
SPECIAL DOLLAR COST AVERAGING PROGRAMS. Under the special dollar cost averaging
program, you may choose to allocate all or a portion of your initial
contribution to the account for special dollar cost averaging. However, you must
allocate at least $2,000 to the account for special dollar cost averaging for
this program. In Pennsylvania we refer to this program as "enhanced rate dollar
cost averaging."
You may have your account value transferred to any of the variable investment
options. We will transfer amounts from the account for special dollar cost
averaging into the variable investment options over the time period that you
select. We offer time periods of 6, 12, or 18 months. We may also offer other
time periods. Your registered representative can provide information on the time
periods currently available in your state or you may contact our processing
office. You may only select one time period. Each time period has a different
interest rate. Once you select a time period, you may not
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CONTRACT FEATURES AND BENEFITS 25
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change it. Currently, your account value will be transferred from the account
for special dollar cost averaging into the variable investment options on a
monthly basis. We may offer this program in the future with transfers on a
different basis. We will transfer all amounts out of the account for special
dollar cost averaging by the end of the chosen time period. The transfer date
will be the same day of the month as the contract date, but not later than the
28th day of the month.
If you choose to allocate only a portion of your initial contribution to the
account for special dollar cost averaging, the remaining balance of your initial
contribution will be allocated to the variable investment options or fixed
maturity options according to your instructions. You may not allocate additional
contributions to the account for special dollar cost averaging.
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The account for special dollar cost averaging provides guaranteed interest.
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The only amounts that should be transferred from the account for special dollar
cost averaging are your regularly scheduled transfers to the variable investment
options. If you request to transfer or withdraw any other amounts, we will
transfer all of the value that you have remaining in the account for special
dollar cost averaging to the investment options according to the allocation
percentages we have on file for you. As a result, you will no longer be able to
participate in the special dollar cost averaging program. You may also ask us to
cancel your participation at any time.
In the state of Oregon where the account for special dollar cost averaging is
not available, we offer a special dollar cost averaging program in the Alliance
Money Market option. Under this program we will not deduct the mortality and
expense risks, administrative and distribution charges from assets in the
Alliance Money Market option. You may not allocate amounts other than your
initial contribution to this program.
GENERAL DOLLAR COST AVERAGING PROGRAM. If your value in the Alliance Money
Market option is at least $5,000, you may choose, at any time, to have a
specified dollar amount or percentage of your value transferred from that option
to the other variable investment options. You can select to have transfers made
on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. The transfer date will be the same
calendar day of the month as the contract date, but not later than the 28th day
of the month. You can also specify the number of transfers or instruct us to
continue making the transfers until all amounts in the Alliance Money Market
option have been transferred out.
The minimum amount that we will transfer each time is $250. The maximum amount
we will transfer is equal to your value in the Alliance Money Market option at
the time the program is elected, divided by the number of transfers scheduled to
be made.
If, on any transfer date, your value in the Alliance Money Market option is
equal to or less than the amount you have elected to have transferred, the
entire amount will be transferred. The general dollar cost averaging program
will then end. You may change the transfer amount once each contract year or
cancel this program at any time.
You may not elect dollar cost averaging if you are participating in the
rebalancing program. See "Transferring your money among investment options."
YOUR BENEFIT BASE
The benefit base is used to calculate both the guaranteed minimum income benefit
and the 5% roll up to age 80 guaranteed minimum death benefit. See "Our
baseBUILDER option" and "Guaranteed minimum death benefit" below. The benefit
base is equal to:
o your initial contribution and any additional contributions to the contract;
plus
o the amount of any loan transferred to the loan reserve account (applies to
Rollover TSA contracts only); plus
o daily interest through the annuitant's age 80; less
o a deduction that reflects any withdrawals you make (the amount of the
deduction is described under "How
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26 CONTRACT FEATURES AND BENEFITS
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withdrawals affect your guaranteed minimum income benefit and guaranteed minimum
death benefit" in "Accessing your money"); less
o a deduction for any withdrawal charge remaining when you exercise your
guaranteed minimum income benefit; and less
o a deduction for any outstanding loan plus accrued interest on the date that
you exercise your guaranteed minimum income benefit (applies to Rollover TSA
only).
The effective annual interest rate credited to the benefit base is:
o 5% for the benefit base with respect to the variable investment options
(other than the Alliance Money Market option) and the account for special
dollar cost averaging; and
o 3% for the benefit base with respect to the Alliance Money Market option,
the fixed maturity options and the loan reserve account.
No interest is credited after the annuitant is age 80.
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Your benefit base is not an account value or a cash value.
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ANNUITY PURCHASE FACTORS
Annuity purchase factors are the factors applied to determine your periodic
payments under the guaranteed minimum income benefit and annuity payout options.
The guaranteed minimum income benefit is discussed under "Our baseBUILDER
option" and annuity payout options are discussed under "Your annuity payout
options" in "Accessing your money" later in this prospectus. The guaranteed
annuity purchase factors are those factors specified in your contract. The
current annuity purchase factors are those factors that are in effect at any
given time. Annuity purchase factors are based on interest rates, mortality
tables, frequency of payments, the form of annuity benefit, and the annuitant's
(and any joint annuitant's) age and sex in certain instances.
OUR BASEBUILDER OPTION
The baseBUILDER option offers you a guaranteed minimum income benefit combined
with the guaranteed minimum death benefit available under the contract. The
baseBUILDER benefit is available if the annuitant is between the ages of 20 and
75 at the time the contract is issued. There is an additional charge for the
baseBUILDER benefit which is described under "baseBUILDER benefit charge" in
"Charges and expenses."
The guaranteed minimum income benefit component of baseBUILDER is described
below. Whether you elect baseBUILDER or not, the guaranteed minimum death
benefit is provided under the contract. The guaranteed minimum death benefit is
described under "Guaranteed minimum death benefit." baseBUILDER is currently not
available in New York.
The guaranteed minimum income benefit guarantees you a minimum amount of fixed
income for your life (or the life of a joint annuitant, if applicable) under our
life annuity payout option. For more information on the life annuity payout
option, see "Your annuity payout options" in "Accessing your money" later in
this prospectus.
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The guaranteed minimum income benefit should be regarded as a safety net only.
It provides income protection if you elect an income payout while the annuitant
is alive.
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When you exercise the guaranteed minimum income benefit, the annual lifetime
income that you will receive under the life annuity payout option will be the
greater of (i) your guaranteed minimum income benefit which is calculated by
applying your benefit base at guaranteed annuity purchase factors, or (ii) the
income provided by applying your actual account value at our then current
annuity purchase factors.
When you elect to receive annual lifetime income, your contract will terminate
and you will receive a life annuity payout option. You will begin receiving
payments one payment period after the life annuity payout option is issued.
Payments end with the last payment before the annuitant's (or joint annuitant's,
if applicable) death. There is no
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CONTRACT FEATURES AND BENEFITS 27
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continuation of benefits following the annuitant's (or joint annuitant's, if
applicable) death.
Before you elect baseBUILDER, you should consider the fact that the guaranteed
minimum income benefit is based on conservative actuarial factors. Therefore,
even if your account value is less than your benefit base, you may generate
more income by applying your account value to current annuity purchase
factors. We will make this comparison for you when the need arises.
ILLUSTRATIONS OF GUARANTEED MINIMUM INCOME BENEFIT. The table below
illustrates the guaranteed minimum income benefit amounts per $100,000 of
initial contribution, for a male annuitant age 60 (at issue) on the contract
date anniversaries indicated, using the guaranteed annuity purchase factors as
of the date of this prospectus, assuming no additional contributions,
withdrawals, or loans under Rollover TSA contracts, and assuming there were no
allocations to the Alliance Money Market option or the fixed maturity options.
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GUARANTEED MINIMUM
CONTRACT DATE INCOME BENEFIT - ANNUAL INCOME
ANNIVERSARY AT EXERCISE PAYABLE FOR LIFE
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10 $10,816
15 $16,132
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EXERCISE OF GUARANTEED MINIMUM INCOME BENEFIT. On each contract date
anniversary that you are eligible to exercise the guaranteed minimum income
benefit, we will send you an eligibility notice illustrating how much income
could be provided as of the contract anniversary. You may notify us within 30
days following the contract date anniversary if you want to exercise the
guaranteed minimum income benefit. You must return your contract to us in
order to exercise this benefit. The amount of income you actually receive will
be determined when we receive your request to exercise the benefit. You will
begin receiving payments one payment period after the life annuity payout
contract is issued.
You (or the successor annuitant/owner, if applicable) will be eligible to
exercise the guaranteed minimum income benefit as follows:
o If the annuitant was at least age 20 and no older than age 44 when the
contract was issued, you are eligible to exercise the guaranteed minimum
income benefit within 30 days following each contract date anniversary
beginning with the 15th contract date anniversary.
o If the annuitant was at least age 45 and no older than age 49 when the
contract was issued, you are eligible to exercise the guaranteed minimum
income benefit within 30 days following each contract date anniversary after
the annuitant is age 60.
o If the annuitant was at least age 50 and no older than age 75 when the
contract was issued, you are eligible to exercise the guaranteed minimum
income benefit within 30 days following each contract date anniversary
beginning with the 10th contract date anniversary.
Please note:
(i) the latest date you may exercise the guaranteed minimum income benefit
is the contract date anniversary following the annuitant's 85th
birthday; and
(ii) if the annuitant was age 75 when the contract was issued, the only time
you may exercise the guaranteed minimum income benefit is within 30 days
following the first contract date anniversary that it becomes available;
and
(iii) if the annuitant was older than age 60 at the time an IRA, QP or
Rollover TSA contract was issued, the baseBUILDER may not be an
appropriate feature because the minimum distributions required by tax
law must begin before the guaranteed minimum income benefit can be
exercised.
For QP and Rollover TSA contracts, if you are eligible to exercise your
guaranteed minimum income benefit, we will first roll over amounts in such
contract to a Rollover IRA contract. You will be the owner of the Rollover IRA
contract.
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28 CONTRACT FEATURES AND BENEFITS
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GUARANTEED MINIMUM DEATH BENEFIT
A guaranteed minimum death benefit is provided as part of the baseBUILDER
benefit. A guaranteed minimum death benefit is also provided under your
contract even if you do not elect baseBUILDER. In this case, the baseBUILDER
benefit charge does not apply.
GUARANTEED MINIMUM DEATH BENEFIT APPLICABLE FOR ANNUITANT AGES 0 THROUGH 79 AT
ISSUE OF NQ CONTRACTS; 20 THROUGH 79 AT ISSUE OF ROLLOVER IRA, ROTH CONVERSION
IRA, FLEXIBLE PREMIUM ROTH IRA, AND ROLLOVER TSA CONTRACTS; 20 THROUGH 70 AT
ISSUE OF FLEXIBLE PREMIUM IRA CONTRACTS; AND 20 THROUGH 75 AT ISSUE OF QP
CONTRACTS.
You must elect either the "5% roll up to age 80" or the "annual ratchet to age
80" guaranteed minimum death benefit when you apply for a contract. Once you
have made your election, you may not change it.
5% ROLL UP TO AGE 80. This guaranteed minimum death benefit is calculated
using the benefit base described earlier in "Your benefit base." This
guaranteed minimum death benefit is not available in New York.
ANNUAL RATCHET TO AGE 80. On the contract date, your guaranteed minimum death
benefit equals your initial contribution. Then, on each contract date
anniversary, we will determine your guaranteed minimum death benefit by
comparing your current guaranteed minimum death benefit to your account value
on that contract date anniversary. If your account value is higher than your
guaranteed minimum death benefit, we will increase your guaranteed minimum
death benefit to equal your account value. On the other hand, if your account
value on the contract date anniversary is less than your guaranteed minimum
death benefit, we will not adjust your guaranteed minimum death benefit either
up or down.
If you make additional contributions, we will increase your current guaranteed
minimum death benefit by the dollar amount of the contribution on the date the
contribution is allocated to your investment options. If you take a withdrawal
from your contract, we will reduce your guaranteed minimum death benefit on
the date you take the withdrawal.
GUARANTEED MINIMUM DEATH BENEFIT APPLICABLE FOR ANNUITANT AGES 80 THROUGH 90
AT ISSUE OF NQ, ROLLOVER IRA, ROTH CONVERSION IRA, FLEXIBLE PREMIUM ROTH IRA,
AND ROLLOVER TSA CONTRACTS.
On the contract date, your guaranteed minimum death benefit equals your
initial contribution. Thereafter, it will be increased by the dollar amount of
any additional contributions. We will reduce your guaranteed minimum death
benefit if you take any withdrawals.
Please see "How withdrawals affect your guaranteed minimum income benefit and
guaranteed minimum death benefit" in "Accessing your money" for information on
how withdrawals affect your guaranteed minimum death benefit. For contracts
issued in New York, the guaranteed minimum death benefit at the annuitant's
death will never be less than your value in the variable investment options,
plus the sum of the fixed maturity amounts in each fixed maturity option.
See Appendix III for an example of how we calculate the guaranteed minimum
death benefit.
YOUR RIGHT TO CANCEL WITHIN A CERTAIN NUMBER OF DAYS
If for any reason you are not satisfied with your contract, you may return it
to us for a refund. To exercise this cancellation right you must mail the
contract directly to our processing office within 10 days after you receive
it. If state law requires, this "free look" period may be longer.
Generally, your refund will equal your account value under the contract and
will reflect (i) any investment gain or loss in the variable investment
options (less the daily charges we deduct), (ii) any positive or negative
market value adjustments in the fixed maturity options, and (iii) any
guaranteed interest in the account for special dollar cost averaging, through
the date we receive your contract. Some states require that we refund the full
amount of your
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CONTRACT FEATURES AND BENEFITS 29
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contribution (not reflecting (i), (ii) or (iii) above). For any IRA contract
returned to us within seven days after you receive it, we are required to
refund the full amount of your contribution.
We may require that you wait six months before you may apply for a contract
with us again if:
o you cancel your contract during the free look period; or
o you change your mind before you receive your contract whether we have
received your contribution or not.
Please see "Tax information" for possible consequences of cancelling your
contract.
In addition to the cancellation right described above, if you fully convert an
existing traditional IRA contract to a Roth Conversion IRA or Flexible Premium
Roth IRA contract, you may cancel your Roth Conversion IRA or Flexible Premium
Roth IRA contract and return to a Rollover IRA or Flexible Premium IRA
contract, whichever applies. Our processing office, or your registered
representative, can provide you with the cancellation instructions.
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30 DETERMINING YOUR CONTRACT'S VALUE
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2
DETERMINING YOUR CONTRACT'S VALUE
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YOUR ACCOUNT VALUE AND CASH VALUE
Your "account value" is the total of the (i) values you have in the variable
investment options, (ii) market adjusted amounts in the fixed maturity
options, (iii) value in the account for special dollar cost averaging, and
(iv) value you have in the loan reserve account (applies for Rollover TSA
contracts only). These amounts are subject to certain fees and charges
discussed in "Charges and expenses."
Your contract also has a "cash value." At any time before annuity payments
begin, your contract's cash value is equal to the account value less (i) the
total amount or a pro rata portion of the annual administrative charge
(applicable for Flexible Premium IRA and Flexible Premium Roth IRA contracts
only); (ii) any applicable withdrawal charges; and (iii) the amount of any
outstanding loan plus accrued interest (applicable to Rollover TSA contracts
only). Please see "Surrendering your contract to receive its cash value" in
"Accessing your money."
YOUR CONTRACT'S VALUE IN THE VARIABLE INVESTMENT OPTIONS
Each variable investment option invests in shares of a corresponding
portfolio. Your value in each variable investment option is measured by
"units." The value of your units will increase or decrease as though you had
invested it in the corresponding portfolio's shares directly. Your value,
however, will be reduced by the amount of the fees and charges that we deduct
under the contract.
The unit value for each variable investment option depends on the investment
performance of that option less daily charges for:
(i) mortality and expense risks;
(ii) administrative expenses; and
(iii) distribution charges.
On any day, your value in any variable investment option equals the number of
units credited to that option, adjusted for any units purchased for or
deducted from your contract under that option, multiplied by that day's value
for one unit. The number of your contract units in any variable investment
option does not change unless they are:
(i) increased to reflect additional contributions;
(ii) decreased to reflect a withdrawal (plus applicable withdrawal charges);
(iii) increased to reflect a transfer into, or decreased to reflect a transfer
out of a variable investment option; and
(iv) decreased to reflect a transfer of your loan amount to the loan reserve
account under a Rollover TSA contract.
In addition, when we deduct the baseBUILDER benefit charge, the number of
units credited to your contract will be reduced. Your units are also reduced
under Flexible Premium IRA and Flexible Premium Roth IRA contracts when we
deduct the annual administrative charge. A description of how unit values are
calculated is found in the SAI.
YOUR CONTRACT'S VALUE IN THE FIXED MATURITY OPTIONS
Your value in each fixed maturity option at any time before the maturity date
is the market adjusted amount in each option. This is equivalent to your fixed
maturity amount increased or decreased by the market value adjustment. Your
value, therefore, may be higher or lower than your contributions (less
withdrawals) accumulated at the rate to maturity. At the maturity date, your
value in the fixed maturity option will equal its maturity value.
YOUR CONTRACT'S VALUE IN THE ACCOUNT FOR SPECIAL DOLLAR COST AVERAGING
Your value in the account for special dollar cost averaging at any time will
equal your initial contribution allocated to that option, plus interest, less
the sum of all amounts that have been transferred to the variable investment
options you have selected.
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TRANSFERRING YOUR MONEY AMONG INVESTMENT OPTIONS 31
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3
TRANSFERRING YOUR MONEY AMONG INVESTMENT OPTIONS
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TRANSFERRING YOUR ACCOUNT VALUE
At any time before the date annuity payments are to begin, you can transfer
some or all of your account value among the investment options, subject to the
following:
o You may not transfer any amount to the account for special dollar cost
averaging.
o You may not transfer to a fixed maturity option that matures in the current
calendar year, or that has a rate to maturity of 3%.
o If the annuitant is 76 or older, you must limit your transfers to fixed
maturity options to those with maturities of five years or less. Also, the
maturity dates may be no later than the February 15th immediately following
the date annuity payments are to begin.
o If you make transfers out of a fixed maturity option other than at its
maturity date the transfer may cause a market value adjustment.
You may request a transfer in writing, or by telephone using TOPS or online by
using EQ Access. You must send in all written transfer requests directly to
our processing office. Transfer requests should specify:
(1) the contract number,
(2) the dollar amounts or percentages of your current account value to be
transferred, and
(3) the investment options to and from which you are transferring.
We may, at any time, restrict the use of market timers and other agents acting
under a power of attorney who are acting on behalf of more than one contract
owner. Any agreements to use market timing services to make transfers are
subject to our rules in effect at that time.
We will confirm all transfers in writing.
REBALANCING YOUR ACCOUNT VALUE
We currently offer a rebalancing program that you can use to automatically
reallocate your account value among the variable investment options. You must
tell us:
(a) the percentage you want invested in each variable investment option (whole
percentages only), and
(b) how often you want the rebalancing to occur (quarterly, semiannually, or
annually on a contract year basis. Rebalancing will occur on the same day
of the month as the contract date).
While your rebalancing program is in effect, we will transfer amounts among
each variable investment option so that the percentage of your account value
that you specify is invested in each option at the end of each rebalancing
date. Your entire account value in the variable investment options must be
included in the rebalancing program.
Rebalancing does not assure a profit or protect against loss. You should
periodically review your allocation percentages as your needs change. You may
want to discuss the rebalancing program with your registered representative or
other financial adviser before electing the program.
You may elect the rebalancing program at any time. You may also change your
allocation instructions or cancel the program at any time. If you request a
transfer while the rebalancing program is in effect we will process the
transfer as requested; the rebalancing program will remain in effect unless
you request that it be canceled in writing.
You may not elect the rebalancing program if you are participating in a dollar
cost averaging program. Rebalancing is not available for amounts you have
allocated in the fixed maturity options.
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32 ACCESSING YOUR MONEY
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4
ACCESSING YOUR MONEY
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WITHDRAWING YOUR ACCOUNT VALUE
You have several ways to withdraw your account value before annuity payments
begin. The table below shows the methods available under each type of
contract. More information follows the table. For the tax consequences of
withdrawals, see "Tax information."
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METHOD OF WITHDRAWAL
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SUBSTANTIALLY MINIMUM
CONTRACT LUMP SUM SYSTEMATIC EQUAL DISTRIBUTION
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NQ Yes Yes No No
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Rollover IRA Yes Yes Yes Yes
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Flexible
Premium IRA Yes Yes Yes Yes
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Roth Conversion
IRA Yes Yes Yes No
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Flexible
Premium
Roth IRA Yes Yes Yes No
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QP Yes No No Yes
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Rollover TSA Yes* No No Yes
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* For some Rollover TSA contracts, your ability to take withdrawals, loans or
surrender your contract may be limited. You must provide withdrawal
restriction information when you apply for a contract. See "Tax Sheltered
Annuity contracts (TSAs)" in "Tax information."
LUMP SUM WITHDRAWALS
(All contracts)
You may take lump sum withdrawals from your account value at any time.
(Rollover TSA contracts may have restrictions.) The minimum amount you may
withdraw is $1,000. If you request to withdraw more than 90% of a contract's
current cash value we will treat it as a request to surrender the contract for
its cash value. See "Surrendering your contract to receive its cash value"
below.
Lump sum withdrawals in excess of the 15% free withdrawal amount (see "15%
free withdrawal amount" in "Charges and expenses") may be subject to a
withdrawal charge. Under Rollover TSA contracts, if a loan is outstanding, you
may only take lump sum withdrawals as long as the cash value remaining after
any withdrawal equals at least 10% of the outstanding loan plus accrued
interest.
SYSTEMATIC WITHDRAWALS
(NQ and all IRA contracts)
You may take systematic withdrawals of a particular dollar amount or a
particular percentage of your account value.
You may take systematic withdrawals on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis
as long as the withdrawals do not exceed the following percentages of your
account value: 1.2% monthly, 3.6% quarterly, and 15.0% annually. The minimum
amount you may take in each systematic withdrawal is $250. If the amount
withdrawn would be less than $250 on the date a withdrawal is to be taken, we
will not make a payment and we will terminate your systematic withdrawal
election.
We will make the withdrawals on any day of the month that you select as long
as it is not later than the 28th day of the month. If you do not select a
date, we will make the withdrawals on the same calendar day of the month as
the contract date. You must wait at least 28 days after your contract is
issued before your systematic withdrawals can begin.
You may elect to take systematic withdrawals at any time. If you own an IRA
contract, you may elect this withdrawal method only if you are between ages
59 1/2 and 70 1/2. You may not elect the systematic withdrawal method if you
have balances in the account for special dollar cost averaging.
You may change the payment frequency, or the amount or percentage of your
systematic withdrawals, once each contract year. However, you may not change
the amount or percentage in any contract year in which you have already taken
a lump sum withdrawal. You can cancel the systematic withdrawal option at any
time.
Systematic withdrawals are not subject to a withdrawal charge, except to the
extent that, when added to a lump sum withdrawal previously taken in the same
contract year, the systematic withdrawal exceeds the 15% free withdrawal
amount.
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33 ACCESSING YOUR MONEY
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SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL WITHDRAWALS
(All IRA contracts)
The substantially equal withdrawals option allows you to receive distributions
from your account value without triggering the 10% additional federal tax
penalty, which normally applies to distributions made before age 59 1/2. See
"Tax information." Once you begin to take substantially equal withdrawals, you
should not stop them or change the pattern of your withdrawals until the later
of age 59 1/2 or five full years after the first withdrawal. If you stop or
change the withdrawals or take a lump sum withdrawal, you may be liable for
the 10% federal tax penalty that would have otherwise been due on prior
withdrawals made under this option and for any interest on those withdrawals.
You may elect to take substantially equal withdrawals at any time before age
59 1/2. We will make the withdrawal on any day of the month that you select
as long as it is not later than the 28th day of the month. You may not elect
to receive the first payment in the same contract year in which you took a
lump sum withdrawal. We will calculate the amount of your substantially equal
withdrawals. The payments will be made monthly, quarterly, or annually as you
select. These payments will continue until we receive written notice from you
to cancel this option or you take a lump sum withdrawal. You may elect to
start receiving substantially equal withdrawals again, but the payments may
not restart in the same contract year in which you took a lump sum withdrawal.
We will calculate the new withdrawal amount.
You may not elect substantially equal withdrawals if you have balances in the
account for special dollar cost averaging.
Substantially equal withdrawals are not subject to a withdrawal charge.
MINIMUM DISTRIBUTION WITHDRAWALS (Rollover IRA, Flexible Premium IRA, QP, and
Rollover TSA contracts only - See "Tax information")
We offer the minimum distribution withdrawal option to help you meet required
minimum distributions under federal income tax rules. You may elect this
option in the year in which you reach age 70 1/2. The minimum amount we will
pay out is $250. You may elect the method you want us to use to calculate your
minimum distribution withdrawals from the choices we offer. Currently, minimum
distribution withdrawal payments will be made annually.
We do not impose a withdrawal charge on minimum distribution withdrawals
except if when added to a lump sum withdrawal previously taken in the same
contract year, the minimum distribution withdrawal exceeds the 15% free
withdrawal amount.
We will calculate your annual payment based on your account value at the end
of the prior calendar year based on the method you choose.
Under Rollover TSA contracts, you may not elect minimum distribution
withdrawals if a loan is outstanding.
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For Rollover IRA, Flexible Premium IRA, QP, and Rollover TSA contracts, we
will send a form outlining the distribution options available before you reach
age 70 1/2 (if you have not begun your annuity payments before that time).
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HOW WITHDRAWALS ARE TAKEN FROM YOUR ACCOUNT VALUE
Unless you specify otherwise, we will subtract your withdrawals on a pro rata
basis from your value in the variable investment options. If there is
insufficient value or no value in the variable investment options, any
additional amount of the withdrawal required or the total amount of the
withdrawal will be withdrawn from the fixed maturity options in order of the
earliest maturity date(s) first. A market value adjustment may apply.
HOW WITHDRAWALS AFFECT YOUR GUARANTEED MINIMUM INCOME BENEFIT AND GUARANTEED
MINIMUM DEATH BENEFIT
Withdrawals will reduce your guaranteed benefits on either a dollar-for-dollar
basis or on a pro rata basis as explained below:
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34 ACCESSING YOUR MONEY
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INCOME BENEFIT
Benefit base - Your current benefit base will be reduced on a
dollar-for-dollar basis as long as the sum of your withdrawals in a contract
year is 5% or less of the 5% roll up to age 80 guaranteed minimum death
benefit on the most recent contract date anniversary. Once you take a
withdrawal that causes the sum of your withdrawals in a contract year to
exceed 5% of that guaranteed minimum death benefit on the most recent contract
date anniversary, that withdrawal and any subsequent withdrawals in that same
contract year will reduce your current benefit base on a pro rata basis.
DEATH BENEFIT
5% roll up to age 80 - If you elect the 5% roll up to age 80 guaranteed
minimum death benefit, your current guaranteed minimum death benefit will be
reduced on a dollar-for-dollar basis as long as the sum of your withdrawals in
a contract year is 5% or less of this guaranteed minimum death benefit on the
most recent contract date anniversary. Once you take a withdrawal that causes
the sum of your withdrawals in a contract year to exceed 5% of this guaranteed
minimum death benefit on the most recent contract date anniversary, that
withdrawal and any subsequent withdrawals in that same contract year will
reduce your current guaranteed minimum death benefit on a pro rata basis.
Annual ratchet to age 80 - If you elect the annual ratchet
to age 80 guaranteed minimum death benefit, each withdrawal will always reduce
your current guaranteed minimum death benefit on a pro rata basis.
Annuitant issue ages 80 through 90 - If your contract was issued when the
annuitant was between ages 80 and 90, each withdrawal will always reduce your
current guaranteed minimum death benefit on a pro rata basis.
Reduction on a dollar-for-dollar basis means that your current benefit will be
reduced by the dollar amount of the withdrawal. Reduction on a pro rata basis
means that we calculate the percentage of your current account value that is
being withdrawn and we reduce your current benefit by that same percentage.
For example, if your account value is $30,000 and you withdraw $12,000, you
have withdrawn 40% of your account value. If your guaranteed minimum death
benefit was $40,000 before the withdrawal, it would be reduced by $16,000
($40,000 x.40) and your new guaranteed minimum death benefit after the
withdrawal would be $24,000 ($40,000 - $16,000).
The timing of your withdrawals and whether they exceed the 5% threshold
described above can have a significant impact on your guaranteed minimum
income benefit or guaranteed minimum death benefit.
LOANS UNDER ROLLOVER TSA CONTRACTS
You may take loans from a Rollover TSA unless restricted by the employer who
provided the Rollover TSA funds. If you cannot take a loan, or cannot take a
loan without approval from the employer who provided the funds, we will have
this information in our records based on what you and the employer who
provided the funds told us when you purchased your contract. The employer must
also tell us whether special employer plan rules of the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA") apply. We will not permit you to take a
loan while you are taking minimum distribution withdrawals.
You should read the terms and conditions on our loan request form carefully
before taking out a loan. Under Rollover TSA contracts subject to ERISA, you
may only take a loan with the written consent of your spouse. Your contract
contains further details of the loan provision. Also, see "Tax information"
for general rules applicable to loans.
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ACCESSING YOUR MONEY 35
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We will permit you to have only one loan outstanding at a time. The minimum
loan amount is $1,000. The maximum amount is $50,000 or, if less, 50% of your
account value, subject to any limits under the federal income tax rules. The
term of a loan is five years. However, if you use the loan to acquire your
primary residence, the term is 10 years. The term may not extend beyond the
earliest of:
(1) the date annuity payments begin,
(2) the date the contract terminates, and
(3) the date a death benefit is paid (the outstanding loan will be deducted
from the death benefit amount).
Interest will accrue daily on your outstanding loan at a rate we set. The loan
interest rate will be equal to the Moody's Corporate Bond Yield Averages for
Baa bonds for the calendar month ending two months before the first day of the
calendar quarter in which the rate is determined.
LOAN RESERVE ACCOUNT. On the date your loan is processed, we will transfer the
amount of your loan to the loan reserve account. Unless you specify otherwise,
we will subtract your loan on a pro rata basis from your value in the variable
investment options. If there is insufficient value or no value in the variable
investment options, any additional amount of the loan will be subtracted from
the fixed maturity options in order of the earliest maturity date(s) first. A
market value adjustment may apply.
We will credit interest to the amount in the loan reserve account at a rate of
2% lower than the loan interest rate that applies for the time your loan is
outstanding. On each contract date anniversary after the date the loan is
processed, we will transfer the amount of interest earned in the loan reserve
account to the variable investment options on a pro rata basis. When you make
a loan repayment, unless you specify otherwise, we will transfer the dollar
amount of the loan repaid from the loan reserve account to the investment
options according to the allocation percentages we have on our records.
SURRENDERING YOUR CONTRACT TO RECEIVE ITS CASH VALUE
You may surrender your contract to receive its cash value at any time while
the annuitant is living and before you begin to receive annuity payments.
(Rollover TSA contracts may have restrictions.) For a surrender to be
effective, we must receive your written request and your contract at our
processing office. We will determine your cash value on the date we receive
the required information. All benefits under the contract will terminate as of
that date.
You may receive your cash value in a single sum payment or apply it to one or
more of the annuity payout options. See "Your annuity payout options" below.
For the tax consequences of surrenders, see "Tax information."
WHEN TO EXPECT PAYMENTS
Generally, we will fulfill requests for payments out of the variable
investment options within seven calendar days after the date of the
transaction to which the request relates. These transactions may include
applying proceeds to a variable annuity, payment of a death benefit, payment
of any amount you withdraw (less any withdrawal charge) and, upon surrender,
payment of the cash value. We may postpone such payments or applying proceeds
for any period during which:
(1) the New York Stock Exchange is closed or restricts trading,
(2) sales of securities or determination of the fair value of a variable
investment option's assets is not reasonably practicable because of an
emergency, or
(3) the SEC, by order, permits us to defer payment to protect people remaining
in the variable investment options.
We can defer payment of any portion of your value in the fixed maturity
options and the account for special dollar cost averaging (other than for
death benefits) for up to six months while you are living. We also may defer
payments for
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36 ACCESSING YOUR MONEY
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a reasonable amount of time (not to exceed 10 days) while we are waiting for a
contribution check to clear.
All payments are made by check and are mailed to you (or the payee named in a
tax-free exchange) by U.S. mail, unless you request that we use an express
delivery service at your expense.
YOUR ANNUITY PAYOUT OPTIONS
Equitable Accumulator offers you several choices of annuity payout options.
Some enable you to receive fixed annuity payments, which can be either level
or increasing, and others enable you to receive variable annuity payments.
You can choose from among the annuity payout options listed below. For QP and
Rollover TSA, you may receive only a life annuity with a 10 year period
certain. Other restrictions may apply, depending on the type of contract you
own or the annuitant's age. In addition, you may receive only fixed level life
annuity payments if you elect the guaranteed minimum income benefit under
baseBUILDER.
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Fixed annuity payout options Life annuity
Life annuity with period
certain
Life annuity with refund
certain
Period certain annuity
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Variable Immediate Annuity Life annuity (not available
payout options in New York)
Life annuity with period
certain
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Income Manager payout Life annuity with period
options (available for certain
annuitants age 83 or less Period certain annuity
at contract issue)
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o Life annuity: An annuity that guarantees payments for the rest of the
annuitant's life. Payments end with the last monthly payment before the
annuitant's death. Because there is no continuation of benefits following
the annuitant's death with this payout option, it provides the highest
monthly payment of any of the life annuity options, so long as the annuitant
is living.
o Life annuity with period certain: An annuity that guarantees payments for
the rest of the annuitant's life. If the annuitant dies before the end of a
selected period of time ("period certain"), payments continue to the
beneficiary for the balance of the period certain. The period certain cannot
extend beyond the annuitant's life expectancy. A life annuity with a period
certain is the form of annuity under the contract that you will receive if
you do not elect a different payout option. In this case, the period certain
will be based on the annuitant's age and will not exceed 10 years.
o Life annuity with refund certain: An annuity that guarantees payments for
the rest of the annuitant's life. If the annuitant dies before the amount
applied to purchase the annuity option has been recovered, payments to the
beneficiary will continue until that amount has been recovered. This payout
option is available only as a fixed annuity.
o Period certain annuity: An annuity that guarantees payments for a specific
period of time, usually 5, 10, 15, or 20 years. This guaranteed period may
not exceed the annuitant's life expectancy. This option does not guarantee
payments for the rest of the annuitant's life. It does not permit any
repayment of the unpaid principal, so you cannot elect to receive part of
the payments as a single sum payment with the rest paid in monthly annuity
payments. This payout option is available only as a fixed annuity.
The life annuity, life annuity with period certain, and life annuity with
refund certain payout options are available on a single life or joint and
survivor life basis. The joint and survivor life annuity guarantees payments
for the rest of the annuitant's life, and after the annuitant's death,
payments continue to the survivor. We may offer other payout options not
outlined here. Your registered representative can provide details.
FIXED ANNUITY PAYOUT OPTIONS
With fixed annuities, we guarantee fixed annuity payments that will be based
either on the tables of guaranteed annuity
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ACCESSING YOUR MONEY 37
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purchase factors in your contract or on our then current annuity purchase
factors, whichever is more favorable for you.
VARIABLE IMMEDIATE ANNUITY PAYOUT OPTIONS
Variable Immediate Annuities are described in a separate prospectus that is
available from your registered representative. Before you select a Variable
Immediate Annuity payout option, you should read the prospectus which contains
important information that you should know. Variable annuities may be funded
through your choice of variable investment options investing in portfolios of
EQ Advisors Trust. The contract also offers a fixed annuity option that can be
elected in combination with the variable annuity payout options. The amount of
each variable annuity payment will fluctuate, depending upon the performance
of the variable investment options, and whether the actual rate of investment
return is higher or lower than an assumed base rate.
INCOME MANAGER PAYOUT OPTIONS
The Income Manager payout annuity contracts differ from the other payout
annuity contracts. The other payout annuity contracts provide higher or lower
income levels, but do not have all the features of the Income Manager payout
annuity contract. You may request an illustration of the Income Manager payout
annuity contract from your registered representative. Income Manager payout
options are described in a separate prospectus that is available from your
registered representative. Before you select an Income Manager payout option,
you should read the prospectus which contains important information that you
should know.
Both Income Manager payout options provide guaranteed level payments (NQ and
IRA contracts). The Income Manager (life annuity with period certain) also
provides guaranteed increasing payments (NQ contracts only). You may not elect
a period certain Income Manager payout option unless withdrawal charges are no
longer in effect under your Equitable Accumulator.
For QP and Rollover TSA contracts, if you want to elect an Income Manager
payout option, we will first roll over amounts in such contract to a Rollover
IRA contract. You will be the owner of the Rollover IRA contract.
You may choose to apply only part of the account value of your Equitable
Accumulator contract to an Income Manager payout annuity. In this case, we
will consider any amounts applied as a withdrawal from your Equitable
Accumulator and we will deduct any applicable withdrawal charge. For the tax
consequences of withdrawals, see "Tax information."
Depending upon your circumstances, the purchase of an Income Manager contract
may be done on a tax-free basis. Please consult your tax adviser.
THE AMOUNT APPLIED TO PURCHASE AN ANNUITY PAYOUT OPTION
The amount applied to purchase an annuity payout option varies, depending on
the payout option that you choose, and the timing of your purchase as it
relates to any withdrawal charges or market value adjustments.
If amounts in a fixed maturity option are used to purchase any annuity payout
option, prior to the maturity date, a market value adjustment will apply.
o For the fixed annuity payout options and Variable Immediate Annuity payout
options, no withdrawal charge is imposed if you select a life annuity, life
annuity with period certain or life annuity with cash refund.
o For the fixed annuity payout option, the withdrawal charge applicable under
your Equitable Accumulator is imposed if you select a period certain. If the
period certain is more than 5 years, then the withdrawal charge deducted
will not exceed 5% of the account value.
For the Income Manager payout options, the following applies:
o No withdrawal charge is imposed under the Equitable Accumulator. If the
withdrawal charge that otherwise would have been applied to your account
value under your Equitable Accumulator is greater than 2% of the
contributions that remain in your contract at the time you
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38 ACCESSING YOUR MONEY
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purchase your payout option, the withdrawal charges under the Income Manager
will apply. For this purpose, the year in which your account value is
applied to the payout option will be "contract year 1."
SELECTING AN ANNUITY PAYOUT OPTION
When you select a payout option, we will issue you a separate written
agreement confirming your right to receive annuity payments. We require you to
return your contract before annuity payments begin unless you are applying
only some of your account value to an Income Manager contract. The contract
owner and annuitant must meet the issue age and payment requirements.
You can choose the date annuity payments begin but it may not be earlier than
thirteen months from the Equitable Accumulator contract date. Except with
respect to the Income Manager annuity payout options, where payments are made
on the 15th day of each month, you can change the date your annuity payments
are to begin anytime before that date as long as you do not choose a date
later than the 28th day of any month. Also, that date may not be later than:
(i) if the annuitant was not older than age 83 when the contract was issued,
the contract date anniversary that follows the annuitant's 90th
birthday;
(ii) if the annuitant was age 84 but not older than age 88 when the contract
was issued the annuitant's age at issue plus seven years; and
(iii) if the annuitant was age 89 or 90 when the contract was issued, age 95.
(iv) for contracts issued in New York, by the annuitant's 90th birthday.
The above may be different in some states.
Before the last date by which annuity payments must begin, we will notify you
by letter. Once you have selected an annuity payout option and payments have
begun, no change can be made other than transfers (if permitted in the future)
among the variable investment options if a Variable Immediate Annuity payout
option is selected, and withdrawals (subject to a market value adjustment) if
an Income Manager annuity payout option is chosen.
The amount of the annuity payments will depend on the amount applied to
purchase the annuity and the applicable annuity purchase factors, discussed
earlier.
In no event will you ever receive payments under a fixed option or an initial
payment under a variable option of less than the minimum amounts guaranteed by
the contract.
If, at the time you elect a payout option, the amount to be applied is less
than $2,000 or the initial payment under the form elected is less than $20
monthly, we reserve the right to pay the account value in a single sum rather
than as payments under the payout option chosen.
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CHARGES AND EXPENSES 39
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5
CHARGES AND EXPENSES
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CHARGES THAT EQUITABLE LIFE DEDUCTS
We deduct the following charges each day from the net assets of each variable
investment option. These charges are reflected in the unit values of each
variable investment option:
o A mortality and expense risks charge
o An administrative charge
o A distribution charge
We deduct the following charges from your account value. When we deduct these
charges from your variable investment options, we reduce the number of units
credited to your contract:
o On each contract date anniversary - an annual administrative charge, if
applicable (Flexible Premium IRA and Flexible Premium Roth IRA contracts
only).
o At the time you make certain withdrawals or surrender your contract - a
withdrawal charge.
o If you elect the optional benefit - a charge for the optional baseBUILDER
benefit.
o At the time annuity payments are to begin - charges for state premium and
other applicable taxes. An annuity administrative fee may also apply.
More information about these charges appears below. We will not increase these
charges for the life of your contract, except as noted. We may reduce certain
charges under group or sponsored arrangements. See "Group or sponsored
arrangements" below.
To help with your retirement planning, we may offer other annuities with
different charges, benefits, and features. Please contact your registered
representative for more information.
MORTALITY AND EXPENSE RISKS CHARGE
We deduct a daily charge from the net assets in each variable investment
option to compensate us for mortality and expense risks, including the
guaranteed minimum death benefit. The daily charge is equivalent to an annual
rate of 1.10% of the net assets in each variable investment option.
The mortality risk we assume is the risk that annuitants as a group will live
for a longer time than our actuarial tables predict. If that happens, we would
be paying more in annuity income than we planned. We also assume a risk that
the mortality assumptions reflected in our guaranteed annuity payment tables,
shown in each contract, will differ from actual mortality experience. Lastly,
we assume a mortality risk to the extent that at the time of death, the
guaranteed minimum death benefit exceeds the cash value of the contract. The
expense risk we assume is the risk that it will cost us more to issue and
administer the contracts than we expect.
ADMINISTRATIVE CHARGE
We deduct a daily charge from the net assets in each variable investment
option. The charge, together with the annual administrative charge described
below, is to compensate us for administrative expenses under the contracts.
The daily charge is equivalent to an annual rate of 0.45% of the net assets in
each variable investment option. We reserve the right under the contracts to
increase this charge to an annual rate of 0.55%.
DISTRIBUTION CHARGE
We deduct a daily charge from the net assets in each variable investment
option to compensate us for a portion of our sales expenses under the
contracts. The daily charge is equivalent to an annual rate of 0.25% of the
net assets in each variable investment option.
ANNUAL ADMINISTRATIVE CHARGE (FLEXIBLE PREMIUM IRA AND FLEXIBLE PREMIUM ROTH
IRA CONTRACTS ONLY)
Under Flexible Premium IRA and Flexible Premium Roth IRA contracts, we deduct
an administrative charge from your account value on each contract date
anniversary. We deduct the charge if your account value on the last business
day of the contract year is less than $25,000. If your account value on such
date is $25,000 or more, we do not deduct the charge. During the first two
contract years, the charge is
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40 CHARGES AND EXPENSES
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equal to $30 or, if less, 2% of your account value. The charge is $30 for
contract years three and later.
We will deduct this charge from your value in the variable investment options
on a pro rata basis. If there is not enough value in the variable investment
options, we will deduct all or a portion of the charge from the fixed maturity
options in order of the earliest maturity date(s) first. If you surrender your
contract during the contract year we will deduct a pro rata portion of the
charge.
WITHDRAWAL CHARGE
A withdrawal charge applies in two circumstances: (1) if you make one or more
withdrawals during a contract year that, in total, exceed the 15% free
withdrawal amount, described below, or (2) if you surrender your contract to
receive its cash value.
The withdrawal charge equals a percentage of the contributions withdrawn. The
percentage that applies depends on how long each contribution has been
invested in the contract. We determine the withdrawal charge separately for
each contribution according to the following table:
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CONTRACT YEAR
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8+
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Percentage of
contribution 7% 6% 5% 4% 3% 2% 1% 0%
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For purposes of calculating the withdrawal charge, we treat the contract year
in which we receive a contribution as "contract year 1." Amounts withdrawn up
to the free withdrawal amount are not considered withdrawal of any
contribution. We also treat contributions that have been invested the longest
as being withdrawn first. We treat contributions as withdrawn before earnings
for purposes of calculating the withdrawal charge. However, federal income tax
rules treat earnings under your contract as withdrawn first. See "Tax
information."
In order to give you the exact dollar amount of the withdrawal you request, we
deduct the amount of the withdrawal and the withdrawal charge from your
account value. Any amount deducted to pay withdrawal charges is also subject
to that same withdrawal charge percentage. We deduct the charge in proportion
to the amount of the withdrawal subtracted from each investment option. The
withdrawal charge helps cover our sales expenses.
For annuitants that are ages 84 and 85 when the contract is issued in New York
State, the withdrawal charge will be computed in the same manner as for other
contracts, except that the withdrawal charge schedule will be different. For
these New York contracts, the withdrawal charge schedule will be 5% of each
contribution made in the first contract year, decreasing by 1% each subsequent
contract year to 0% in the sixth and later contract years.
The withdrawal charge does not apply in the circumstances described below.
ANNUITANT AGES 86 THROUGH 90 WHEN THE CONTRACT IS ISSUED. The withdrawal
charge does not apply under the contract if the annuitant is age 86 or older
when the contract is issued.
15% FREE WITHDRAWAL AMOUNT. Each contract year you can withdraw up to 15% of
your account value without paying a withdrawal charge. The 15% free withdrawal
amount is determined using your account value on the most recent contract date
anniversary, minus any other withdrawals made during the contract year. The
15% free withdrawal amount does not apply if you surrender your contract.
Note the following special rule for NQ contracts issued to a charitable
remainder trust, the free withdrawal amount will equal the greater of: (1) the
current account value, less contributions that have not been withdrawn
(earnings in the contract), and (2) the 15% free withdrawal amount defined
above.
MINIMUM DISTRIBUTIONS. The withdrawal charge does not apply to withdrawals
taken under our minimum distribution withdrawal option. However, those
withdrawals are counted towards the 15% free withdrawal amount if you also
make a lump sum withdrawal in any contract year.
DISABILITY, TERMINAL ILLNESS OR CONFINEMENT TO NURSING
HOME. The withdrawal charge also does not apply if:
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CHARGES AND EXPENSES 41
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o The annuitant has qualified to receive Social Security disability benefits
as certified by the Social Security Administration; or
o We receive proof satisfactory to us (including certification by a licensed
physician) that the annuitant's life expectancy is six months or less; or
o The annuitant has been confined to a nursing home for more than 90 days (or
such other period, as required in your state) as verified by a licensed
physician. A nursing home for this purpose means one that is (a) approved by
Medicare as a provider of skilled nursing care service, or (b) licensed as a
skilled nursing home by the state or territory in which it is located (it
must be within the United States, Puerto Rico, or U.S. Virgin Islands) and
meets all of the following:
- its main function is to provide skilled, intermediate, or custodial
nursing care;
- it provides continuous room and board to three or more persons;
- it is supervised by a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse;
- it keeps daily medical records of each patient;
- it controls and records all medications dispensed; and
- its primary service is other than to provide housing for residents.
We reserve the right to impose a withdrawal charge, in accordance with your
contract and applicable state law, if the disability is caused by a
preexisting condition or a condition that began within 12 months of the
contract date. Some states may not permit us to waive the withdrawal charge
in the above circumstances, or may limit the circumstances for which the
withdrawal charge may be waived. Your registered representative can provide
more information or you may contact our processing office.
BASEBUILDER BENEFIT CHARGE
If you elect the baseBUILDER combined guaranteed minimum income benefit and
guaranteed minimum death benefit, we deduct a charge annually from your
account value on each contract date anniversary until such time as you
exercise the guaranteed minimum income benefit, elect another annuity
payout option, or the contract date anniversary after the annuitant reaches
age 86, whichever occurs first. The charge is equal to 0.30% of the benefit
base in effect on the contract date anniversary.
We will deduct this charge from your value in the variable investment
options on a pro rata basis. If there is not enough value in the variable
investment options, we will deduct all or a portion of the charge from the
fixed maturity options in order of the earliest maturity date(s) first. A
market value adjustment may apply.
CHARGES FOR STATE PREMIUM AND OTHER APPLICABLE TAXES
We deduct a charge for applicable taxes such as premium taxes that may be
imposed in your state. Generally, we deduct the charge from the amount
applied to provide an annuity payout option. The current tax charge that
might be imposed varies by state and ranges from 0% to 3.5% (1% in
Puerto Rico and 5% in the U.S. Virgin Islands).
ANNUITY ADMINISTRATIVE FEE
We deduct a fee of $350 from the amount to be applied to purchase a Variable
Immediate Annuity life annuity payout option.
CHARGES THAT EQ ADVISORS TRUST DEDUCTS
EQ Advisors Trust deducts charges for the following types of fees and
expenses:
o Management fees ranging from 0.25% to 1.15%.
o 12b-1 fees of 0.25%.
o Operating expenses, such as trustees' fees, independent auditors' fees,
legal counsel fees, administrative service fees, custodian fees, and
liability insurance.
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42 CHARGES AND EXPENSES
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o Investment-related expenses, such as brokerage commissions.
These charges are reflected in the daily share price of each portfolio. Since
shares of EQ Advisors Trust are purchased at their net asset value, these fees
and expenses are, in effect, passed on to the variable investment options and
are reflected in their unit values. For more information about these charges,
please refer to the prospectus for EQ Advisors Trust following this
prospectus.
GROUP OR SPONSORED ARRANGEMENTS
For certain group or sponsored arrangements, we may reduce the withdrawal
charge or the mortality and expense risks charge, or change the minimum
initial contribution requirements. We also may change the guaranteed minimum
income benefit and the guaranteed minimum death benefit, or offer variable
investment options that invest in shares of EQ Advisors Trust that are not
subject to the 12b-1 fee. Group arrangements include those in which a trustee
or an employer, for example, purchases contracts covering a group of
individuals on a group basis. Group arrangements are not available for IRA
contracts. Sponsored arrangements include those in which an employer allows us
to sell contracts to its employees or retirees on an individual basis.
Our costs for sales, administration, and mortality generally vary with the
size and stability of the group or sponsoring organization, among other
factors. We take all these factors into account when reducing charges. To
qualify for reduced charges, a group or sponsored arrangement must meet
certain requirements, such as requirements for size and number of years in
existence. Group or sponsored arrangements that have been set up solely to buy
contracts or that have been in existence less than six months will not qualify
for reduced charges.
We also may establish different rates to maturity for the fixed maturity
options under different classes of contracts for group or sponsored
arrangements.
We will make these and any similar reductions according to our rules in effect
when we approve a contract for issue. We may change these rules from time to
time. Any variation will reflect differences in costs or services and will not
be unfairly discriminatory.
Group or sponsored arrangements may be governed by federal income tax rules,
ERISA, or both. We make no representations with regard to the impact of these
and other applicable laws on such programs. We recommend that employers,
trustees, and others purchasing or making contracts available for purchase
under such programs seek the advice of their own legal and benefits advisers.
OTHER DISTRIBUTION ARRANGEMENTS
We may reduce or eliminate charges when sales are made in a manner that result
in savings of sales and administrative expenses, such as sales through persons
who are compensated by clients for recommending investments and who receive no
commission or reduced commissions in connection with the sale of the
contracts. We will not permit a reduction or elimination of charges where it
would be unfairly discriminatory.
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PAYMENT OF DEATH BENEFIT 43
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6
PAYMENT OF DEATH BENEFIT
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YOUR BENEFICIARY AND PAYMENT OF BENEFIT
You designate your beneficiary when you apply for your contract. You may
change your beneficiary at any time. The change will be effective on the date
the written request for the change is received in our processing office. We
are not responsible for any beneficiary change request that we do not receive.
We will send you a written confirmation when we receive your request. Under
jointly owned contracts, the surviving owner is considered the beneficiary,
and will take the place of any other beneficiary. You may be limited as to the
beneficiary you can designate in a Rollover TSA contract. In a QP contract,
the beneficiary must be the trustee.
The death benefit is equal to your account value, or, if greater, the
guaranteed minimum death benefit. The guaranteed minimum death benefit is part
of your contract, whether you select the baseBUILDER benefit or not. We
determine the amount of the death benefit as of the date we receive
satisfactory proof of the annuitant's death and any required instructions for
the method of payment. Under Rollover TSA contracts we will deduct the amount
of any outstanding loan plus accrued interest from the amount of the death
benefit.
EFFECT OF THE ANNUITANT'S DEATH
If the annuitant dies before the annuity payments begin, we will pay the death
benefit to your beneficiary.
Generally, the death of the annuitant terminates the contract. However, a
beneficiary who is the surviving spouse of the owner/annuitant can choose to
be treated as the successor owner/annuitant and continue the contract. Only a
spouse can be a successor owner/annuitant. A successor owner/annuitant, can
only be named under NQ and IRA contracts.
For Rollover IRA and Flexible Premium IRA contracts, a beneficiary who is not
a surviving spouse may be able to have limited ownership as discussed under
"Beneficiary continuation option for Rollover IRA and Flexible Premium IRA
contracts" below.
WHEN AN NQ CONTRACT OWNER DIES BEFORE THE ANNUITANT
Under certain conditions the owner can change after the original owner's
death. When you are not the annuitant under an NQ contract and you die before
annuity payments begin, the beneficiary named to receive the death benefit
upon the annuitant's death will automatically become the successor owner. If
you do not want the beneficiary to be the successor owner, you should name a
specific successor owner. You may name a successor owner at any time by
sending satisfactory notice to our processing office. If the contract is
jointly owned and the first owner to die is not the annuitant, the surviving
owner becomes the sole contract owner. This person will be considered the
successor owner for purposes of the distribution rules described in this
section. The surviving owner automatically takes the place of any other
beneficiary designation.
Unless the surviving spouse of the owner who has died (or in the case of a
joint ownership situation, the surviving spouse of the first owner to die) is
the successor owner for this purpose, the entire interest in the contract must
be distributed under the following rules:
o The cash value of the contract must be fully paid to the designated
beneficiary (new owner) by December 31st of the fifth calendar year after
your death (or in a joint ownership situation, the death of the first owner
to die).
o The successor owner may instead elect to receive the cash value as a life
annuity (or payments for a period certain of not longer than the new owner's
life expectancy). Payments must begin no later than December 31st following
the calendar year of the non-annuitant owner's death. Unless this
alternative is elected, we will pay any cash value on December 31st of the
fifth calendar year following the year of your death (or the death of the
first owner to die).
o If the surviving spouse is the successor owner or joint owner, the spouse
may elect to continue the contract. No distributions are required as long as
the surviving spouse and annuitant are living.
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44 PAYMENT OF DEATH BENEFIT
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HOW DEATH BENEFIT PAYMENT IS MADE
We will pay the death benefit to the beneficiary in the form of the annuity
payout option you have chosen. If you have not chosen an annuity payout option
as of the time of the annuitant's death, the beneficiary will receive the
death benefit in a single sum. However, subject to any exceptions in the
contract, our rules and any applicable requirements under federal income tax
rules, the beneficiary may elect to apply the death benefit to one or more
annuity payout options we offer at the time. See "Your annuity payout options"
in "Accessing your money" earlier in this prospectus. Please note that if you
are both the contract owner and the annuitant, you may elect only a life
annuity or an annuity that does not extend beyond the life expectancy of the
beneficiary.
SUCCESSOR OWNER AND ANNUITANT
If you are both the contract owner and the annuitant, and your spouse is the
sole beneficiary or the joint owner, then your spouse may elect to receive the
death benefit or continue the contract as successor owner/annuitant.
If your surviving spouse decides to continue the contract, then on the
contract date anniversary following your death, we will increase the account
value to equal your current guaranteed minimum death benefit, if it is higher
than the account value. The increase in the account value will be allocated to
the investment options according to the allocation percentages we have on file
for your contract. Thereafter, withdrawal charges will no longer apply to this
amount. Withdrawal charges will apply if you make additional contributions.
These additional contributions will be withdrawn only after all other amounts
have been withdrawn. In determining whether the guaranteed minimum death
benefit will continue to grow, we will use your surviving spouse's age (as of
the contract date anniversary).
BENEFICIARY CONTINUATION OPTION FOR ROLLOVER IRA AND FLEXIBLE PREMIUM IRA
CONTRACTS
Upon your death under a Rollover IRA or Flexible Premium IRA contract, a
nonspouse beneficiary may generally elect to keep the contract in your name
and receive distributions under the contract instead of the death benefit
being paid in a single sum.
If you die AFTER the "Required Beginning Date" (see "Tax information") for
required minimum distributions, the contract will continue if:
(a) you were receiving minimum distribution withdrawals from this contract;
and
(b) the pattern of minimum distribution withdrawals you chose was based in
part on the life of the designated beneficiary.
The withdrawals will then continue to be paid to the beneficiary on the same
basis as you chose before your death. We will be able to tell your beneficiary
whether this option is available to them. You should contact our processing
office for further information.
If you die BEFORE the Required Beginning Date (and therefore you were not
taking minimum distribution withdrawals under the contract), an eligible
beneficiary may take minimum distribution withdrawals under the contract. We
will increase the account value to equal the death benefit if the death
benefit is greater than the account value. That amount will be used to provide
the withdrawals. If the eligible beneficiary elects as described in the next
paragraph, these withdrawals will begin by December 31st of the calendar year
following your death. These withdrawals will be based on the beneficiary's
life expectancy. If there is more than one beneficiary, the shortest life
expectancy is used. An eligible beneficiary can choose instead to continue the
contract in your name without having to take annual withdrawals. If the
beneficiary chooses this option, all amounts must be distributed from the
contract by December 31 of the fifth calendar year following your death.
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PAYMENT OF DEATH BENEFIT 45
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The designated beneficiary must be a natural person and of legal age at the
time of election. The beneficiary must elect this option within 30 days
following the date we receive proof of your death. The death benefit will be
paid to the beneficiary according to our standard procedures, unless an
election is made within 30 days to: (1) receive the death benefit; (2)
continue the contract and take annual withdrawals as described above; or (3)
defer payment of the account value for up to five years.
While the contract continues in your name, the beneficiary may make transfers
among the investment options. However, additional contributions will not be
permitted and the guaranteed minimum income benefit and the death benefit
(including the guaranteed minimum death benefit) provisions will no longer be
in effect. Although the only withdrawals that will be permitted are minimum
distribution withdrawals, the beneficiary may choose at any time to withdraw
all of the account value and no withdrawal charges will apply.
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46 TAX INFORMATION
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7
TAX INFORMATION
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OVERVIEW
In this part of the prospectus, we discuss the current federal income tax
rules that generally apply to Equitable Accumulator contracts owned by United
States taxpayers. The tax rules can differ, depending on the type of contract,
whether NQ, Rollover IRA, Flexible Premium IRA, Roth Conversion IRA, Flexible
Premium Roth IRA, QP, or Rollover TSA. Therefore, we discuss the tax aspects
of each type of contract separately.
Federal income tax rules include the United States laws in the Internal
Revenue Code, and Treasury Department Regulations and Internal Revenue Service
("IRS") interpretations of the Internal Revenue Code. These tax rules may
change. We cannot predict whether, when, or how these rules could change. Any
change could affect contracts purchased before the change.
We cannot provide detailed information on all tax aspects of the contracts.
Moreover, the tax aspects that apply to a particular person's contract may
vary depending on the facts applicable to that person. We do not discuss state
income and other state taxes, federal income tax, and withholding rules for
non-U.S. taxpayers, or federal gift and estate taxes. Transfers of the
contract, rights under the contract, or payments under the contract may be
subject to gift or estate taxes. You should not rely only on this document,
but should consult your tax adviser before your purchase.
If you are buying a contract to fund a retirement plan that already provides
tax deferral under sections of the Internal Revenue Code (IRA, QP, and
Rollover TSA), you should do so for the contract's features and benefits other
than tax deferral. In such situations, the tax deferral of the contract does
not provide additional benefits.
TRANSFERS AMONG INVESTMENT OPTIONS
You can make transfers among investment options inside the contract without
triggering taxable income.
TAXATION OF NONQUALIFIED ANNUITIES
CONTRIBUTIONS
You may not deduct the amount of your contributions to a nonqualified annuity
contract.
CONTRACT EARNINGS
Generally, you are not taxed on contract earnings until you receive a
distribution from your contract, whether as a withdrawal or as an annuity
payment. However, earnings are taxable, even without a distribution:
o if a contract fails investment diversification requirements as specified in
federal income tax rules (these rules are based on or are similar to those
specified for mutual funds under the securities laws);
o if you transfer a contract, for example, as a gift to someone other than
your spouse (or former spouse);
o if you use a contract as security for a loan (in this case, the amount
pledged will be treated as a distribution); and
o if the owner is other than an individual (such as a corporation,
partnership, trust, or other non-natural person).
All nonqualified deferred annuity contracts that Equitable Life and its
affiliates issue to you during the same calendar year are linked together and
treated as one contract for calculating the taxable amount of any distribution
from any of those contracts.
ANNUITY PAYMENTS
Once annuity payments begin, a portion of each payment is taxable as ordinary
income. You get back the remaining portion without paying taxes on it. This is
your "investment in the contract." Generally, your investment in the contract
equals the contributions you made, less any amounts you previously withdrew
that were not taxable.
For fixed annuity payments, the tax-free portion of each payment is determined
by (1) dividing your investment in the contract by the total amount you are
expected to receive out of the contract, and (2) multiplying the result by the
amount
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TAX INFORMATION 47
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of the payment. For variable annuity payments, your investment in the contract
divided by the number of expected payments is your tax-free portion of each
payment.
Once you have received the amount of your investment in the contract, all
payments after that are fully taxable. If payments under a life annuity stop
because the annuitant dies, there is an income tax deduction for any
unrecovered investment in the contract.
PAYMENTS MADE BEFORE ANNUITY PAYMENTS BEGIN
If you make withdrawals before annuity payments begin under your contract,
they are taxable to you as ordinary income if there are earnings in the
contract. Generally, earnings are your account value less your investment in
the contract. If you withdraw an amount which is more than the earnings in the
contract as of the date of the withdrawal, the balance of the distribution is
treated as a return of your investment in the contract and is not taxable.
CONTRACTS PURCHASED THROUGH EXCHANGES
You may purchase your NQ contract through an exchange of another contract.
Normally, exchanges of contracts are taxable events. The exchange will not be
taxable under Section 1035 of the Internal Revenue Code if:
o the contract that is the source of the funds you are using to purchase the
NQ contract is another nonqualified deferred annuity contract or life
insurance or endowment contract.
o the owner and the annuitant are the same under the source contract and the
Equitable Accumulator NQ contract. If you are using a life insurance or
endowment contract the owner and the insured must be the same on both sides
of the exchange transaction.
The tax basis of the source contract carries over to the Equitable Accumulator
NQ contract.
SURRENDERS
If you surrender or cancel the contract, the distribution is taxable as
ordinary income (not capital gain) to the extent it exceeds your investment in
the contract.
DEATH BENEFIT PAYMENTS MADE TO A BENEFICIARY AFTER YOUR DEATH
For the rules applicable to death benefits, see "Payment of death benefit"
earlier in this prospectus. The tax treatment of a death benefit taken as a
single sum is generally the same as the tax treatment of a withdrawal from or
surrender of your contract. The tax treatment of a death benefit taken as
annuity payments is generally the same as the tax treatment of annuity
payments under your contract.
EARLY DISTRIBUTION PENALTY TAX
If you take distributions before you are age 59 1/2 a penalty tax of 10% of
the taxable portion of your distribution applies in addition to the income
tax. The extra penalty tax does not apply to pre-age 59 1/2 distributions
made:
o on or after your death; or
o because you are disabled (special federal income tax definition); or
o in the form of substantially equal periodic annuity payments for your life
(or life expectancy) or the joint lives (or joint life expectancy) of you
and a beneficiary.
SPECIAL RULES FOR NQ CONTRACTS ISSUED IN PUERTO RICO
Under current law we treat income from NQ contracts as U.S. source. A Puerto
Rico resident is subject to U.S. taxation on such U.S. source income. Only
Puerto Rico source income of Puerto Rico residents is excludable from U.S.
taxation. Income from NQ contracts is also subject to Puerto Rico tax. The
calculation of the taxable portion of amounts distributed from a contract may
differ in the two jurisdictions. Therefore, you might have to file both U.S.
and Puerto Rico tax returns, showing different amounts of income from the
contract for each tax return. Puerto Rico generally provides a credit against
Puerto Rico tax for U.S. tax paid. Depending on your personal situation and
the timing of the different tax liabilities, you may not be able to take full
advantage of this credit.
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48 TAX INFORMATION
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INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ARRANGEMENTS (IRAS)
GENERAL
"IRA" stands for individual retirement arrangement. There are two basic types
of such arrangements, individual retirement accounts and individual retirement
annuities. In an individual retirement account, a trustee or custodian holds
the assets for the benefit of the IRA owner. The assets can include mutual
funds and certificates of deposit. In an individual retirement annuity, an
insurance company issues an annuity contract that serves as the IRA.
There are two basic types of IRAs, as follows:
o Traditional IRAs, typically funded on a pre-tax basis including SEP-IRAs and
SIMPLE-IRAs, issued and funded in connection with employer-sponsored
retirement plans; and
o Roth IRAs, first available in 1998, funded on an after-tax basis.
Regardless of the type of IRA, your ownership interest in the IRA cannot be
forfeited. You or your beneficiaries who survive you are the only ones who can
receive the IRA's benefits or payments.
You can hold your IRA assets in as many different accounts and annuities as
you would like, as long as you meet the rules for setting up and making
contributions to IRAs. However, if you own multiple IRAs, you may be required
to combine IRA values or contributions for tax purposes. For further
information about individual retirement arrangements, you can read Internal
Revenue Service Publication 590 ("Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)").
This publication is usually updated annually, and can be obtained from any IRS
district office or the IRS Web site (http://www.irs.ustreas.gov).
Equitable Life designs its traditional IRA contracts to qualify as individual
retirement annuities under Section 408(b) of the Internal Revenue Code. You
may purchase the contract as a traditional IRA or Roth IRA. The traditional
IRAs we offer are the Rollover IRA and Flexible Premium IRA. The versions of
the Roth IRA available are the Roth Conversion IRA and Flexible Premium Roth
IRA. This prospectus contains the information that the IRS requires you to
have before you purchase an IRA. This section of the prospectus covers some of
the special tax rules that apply to IRAs. The next section covers Roth IRAs.
Education IRAs are not discussed in this prospectus because they are not
available in individual retirement annuity form.
The Equitable Accumulator IRA contract has been approved by the IRS as to form
for use as a traditional IRA. This IRS approval is a determination only as to
the form of the annuity. It does not represent a determination of the merits
of the annuity as an investment. The IRS approval does not address every
feature possibly available under the Equitable Accumulator IRA contract.
Although we do not have IRS approval as to form, we believe that the version
of the Roth IRA currently offered complies with the requirements of the
Internal Revenue Code.
CANCELLATION
You can cancel an Equitable Accumulator IRA contract by following the
directions under "Your right to cancel within a certain number of days" in
"Contract features and benefits" earlier in the prospectus. You can cancel an
Equitable Accumulator Roth Conversion IRA contract issued as a result of a
full conversion of an Equitable Accumulator Rollover IRA or Flexible Premium
IRA contract by following the instructions in the request for full conversion
form. The form is available from our processing office or your registered
representative. If you cancel an IRA contract, we may have to withhold tax,
and we must report the transaction to the IRS. A contract cancellation could
have an unfavorable tax impact.
TRADITIONAL INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ANNUITIES (TRADITIONAL IRAS)
CONTRIBUTIONS TO TRADITIONAL IRAS. Individuals may make three different types
of contributions to a traditional IRA:
o regular contributions out of earned income or compensation; or
o tax-free "rollover" contributions; or
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TAX INFORMATION 49
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o direct custodian-to-custodian transfers from other traditional IRAs ("direct
transfers").
Regular traditional IRA, direct transfer, and rollover contributions may be
made to a Flexible Premium IRA contract. We only permit direct transfer and
rollover contributions under a Rollover IRA contract. See "Rollovers and
transfers" below.
REGULAR CONTRIBUTIONS TO TRADITIONAL IRAS
LIMITS ON CONTRIBUTIONS. Generally, $2,000 is the maximum amount that you may
contribute to all IRAs (including Roth IRAs) in any taxable year. When your
earnings are below $2,000, your earned income or compensation for the year is
the most you can contribute. This $2,000 limit does not apply to rollover
contributions or direct custodian-to-custodian transfers into a traditional
IRA. You cannot make regular traditional IRA contributions for the tax year in
which you reach age 70 1/2 or any tax year after that.
SPECIAL RULES FOR SPOUSES. If you are married and file a joint income tax
return, you and your spouse may combine your compensation to determine the
amount of regular contributions you are permitted to make to traditional IRAs
(and Roth IRAs discussed below). Even if one spouse has no compensation or
compensation under $2,000, married individuals filing jointly can contribute
up to $4,000 for any taxable year to any combination of traditional IRAs and
Roth IRAs. (Any contributions to Roth IRAs reduce the ability to contribute to
traditional IRAs and vice versa.) The maximum amount may be less if earned
income is less and the other spouse has made IRA contributions. No more than a
combined total of $2,000 can be contributed annually to either spouse's
traditional and Roth IRAs. Each spouse owns his or her traditional IRAs and
Roth IRAs even if the other spouse funded the contributions. A working spouse
age 70 1/2 or over can contribute up to the lesser of $2,000 or 100% of
"earned income" to a traditional IRA for a nonworking spouse until the year in
which the nonworking spouse reaches age 70 1/2.
DEDUCTIBILITY OF CONTRIBUTIONS. The amount of traditional IRA contributions
that you can deduct for a tax year depends on whether you are covered by an
employer-sponsored tax-favored retirement plan, as defined under special
federal income tax rules. Your Form W-2 will indicate whether or not you are
covered by such a retirement plan.
IF YOU ARE NOT COVERED BY A RETIREMENT PLAN DURING ANY PART OF THE YEAR, you
can make fully deductible contributions to your traditional IRAs for each tax
year up to $2,000 or, if less, your earned income.
IF YOU ARE COVERED BY A RETIREMENT PLAN DURING ANY PART OF THE YEAR, and your
adjusted gross income (AGI) is BELOW THE LOWER DOLLAR FIGURE IN A PHASE-OUT
RANGE, you can make fully deductible contributions to your traditional IRAs.
For each tax year, your fully deductible contribution can be up to $2,000 or,
if less, your earned income.
IF YOU ARE COVERED BY A RETIREMENT PLAN DURING ANY PART OF THE YEAR, and your
AGI falls within a PHASE-OUT range, you can make PARTIALLY DEDUCTIBLE
CONTRIBUTIONS to your traditional IRAs.
IF YOU ARE COVERED BY A RETIREMENT PLAN DURING ANY PART OF THE YEAR, and your
AGI falls ABOVE THE HIGHER FIGURE IN THE PHASE-OUT RANGE, you may not deduct
any of your regular contributions to your traditional IRAs.
If you are single and covered by a retirement plan during any part of the
taxable year, the deduction for traditional IRA contributions phases out with
AGI between $31,000 and $41,000 in 1999. This range will increase every year
until 2005 when the range is $50,000-$60,000.
If you are married and file a joint return, and you are covered by a
retirement plan during any part of the taxable year, the deduction for
traditional IRA contributions phases out with AGI between $51,000 and $61,000
in 1999. This range will increase every year until 2007 when the range is
$80,000-$100,000.
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50 TAX INFORMATION
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Married individuals filing separately and living apart at all times are not
considered married for purposes of this deductible contribution calculation.
Generally, the active participation in an employer-sponsored retirement plan
of an individual is determined independently for each spouse. Where spouses
have "married filing jointly" status, however, the maximum deductible
traditional IRA contribution for an individual who is not an active
participant (but whose spouse is an active participant) is phased out for
taxpayers with AGI of between $150,000 and $160,000.
To determine the deductible amount of the contribution in 1999, you determine
AGI and subtract $31,000 if you are single, or $51,000 if you are married and
file a joint return with your spouse. The resulting amount is your excess AGI.
You then determine the limit on the deduction for traditional IRA
contributions using the following formula:
($10,000-excess AGI) times $2,000 (or earned Equals the adjusted
--------------------
divided by $10,000 x income, if less) = deductible
contribution
limit
NONDEDUCTIBLE REGULAR CONTRIBUTIONS. If you are not eligible to deduct part or
all of the traditional IRA contribution, you may still make nondeductible
contributions on which earnings will accumulate on a tax-deferred basis. The
combined deductible and nondeductible contributions to your traditional IRA
(or the nonworking spouse's traditional IRA) may not, however, exceed the
maximum $2,000 per person limit. See "Excess contributions" below. You must
keep your own records of deductible and nondeductible contributions in order
to prevent double taxation on the distribution of previously taxed amounts.
See "Withdrawals, payments and transfers of funds out of traditional IRAs"
below.
If you are making nondeductible contributions in any taxable year, or you have
made nondeductible contributions to a traditional IRA in prior years and are
receiving distributions from any traditional IRA, you must file the required
information with the IRS. Moreover, if you are making nondeductible
traditional IRA contributions, you must retain all income tax returns and
records pertaining to such contributions until interests in all traditional
IRAs are fully distributed.
WHEN YOU CAN MAKE REGULAR CONTRIBUTIONS. If you file your tax returns on a
calendar year basis like most taxpayers, you have until the April 15 return
filing deadline (without extensions) of the following calendar year to make
your regular traditional IRA contributions for a tax year.
EXCESS CONTRIBUTIONS
Excess contributions to IRAs are subject to a 6% excise tax for the year in
which made and for each year after until withdrawn. The following are excess
contributions to IRAs:
o regular contributions of more than $2,000; or
o regular contributions of more than earned income for the year, if that
amount is under $2,000; or
o regular contributions to a traditional IRA made after you reach age 70 1/2;
or
o rollover contributions of amounts which are not eligible to be rolled over.
For example, after-tax contributions to a qualified plan or minimum
distributions required to be made after age 70 1/2.
You can avoid the excise tax by withdrawing an excess contribution (rollover
or regular) before the due date (including extensions) for filing your federal
income tax return for the year. If it is an excess regular traditional IRA
contribution, you cannot take a tax deduction for the amount withdrawn. You do
not have to include the excess contribution withdrawn as part of your income.
It is also not subject to the 10% additional penalty tax on early
distributions, discussed below under "Early distribution penalty tax." You do
have to withdraw any earnings that are attributed to the excess contribution.
The withdrawn earnings would be included in your gross income and could be
subject to the 10% penalty tax.
Even after the due date for filing your return, you may withdraw an excess
rollover contribution, without income inclusion or 10% penalty, if:
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TAX INFORMATION 51
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(1) the rollover was from a qualified retirement plan to a traditional IRA;
(2) the excess contribution was due to incorrect information that the plan
provided; and
(3) you took no tax deduction for the excess contribution.
RECHARACTERIZATIONS
Amounts that have been contributed as traditional IRA funds may subsequently
be treated as Roth IRA funds. Special federal income tax rules allow you to
change your mind again and have amounts that are subsequently treated as Roth
IRA funds, once again treated as traditional IRA funds. You do this by using
the forms we prescribe. This is referred to as having "recharacterized" your
contribution.
ROLLOVERS AND TRANSFERS
Rollover contributions may be made to a traditional IRA from these sources:
o qualified plans;
o TSAs (including Internal Revenue Code Section 403(b)(7) custodial accounts);
and
o other traditional IRAs.
Any amount contributed to a traditional IRA after you reach age 70 1/2 must
be net of your required minimum distribution for the year in which the
rollover or direct transfer contribution is made.
ROLLOVERS FROM QUALIFIED PLANS OR TSAS
There are two ways to do rollovers:
o Do it yourself. You actually receive a distribution that can be rolled over
and you roll it over to a traditional IRA within 60 days after the date you
receive the funds. The distribution from your qualified plan or TSA will be
net of 20% mandatory federal income tax withholding. If you want, you can
replace the withheld funds yourself and roll over the full amount.
o Direct rollover. You tell your qualified plan trustee or TSA
issuer/custodian/fiduciary to send the distribution directly to your
traditional IRA issuer. Direct rollovers are not subject to mandatory
federal income tax withholding.
All distributions from a TSA or qualified plan are eligible rollover
distributions, unless the distribution is:
o only after-tax contributions you made to the plan; or
o "required minimum distributions" after age 70 1/2 or separation from
service; or
o substantially equal periodic payments made at least annually for your life
(or life expectancy) or the joint lives (or joint life expectancies) of you
and your designated beneficiary; or
o a hardship withdrawal; or
o substantially equal periodic payments made for a specified period of 10
years or more; or
o corrective distributions that fit specified technical tax rules; or
o loans that are treated as distributions; or
o a death benefit payment to a beneficiary who is not your surviving spouse;
or
o a qualified domestic relations order distribution to a beneficiary who is
not your current spouse or former spouse.
ROLLOVERS FROM TRADITIONAL IRAS TO TRADITIONAL IRAS
You may roll over amounts from one traditional IRA to one or more of your
other traditional IRAs if you complete the transaction within 60 days after
you receive the funds. You may make such a rollover only once in every
12-month period for the same funds. Trustee-to-trustee or
custodian-to-custodian direct transfers are not rollover transactions. You can
make these more frequently than once in every 12-month period.
The surviving spouse beneficiary of a deceased individual can roll over or
directly transfer an inherited traditional IRA to one or more other
traditional IRAs. Also, in some cases,
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traditional IRAs can be transferred on a tax-free basis between spouses or
former spouses as a result of a court-ordered divorce or separation decree.
WITHDRAWALS, PAYMENTS AND TRANSFERS OF FUNDS OUT OF TRADITIONAL IRAS
NO FEDERAL INCOME TAX LAW RESTRICTIONS ON WITHDRAWALS. You can withdraw any or
all of your funds from a traditional IRA at any time. You do not need to wait
for a special event like retirement.
TAXATION OF PAYMENTS. Earnings in traditional IRAs are not subject to federal
income tax until you or your beneficiary receive them. Taxable payments or
distributions include withdrawals from your contract, surrender of your
contract, and annuity payments from your contract. Death benefits are also
taxable. Except as discussed below, the total amount of any distribution from
a traditional IRA must be included in your gross income as ordinary income.
If you have ever made nondeductible IRA contributions to any traditional IRA
(it does not have to be to this particular traditional IRA contract), those
contributions are recovered tax free when you get distributions from any
traditional IRA. You must keep permanent tax records of all of your
nondeductible contributions to traditional IRAs. At the end of any year in
which you have received a distribution from any traditional IRA, you calculate
the ratio of your total nondeductible traditional IRA contributions (less any
amounts previously withdrawn tax free) to the total account balances of all
traditional IRAs you own at the end of the year plus all traditional IRA
distributions made during the year. Multiply this by all distributions from
the traditional IRA during the year to determine the nontaxable portion of
each distribution.
In addition, a distribution is not taxable if:
o the amount received is a withdrawal of excess contributions, as described
under "Excess contributions" above; or
o the entire amount received is rolled over to another traditional IRA (see
"Rollovers and transfers" above); or
o in certain limited circumstances, where the traditional IRA acts as a
"conduit," you roll over the entire amount into a qualified plan or TSA that
accepts rollover contributions. To get this conduit traditional IRA
treatment:
o the source of funds you used to establish the traditional IRA must have
been a rollover contribution from a qualified plan; and
o the entire amount received from the traditional IRA (including any
earnings on the rollover contribution) must be rolled over into another
qualified plan within 60 days of the date received.
Similar rules apply in the case of a TSA.
However, you may lose conduit treatment if you make an eligible rollover
distribution contribution to a traditional IRA and you commingle this
contribution with other contributions. In that case, you may not be able to
roll over these eligible rollover distribution contributions and earnings to
another qualified plan or TSA at a future date. The Rollover IRA contract can
be used as a conduit IRA if amounts are not commingled.
Distributions from a traditional IRA are not eligible for favorable five-year
averaging (or, in some cases, ten-year averaging and long-term capital gain
treatment) available to certain distributions from qualified plans.
REQUIRED MINIMUM DISTRIBUTIONS
LIFETIME REQUIRED MINIMUM DISTRIBUTIONS. You must start taking annual
distributions from your traditional IRAs beginning at age 70 1/2.
WHEN YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE FIRST REQUIRED MINIMUM DISTRIBUTION. The first
required minimum distribution is for the calendar year in which you turn age
70 1/2. You have the choice to take this first required minimum distribution
during the calendar year you actually reach age 70 1/2, or to delay taking it
until the first three-month period in the next calendar year (January 1 -
April 1). Distributions must start no later than your Required Beginning Date,
which is April 1st of the calendar year after the calendar year in which you
turn age 70 1/2. If you choose to delay taking the
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first annual minimum distribution, then you will have to take two minimum
distributions in that year - the delayed one for the first year and the one
actually for that year. Once minimum distributions begin, they must be made at
some time each year.
HOW YOU CAN CALCULATE REQUIRED MINIMUM DISTRIBUTIONS. There are two approaches
to taking required minimum distributions - "account-based" or
"annuity-based."
Account-based method. If you choose an account-based method, you divide the
value of your traditional IRA as of December 31st of the past calendar year by
a life expectancy factor from IRS tables. This gives you the required minimum
distribution amount for that particular IRA for that year. The required
minimum distribution amount will vary each year as the account value and your
life expectancy factors change.
You have a choice of life expectancy factors, depending on whether you choose
a method based only on your life expectancy, or the joint life expectancies of
you and another individual. You can decide to "recalculate" your life
expectancy every year by using your current life expectancy factor. You can
decide instead to use the "term certain" method, where you reduce your life
expectancy by one every year after the initial year. If your spouse is your
designated beneficiary for the purpose of calculating annual account-based
required minimum distributions, you can also annually recalculate your
spouse's life expectancy if you want. If you choose someone who is not your
spouse as your designated beneficiary for the purpose of calculating annual
account-based required minimum distributions, you have to use the term certain
method of calculating that person's life expectancy. If you pick a nonspouse
designated beneficiary, you may also have to do another special calculation.
You can later apply your traditional IRA funds to a life annuity-based payout.
You can only do this if you already chose to recalculate your life expectancy
annually (and your spouse's life expectancy if you select a spousal joint
annuity). For example, if you anticipate exercising your guaranteed minimum
income benefit or selecting any other form of life annuity payout after you
are age 70 1/2, you must have elected to recalculate life expectancies.
Annuity-based method. If you choose an annuity-based method, you do not have
to do annual calculations. You apply the account value to an annuity payout
for your life or the joint lives of you and a designated beneficiary, or for a
period certain not extending beyond applicable life expectancies.
DO YOU HAVE TO PICK THE SAME METHOD TO CALCULATE YOUR REQUIRED MINIMUM
DISTRIBUTIONS FOR ALL OF YOUR TRADITIONAL IRAS AND OTHER RETIREMENT PLANS? No.
If you want, you can choose a different method and a different beneficiary for
each of your traditional IRAs and other retirement plans. For example, you can
choose an annuity payout from one IRA, a different annuity payout from a
qualified plan, and an account-based annual withdrawal from another IRA.
WILL WE PAY YOU THE ANNUAL AMOUNT EVERY YEAR FROM YOUR TRADITIONAL IRA BASED
ON THE METHOD YOU CHOOSE? No, unless you affirmatively select an annuity
payout option or an account-based withdrawal option such as our minimum
distribution withdrawal option. Because the options we offer do not cover
every option permitted under federal income tax rules, you may prefer to do
your own required minimum distribution calculations for one or more of your
traditional IRAs.
WHAT IF YOU TAKE MORE THAN YOU NEED TO FOR ANY YEAR? The required minimum
distribution amount for your traditional IRAs is calculated on a year-by-year
basis. There are no carry-back or carry-forward provisions. Also, you cannot
apply required minimum distribution amounts you take from your qualified plans
to the amounts you have to take from your traditional IRAs and vice versa.
However, the IRS will let you calculate the required minimum distribution for
each traditional IRA that you maintain, using the method that you picked for
that particular IRA. You can add these required minimum distribution amount
calculations together. As long as the total amount you take out every year
satisfies your overall traditional IRA required minimum
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distribution amount, you may choose to take your annual required minimum
distribution from any one or more traditional IRAs that you own.
WHAT IF YOU TAKE LESS THAN YOU NEED TO FOR ANY YEAR?
Your IRA could be disqualified, and you could have to pay tax on the entire
value. Even if your IRA is not disqualified, you could have to pay a 50%
penalty tax on the shortfall (required amount for traditional IRAs less amount
actually taken). It is your responsibility to meet the required minimum
distribution rules. We will remind you when our records show that your age
70 1/2 is approaching. If you do not select a method with us, we will assume
you are taking your required minimum distribution from another traditional IRA
that you own.
WHAT ARE THE REQUIRED MINIMUM DISTRIBUTION PAYMENTS AFTER YOU DIE? If you die
after either (a) the start of annuity payments, or (b) your Required Beginning
Date, your beneficiary must receive payment of the remaining values in the
contract at least as rapidly as under the distribution method before your
death. In some circumstances, your surviving spouse may elect to become the
owner of the traditional IRA and halt distributions until he or she reaches
age 70 1/2.
If you die before your Required Beginning Date and before annuity payments
begin, federal income tax rules require complete distribution of your entire
value in the contract within five years after your death. Payments to a
designated beneficiary over the beneficiary's life or over a period certain
that does not extend beyond the beneficiary's life expectancy are also
permitted, if these payments start within one year of your death. A surviving
spouse beneficiary can also (a) delay starting any payments until you would
have reached age 70 1/2 or (b) roll over your traditional IRA into his or her
own traditional IRA.
SUCCESSOR ANNUITANT AND OWNER
If your spouse is the sole primary beneficiary and elects to become the
successor annuitant and owner, no death benefit is payable until your
surviving spouse's death.
PAYMENTS TO A BENEFICIARY AFTER YOUR DEATH
IRA death benefits are taxed the same as IRA distributions.
BORROWING AND LOANS ARE PROHIBITED TRANSACTIONS
You cannot get loans from a traditional IRA. You cannot use a traditional IRA
as collateral for a loan or other obligation. If you borrow against your IRA
or use it as collateral, its tax-favored status will be lost as of the first
day of the tax year in which this prohibited event occurs. If this happens,
you must include the value of the traditional IRA in your federal gross
income. Also, the early distribution penalty tax of 10% will apply if you have
not reached age 59 1/2 before the first day of that tax year.
EARLY DISTRIBUTION PENALTY TAX
A penalty tax of 10% of the taxable portion of a distribution applies to
distributions from a traditional IRA made before you reach age 59 1/2. The
extra penalty tax does not apply to pre-age 59 1/2 distributions made:
o on or after your death; or
o because you are disabled (special federal income tax definition); or
o used to pay certain extraordinary medical expenses (special federal income
tax definition); or
o used to pay medical insurance premiums for unemployed individuals (special
federal income tax definition); or
o used to pay certain first-time home buyer expenses (special federal income
tax definition; $10,000 lifetime total limit for these distributions from
all your traditional and Roth IRAs); or
o used to pay certain higher education expenses (special federal income tax
definition); or
o in the form of substantially equal periodic payments made at least annually
over your life (or your life expectancy), or over the joint lives of you and
your beneficiary (or your joint life expectancy) using an IRS-approved
distribution method.
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To meet this last exception, you could elect to apply your contract value to
an Income Manager (life annuity with a period certain) payout annuity contract
(level payments version). You could also elect the substantially equal
withdrawals option. We will calculate the substantially equal annual payments
under a method we select based on guidelines issued by the IRS (currently
contained in IRS Notice 89-25, Question and Answer 12). Although substantially
equal withdrawals and Income Manager payments are not subject to the 10%
penalty tax, they are taxable as discussed in "Withdrawals, payments and
transfers of funds out of traditional IRAs" above. Once substantially equal
withdrawals or Income Manager annuity payments begin, the distributions should
not be stopped or changed until the later of your reaching age 59 1/2 or five
years after the date of the first distribution, or the penalty tax, including
an interest charge for the prior penalty avoidance, may apply to all prior
distributions under either option. Also, it is possible that the IRS could
view any additional withdrawal or payment you take from your contract as
changing your pattern of substantially equal withdrawals or Income Manager
payments for purposes of determining whether the penalty applies.
ROTH INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ANNUITIES (ROTH IRAS)
This section of the prospectus covers some of the special tax rules that apply
to Roth IRAs. If the rules are the same as those that apply to the traditional
IRA, we will refer you to the same topic under "traditional IRAs."
The Equitable Accumulator Roth IRA contract is designed to qualify as a Roth
individual retirement annuity under Sections 408A and 408(b) of the Internal
Revenue Code.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO ROTH IRAS
Individuals may make four different types of contributions to a Roth IRA:
o regular after-tax contributions out of earnings; or
o taxable rollover contributions from traditional IRAs ("conversion"
contributions); or
o tax-free rollover contributions from other Roth IRAs; or
o tax-free direct custodian-to-custodian transfers from other Roth IRAs
("direct transfers").
Regular after-tax, direct transfer, and rollover contributions may be made to
a Flexible Premium Roth IRA contract. We only permit direct transfer and
rollover contributions under the Roth Conversion IRA contract. See "Rollovers
and direct transfers" below. If you use the forms we require, we will also
accept traditional IRA funds which are subsequently recharacterized as Roth
IRA funds following special federal income tax rules.
REGULAR CONTRIBUTIONS TO ROTH IRAS
LIMITS ON REGULAR CONTRIBUTIONS. Generally, $2,000 is the maximum amount that
you may contribute to all IRAs (including Roth IRAs) in any taxable year. This
$2,000 limit does not apply to rollover contributions or direct
custodian-to-custodian transfers into a Roth IRA. Any contributions to Roth
IRAs reduce your ability to contribute to traditional IRAs and vice versa.
When your earnings are below $2,000, your earned income or compensation for
the year is the most you can contribute. If you are married and file a joint
income tax return, you and your spouse may combine your compensation to
determine the amount of regular contributions you are permitted to make to
Roth IRAs and traditional IRAs. See the discussion above under traditional
IRAs.
With a Roth IRA, you can make regular contributions when you reach 70 1/2, as
long as you have sufficient earnings. But, you cannot make contributions for
any year that:
o your federal income tax filing status is "married filing jointly" and your
adjusted gross income is over $160,000; or
o your federal income tax filing status is "single" and your adjusted gross
income is over $110,000.
However, you can make regular Roth IRA contributions in reduced amounts when:
o your federal income tax filing status is "married filing jointly" and your
adjusted gross income is between $150,000 and $160,000; or
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o your federal income tax filing status is "single" and your adjusted gross
income is between $95,000 and $110,000.
If you are married and filing separately and your adjusted gross income is
between $0 and $10,000 the amount of regular contributions you are permitted
to make is phased out. If your adjusted gross income is more than $10,000 you
cannot make regular Roth IRA contributions.
WHEN YOU CAN MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS. Same as traditional IRAs.
DEDUCTIBILITY OF CONTRIBUTIONS. Roth IRA contributions are not tax deductible.
ROLLOVERS AND DIRECT TRANSFERS
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ROLLOVER AND DIRECT TRANSFER TRANSACTIONS? You
may make rollover contributions to a Roth IRA from only two sources:
o another Roth IRA ("tax-free rollover contribution"); or
o another traditional IRA, including a SEP-IRA or SIMPLE-IRA, in a taxable
conversion rollover ("conversion contribution").
You may not make contributions to a Roth IRA from a qualified plan under
Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, or a TSA under Section 403(b) of
the Internal Revenue Code. You may make direct transfer contributions to a
Roth IRA only from another Roth IRA.
The difference between a rollover transaction and a direct transfer
transaction is the following: in a rollover transaction you actually take
possession of the funds rolled over, or are considered to have received them
under tax law in the case of a change from one type of plan to another. In a
direct transfer transaction, you never take possession of the funds, but
direct the first Roth IRA custodian, trustee, or issuer to transfer the first
Roth IRA funds directly to Equitable Life, as the Roth IRA issuer. You can
make direct transfer transactions only between identical plan types (for
example, Roth IRA to Roth IRA). You can also make rollover transactions
between identical plan types. However, you can only use rollover transactions
between different plan types (for example, traditional IRA to Roth IRA).
You may make both Roth IRA to Roth IRA rollover transactions and Roth IRA to
Roth IRA direct transfer transactions. This can be accomplished on a
completely tax-free basis. However, you may make Roth IRA to Roth IRA rollover
transactions only once in any 12-month period for the same funds.
Trustee-to-trustee or custodian-to-custodian direct transfers can be made more
frequently than once a year. Also, if you send us the rollover contribution to
apply it to a Roth IRA, you must do so within 60 days after you receive the
proceeds from the original IRA to get rollover treatment.
The surviving spouse beneficiary of a deceased individual can roll over or
directly transfer an inherited Roth IRA to one or more other Roth IRAs. In
some cases, Roth IRAs can be transferred on a tax-free basis between spouses
or former spouses as a result of a court-ordered divorce or separation decree.
CONVERSION CONTRIBUTIONS TO ROTH IRAS
In a conversion rollover transaction, you withdraw (or are considered to have
withdrawn) all or a portion of funds from a traditional IRA you maintain and
convert it to a Roth IRA within 60 days after you receive (or are considered
to have received) the traditional IRA proceeds. Unlike a rollover from a
traditional IRA to another traditional IRA, the conversion rollover
transaction is not tax-free. Instead, the distribution from the traditional
IRA is generally fully taxable. For this reason, we are required to withhold
10% federal income tax from the amount converted unless you elect out of such
withholding. If you have ever made nondeductible regular contributions to any
traditional IRA -- whether or not it is the traditional IRA you are converting
-- a pro rata portion of the distribution is tax free.
There is, however, no early distribution penalty tax on the traditional IRA
withdrawal that you are converting to a Roth IRA, even if you are under age
59 1/2.
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You cannot make conversion contributions to a Roth IRA for any taxable year in
which your adjusted gross income exceeds $100,000. For this purpose, your
adjusted gross income is computed without the gross income stemming from the
traditional IRA conversion. You also cannot make conversion contributions to a
Roth IRA for any taxable year in which your federal income tax filing status
is "married filing separately."
Finally, you cannot make conversion contributions to a Roth IRA to the extent
that the funds in your traditional IRA are subject to the annual required
minimum distribution rule applicable to traditional IRAs beginning at age
70 1/2.
WITHDRAWALS, PAYMENTS AND TRANSFERS OF FUNDS OUT OF ROTH IRAS
NO FEDERAL INCOME TAX LAW RESTRICTIONS ON WITHDRAWALS. You can withdraw any or
all of your funds from a Roth IRA at any time; you do not need to wait for a
special event like retirement.
DISTRIBUTIONS FROM ROTH IRAS
Distributions include withdrawals from your contract, surrender of your
contract, and annuity payments from your contract. Death benefits are also
distributions.
The following distributions from Roth IRAs are free of income tax:
o Rollover from a Roth IRA to another Roth IRA;
o Direct transfer from a Roth IRA to another Roth IRA;
o Qualified distributions from a Roth IRA; and
o Return of excess contributions or amounts recharacterized to a traditional
IRA.
QUALIFIED DISTRIBUTIONS FROM ROTH IRAS. Qualified distributions from Roth IRAs
made because of one of the following four qualifying events or reasons are not
includable in income:
o you reach age 59 1/2; or
o you die; or
o you become disabled (special federal income tax definition); or
o your distribution is a "qualified first-time homebuyer distribution"
(special federal income tax definition; $10,000 lifetime total limit for
these distributions from all of your traditional and Roth IRAs).
You also have to meet a five-year aging period. A qualified distribution is
any distribution made after the five-taxable- year period beginning with the
first taxable year for which you made any contribution to any Roth IRA
(whether or not the one from which the distribution is being made). It is not
possible to have a tax-free qualified distribution before the year 2003
because of the five-year aging requirement.
NONQUALIFIED DISTRIBUTIONS FROM ROTH IRAS.
Nonqualified distributions from Roth IRAs are distributions that do not meet
the qualifying event and five-year aging period tests described above. Such
distributions are potentially taxable as ordinary income. Nonqualified
distributions receive return-of-investment-first treatment. Only the
difference between the amount of the distribution and the amount of
contributions to all of your Roth IRAs is taxable. You have to reduce the
amount of contributions to all of your Roth IRAs to reflect any previous
tax-free recoveries.
You must keep your own records of regular and conversion contributions to all
Roth IRAs to assure appropriate taxation. You may have to file information on
your contributions to and distributions from any Roth IRA on your tax return.
You may have to retain all income tax returns and records pertaining to such
contributions and distributions until your interests in all Roth IRAs are
distributed.
Like traditional IRAs, taxable distributions from a Roth IRA are not entitled
to the special favorable five-year averaging method (or, in certain cases,
favorable ten-year averaging and long-term capital gain treatment) available
in certain cases to distributions from qualified plans.
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REQUIRED MINIMUM DISTRIBUTIONS AT DEATH
Same as traditional IRA under "What are the required minimum distribution
payments after you die?" Lifetime required minimum distributions do not apply.
PAYMENTS TO A BENEFICIARY AFTER YOUR DEATH
Distributions to a beneficiary generally receive the same tax treatment as if
the distribution had been made to you.
BORROWING AND LOANS ARE PROHIBITED TRANSACTIONS
Same as traditional IRA.
EXCESS CONTRIBUTIONS
Same as traditional IRA, except that regular contributions made after age
70 1/2 are not excess contributions.
Excess rollover contributions to Roth IRAs are contributions not eligible to
be rolled over (for example, conversion contributions from a traditional IRA
if your adjusted gross income is in excess of $100,000 in the conversion
year).
You can withdraw or recharacterize any contribution to a Roth IRA before the
due date (including extensions) for filing your federal income tax return for
the tax year. If you do this, you must also withdraw or recharacterize any
earnings attributable to the contribution.
EARLY DISTRIBUTION PENALTY TAX
Same as traditional IRA.
For Roth IRAs, special penalty rules may apply to amounts withdrawn
attributable to 1998 conversion rollovers.
SPECIAL RULES FOR NONQUALIFIED CONTRACTS IN QUALIFIED PLANS
Under QP contracts your plan administrator or trustee notifies you as to tax
consequences. See Appendix I.
TAX-SHELTERED ANNUITY CONTRACTS (TSAS)
GENERAL
This section of the prospectus covers some of the special tax rules that apply
to TSA contracts under Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code (TSAs). If
the rules are the same as those that apply to another kind of contract, for
example, traditional IRAs, we will refer you to the same topic under
"traditional IRAs."
CONTRIBUTIONS TO TSAS
There are two ways you can make contributions to this Equitable Accumulator
Rollover TSA contract:
o a rollover from another TSA contract or arrangement that meets the
requirements of Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, or
o a full or partial direct transfer of assets ("direct transfer") from another
contract or arrangement that meets the requirements of Section 403(b) of the
Internal Revenue Code by means of IRS Revenue Ruling 90-24.
With appropriate written documentation satisfactory to us, we will accept
rollover contributions from "conduit IRAs" for TSA funds.
If you make a direct transfer, you must fill out our transfer form.
EMPLOYER-REMITTED CONTRIBUTIONS. The Equitable Accumulator Rollover TSA
contract does not accept employer-remitted contributions. However, we provide
the following discussion as part of our description of restrictions on the
distribution of funds directly transferred, which include employer-remitted
contributions to other TSAs.
Employer-remitted contributions to TSAs made through the employer's payroll
are subject to annual limits. (Tax-free transfer or tax-deferred rollover
contributions from another 403(b) arrangement are not subject to these annual
contribution limits.) Commonly, some or all of the contributions made to a TSA
are made under a salary reduction agreement between the employee and the
employer. These contributions are called "salary reduction"
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or "elective deferral" contributions. However, a TSA can also be wholly or
partially funded through nonelective employer contributions or after-tax
employee contributions. Amounts attributable to salary reduction contributions
to TSAs are generally subject to withdrawal restrictions. Also, all amounts
attributable to investments in a 403(b)(7) custodial account are subject to
withdrawal restrictions discussed below.
ROLLOVER OR DIRECT TRANSFER CONTRIBUTIONS. You may make rollover contributions
to your Equitable Accumulator Rollover TSA contract from TSAs under Section
403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code. Generally, you may make a rollover
contribution to a TSA when you have a distributable event from an existing TSA
as a result of your:
o termination of employment with the employer who provided the TSA funds; or
o reaching age 59 1/2 even if you are still employed; or
o disability (special federal income tax definition).
A transfer occurs when changing the funding vehicle, even if there is no
distributable event. Under a direct transfer, you do not receive a
distribution. We accept direct transfers of TSA funds under Revenue Ruling
90-24 only if:
o you give us acceptable written documentation as to the source of the funds,
and
o the Equitable Accumulator contract receiving the funds has provisions at
least as restrictive as the source contract.
Before you transfer funds to an Equitable Accumulator Rollover TSA contract,
you may have to obtain your employer's authorization or demonstrate that you
do not need employer authorization. For example, the transferring TSA may be
subject to Title I of ERISA, if the employer makes matching contributions to
salary reduction contributions made by employees. In that case, the employer
must continue to approve distributions from the plan or contract.
Your contribution to the Equitable Accumulator Rollover TSA must be net of the
required minimum distribution for the tax year in which we issue the contract
if:
o you are or will be at least age 70 1/2 in the current calendar year, and
o you have separated from service with the employer who provided the funds to
purchase the TSA you are transferring or rolling over to the Equitable
Accumulator Rollover TSA.
This rule applies regardless of whether the source of funds is a:
o rollover by check of the proceeds from another TSA; or
o direct rollover from another TSA; or
o direct transfer under Revenue Ruling 90-24 from another TSA.
Further, you must use the same elections regarding recalculation of your life
expectancy (and if applicable, your spouse's life expectancy) if you have
already begun to receive required minimum distributions from or with respect
to the TSA from which you are making your contribution to the Equitable
Accumulator Rollover TSA. You must also elect or have elected a minimum
distribution calculation method requiring recalculation of your life
expectancy (and if applicable, your spouse's life expectancy) if you elect an
annuity payout for the funds in this contract subsequent to this year.
DISTRIBUTIONS FROM TSAS
GENERAL. Depending on the terms of the employer plan and your employment
status, you may have to get your employer's consent to take a loan or
withdrawal. Your employer will tell us this when you establish the TSA through
a direct transfer.
WITHDRAWAL RESTRICTIONS. If this is a Revenue Ruling 90-24 direct transfer, we
will treat all amounts transferred to this contract and any future earnings on
the amount transferred as not eligible for withdrawal until one of the
following events happens:
o you are separated from service with the employer who provided the funds to
purchase the TSA you are transferring to the Equitable Accumulator Rollover
TSA;
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o you reach age 59 1/2; or
o you die; or
o you become disabled (special federal income tax definition); or
o you take a hardship withdrawal (special federal income tax definition).
If any portion of the funds directly transferred to your TSA contract is
attributable to amounts that you invested in a 403(b)(7) custodial account,
such amounts, including earnings, are subject to withdrawal restrictions. With
respect to the portion of the funds that were never invested in a 403(b)(7)
custodial account, these restrictions apply to the salary reduction (elective
deferral) contributions to a TSA annuity contract you made and any earnings on
them. These restrictions do not apply to the amount directly transferred to
your TSA contract that represents your December 31, 1988 account balance
attributable to salary reduction contributions to a TSA annuity contract and
earnings. To take advantage of this grandfathering you must properly notify us
in writing at our processing office of your December 31, 1988 account balance
if you have qualifying amounts transferred to your TSA contract.
THIS PARAGRAPH APPLIES ONLY TO PARTICIPANTS IN A TEXAS OPTIONAL RETIREMENT
PROGRAM. Texas Law permits withdrawals only after one of the following
distributable events occur:
(1) the requirements for minimum distribution (discussed under "Required
minimum distributions" below) are met; or
(2) death; or
(3) retirement; or
(4) termination of employment in all Texas public institutions of higher
education.
For you to make a withdrawal, we must receive a properly completed written
acknowledgement from the employer. If a distributable event occurs before you
are vested, we will refund to the employer any amounts provided by an
employer's first-year matching contribution. We reserve the right to change
these provisions without your consent, but only to the extent necessary to
maintain compliance with applicable law. Loans are not permitted under Texas
Optional Retirement Programs.
TAX TREATMENT OF DISTRIBUTIONS. Amounts held under TSAs are generally not
subject to federal income tax until benefits are distributed. Distributions
include withdrawals from your TSA contract and annuity payments from your TSA
contract. Death benefits paid to a beneficiary are also taxable distributions.
Unless an exception applies, amounts distributed from TSAs are includable in
gross income as ordinary income. Distributions from TSAs may be subject to 20%
federal income tax withholding. See "Federal and state income tax withholding
and information reporting" below. In addition, TSA distributions may be
subject to additional tax penalties.
If you have made after-tax contributions, you will have a tax basis in your
TSA contract, which will be recovered tax-free. Since we do not track your
investment in the contract, if any, it is your responsibility to determine how
much of the distribution is taxable.
DISTRIBUTIONS BEFORE ANNUITY PAYMENTS BEGIN. On a total surrender, the amount
received in excess of the investment in the contract is taxable. We will
report the total amount of the distribution. The amount of any partial
distribution from a TSA prior to the annuity starting date is generally
taxable, except to the extent that the distribution is treated as a withdrawal
of after-tax contributions. Distributions are normally treated as pro rata
withdrawals of after-tax contributions and earnings on those contributions.
ANNUITY PAYMENTS. If you elect an annuity payout option, you will recover any
investment in the contract as each payment is received by dividing the
investment in the contract by an expected return determined under an IRS table
prescribed for qualified annuities. The amount of each payment not excluded
from income under this exclusion ratio is fully taxable. The full amount of
the payments received after your investment in the contract is recovered is
fully taxable. If you (and your beneficiary under a joint and
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survivor annuity) die before recovering the full investment in the contract, a
deduction is allowed on your (or your beneficiary's) final tax return.
PAYMENTS TO A BENEFICIARY AFTER YOUR DEATH
Death benefit distributions from a TSA generally receive the same tax
treatment as distributions during your lifetime. In some instances,
distributions from a TSA made to your surviving spouse may be rolled over to a
traditional IRA.
LOANS FROM TSAS
You may take loans from a TSA unless restricted by the employer (for example,
under an employer plan subject to ERISA). If you cannot take a loan, or cannot
take a loan without approval from the employer who provided the funds, we will
have this information in our records based on what you and the employer who
provided the TSA funds told us when you purchased your contract.
Loans are generally not treated as a taxable distribution. If the amount of
the loan exceeds permissible limits under federal income tax rules when made,
the amount of the excess is treated (solely for tax purposes) as a taxable
distribution. Additionally, if the loan is not repaid at least quarterly,
amortizing (paying down) interest and principal, the amount not repaid when
due will be treated as a taxable distribution. Under Proposed Treasury
Regulations the entire unpaid balance of the loan is includable in income in
the year of the default.
TSA loans are subject to federal income tax limits and may also be subject to
the limits of the plan from which the funds came. Federal income tax rule
requirements apply even if the plan is not subject to ERISA. For example,
loans offered by TSAs are subject to the following conditions:
o The amount of a loan to a participant, when combined with all other loans to
the participant from all qualified plans of the employer, cannot exceed the
lesser of (1) the greater of $10,000 or 50% of the participant's
nonforfeitable accrued benefits and (2) $50,000 reduced by the excess (if
any) of the highest outstanding loan balance over the previous twelve months
over the outstanding loan balance of plan loans on the date the loan was
made.
o In general, the term of the loan cannot exceed five years unless the loan is
used to acquire the participant's primary residence. Equitable Accumulator
Rollover TSA contracts have a term limit of 10 years for loans used to
acquire the participant's primary residence.
o All principal and interest must be amortized in substantially level payments
over the term of the loan, with payments being made at least quarterly.
The amount borrowed and not repaid may be treated as a distribution if:
o the loan does not qualify under the conditions above;
o the participant fails to repay the interest or principal when due; or
o in some instances, the participant separates from service with the employer
who provided the funds or the plan is terminated.
In this case, the participant may have to include the unpaid amount due as
ordinary income. In addition, the 10% early distribution penalty tax may
apply. The amount of the unpaid loan balance is reported to the IRS on Form
1099-R as a distribution.
TAX-DEFERRED ROLLOVERS AND DIRECT TRANSFERS
You may roll over any "eligible rollover distribution" from a TSA into another
eligible retirement plan, either directly or within 60 days of your receiving
the distribution. To the extent rolled over, a distribution remains
tax-deferred.
You may roll over a distribution from a TSA to another TSA or to a traditional
IRA. A spousal beneficiary may roll over death benefits only to a traditional
IRA.
The taxable portion of most distributions will be eligible for rollover,
except as specifically excluded under federal income tax rules. Distributions
that you cannot roll over generally include periodic payments for life or for
a period of 10 years
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or more, hardship withdrawals, and required minimum distributions under
federal income tax rules.
Direct transfers of TSA funds from one TSA to another under Revenue Ruling
90-24 are not distributions.
REQUIRED MINIMUM DISTRIBUTIONS
Same as traditional IRA with these differences:
WHEN YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE FIRST REQUIRED MINIMUM DISTRIBUTION. The minimum
distribution rules force TSA participants to start calculating and taking
annual distributions from their TSAs by a required date. Generally, you must
take the first required minimum distribution for the calendar year in which
you turn age 70 1/2. You may be able to delay the start of required minimum
distributions for all or part of your account balance until after age 70 1/2,
as follows:
o For TSA participants who have not retired from service with the employer who
provided the funds for the TSA by the calendar year the participant turns
age 70 1/2, the required beginning date for minimum distributions is
extended to April 1 following the calendar year of retirement.
o TSA plan participants may also delay the start of required minimum
distributions to age 75 of the portion of their account value attributable
to their December 31, 1986 TSA account balance, even if retired at age
70 1/2. We will know whether or not you qualify for this exception because
it will only apply to people who establish their Equitable Accumulator
Rollover TSA by direct Revenue Ruling 90-24 transfers. If you do not give us
the amount of your December 31, 1986 account balance that is being
transferred to the Equitable Accumulator Rollover TSA on the form used to
establish the TSA, you do not qualify.
SPOUSAL CONSENT RULES
This will only apply to you if you establish your Equitable Accumulator
Rollover TSA by direct Revenue Ruling 90-24 transfer. Your employer will tell
us on the form used to establish the TSA whether or not you need to get
spousal consent for loans, withdrawals, or other distributions. If you do, you
will need such consent if you are married when you request a withdrawal under
the TSA contract. In addition, unless you elect otherwise with the written
consent of your spouse, the retirement benefits payable under the plan must be
paid in the form of a qualified joint and survivor annuity. A qualified joint
and survivor annuity is payable for the life of the annuitant with a survivor
annuity for the life of the spouse in an amount not less than one-half of the
amount payable to the annuitant during his or her lifetime. In addition, if
you are married, the beneficiary must be your spouse, unless your spouse
consents in writing to the designation of another beneficiary.
If you are married and you die before annuity payments have begun, payments
will be made to your surviving spouse in the form of a life annuity unless at
the time of your death a contrary election was in effect. However, your
surviving spouse may elect, before payments begin, to receive payments in any
form permitted under the terms of the TSA contract and the plan of the
employer who provided the funds for the TSA.
EARLY DISTRIBUTION PENALTY TAX
A penalty tax of 10% of the taxable portion of a distribution applies to
distributions from a TSA before you reach age 59 1/2. This is in addition to
any income tax. There are exceptions to the extra penalty tax. No penalty tax
applies to pre-age 59 1/2 distributions made:
o on or after your death; or
o because you are disabled (special federal income tax definition); or
o to pay for certain extraordinary medical expenses (special federal income
tax definition); or
o if you are separated from service, any form of payout after you are age 55;
or
o only if you are separated from service, a payout in the form of
substantially equal periodic payments made at least annually over your life
(or your life expectancy), or over the joint lives of you and your
beneficiary (or your joint life expectancy) using an IRS-approved
distribution method.
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FEDERAL AND STATE INCOME TAX WITHHOLDING AND INFORMATION REPORTING
We must withhold federal income tax from distributions from annuity contracts.
You may be able to elect out of this income tax withholding in some cases.
Generally, we do not have to withhold if your distributions are not taxable.
The rate of withholding will depend on the type of distribution and, in
certain cases, the amount of your distribution. Any income tax withheld is a
credit against your income tax liability. If you do not have sufficient income
tax withheld or do not make sufficient estimated income tax payments, you may
incur penalties under the estimated income tax rules.
You must file your request not to withhold in writing before the payment or
distribution is made. Our processing office will provide forms for this
purpose. You cannot elect out of withholding unless you provide us with your
correct Taxpayer Identification Number and a United States residence address.
You cannot elect out of withholding if we are sending the payment out of the
United States.
You should note the following special situations:
o We might have to withhold on amounts we pay under a free look or
cancellation.
o We are generally required to withhold on conversion rollovers of traditional
IRAs to Roth IRAs, as it is considered a withdrawal from the traditional IRA
and is taxable.
o We are required to withhold on the gross amount of a distribution from a
Roth IRA unless you elect out of withholding. This may result in tax being
withheld even though the Roth IRA distribution is not taxable in whole or in
part.
Special withholding rules apply to foreign recipients and United States
citizens residing outside the United States. We do not discuss these rules
here. Certain states have indicated that state income tax withholding will
also apply to payments from the contracts made to residents. In some states,
you may elect out of state withholding, even if federal withholding applies.
Generally, an election out of federal withholding will also be considered an
election out of state withholding. If you need more information concerning a
particular state or any required forms, call our processing office at the
toll-free number.
FEDERAL INCOME TAX WITHHOLDING ON PERIODIC ANNUITY PAYMENTS
We withhold differently on "periodic" and "non-periodic" payments. For a
periodic annuity payment, for example, unless you specify a different number
of withholding exemptions, we withhold assuming that you are married and
claiming three withholding exemptions. If you do not give us your correct
Taxpayer Identification Number, we withhold as if you are single with no
exemptions.
Based on the assumption that you are married and claiming three withholding
exemptions, if you receive less than $14,700 in periodic annuity payments in
1999, your payments will generally be exempt from federal income tax
withholding. You could specify a different choice of withholding exemption or
request that tax be withheld. Your withholding election remains effective
unless and until you revoke it. You may revoke or change your withholding
election at any time.
FEDERAL INCOME TAX WITHHOLDING ON NON-PERIODIC ANNUITY PAYMENTS (WITHDRAWALS)
For a non-periodic distribution (total surrender or partial withdrawal), we
generally withhold at a flat 10% rate. We apply that rate to the taxable
amount in the case of nonqualified contracts, and to the payment amount in the
case of IRAs and Roth IRAs.
You cannot elect out of withholding if the payment is an eligible rollover
distribution from a qualified plan or TSA. If a non-periodic distribution from
a qualified plan or TSA is not an eligible rollover distribution then the 10%
withholding rate applies.
MANDATORY WITHHOLDING FROM TSA AND QUALIFIED PLAN DISTRIBUTIONS
Unless you have the distribution go directly to the new plan, eligible
rollover distributions from qualified plans and TSAs are subject to mandatory
20% withholding. An eligible
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rollover distribution from a TSA can be rolled over to another TSA or a
traditional IRA. An eligible rollover distribution from a qualified plan can
be rolled over to another qualified plan or traditional IRA. All distributions
from a TSA or qualified plan are eligible rollover distributions unless they
are on the following list of exceptions:
o any after-tax contributions you made to the plan; or
o any distributions which are required minimum distributions after age 70 1/2
or separation from service; or
o hardship withdrawals; or
o substantially equal periodic payments made at least annually for your life
(or life expectancy) or the joint lives (or joint life expectancy) of you
and your designated beneficiary; or
o substantially equal periodic payments made for a specified period of 10
years or more; or
o corrective distributions that fit specified technical tax rules; or
o loans that are treated as distributions; or
o a death benefit payment to a beneficiary who is not your surviving spouse;
or
o a qualified domestic relations order distribution to a beneficiary who is
not your current spouse or former spouse.
A death benefit payment to your surviving spouse, or a qualified domestic
relations order distribution to your current or former spouse, may be a
distribution subject to mandatory 20% withholding.
IMPACT OF TAXES TO EQUITABLE LIFE
The contracts provide that we may charge Separate Account No. 49 for taxes. We
do not now, but may in the future set up reserves for such taxes.
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ABOUT OUR SEPARATE ACCOUNT NO. 49
Each variable investment option is a subaccount of our Separate Account No.
49. We established Separate Account No. 49 in 1996 under special provisions of
the New York Insurance Law. These provisions prevent creditors from any other
business we conduct from reaching the assets we hold in our variable
investment options for owners of our variable annuity contracts. We are the
legal owner of all of the assets in Separate Account No. 49 and may withdraw
any amounts that exceed our reserves and other liabilities with respect to
variable investment options under our contracts. The results of Separate
Account No. 49's operations are accounted for without regard to Equitable
Life's other operations.
Separate Account No. 49 is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940
and is classified by that act as a "unit investment trust." The SEC, however,
does not manage or supervise Equitable Life or Separate Account No. 49.
Each subaccount (variable investment option) within Separate Account No. 49
invests solely in class IB shares issued by the corresponding portfolio of EQ
Advisors Trust.
We reserve the right subject to compliance with laws that apply:
(1) to add variable investment options to, or to remove variable investment
options from, Separate Account No. 49, or to add other separate accounts;
(2) to combine any two or more variable investment options;
(3) to transfer the assets we determine to be the shares of the class of
contracts to which the contracts belong from any variable investment
option to another variable investment option;
(4) to operate Separate Account No. 49 or any variable investment option as a
management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (in
which case, charges and expenses that otherwise would be assessed against
an underlying mutual fund would be assessed against Separate Account No.
49 or a variable investment option directly);
(5) to deregister Separate Account No. 49 under the Investment Company Act of
1940;
(6) to restrict or eliminate any voting rights as to Separate Account No. 49;
and
(7) to cause one or more variable investment options to invest some or all of
their assets in one or more other trusts or investment companies.
ABOUT EQ ADVISORS TRUST
EQ Advisors Trust is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940. It
is classified as an "open-end management investment company," more commonly
called a mutual fund. EQ Advisors Trust issues different shares relating to
each portfolio.
Equitable Life serves as the investment manager of EQ Advisors Trust. As such,
Equitable Life oversees the activities of the investment advisers with respect
to EQ Advisors Trust and is responsible for retaining or discontinuing the
services of those advisers. (Prior to September 1999, EQ Financial
Consultants, Inc., the predecessor to AXA Advisors, LLC and an affiliate of
Equitable Life, served as investment manager to EQ Advisors Trust.)
EQ Advisors Trust commenced operations on May 1, 1997. For periods prior to
October 18, 1999 the Alliance portfolios (other than EQ/Alliance Premier
Growth) were part of The Hudson River Trust. On October 18, 1999, these
portfolios became corresponding portfolios of EQ Advisors Trust.
EQ Advisors Trust does not impose sales charges or "loads" for buying and
selling its shares. All dividends and other distributions on shares are
reinvested in full. The Board of Trustees of EQ Advisors Trust may establish
additional portfolios or eliminate existing portfolios at any time. More
detailed information about EQ Advisors Trust, its investment objectives,
policies, restrictions, risks, expenses, the Rule 12b-1 Plan relating to its
Class IB shares, and other aspects of its operations, appears in the
prospectus for EQ Advisors Trust attached at the end of this prospectus, or in
its SAI which is available upon request.
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ABOUT OUR FIXED MATURITY OPTIONS
RATES TO MATURITY AND PRICE PER $100 OF MATURITY VALUE
We can determine the amount required to be allocated to one or more fixed
maturity options in order to produce specified maturity values. For example,
we can tell you how much you need to allocate per $100 of maturity value.
The rates to maturity for new allocations as of November 1, 1999 and the
related price per $100 of maturity value were as follows:
FIXED MATURITY
OPTIONS WITH
FEBRUARY 15TH RATE TO MATURITY PRICE
MATURITY DATE OF AS OF PER $100 OF
MATURITY YEAR NOVEMBER 1, 1999 MATURITY VALUE
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2000 3.03% $99.14
2001 4.34% $94.65
2002 4.84% $89.73
2003 5.09% $84.92
2004 5.20% $80.44
2005 5.33% $75.96
2006 5.42% $71.73
2007 5.50% $67.66
2008 5.61% $63.58
2009 5.68% $59.83
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HOW WE DETERMINE THE MARKET VALUE ADJUSTMENT
We use the following procedure to calculate the market value adjustment (up or
down) we make if you withdraw all of your value from a fixed maturity option
before its maturity date.
(1) We determine the market adjusted amount on the date of the withdrawal as
follows:
(a) We determine the fixed maturity amount that would be payable on the
maturity date, using the rate to maturity for the fixed maturity
option.
(b) We determine the period remaining in your fixed maturity option (based
on the withdrawal date) and convert it to fractional years based on a
365-day year. For example, three years and 12 days becomes 3.0329.
(c) We determine the current rate to maturity that applies on the
withdrawal date to new allocations to the same fixed maturity option.
(d) We determine the present value of the fixed maturity amount payable at
the maturity date, using the period determined in (b) and the rate
determined in (c).
(2) We determine the fixed maturity amount as of the current date.
(3) We subtract (2) from the result in (1)(d). The result is the market value
adjustment applicable to such fixed maturity option, which may be positive
or negative.
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Your market adjusted amount is the present value of the maturity value
discounted at the rate to maturity in effect for new contributions to that
same fixed maturity option on the date of the calculation.
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If you withdraw only a portion of the amount in a fixed maturity option, the
market value adjustment will be a percentage of the market value adjustment
that would have applied if you had withdrawn the entire value in that fixed
maturity option. This percentage is equal to the percentage of the value in
the fixed maturity option that you are withdrawing. Any withdrawal charges
that are deducted from a fixed maturity option will result in a market value
adjustment calculated in the same way. See Appendix II for an example.
For purposes of calculating the rate to maturity for new allocations to a
fixed maturity option (see (1)(c) above), we use the rate we have in effect
for new allocations to that fixed maturity option. We use this rate even if
new allocations to that option would not be accepted at that time. This rate
will not be less than 3%. If we do not have a rate to maturity in effect for a
fixed maturity option to which the "current rate to maturity" in (1)(c) would
apply, we will use the rate at the next closest maturity date. If we are no
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longer offering new fixed maturity options, the "current rate to maturity"
will be determined in accordance with our procedures then in effect. We
reserve the right to add up to 0.25% to the current rate in (1)(c) above for
purposes of calculating the market value adjustment only.
INVESTMENTS UNDER THE FIXED MATURITY OPTIONS
Amounts allocated to the fixed maturity options are held in a "nonunitized"
separate account we have established under the New York Insurance Law. This
separate account provides an additional measure of assurance that we will make
full payment of amounts due under the fixed maturity options. Under New York
Insurance Law, the portion of the separate account's assets equal to the
reserves and other contract liabilities relating to the contracts are not
chargeable with liabilities from any other business we may conduct. We own the
assets of the separate account, as well as any favorable investment
performance on those assets. You do not participate in the performance of the
assets held in this separate account. We may, subject to state law that
applies, transfer all assets allocated to the separate account to our general
account. We guarantee all benefits relating to your value in the fixed
maturity options, regardless of whether assets supporting fixed maturity
options are held in a separate account or our general account.
We have no specific formula for establishing the rates to maturity for the
fixed maturity options. We expect the rates to be influenced by, but not
necessarily correspond to, among other things, the yields that we can expect
to realize on the separate account's investments from time to time. Our
current plans are to invest in fixed-income obligations, including corporate
bonds, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, and government and agency
issues having durations in the aggregate consistent with those of the fixed
maturity options.
Although the above generally describes our plans for investing the assets
supporting our obligations under the fixed maturity options under the
contracts, we are not obligated to invest those assets according to any
particular plan except as we may be required to by state insurance laws. We
will not determine the rates to maturity we establish by the performance of
the nonunitized separate account.
ABOUT THE GENERAL ACCOUNT
Our general account supports all of our policy and contract guarantees,
including those that apply to the fixed maturity options and the account for
special dollar cost averaging, as well as our general obligations.
The general account is subject to regulation and supervision by the Insurance
Department of the State of New York and to the insurance laws and regulations
of all jurisdictions where we are authorized to do business. Because of
exemptions and exclusionary provisions that apply, interests in the general
account have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, nor is the
general account an investment company under the Investment Company Act of
1940. However, the market value adjustment interests under the contracts are
registered under the Securities Act of 1933.
We have been advised that the staff of the SEC has not reviewed the portions
of this prospectus that relate to the general account (other than market value
adjustment interests). The disclosure with regard to the general account,
however, may be subject to certain provisions of the federal securities laws
relating to the accuracy and completeness of statements made in prospectuses.
ABOUT OTHER METHODS OF PAYMENT
WIRE TRANSMITTALS
We accept initial contributions sent by wire to our processing office by
agreement with certain broker-dealers. The transmittals must be accompanied by
information we require to allocate your contribution. Wire orders not
accompanied by complete information may be retained as described under "How
you can make your contributions" in "Contract features and benefits."
Even if we accept the wire order and essential information, a contract
generally will not be issued until we receive and accept a properly completed
application. In certain cases we
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may issue a contract based on information forwarded electronically. In these
cases, you must sign our Acknowledgement of Receipt form.
Where we require a signed application, no financial transactions will be
permitted until we receive the signed application and have issued the
contract. Where we require an Acknowledgement of Receipt form, financial
transactions are only permitted if you request them in writing, sign the
request and have it signature guaranteed, until we receive the signed
Acknowledgement of Receipt form.
After your contract has been issued, additional contributions may be
transmitted by wire.
AUTOMATIC INVESTMENT PROGRAM - FOR NQ, FLEXIBLE PREMIUM IRA, AND FLEXIBLE
PREMIUM ROTH IRA CONTRACTS ONLY
You may use our automatic investment program, or "AIP," to have a specified
amount automatically deducted from a checking account, money market account,
or credit union checking account and contributed as an additional contribution
into an NQ, Flexible Premium IRA or Flexible Premium Roth IRA contract on a
monthly or quarterly basis. AIP is not available for Rollover IRA, Roth
Conversion IRA, QP, or Rollover TSA contracts.
For NQ contracts, the minimum amounts we will deduct are $100 monthly and $300
quarterly. Under Flexible Premium IRA and Flexible Premium Roth IRA contracts,
the minimum amount is $50. AIP additional contributions may be allocated to
any of the variable investment options and available fixed maturity options,
but not the account for special dollar cost averaging. You choose the day of
the month you wish to have your account debited. However, you may not choose a
date later than the 28th day of the month.
You may cancel AIP at any time by notifying our processing office. We are not
responsible for any debits made to your account before the time written notice
of cancellation is received at our processing office.
DATES AND PRICES AT WHICH CONTRACT EVENTS OCCUR
We describe below the general rules for when, and at what prices, events under
your contract will occur. Other portions of this prospectus describe
circumstances that may cause exceptions. We generally do not repeat those
exceptions below.
BUSINESS DAY
Our business day is any day the New York Stock Exchange is open for trading.
Our business day ends at 4:00 p.m., Eastern time for purposes of determining
the date when contributions are applied and any other transaction requests are
processed. Contributions will be applied and any other transaction requests
will be processed when they are received along with all the required
information.
o If your contribution, transfer, or any other transaction request, containing
all the required information, reaches us on a non-business day or after 4:00
p.m. on a business day, we will use the next business day.
o A loan request under your Rollover TSA contract will be processed on the
first business day of the month following the date on which the properly
completed loan request form is received.
o If your transaction is set to occur on the same day of the month as the
contract date and that date is the 29th, 30th or 31st of the month, then the
transaction will occur on the 1st day of the next month.
o When a charge is to be deducted on a contract date anniversary that is a
non-business day, we will deduct the charge on the next business day.
CONTRIBUTIONS AND TRANSFERS
o Contributions allocated to the variable investment options are invested at
the value next determined after the close of the business day.
o Contributions allocated to a fixed maturity option will receive the rate to
maturity in effect for that fixed maturity option on that business day.
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o Initial contributions allocated to the account for special dollar cost
averaging receive the interest rate in effect on that business day. At
certain times, we may offer the opportunity to lock in the interest rate for
an initial contribution to be received under Section 1035 exchanges and
trustee to trustee transfers. Your registered representative can provide
information or you can call our processing office.
o Transfers to or from variable investment options will be made at the value
next determined after the close of the business day.
o Transfers to a fixed maturity option will be based on the rate to maturity
in effect for that fixed maturity option on the business day of the
transfer.
ABOUT YOUR VOTING RIGHTS
As the owner of the shares of EQ Advisors Trust we have the right to vote on
certain matters involving the portfolios, such as:
o the election of trustees;
o the formal approval of independent auditors selected for EQ Advisors Trust;
or
o any other matters described in the prospectus for EQ Advisors Trust or
requiring a shareholders' vote under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
We will give contract owners the opportunity to instruct us how to vote the
number of shares attributable to their contracts if a shareholder vote is
taken. If we do not receive instructions in time from all contract owners, we
will vote the shares of a portfolio for which no instructions have been
received in the same proportion as we vote shares of that portfolio for which
we have received instructions. We will also vote any shares that we are
entitled to vote directly because of amounts we have in a portfolio in the
same proportions that contract owners vote.
VOTING RIGHTS OF OTHERS
Currently, we control EQ Advisors Trust. EQ Advisors Trust shares are sold to
our separate accounts and an affiliated qualified plan trust. In addition,
shares of EQ Advisors Trust are held by separate accounts of insurance
companies both affiliated and unaffiliated with us. Shares held by these
separate accounts will probably be voted according to the instructions of the
owners of insurance policies and contracts issued by those insurance
companies. While this will dilute the effect of the voting instructions of the
contract owners, we currently do not foresee any disadvantages because of
this. The Board of Trustees of EQ Advisors Trust intends to monitor events in
order to identify any material irreconcilable conflicts that may arise and to
determine what action, if any, should be taken in response. If we believe that
a response to any of those events insufficiently protects our contract owners,
we will see to it that appropriate action is taken.
SEPARATE ACCOUNT NO. 49 VOTING RIGHTS
If actions relating to Separate Account No. 49 require contract owner
approval, contract owners will be entitled to one vote for each unit they have
in the variable investment options. Each contract owner who has elected a
variable annuity payout option may cast the number of votes equal to the
dollar amount of reserves we are holding for that annuity in a variable
investment option divided by the annuity unit value for that option. We will
cast votes attributable to any amounts we have in the variable investment
options in the same proportion as votes cast by contract owners.
CHANGES IN APPLICABLE LAW
The voting rights we describe in this prospectus are created under applicable
federal securities laws. To the extent that those laws or the regulations
published under those laws eliminate the necessity to submit matters for
approval by persons having voting rights in separate accounts of insurance
companies, we reserve the right to proceed in accordance with those laws or
regulations.
<PAGE>
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
70 MORE INFORMATION
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ABOUT LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Equitable Life and its affiliates are parties to various legal proceedings. In
our view, none of these proceedings is likely to have a material adverse
effect upon Separate Account No. 49, our ability to meet our obligations under
the contracts, or the distribution of the contracts.
ABOUT OUR INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS
The consolidated financial statements of Equitable Life incorporated in this
prospectus by reference to the Annual Report on Form 10-K at December 31, 1998
and 1997, and for the three years ended December 31, 1998, have been so
incorporated in reliance on the report of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP,
independent accountants, given on the authority of said firm as experts in
auditing and accounting.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The financial statements of Separate Account No. 49, as well as the
consolidated financial statements of Equitable Life, are in the SAI. The SAI
is available free of charge. You may request one by writing to our processing
office or calling 1-800-789-7771.
TRANSFERS OF OWNERSHIP, COLLATERAL ASSIGNMENTS, LOANS, AND BORROWING
You can transfer ownership of an NQ contract at any time before annuity
payments begin. We will continue to treat you as the owner until we receive
notification of any change at our processing office. You cannot assign your NQ
contract as collateral or security for a loan. Loans are also not available
under your NQ contract. In some cases, an assignment or change of ownership
may have adverse tax consequences. See "Tax information" earlier in this
prospectus.
You cannot assign or transfer ownership of an IRA, QP, or Rollover TSA
contract except by surrender to us. Loans are not available and you cannot
assign IRA and QP contracts as security for a loan or other obligation. If the
employer that provided the funds does not restrict them, loans are available
under a Rollover TSA contract.
For limited transfers of ownership after the owner's death see "Beneficiary
continuation option for Rollover IRA and Flexible Premium IRA contracts" in
"Payment of death benefit" earlier in this prospectus. You may direct the
transfer of the values under your IRA, QP, or Rollover TSA contract to another
similar arrangement. Under federal income tax rules, in the case of such a
transfer, we will impose a withdrawal charge, if one applies.
DISTRIBUTION OF THE CONTRACTS
Equitable Distributors, Inc. ("EDI"), an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of
Equitable Life, is the distributor of the contracts and has responsibility for
sales and marketing functions for Separate Account No. 49. EDI serves as the
principal underwriter of Separate Account No. 49. EDI also acts as distributor
for other Equitable Life annuity products with different features, expenses,
and fees. EDI is registered with the SEC as a broker-dealer and is a member of
the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. EDI's principal business
address is 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10104. Under a
distribution agreement between EDI, Equitable Life, and certain of Equitable
Life's separate accounts, including Separate Account No. 49, Equitable Life
paid EDI distribution fees of $35,452,793 for 1998, $9,566,343 for 1997, and
$87,157 for 1996, as the distributor of certain contracts, including these
contracts, and as the principal underwriter of several Equitable Life separate
accounts, including Separate Account No. 49.
The contracts will be sold by registered representatives of EDI, as well as by
affiliated and unaffiliated broker-dealers with which EDI has entered into
selling agreements. We pay broker-dealer sales compensation that will
generally not exceed an amount equal to 7% of total contributions made under
the contracts. EDI may also receive compensation and reimbursement for its
marketing services under the terms of its distribution agreement with
Equitable Life. Broker-dealers receiving sales compensation will generally pay
a portion of
<PAGE>
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MORE INFORMATION 71
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
it to their registered representatives as commissions related to sales of the
contracts. The offering of the contracts is intended to be continuous.
<PAGE>
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
72 INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9
INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We provide the following tables to show five different measurements of the
investment performance of the variable investment options and/or the
portfolios in which they invest. We include these tables because they may be
of general interest to you. THE RESULTS SHOWN REFLECT PAST PERFORMANCE. THEY
DO NOT INDICATE HOW THE VARIABLE INVESTMENT OPTIONS MAY PERFORM IN THE FUTURE.
THEY ALSO DO NOT REPRESENT THE RESULTS EARNED BY ANY PARTICULAR INVESTOR. YOUR
RESULTS WILL DIFFER.
Table 1 shows the average annual total return of the variable investment
options. Average annual total return is the annual rate of growth that would
be necessary to achieve the ending value of a contribution invested in the
variable investment options for the periods shown.
Table 2 shows the growth of a hypothetical $1,000 investment in the variable
investment options over the periods shown. Both Tables 1 and 2 take into
account all fees and charges under the contract, including the withdrawal
charge, the optional baseBUILDER benefit charge, the annual administrative
charge under Flexible Premium IRA and Flexible Premium Roth IRA contracts, but
do not reflect the charges for any applicable taxes such as premium taxes or
any applicable annuity administrative fee.
Tables 3, 4, and 5 show the rates of return of the variable investment options
on an annualized, cumulative, and year-by-year basis. These tables take into
account all fees and charges under the contract, but do not reflect the
withdrawal charge, the optional baseBUILDER benefits charge, the annual
administrative charge or the charges for any applicable taxes such as premium
taxes or any applicable annuity administrative fee. If the charges were
reflected they would effectively reduce the rates of return shown.
In all cases the results shown are based on the actual historical investment
experience of the portfolios in which the variable investment options invest.
In some cases, the results shown relate to periods when the variable
investment options and/or the contracts were not available. In those cases, we
adjusted the results of the portfolios to reflect the charges under the
contracts that would have applied had the investment options and/or contracts
been available. The contracts are being offered for the first time in 2000.
For the "Alliance" portfolios (other than EQ/Alliance Premier Growth), we have
adjusted the results prior to October 1996, when Class IB shares for these
portfolios were not available, to reflect the 12b-1 fees currently imposed.
Finally, the results shown for the Alliance Money Market and Alliance Common
Stock options for periods before March 22, 1985 reflect the results of the
variable investment options that preceded them. The "Since portfolio
inception" figures for these options are based on the date of inception of the
preceding variable investment options. We have adjusted these results to
reflect the maximum investment advisory fee payable for the portfolios, as
well as an assumed charge of 0.06% for direct operating expenses.
EQ Advisors Trust commenced operations on May 1, 1997. For periods prior to
October 18, 1999 the Alliance portfolios (other than EQ/Alliance Premier
Growth) were part of The Hudson River Trust. On October 18, 1999, these
portfolios became corresponding portfolios of EQ Advisors Trust. In each case,
the performance shown is for the indicated EQ Advisors Trust portfolio and any
predecessors that it may have had.
All rates of return presented are time-weighted and include reinvestment of
investment income, including interest and dividends.
BENCHMARKS
Tables 3 and 4 compare the performance of variable investment options to
market indices that serve as benchmarks. Market indices are not subject to any
charges for investment advisory fees, brokerage commission or other operating
expenses typically associated with a managed portfolio. Also, they do not
reflect other contract charges such as the mortality and expense risks charge,
administrative charges and distribution charge, or any withdrawal or optional
benefit charge. Comparisons with these benchmarks, therefore, may be of
limited use. We include them because they are widely known and may help you to
understand the universe of securities from which each portfolio is likely to
select its holdings. Benchmark data reflect the reinvestment of dividend
income. The benchmarks include:
<PAGE>
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE 73
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------
ALLIANCE MONEY MARKET: Salomon Brothers Three-Month T-Bill
Index.
ALLIANCE HIGH YIELD: Merrill Lynch High Yield Master Index.
ALLIANCE COMMON STOCK: Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
ALLIANCE AGGRESSIVE STOCK: 50% Russell 2000 Index and 50%
Standard & Poor's Mid-Cap Total Return Index.
ALLIANCE SMALL CAP GROWTH: Russell 2000 Growth Index.
EQ/ALLIANCE PREMIER GROWTH: Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
BT EQUITY 500 INDEX: Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
BT SMALL COMPANY INDEX: Russell 2000 Index.
BT INTERNATIONAL EQUITY INDEX: Morgan Stanley Capital
International Europe, Australia, Far East Index.
CAPITAL GUARDIAN U.S. EQUITY: Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
CAPITAL GUARDIAN RESEARCH: Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
CAPITAL GUARDIAN INTERNATIONAL: Morgan Stanley Capital
International Europe, Australia, Far East Index.
EQ/EVERGREEN: Russell 2000 Index.
EQ/EVERGREEN FOUNDATION: 60% Standard & Poor's 500
Index/40% Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond Index.
JPM CORE BOND: Salomon Brothers Broad Investment Grade Bond.
LAZARD LARGE CAP VALUE: Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
LAZARD SMALL CAP VALUE: Russell 2000 Index.
MFS GROWTH WITH INCOME: Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
MFS RESEARCH: Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
MFS EMERGING GROWTH COMPANIES: Russell 2000 Index.
MERRILL LYNCH BASIC VALUE EQUITY: Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
MERRILL LYNCH WORLD STRATEGY: 36% Standard & Poor's 500
Index/24% Morgan Stanley Capital International Europe, Australia, Far East
Index/21% Salomon Brothers U.S. Treasury Bond 1 Year+ 14% Salomon Brothers
World Government Bond (excluding U.S.)/ and 5% Three-Month U.S. Treasury
Bill.
MORGAN STANLEY EMERGING MARKETS EQUITY: Morgan Stanley
Capital International Emerging Markets Free Price Return Index.
EQ/PUTNAM GROWTH & INCOME VALUE: Standard & Poor's 500
Index.
EQ/PUTNAM INVESTORS GROWTH: Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
EQ/PUTNAM INTERNATIONAL EQUITY: Morgan Stanley Capital
International Europe, Australia, Far East Index.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LIPPER SURVEY. The Lipper Variable Insurance Products Performance Analysis
Survey (Lipper Survey) records the performance of a large group of variable
annuity products, including managed separate accounts of insurance companies.
According to Lipper Analytical Services, Inc. (Lipper), the data are presented
net of investment management fees, direct operating expenses and asset-based
charges applicable under annuity contracts. Lipper data provide a more
accurate picture than market benchmarks of the Equitable Accumulator
performance relative to other variable annuity products.
<PAGE>
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
74 INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
TABLE 1
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN UNDER A CONTRACT SURRENDERED ON DECEMBER 31, 1998:
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LENGTH OF INVESTMENT PERIOD
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SINCE SINCE
ONE THREE FIVE TEN OPTION PORTFOLIO
VARIABLE INVESTMENT OPTIONS YEAR YEARS YEARS YEARS INCEPTION* INCEPTION**
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Alliance Money Market (5.62)% (0.77)% (0.19)% 0.69% 2.67% (1.54)%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alliance High Yield (15.71)% 5.35% 4.98% 6.75% 5.98% (0.17)%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alliance Common Stock 17.52% 21.66% 16.99% 14.37% 12.78% 22.49%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alliance Aggressive Stock (10.47)% 4.73% 6.50% 15.22% 14.12% (1.62)%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alliance Small Cap Growth (14.80)% -- -- -- 4.49% 4.49%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BT Equity 500 Index 13.73% -- -- -- 13.73% 13.73%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BT Small Company Index (12.74)% -- -- -- (12.74)% (12.74)%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BT International Equity Index 8.87% -- -- -- 8.87% 8.87%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JPM Core Bond (1.81)% -- -- -- (1.81)% (1.81)%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lazard Large Cap Value 8.84% -- -- -- 8.84% 8.84%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lazard Small Cap Value (17.34)% -- -- -- (17.34)% (17.34)%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MFS Research 12.74% -- -- -- 16.64% 16.64%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MFS Emerging Growth Companies 22.78% -- -- -- 26.93% 26.93%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Merrill Lynch Basic Value Equity 0.65% -- -- -- 9.68% 9.68%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Merrill Lynch World Strategy (3.93)% -- -- -- (0.57)% (0.57)%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Equity (36.59)% -- -- -- (40.49)% (36.59)%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQ/Putnam Growth & Income Value 1.85% -- -- -- 9.96% 9.96%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQ/Putnam Investors Growth 24.50% -- -- -- 29.48% 29.48%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQ/Putnam International Equity 8.27% -- -- -- 9.85% 9.85%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
* The variable investment option inception dates are: Alliance Money Market,
Alliance High Yield, Alliance Common Stock, and Alliance Aggressive Stock
(October 16, 1996); Alliance Small Cap Growth, MFS Research, MFS Emerging
Growth Companies, Merrill Lynch Basic Value Equity, Merrill Lynch World
Strategy, EQ/Putnam Growth & Income Value, EQ/Putnam Investors Growth, and
EQ/Putnam International Equity (May 1, 1997); BT Equity 500 Index, BT Small
Company Index, BT International Equity Index, JPM Core Bond, Lazard Large
Cap Value, Lazard Small Cap Value, and Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets
Equity (December 31, 1997). The inception dates for the variable investment
options that became available on or after December 31, 1998, and are
therefore not shown in this table are: EQ/Evergreen, EQ/Evergreen
Foundation, and MFS Growth with Income (December 31, 1998); EQ/Alliance
Premier Growth, Capital Guardian U.S. Equity, Capital Guardian Research, and
Capital Guardian International (April 30, 1999).
** The inception dates for the portfolios underlying the Alliance variable
investment options shown in the tables are for portfolios of The Hudson
River Trust, the assets of which became assets of corresponding portfolios
of EQ Advisors Trust on October 18, 1999. The portfolio inception dates
are: Alliance Money Market (July 13, 1981); Alliance High Yield (January 2,
1987); Alliance Common Stock (January 13, 1976); Alliance Aggressive Stock
(January 27, 1986); Alliance Small Cap Growth, MFS Research, MFS Emerging
Growth Companies, Merrill Lynch Basic Value Equity, Merrill Lynch World
Strategy, EQ/Putnam Growth & Income Value, EQ/Putnam Investors Growth, and
EQ/Putnam International Equity (May 1, 1997); BT Equity 500 Index, BT Small
Company Index, BT International Equity Index, JPM Core Bond, Lazard Large
Cap Value, and Lazard Small Cap Value (December 31, 1997); and Morgan
Stanley Emerging Markets Equity (August 20, 1997). The inception dates for
the portfolios that became available on or after December 31, 1998 and are
therefore not shown in the tables are: EQ/Evergreen, EQ/Evergreen
Foundation, and MFS Growth with Income (December 31, 1998); EQ/Alliance
Premier Growth, Capital Guardian U.S. Equity, Capital Guardian Research,
and Capital Guardian International (April 30, 1999).
<PAGE>
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE 75
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
TABLE 2
GROWTH OF $1,000 UNDER A CONTRACT SURRENDERED ON DECEMBER 31, 1998:
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LENGTH OF INVESTMENT PERIOD
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
SINCE
ONE THREE FIVE TEN PORTFOLIO
VARIABLE INVESTMENT OPTIONS YEAR YEARS YEARS YEARS INCEPTION
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Alliance Money Market $ 943.81 $ 977.16 $ 990.72 $1,071.07 $ 1,584.05
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alliance High Yield $ 842.87 $1,169.39 $1,275.30 $1,920.89 $ 2,007.19
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alliance Common Stock $1,175.19 $1,800.84 $2,191.35 $3,828.00 $15,816.10
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alliance Aggressive Stock $ 895.30 $1,148.65 $1,370.02 $4,123.96 $ 5,512.44
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alliance Small Cap Growth $ 851.98 -- -- -- $ 1,076.07
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BT Equity 500 Index $1,137.26 -- -- -- $ 1,137.26
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BT Small Company Index $ 872.56 -- -- -- $ 872.56
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BT International Equity Index $1,088.65 -- -- -- $ 1,088.65
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JPM Core Bond $ 981.93 -- -- -- $ 981.93
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lazard Large Cap Value $1,088.36 -- -- -- $ 1,088.36
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lazard Small Cap Value $ 826.60 -- -- -- $ 826.60
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MFS Research $1,127.36 -- -- -- $ 1,292.89
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MFS Emerging Growth Companies $1,227.81 -- -- -- $ 1,488.76
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Merrill Lynch Basic Value Equity $1,006.53 -- -- -- $ 1,166.68
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Merrill Lynch World Strategy $ 960.67 -- -- -- $ 990.45
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Equity $ 634.13 -- -- -- $ 492.51
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQ/Putnam Growth & Income Value $1,018.49 -- -- -- $ 1,171.59
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQ/Putnam Investors Growth $1,244.96 -- -- -- $ 1,538.89
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQ/Putnam International Equity $1,082.68 -- -- -- $ 1,169.62
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
- ------------------
* Portfolio inception dates are shown in Table 1.
<PAGE>
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
76 INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
TABLE 3
ANNUALIZED RATES OF RETURN FOR PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1998:
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SINCE
PORTFOLIO
1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS 20 YEARS INCEPTION*
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
ALLIANCE MONEY MARKET 3.45% 3.47% 3.28% 3.69% -- 5.16%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Money Market 4.84% 4.87% 4.77% 5.20% -- 6.77%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 5.05% 5.18% 5.11% 5.44% -- 6.76%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALLIANCE HIGH YIELD (6.85)% 9.35% 8.01% 9.16% -- 8.51%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper High Current Yield (0.44)% 8.21% 7.37% 9.34% -- 8.97%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 3.66% 9.11% 9.01% 11.08% -- 10.72%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALLIANCE COMMON STOCK 27.06% 25.31% 19.72% 16.50% 16.48% 14.30%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Growth 22.86% 22.23% 18.63% 16.72% 16.30% 16.01%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 28.58% 28.23% 24.06% 19.21% 17.76% 15.98%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALLIANCE AGGRESSIVE STOCK (1.50)% 8.75% 9.45% 16.75% -- 15.65%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Mid-Cap Growth 12.16% 16.33% 14.87% 15.44% -- 13.69%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 8.28% 17.77% 15.56% 16.49% -- 14.78%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALLIANCE SMALL CAP GROWTH (5.92)% -- -- -- -- 10.31%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Small Company Growth (0.33)% -- -- -- -- 16.72%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 1.23% -- -- -- -- 16.58%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BT EQUITY 500 INDEX 23.19% -- -- -- -- 23.19%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper S&P 500 Index 26.78% -- -- -- -- 26.78%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 28.58% -- -- -- -- 28.58%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BT SMALL COMPANY INDEX (3.82)% -- -- -- -- (3.82)%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Small Cap 1.53% -- -- -- -- 1.53%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark (2.54)% -- -- -- -- (2.54)%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BT INTERNATIONAL EQUITY INDEX 18.23% -- -- -- -- 18.23%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper International 12.17% -- -- -- -- 12.17%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 20.00% -- -- -- -- 20.00%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JPM CORE BOND 7.34% -- -- -- -- 7.34%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Intermediate Investment Grade Debt 7.23% -- -- -- -- 7.23%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 8.72% -- -- -- -- 8.72%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LAZARD LARGE CAP VALUE 18.20% -- -- -- -- 18.20%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Capital Appreciation 24.16% -- -- -- -- 24.16%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 28.58% -- -- -- -- 28.58%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LAZARD SMALL CAP VALUE (8.51)% -- -- -- -- (8.51)%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Small Cap 1.53% -- -- -- -- 1.53%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark (2.54)% -- -- -- -- (2.54)%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE 77
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
TABLE 3 (CONTINUED)
ANNUALIZED RATES OF RETURN FOR PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1998:
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SINCE
PORTFOLIO
1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS 20 YEARS INCEPTION*
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
MFS RESEARCH 22.18% -- -- -- -- 22.51%
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Growth 25.82% -- -- -- -- 28.73%
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 28.58% -- -- -- -- 31.63%
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MFS EMERGING GROWTH COMPANIES 32.43% -- -- -- -- 32.76%
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Mid-Cap 15.97% -- -- -- -- 22.72%
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark (2.54)% -- -- -- -- 14.53%
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MERRILL LYNCH BASIC VALUE EQUITY 9.85% -- -- -- -- 15.52%
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Growth & Income 15.54% -- -- -- -- 21.32%
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 28.58% -- -- -- -- 31.63%
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MERRILL LYNCH WORLD STRATEGY 5.17% -- -- -- -- 5.28%
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Global Flexible Portfolio 9.34% -- -- -- -- 11.15%
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 19.55% -- -- -- -- 20.00%
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MORGAN STANLEY EMERGING MARKETS
EQUITY (28.15)% -- -- -- -- (33.75)%
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Emerging Markets (30.50)% -- -- -- -- (36.28)%
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark (25.34)% -- -- -- -- (28.92)%
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQ/PUTNAM GROWTH & INCOME VALUE 11.07% -- -- -- -- 15.80%
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Growth & Income 15.54% -- -- -- -- 21.32%
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 28.58% -- -- -- -- 31.63%
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQ/PUTNAM INVESTORS GROWTH 34.18% -- -- -- -- 35.26%
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Growth 25.82% -- -- -- -- 28.73%
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 28.58% -- -- -- -- 31.63%
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQ/PUTNAM INTERNATIONAL EQUITY 17.62% -- -- -- -- 15.70%
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper International 12.17% -- -- -- -- 9.06%
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 20.00% -- -- -- -- 13.43%
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
- ------------------
* Portfolio inception dates are shown in Table 1.
<PAGE>
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
78 INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE 4
CUMULATIVE RATES OF RETURN FOR PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1998:
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SINCE
PORTFOLIO
1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS 20 YEARS INCEPTION*
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
ALLIANCE MONEY MARKET 3.45% 10.77% 17.51% 43.62% 140.91%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Money Market 4.84% 15.34% 26.25% 66.09% -- 214.68%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 5.05% 16.35% 28.27% 69.88% -- 214.45%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALLIANCE HIGH YIELD (6.85)% 30.77% 47.03% 140.33% -- 166.31%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper High Current Yield (0.44)% 26.80% 43.00% 145.62% -- 182.21%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 3.66% 29.90% 53.96% 186.01% -- 239.69%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALLIANCE COMMON STOCK 27.06% 96.76% 145.97% 360.62% 2,012.51% 2,051.70%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Growth 22.86% 84.52% 138.97% 388.00% 2,185.68% 3,490.04%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 28.58% 110.85% 193.91% 479.62% 2,530.43% 2,919.92%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALLIANCE AGGRESSIVE STOCK (1.50)% 28.61% 57.06% 370.43% -- 554.90%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Mid-Cap Growth 12.16% 58.64% 102.73% 334.88% -- 448.32%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 8.28% 63.35% 106.12% 360.30% -- 494.67%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALLIANCE SMALL CAP GROWTH (5.92)% -- -- -- -- 17.79%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Small Company Growth (0.33)% -- -- -- -- 28.98%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 1.23% -- -- -- -- 29.23%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BT EQUITY 500 INDEX 23.19% -- -- -- -- 23.19%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper S&P 500 Index 26.78% -- -- -- -- 26.78%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 28.58% -- -- -- -- 28.58%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BT SMALL COMPANY INDEX (3.82)% -- -- -- -- (3.82)%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Small Cap 1.53% -- -- -- -- 1.49%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark (2.54)% -- -- -- -- (2.54)%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BT INTERNATIONAL EQUITY INDEX 18.23% -- -- -- -- 18.23%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper International 12.17% -- -- -- -- 12.23%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 20.00% -- -- -- -- 20.00%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JPM CORE BOND 7.34% -- -- -- -- 7.34%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Intermediate Investment
Grade Debt 7.23% -- -- -- -- 7.23%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 8.72% -- -- -- -- 8.72%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LAZARD LARGE CAP VALUE 18.20% -- -- -- -- 18.20%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Capital Appreciation 24.16% -- -- -- -- 24.09%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 28.58% -- -- -- -- 28.58%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LAZARD SMALL CAP VALUE (8.51)% -- -- -- -- (8.51)%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Small Cap 1.53% -- -- -- -- 1.53%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark (2.54)% -- -- -- -- (2.54)%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE 79
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE 4 (CONTINUED)
CUMULATIVE RATES OF RETURN FOR PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1998:
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SINCE
PORTFOLIO
1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS 20 YEARS INCEPTION*
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
MFS RESEARCH 22.18% -- -- -- -- 40.31%
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Growth 25.82% -- -- -- -- 52.86%
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 28.58% -- -- -- -- 57.60%
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MFS EMERGING GROWTH COMPANIES 32.43% -- -- -- -- 60.45%
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Mid-Cap 15.97% -- -- -- -- 42.16%
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark (2.54)% -- -- -- -- 25.40%
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MERRILL LYNCH BASIC VALUE EQUITY 9.85% -- -- -- -- 27.22%
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Growth & Income 15.54% -- -- -- -- 15.59%
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 28.58% -- -- -- -- 57.60%
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MERRILL LYNCH WORLD STRATEGY 5.17% -- -- -- -- 8.97%
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Global Flexible Portfolio 9.34% -- -- -- -- 19.41%
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 19.55% -- -- -- -- 33.33%
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MORGAN STANLEY EMERGING
MARKETS EQUITY (28.15)% -- -- -- -- (42.98)%
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Emerging Markets (30.50)% -- -- -- -- (45.67)%
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark (25.34)% -- -- -- -- (36.71)%
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQ/PUTNAM GROWTH & INCOME
VALUE 11.07% -- -- -- -- 27.73%
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Growth & Income 15.54% -- -- -- -- 38.49%
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 28.58% -- -- -- -- 57.60%
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQ/PUTNAM INVESTORS GROWTH 34.18% -- -- -- -- 65.52%
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper Growth 25.82% -- -- -- -- 52.86%
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 28.58% -- -- -- -- 57.60%
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQ/PUTNAM INTERNATIONAL EQUITY 17.62% -- -- -- -- 27.55%
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper International 12.17% -- -- -- -- 15.88%
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmark 20.00% -- -- -- -- 23.42%
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
- ---------------------
* Portfolio inception dates are shown in Table 1.
<PAGE>
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
80 INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE 5
YEAR-BY-YEAR RATES OF RETURN:
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Alliance Money Market 7.23% 6.29% 4.28% 1.70% 1.11% 2.15% 3.85% 3.43% 3.53% 3.45%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alliance High Yield 3.25% (2.90)% 22.23% 10.29% 20.94% (4.53)% 17.77% 20.66% 16.34% (6.85)%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alliance Common Stock 23.35% (9.77)% 35.41% 1.36% 22.59% (3.89)% 30.08% 22.03% 26.90% 27.06%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alliance Aggressive Stock 40.93% 6.21% 83.52% (4.91)% 14.65% (5.54)% 29.28% 19.99% 8.82% (1.50)%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alliance Small Cap Growth -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 25.21%+ (5.92)%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BT Equity 500 Index -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 23.19%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BT Small Company Index -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- (3.82)%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BT International Equity Index -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 18.23%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JPM Core Bond -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 7.34%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lazard Large Cap Value -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 18.20%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lazard Small Cap Value -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- (8.51)%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MFS Research -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 14.84%+ 22.18%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MFS Emerging Growth Companies -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 21.15+ 32.43%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Merrill Lynch Basic Value Equity -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 15.81%+ 9.85%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Merrill Lynch World Strategy -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 3.62%+ 5.17%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Equity -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- (20.64)%+ (28.15)%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQ/Putnam Growth & Income Value -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 15.00%+ 11.07%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQ/Putnam Investors Growth -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 23.36% 34.18%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQ/Putnam International Equity -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 8.44% 17.62%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------
</TABLE>
- -----------------------
+ Returns for these portfolios represent less than 12 months of performance.
The returns are as of each portfolio inception date as shown in Table 1.
<PAGE>
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE 81
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COMMUNICATING PERFORMANCE DATA
In reports or other communications to contract owners or in advertising
material, we may describe general economic and market conditions affecting our
variable investment options and the portfolios and may compare the performance
or ranking of those options and the portfolios with:
o those of other insurance company separate accounts or mutual funds included
in the rankings prepared by Lipper Analytical Services, Inc., Morningstar,
Inc., VARDS, or similar investment services that monitor the performance of
insurance company separate accounts or mutual funds; or
o other appropriate indices of investment securities and averages for peer
universes of mutual funds; or
o data developed by us derived from such indices or averages.
We also may furnish to present or prospective contract owners advertisements or
other communications that include evaluations of a variable investment option or
portfolio by nationally recognized financial publications. Examples of such
publications are:
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Barron's Investment Management Weekly
Morningstar's Variable Annuity Money Management Letter
Sourcebook Investment Dealers Digest
Business Week National Underwriter
Forbes Pension & Investments
Fortune USA Today
Institutional Investor Investor's Business Daily
Money The New York Times
Kiplinger's Personal Finance The Wall Street Journal
Financial Planning The Los Angeles Times
Investment Adviser The Chicago Tribune
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lipper compiles performance data for peer universes of funds with similar
investment objectives in its Lipper Survey. Morningstar, Inc. compiles similar
data in the Morningstar Variable Annuity/Life Report (Morningstar Report).
The Lipper Survey records performance data as reported to it by over 800 mutual
funds underlying variable annuity and life insurance products. It divides these
actively managed portfolios into 25 categories by portfolio objectives. The
Lipper Survey contains two different universes, which reflect different types of
fees in performance data:
o The "separate account" universe reports performance data net of investment
management fees, direct operating expenses and asset-based charges applicable
under variable life and annuity contracts, and
o The "mutual fund" universe reports performance net only of investment
management fees and direct operating expenses, and therefore reflects only
charges that relate to the underlying mutual fund.
The Morningstar Variable Annuity/Life Report consists of nearly 700 variable
life and annuity funds, all of which report their data net of investment
management fees, direct operating expenses and separate account level charges.
VARDS is a monthly reporting service that monitors approximately 2,500 variable
life and variable annuity funds on performance and account information.
YIELD INFORMATION
Current yield for the Alliance Money Market option will be based on net changes
in a hypothetical investment over a given seven-day period, exclusive of capital
changes, and then "annualized" (assuming that the same seven-day result would
occur each week for 52 weeks). Current yield for the Alliance High Yield option
will be based on net changes in a hypothetical investment over a given 30-day
period, exclusive of capital changes, and then "annualized" (assuming that the
same 30-day result would occur each month for 12 months).
"Effective yield" is calculated in a similar manner, but when annualized, any
income earned by the investment is assumed to be reinvested. The "effective
yield" will be slightly higher than the "current yield" because any earnings are
compounded weekly for the Alliance Money Market option. The current yields and
effective yields assume the deduction of all contract charges and expenses other
than the withdrawal charge, the optional baseBUILDER benefits charge, the annual
administrative charge, and any charge for
<PAGE>
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
82 INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
taxes such as premium tax. The yields and effective yields for the Alliance
Money Market option, when used for the special dollar cost averaging program,
assume that no contract charges are deducted. For more information, see "Yield
Information for the Alliance Money Market Option and Alliance High Yield Option"
in the SAI.
<PAGE>
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE 83
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10
INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Equitable Life's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
1998, a current report on Form 8-K dated April 8, 1999, and a quarterly report
on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 1999, are considered to be a
part of this prospectus because they are incorporated by reference.
After the date of this prospectus and before we terminate the offering of the
securities under this prospectus, all documents or reports we file with the SEC
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") will be considered to
become part of this prospectus because they are incorporated by reference.
Any statement contained in a document that is, or becomes part of this
prospectus, will be considered changed or replaced for purposes of this
prospectus if a statement contained in this prospectus changes or is replaced.
Any statement that is considered to be a part of this prospectus because of its
incorporation will be considered changed or replaced for the purpose of this
prospectus if a statement contained in any other subsequently filed document
that is considered to be part of this prospectus changes or replaces that
statement. After that, only the statement that is changed or replaced will be
considered to be part of this prospectus.
We file our Exchange Act documents and reports, including our annual report on
Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, electronically according to EDGAR
under CIK No. 0000727920. The SEC maintains a Web site that contains reports,
proxy and information statements, and other information regarding registrants
that file electronically with the SEC. The address of the site is
http://www.sec.gov.
Upon written or oral request, we will provide, free of charge, to each person to
whom this prospectus is delivered, a copy of any or all of the documents
considered to be part of this prospectus because they are incorporated herein.
This does not include exhibits not specifically incorporated by reference into
the text of such documents. Requests for documents should be directed to The
Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, 1290 Avenue of the
Americas, New York, New York 10104. Attention: Corporate Secretary (telephone:
(212) 554-1234).
<PAGE>
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
APPRENDIX I: PURCHASE CONSIDERATIONS FOR QP CONTRACTS A-1
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
APPENDIX I: PURCHASE CONSIDERATIONS FOR QP CONTRACTS
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trustees who are considering the purchase of an Equitable Accumulator QP
contract should discuss with their tax advisers whether this is an appropriate
investment vehicle for the employer's plan. Trustees should consider whether the
plan provisions permit the investment of plan assets in the QP contract, the
distribution of such an annuity, the purchase of the guaranteed minimum income
benefit, and the payment of death benefits in accordance with the requirements
of the federal income tax rules. The QP contract and this prospectus should be
reviewed in full, and the following factors, among others, should be noted.
Assuming continued plan qualification and operation, earnings on qualified plan
assets will accumulate value on a tax-deferred basis even if the plan is not
funded by the Equitable Accumulator QP contract or another annuity. Therefore,
you should purchase an Equitable Accumulator QP contract to fund a plan for the
contract's features and benefits other than tax deferral. This QP contract
accepts transfer contributions only and not regular, ongoing payroll
contributions. For 401(k) plans under defined contribution plans, no employee
after-tax contributions are accepted.
Under defined benefit plans, we will not accept rollovers from a defined
contribution plan to a defined benefit plan. We will only accept transfers from
a defined benefit plan or a change of investment vehicles in the plan. For
defined benefit plans, the maximum percentage of actuarial value of the plan
participant/employee's normal retirement benefit that can be funded by a QP
contract is 80%. The account value under a QP contract may at any time be more
or less than the lump sum actuarial equivalent of the accrued benefit for a
defined benefit plan participant/employee. Equitable Life does not guarantee
that the account value under a QP contract will at any time equal the actuarial
value of 80% of a participant/employee's accrued benefit. If overfunding of a
plan occurs, withdrawals from the QP contract may be required. A withdrawal
charge and/or market value adjustment may apply.
Further, Equitable Life will not perform or provide any plan recordkeeping
services with respect to the QP contracts. The plan's administrator will be
solely responsible for performing or providing for all such services. There is
no loan feature offered under the QP contracts, so if the plan provides for
loans and a participant/employee takes a loan from the plan, other plan assets
must be used as the source of the loan and any loan repayments must be credited
to other investment vehicles and/or accounts available under the plan.
Given that required minimum distributions must generally commence from the plan
for annuitants after age 70 1/2, trustees should consider that:
o the QP contract may not be an appropriate purchase for annuitants approaching
or over age 70 1/2; and
o the guaranteed minimum income benefit under baseBUILDER may not be an
appropriate feature for annuitants who are older than age 60 1/2 when the
contract is issued.
Finally, because the method of purchasing the QP contract and the features of
the QP contract may appeal more to plan participants/employees who are older and
tend to be highly paid, and because certain features of the QP contract are
available only to plan participants/employees who meet certain minimum and/or
maximum age requirements, plan trustees should discuss with their advisers
whether the purchase of the QP contract would cause the plan to engage in
prohibited discrimination in contributions, benefits or otherwise.
<PAGE>
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
APPENDIX II: MARKET VALUE ADJUSTMENT EXAMPLE B-1
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
APPENDIX II: MARKET VALUE ADJUSTMENT EXAMPLE
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The example below shows how the market value adjustment would be determined and
how it would be applied to a withdrawal, assuming that $100,000 was allocated on
February 15, 2000 to a fixed maturity option with a maturity date of February
15, 2009 (nine years later) at a rate to maturity of 7.00%, resulting in a
maturity value of $183,846 on the maturity date. We further assume that a
withdrawal of $50,000 is made four years later on February 15, 2004.
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Assumed rate to maturity on February 15, 2004
-----------------------------------------------------
5.00% 9.00%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AS OF FEBRUARY 15, 2004 (BEFORE WITHDRAWAL)
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S> <C> <C>
(1) Market adjusted amount $144,048 $119,487
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2) Fixed maturity amount $131,080 $131,080
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(3) Market value adjustment:
(1) - (2) $ 12,968 $(11,593)
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ON FEBRUARY 15, 2004 (AFTER WITHDRAWAL)
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(4) Portion of market value adjustment associated with withdrawal:
(3) x [$50,000/(1)] $ 4,501 $ (4,851)
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(5) Reduction in fixed maturity amount:
[$50,000 - (4)] $ 45,499 $ 54,851
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(6) Fixed maturity amount: (2) - (5) $ 85,581 $ 76,229
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(7) Maturity value $120,032 $106,915
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(8) Market adjusted amount of (7) $ 94,048 $ 69,487
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
You should note that under this example if a withdrawal is made when rates have
increased from 7.00% to 9.00% (right column), a portion of a negative market
value adjustment is realized. On the other hand, if a withdrawal is made when
rates have decreased from 7.00% to 5.00% (left column), a portion of a positive
market value adjustment is realized.
<PAGE>
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
APPENDIX III: GUARANTEED MINIMUM DEATH BENEFIT EXAMPLE C-1
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
APPENDIX III: GUARANTEED MINIMUM DEATH BENEFIT EXAMPLE
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The death benefit under the contracts is equal to the account value or, if
greater, the guaranteed minimum death benefit.
The following illustrates the guaranteed minimum death benefit calculation.
Assuming $100,000 is allocated to the variable investment options (with no
allocation to the Alliance Money Market option or the fixed maturity options),
no additional contributions, no transfers and no withdrawals, and no loans under
a Rollover TSA contract, the guaranteed minimum death benefit for an annuitant
age 45 would be calculated as follows:
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
END OF 5% ROLL UP TO AGE 80 ANNUAL RATCHET TO AGE 80
CONTRACT GUARANTEED MINIMUM GUARANTEED MINIMUM
YEAR ACCOUNT VALUE DEATH BENEFIT(1) DEATH BENEFIT
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 $105,000 $105,000(1) $105,000(3)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 $115,500 $110,250(2) $115,500(3)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3 $129,360 $115,763(2) $129,360(3)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 $103,488 $121,551(1) $129,360(4)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 $113,837 $127,628(1) $129,360(4)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6 $127,497 $134,010(1) $129,360(4)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7 $127,497 $140,710(1) $129,360(4)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The account values for contract years 1 through 7 are based on hypothetical
rates of return of 5.00%, 10.00%, 12.00%, (20.00)%, 10.00%, 12.00% and 0.00%. We
are using these rates solely to illustrate how the benefit is determined. The
return rates bear no relationship to past or future investment results.
5% ROLL UP TO AGE 80
(1) At the end of contract year 1, and again at the end of contract years 4
through 7, the death benefit will be equal to the guaranteed minimum death
benefit.
(2) At the end of contract years 2 and 3, the death benefit will be equal to the
current account value since it is higher than the current guaranteed minimum
death benefit.
ANNUAL RATCHET TO AGE 80
(3) At the end of contract years 1 through 3, the guaranteed minimum death
benefit is equal to the current account value.
(4) At the end of contract years 4 through 7, the guaranteed minimum death
benefit is equal to the guaranteed minimum death benefit at the end of the
prior year since it is equal to or higher than the current account value.
<PAGE>
Statement of additional information
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Unit Values 2
Annuity Unit Values 2
Custodian and Independent Accountants 3
Yield Information for the Alliance Money Market Option and
Alliance High Yield Option 3
Financial Statements 5
HOW TO OBTAIN AN EQUITABLE ACCUMULATOR STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR
SEPARATE ACCOUNT NO. 49
Send this request form to:
Equitable Accumulator
P.O. Box 1547
Secaucus, NJ 07096-1547
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Please send me an Equitable Accumulator SAI for Separate Account No. 49
dated , 2000.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name:
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address:
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
City State Zip
(SAI 1AMLF(2000))
<PAGE>
Equitable Accumulator SM
A combination variable and fixed deferred annuity contract
PROSPECTUS DATED , 2000
Please read and keep this prospectus for future reference. It contains
important information that you should know before purchasing or taking any
other action under your contract. Also, at the end of this prospectus you will
find attached the prospectus for EQ Advisors Trust, which contains important
information about its portfolios.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHAT IS THE EQUITABLE ACCUMULATOR?
Equitable Accumulator is a deferred annuity contract issued by THE EQUITABLE
LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES. It provides for the accumulation
of retirement savings and for income. The contract offers income and death
benefit protection. It also offers a number of payout and distribution
options. The distribution options available under the contract are the Assured
Payment Option and APO Plus. You invest to accumulate value on a tax-deferred
basis in one or more of our variable investment options, fixed maturity
options, or the account for special dollar cost averaging ("investment
options").
<TABLE>
<S> <C>
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
VARIABLE INVESTMENT OPTIONS
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FIXED INCOME OPTIONS
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOMESTIC FIXED INCOME AGGRESSIVE FIXED INCOME
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
o Alliance Intermediate o Alliance High Yield
Government Securities
o Alliance Money Market
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQUITY OPTIONS
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DOMESTIC EQUITY
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
o Alliance Common Stock o MFS Growth with Income
o Alliance Growth and Income o MFS Research
o EQ/Alliance Premier Growth o Merrill Lynch Basic Value Equity
o BT Equity 500 Index o EQ/Putnam Growth & Income Value
o Capital Guardian Research o T. Rowe Price Equity Income
o Capital Guardian U.S. Equity
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTERNATIONAL EQUITY
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
o Alliance Global o Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Equity
o Alliance International o T. Rowe Price International Stock
o BT International Equity Index
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AGGRESSIVE EQUITY
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
o Alliance Aggressive Stock o MFS Emerging Growth Companies
o Alliance Small Cap Growth o Warburg Pincus Small Company Value
o BT Small Company Index
o EQ/Evergreen
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ASSET ALLOCATION OPTIONS
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
o Alliance Conservative Investors o Merrill Lynch World Strategy
o Alliance Growth Investors o EQ/Putnam Balanced
o EQ/Evergreen Foundation
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alliance Equity Index (Available only under APO Plus)
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
You may allocate amounts to any of the variable investment options. Each
variable investment option is a subaccount of our Separate Account No. 45.
Each variable investment option, in turn, invests in a corresponding
securities portfolio of EQ Advisors Trust. Your investment results in a
variable investment option will depend on the investment performance of the
related portfolio.
<PAGE>
FIXED MATURITY OPTIONS. You may allocate amounts to one or more fixed maturity
options. These amounts will receive a fixed rate of interest for a specified
period. Interest is earned at a guaranteed rate set by us. We make a market
value adjustment (up or down) if you make transfers
or withdrawals from a fixed maturity option before its maturity date.
ACCOUNT FOR SPECIAL DOLLAR COST AVERAGING. This account also pays fixed
interest at guaranteed rates.
TYPES OF CONTRACTS. We offer the contracts for use as:
o A nonqualified annuity ("NQ") for after-tax contributions
o only. An individual retirement annuity ("IRA"), either traditional IRA or
Roth IRA.
o We offer two versions of the traditional IRA: "Rollover IRA" and "Flexible
Premium IRA." The Assured Payment Option and APO Plus are available under
Rollover IRA and Flexible Premium IRA contracts.
We also offer two versions of the Roth IRA: "Roth Conversion IRA" and
"Flexible Premium Roth IRA."
o An annuity that is an investment vehicle for a qualified o defined
contribution or defined benefit plan ("QP").
o An Internal Revenue Code Section 403(b) Tax-Sheltered o Annuity ("TSA") -
("Rollover TSA").
A contribution of at least $5,000 is required to purchase an NQ, Rollover IRA,
Roth Conversion IRA, QP or Rollover TSA contract. For Flexible Premium IRA or
Flexible Premium Roth IRA contracts, we require a contribution of $2,000 to
purchase a contract. Under Rollover IRA or Flexible Premium IRA contracts you
may elect the Assured Payment Option or APO Plus with a minimum initial
contribution of $10,000.
Registration statements relating to this offering have been filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). The statement of additional
information ("SAI") dated , 2000 is a part of one of the registration
statements. The SAI is available free of charge. You may request one by
writing to our processing office or calling 1-800-789-7771. The SAI has been
incorporated by reference into this prospectus. This prospectus and the SAI
can also be obtained from the SEC's Web site at http://www.sec.gov. The table
of contents for the SAI appears at the back of this prospectus.
THE SEC HAS NOT APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED THESE SECURITIES OR DETERMINED IF THIS
PROSPECTUS IS ACCURATE OR COMPLETE. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A
CRIMINAL OFFENSE. THE CONTRACTS ARE NOT INSURED BY THE FDIC OR ANY OTHER
AGENCY. THEY ARE NOT DEPOSITS OR OTHER OBLIGATIONS OF ANY BANK AND ARE NOT
BANK GUARANTEED. THEY ARE SUBJECT TO INVESTMENT RISKS AND POSSIBLE LOSS OF
PRINCIPAL.
<PAGE>
Contents of this prospectus
- ----------------
2
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<S> <C>
EQUITABLE ACCUMULATORSM
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
Index of key words and phrases 4
Who is Equitable Life? 5
How to reach us 6
Equitable Accumulator at a glance - key features 8
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
FEE TABLE 11
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
Examples 14
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTRACT FEATURES AND BENEFITS 16
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
How you can purchase and contribute to your contract 16
Owner and annuitant requirements 21
How you can make your contributions 21
What are your investment options under the contract? 21
Allocating your contributions 27
Your benefit base 29
Annuity purchase factors 29
Our baseBUILDER option 29
Guaranteed minimum death benefit 31
Your right to cancel within a certain number of days 32
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
DETERMINING YOUR CONTRACT'S VALUE 33
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
Your account value and cash value 33
Your contract's value in the variable investment options 33
Your contract's value in the fixed maturity options 33
Your contract's value in the account for special dollar cost
averaging 34
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"We," "our," and "us" refer to Equitable Life.
When we address the reader of this prospectus with words
such as "you" and "your," we mean the person who has the
right or responsibility that the prospectus is discussing at that
point. This is usually the contract owner.
When we use the word "contract" it also includes certificates
that are issued under group contracts in some states.
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
- ----------
3
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<S> <C>
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSFERRING YOUR MONEY AMONG
INVESTMENT OPTIONS 35
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
Transferring your account value 35
Rebalancing your account value 35
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
ACCESSING YOUR MONEY 36
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
Assured Payment Option and APO Plus 36
Withdrawing your account value 40
How withdrawals are taken from your account value 42
How withdrawals affect your guaranteed minimum
income benefit and guaranteed minimum death
benefit 42
Loans under Rollover TSA contracts 43
Surrendering your contract to receive its cash value 44
When to expect payments 44
Your annuity payout options 44
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
CHARGES AND EXPENSES 48
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
Charges that Equitable Life deducts 48
Charges that EQ Advisors Trust deducts 51
Group or sponsored arrangements 51
Other distribution arrangements 51
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
PAYMENT OF DEATH BENEFIT 52
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
Your beneficiary and payment of benefit 52
How death benefit payment is made 53
Beneficiary continuation option for Rollover IRA and
Flexible Premium IRA contracts 53
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
TAX INFORMATION 55
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
Overview 55
Transfers among investment options 55
Taxation of nonqualified annuities 55
Special rules for NQ contracts issued in Puerto Rico 56
Individual retirement arrangements (IRAs) 57
Special rules for nonqualified contracts in qualified plans 68
Tax-Sheltered Annuity contracts (TSAs) 68
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
<TABLE>
<S> <C>
Federal and state income tax withholding and
information reporting 72
Impact of taxes to Equitable Life 74
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
MORE INFORMATION 75
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
About our Separate Account No. 45 75
About EQ Advisors Trust 75
About our fixed maturity options 76
About the general account 77
About other methods of payment 77
Dates and prices at which contract events occur 78
About your voting rights 79
About legal proceedings 80
About our independent accountants 80
Financial statements 80
Transfers of ownership, collateral assignments, loans,
and borrowing 80
Distribution of the contracts 80
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE 82
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
Benchmarks 82
Communicating performance data 93
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS BY
REFERENCE 95
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
APPENDICES
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
I - Purchase considerations for QP contracts A-1
II - Market value adjustment example B-1
III - Guaranteed minimum death benefit example C-1
IV - Example of payments under the Assured Payment
Option and APO Plus D-1
V - Assured Payment Option and APO Plus contracts
issued in the state of Maryland E-1
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- ------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
Index of key words and phrases
- --------
4
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This index should help you locate more information on the terms used in this
prospectus.
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
PAGE
<S> <C>
account for special dollar cost
averaging 25
account value 33
annuitant 16
annuity payout options 44
APO Plus 38
Assured Payment Option 35
baseBUILDER 28
beneficiary 51
benefit base 28
business day 76
cash value 33
conduit IRA 60
contract date 9
contract date anniversary 9
contract year 9
contributions to Roth IRAs 64
regular contributions 64
rollover contributions 64
conversion contributions 65
direct custodian-to-custodian
transfers 64
contributions to traditional IRAs 56
regular contributions 57
rollover contributions 59
direct custodian-to-custodian
transfers 59
ERISA 42
fixed maturity amount 23
fixed maturity options 23
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
PAGE
<S> <C>
Flexible Premium IRA cover
Flexible Premium Roth IRA cover
guaranteed minimum death benefit 30
guaranteed minimum income benefit 28
IRA 56
IRS 54
investment options 20
loan reserve account 43
market adjusted amount 23
market value adjustment 24
maturity value 23
NQ 54
participant 20
portfolio cover
processing office 6
QP 67
rate to maturity 23
Required Beginning Date 60
Rollover IRA cover
Rollover TSA cover
Roth Conversion IRA cover
Roth IRA 63
SAI cover
SEC cover
TOPS 6
TSA 67
traditional IRA 56
unit 33
variable investment options 20
</TABLE>
To make this prospectus easier to read, we sometimes use different words than in
the contract or supplemental materials. This is illustrated below. Although we
use different words, they have the same meaning in this prospectus as in the
contract or supplemental materials. Your financial professional can provide
further explanation about your contract.
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
PROSPECTUS CONTRACT OR SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS
<S> <C>
fixed maturity options Guarantee Periods (GIROs in Supplemental Materials)
variable investment options Investment Funds
account value Annuity Account Value
rate to maturity Guaranteed Rates
unit Accumulation Unit
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
Who is Equitable Life?
- ----------------
5
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We are The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States ("Equitable
Life"), a New York stock life insurance corporation. We have been doing
business since 1859. Equitable Life is a wholly owned subsidiary of AXA
Financial, Inc. (previously, The Equitable Companies Incorporated). The
majority shareholder of AXA Financial, Inc. is AXA, a French holding company
for an international group of insurance and related financial services
companies. As a majority shareholder, and under its other arrangements with
Equitable Life and Equitable Life's parent, AXA exercises significant
influence over the operations and capital structure of Equitable Life and its
parent. No company other than Equitable Life, however, has any legal
responsibility to pay amounts that Equitable Life owes under the contract.
AXA Financial, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries managed approximately
$394.4 billion in assets as of September 30, 1999. For over 100 years
Equitable Life has been among the largest insurance companies in the United
States. We are licensed to sell life insurance and annuities in all fifty
states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Our home office is located at 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y.
10104.
<PAGE>
- ----------
6
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HOW TO REACH US
You may communicate with our Processing Office as listed below for any of the
following purposes:
- ---------------------------------------------
FOR CONTRIBUTIONS SENT BY REGULAR MAIL:
- ---------------------------------------------
Equitable Accumulator
P.O. Box 13014
Newark, NJ 07188-0014
- ---------------------------------------------
FOR CONTRIBUTIONS SENT BY EXPRESS DELIVERY:
- ---------------------------------------------
Equitable Accumulator
c/o Bank One, N.A.
300 Harmon Meadow Boulevard, 3rd Floor
Attn: Box 13014
Secaucus, NJ 07094
- ---------------------------------------------
FOR ALL OTHER COMMUNICATIONS (E.G.,
REQUESTS FOR TRANSFERS, WITHDRAWALS, OR
REQUIRED NOTICES) SENT BY REGULAR MAIL:
- ---------------------------------------------
Equitable Accumulator
P.O. Box 1547
Secaucus, NJ 07096-1547
- ---------------------------------------------
FOR ALL OTHER COMMUNICATIONS (E.G.,
REQUESTS FOR TRANSFERS, WITHDRAWALS, OR
REQUIRED NOTICES) SENT BY EXPRESS DELIVERY:
- ---------------------------------------------
Equitable Accumulator
200 Plaza Drive, 4th Floor
Secaucus, NJ 07094
- ---------------------------------------------
REPORTS WE PROVIDE:
- ---------------------------------------------
o written confirmation of financial transactions;
o statement of your contract values at the close of each calendar quarter
(four per year); and
o annual statement of your contract values as of the close of the contract
year.
<PAGE>
- ------------------------------------
TELEPHONE OPERATED PROGRAM SUPPORT
("TOPS") AND EQ ACCESS SYSTEM:
- ------------------------------------
TOPS is designed to provide you with up-to-date information via touch-tone
telephone. EQ Access is designed to provide this information through the
Internet. You can obtain information on:
o your current account value;
o your current allocation percentages;
o the number of units you have in the variable investment options;
o rates to maturity for the fixed maturity options; and
o the daily unit values for the variable investment options.
You can also:
o change your allocation percentages and/or transfer among the investment
options; and
o change your personal identification number (PIN).
TOPS and EQ Access are normally available seven days a week, 24 hours a day.
You may use TOPS by calling toll free 1-888-909-7770. You may use EQ Access by
visiting our Web site at http://www.equitable.com and clicking on EQ Access. Of
course, for reasons beyond our control, these services may sometimes be
unavailable.
We have established procedures to reasonably confirm that the instructions
communicated by telephone or Internet are genuine. For example, we will
require certain personal identification information before we will act on
telephone or Internet instructions and we will provide written confirmation of
your transfers. If we do not employ reasonable procedures to confirm the
genuineness of telephone or Internet instructions, we may be liable for any
losses arising out of any act or omission that constitutes negligence, lack of
good faith, or willful misconduct. In light of our procedures, we will not be
liable for following telephone or Internet instructions we reasonably believe
to be genuine.
<PAGE>
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7
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ---------------------------------------------------------------
CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE:
- ---------------------------------------------------------------
You may also use our toll-free number (1-800-789-7771) to
speak with one of our customer service representatives. Our
customer service representatives are available on any business
day from 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., Eastern time.
You should send all contributions, notices, and requests to
our processing office at the address above.
WE REQUIRE THAT THE FOLLOWING TYPES OF COMMUNICATIONS BE ON SPECIFIC FORMS WE
PROVIDE FOR THAT PURPOSE:
(1) conversion of a traditional IRA contract to a Roth Conversion IRA or
Flexible Premium Roth IRA contract;
(2) election of the Assured Payment Option or APO Plus;
(3) election of the automatic investment program;
(4) election of the rebalancing program;
(5) requests for loans under Rollover TSA contracts;
(6) spousal consent for loans under Rollover TSA contracts;
(7) contract surrender and withdrawal requests;
(8) tax withholding election; and
(9) election of the beneficiary continuation option.
WE ALSO HAVE SPECIFIC FORMS THAT WE RECOMMEND YOU USE FOR THE FOLLOWING TYPES
OF REQUESTS:
(1) address changes;
(2) beneficiary changes; and
(3) transfers between investment options.
TO CANCEL OR CHANGE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING WE REQUIRE WRITTEN NOTIFICATION
GENERALLY AT LEAST SEVEN CALENDAR DAYS BEFORE THE NEXT SCHEDULED TRANSACTION:
(1) automatic investment program;
(2) general dollar cost averaging;
(3) rebalancing;
(4) special dollar cost averaging;
(5) Assured Payment Option or APO Plus;
(6) substantially equal withdrawals;
(7) systematic withdrawals; and
(8) the date annuity payments are to begin.
You must sign and date all these requests. Any written request that is not on
one of our forms must include your name and your contract number along with
adequate details about the notice you wish to give or the action you wish us
to take.
SIGNATURES:
The proper person to sign forms, notices and requests
would normally be the owner. If there are joint owners both must sign.
<PAGE>
Equitable Accumulator at a glance - key features
- --------
8
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<S> <C> <C>
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROFESSIONAL Equitable Accumulator's variable investment options invest in 30 different portfolios managed
INVESTMENT by professional investment advisers.
MANAGEMENT
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FIXED MATURITY o 10 fixed maturity options with maturities ranging from approximately 1 to 10 years. Under
OPTIONS the Assured Payment Option and APO Plus, 5 additional fixed maturity options with
maturities ranging from 11 to 15 years.
o Each fixed maturity option offers a guarantee of principal and interest rate if you hold
it to maturity.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you make withdrawals or transfers from a fixed maturity option before maturity, there will
be a market value adjustment due to differences in interest rates. This may increase or
decrease any value that you have left in that fixed maturity option. If you surrender your
contract, a market value adjustment may also apply.
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACCOUNT FOR SPECIAL DOLLAR Available for dollar cost averaging all or a portion of your initial contribution.
COST AVERAGING
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TAX ADVANTAGES o On earnings inside the No tax on any dividends, interest or capital gains until you
contract make withdrawals from your contract or receive annuity
payments.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
o On transfers inside the No tax on transfers among investment options.
contract
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are buying a contract to fund a retirement plan that already provides tax deferral
under sections of the Internal Revenue Code (such as IRA, QP, and Rollover TSA), you should do
so for the contract's features and benefits other than tax deferral. In such situations, the
tax deferral of the contract does not provide additional benefits.
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BASEBUILDER(Reg. TM) baseBUILDER combines a guaranteed minimum income benefit with the guaranteed minimum
PROTECTION death benefit provided under the contract. The guaranteed minimum income benefit provides
income protection for you while the annuitant lives. The guaranteed minimum death benefit
provides a death benefit for the beneficiary should the annuitant die. For Rollover IRA,
Flexible Premium IRA and Rollover TSA Contracts, an additional guaranteed minimum death benefit
is available under baseBUILDER where the annuitant is between ages 20 and 60 at contract issue.
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTRIBUTION AMOUNTS o NQ, Rollover IRA, Roth Conversion IRA, QP, and Rollover TSA contracts
o Initial minimum: $ 5,000
o Additional minimum: $ 1,000
$100 monthly and $300 quarterly under our automatic
investment program (NQ contracts)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
o Flexible Premium IRA and Flexible Premium Roth IRA contracts
o Initial minimum: $ 2,000
o Additional minimum: $50 ($50 under our automatic investment program)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
o Assured Payment Option and APO Plus under Rollover IRA and Flexible Premium
IRA contracts
o Initial minimum: $10,000
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
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9
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<S> <C> <C>
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
o Additional minimum: $1,000
--------------------------------------------------------
Maximum contribution limitations may apply.
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACCESS TO YOUR MONEY o Assured Payment Option
o APO Plus
o Lump sum withdrawals
o Several withdrawal options on a periodic basis
o Loans under Rollover TSA contracts
o Contract surrender
You may incur a withdrawal charge for certain withdrawals
or if you surrender your contract.
You may also incur income tax and a tax penalty.
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAYOUT ALTERNATIVES o Annuity payout options
o Income Manager(Reg. TM) payout options
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADDITIONAL FEATURES o Guaranteed minimum death benefit even if you do not
elect baseBUILDER
o Dollar cost averaging
o Automatic investment program
o Account value rebalancing (quarterly, semiannually, and
annually)
o Unlimited free transfers
o Waiver of withdrawal charge for disability, terminal
illness, or confinement to a nursing home
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FEES AND CHARGES o Daily charges on amounts invested in the variable
investment options for mortality and expense risks,
administrative charges and distribution charges at
an annual rate of 1.55%.
o Annual 0.30% benefit base charge for the optional
baseBUILDER benefit until you exercise your guaranteed
minimum income benefit, elect another annuity payout
option or the contract date anniversary after the
annuitant reaches age 85, whichever occurs first. The
benefit base is described under "Your benefit base" in
"Contract features and benefits." If you do not elect
baseBUILDER, you still receive a guaranteed minimum
death benefit under your contract at no additional
charge.
o Under Flexible Premium IRA and Flexible Premium Roth
IRA contracts, if your account value at the end of the
contract year is less than $25,000, we deduct an annual
administrative charge equal to $30 or during the first
two contract years 2% of your account value, if less.
If your account value is $25,000 or more, we will not
deduct the charge.
o No sales charge deducted at the time you make
contributions.
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
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10
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<S> <C>
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FEES AND o During the first seven contract years following a
CHARGES (CONTINUED) contribution, a charge will be deducted from
amounts that you withdraw that exceed 15% of your
account value. We use the account value on the most
recent contract date anniversary to calculate this 15%
amount available. The charge begins at 7% in the first
contract year following a contribution. It declines by
1% each year to 1% in the seventh contract year. There
is no withdrawal charge in the eighth and later
contract years following a contribution. In addition,
there is no withdrawal charge if the annuitant is age
86 or older when the contract is issued. Certain other
exemptions apply.
------------------------------------------------------
The "contract date" is the effective date of a
contract. This usually is the business day we receive
your initial contribution. Your contract date will be
shown in your contract. The 12-month period beginning
on your contract date and each 12-month period after
that date is a "contract year." The end of each
12-month period is your "contract date anniversary."
------------------------------------------------------
o We deduct a charge for taxes such as premium taxes that
may be imposed in your state. This charge is generally
deducted from the amount applied to an annuity payout
option.
o We generally deduct a $350 annuity administrative fee
from amounts applied to purchase certain life annuity
payout options.
o Annual expenses of EQ Advisors Trust portfolios are
calculated as a percentage of the average daily net
assets invested in each portfolio. These expenses
include management fees ranging from 0.25% to 1.15%
annually, 12b-1 fees of 0.25% annually, and other
expenses.
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANNUITANT ISSUE AGES NQ: 0-90
Rollover IRA, Roth Conversion IRA, Flexible Premium Roth
IRA, and Rollover TSA: 20-90
Flexible Premium IRA: 20-70
Assured Payment Option and APO Plus: 53 1/2-83
QP: 20-75
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
THE ABOVE IS NOT A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF ALL MATERIAL PROVISIONS OF THE
CONTRACT. IN SOME CASES RESTRICTIONS OR EXCEPTIONS APPLY. ALSO, ALL FEATURES OF
THE CONTRACT ARE NOT NECESSARILY AVAILABLE IN YOUR STATE OR AT CERTAIN AGES.
For more detailed information we urge you to read the contents of this
prospectus, as well as your contract. Please feel free to speak with your
financial professional, or call us, if you have any questions.
OTHER CONTRACTS
We offer a variety of fixed and variable annuity contracts. They may offer
features, including investment options, fees and/or charges that are different
from those in the contracts offered by this prospectus. Not every contract is
offered through the same distributor. Upon request, your financial professional
can show you information regarding other Equitable Life annuity contracts that
he or she distributes. You can also contact us to find out more about any of the
Equitable Life annuity contracts.
<PAGE>
Fee table
- --------
11
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The fee table below will help you understand the various charges and expenses
that apply to your contract. The table reflects charges you will directly incur
under the contract, as well as charges and expenses of the Portfolios that you
will bear indirectly. Charges for taxes, such as premium taxes, may also apply.
Also, an annuity administrative fee may apply when your annuity payments are to
begin. Each of the charges and expenses is more fully described in "Charges and
expenses" later in this prospectus. For a complete description of portfolio
charges and expenses, please see the attached prospectus for EQ Advisors Trust.
The fixed maturity options and the account for special dollar cost averaging
are not covered by the fee table and examples. However, the annual
administrative charge and the withdrawal charge do apply to the fixed maturity
options and the account for special dollar cost averaging. A market value
adjustment (up or down) may apply as a result of a withdrawal, transfer, or
surrender of amounts from a fixed maturity option.
<TABLE>
<S> <C>
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHARGES WE DEDUCT FROM YOUR VARIABLE INVESTMENT OPTIONS EXPRESSED AS AN
ANNUAL PERCENTAGE OF DAILY NET ASSETS
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mortality and expense risks (1) 1.10%
Administrative (2) 0.25%
Distribution 0.20%
----
Total annual expenses 1.55%
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FLEXIBLE PREMIUM IRA AND FLEXIBLE PREMIUM ROTH IRA CONTRACTS ONLY:
CHARGES WE DEDUCT FROM YOUR ACCOUNT VALUE ON EACH CONTRACT DATE ANNIVERSARY
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Maximum annual administrative charge(3)
If your account value on a contract date anniversary is less than $25,000 $ 30
If your account value on a contract date anniversary is $25,000 or more $ 0
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHARGES WE DEDUCT FROM YOUR ACCOUNT VALUE AT THE TIME YOU REQUEST CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WITHDRAWAL CHARGE AS A PERCENTAGE OF CONTRIBUTIONS (deducted if you surrender Contract
your contract or make certain withdrawals. The withdrawal charge percentage we use is year
determined by the contract year in which you make the withdrawal or surrender your 1............7.00%
contract. For each contribution, we consider the contract year in which we receive that 2............6.00%
contribution to be "contract year 1")(4) 3............5.00%
4............4.00%
5............3.00%
6............2.00%
7............1.00%
8+...........0.00%
Charge if you elect a life annuity payout option $350
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHARGES WE DEDUCT FROM YOUR ACCOUNT VALUE EACH YEAR IF YOU ELECT THE OPTIONAL BENEFIT
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BASEBUILDER BENEFITS CHARGE (calculated as a percentage of the benefit base.
Deducted annually on each contract date anniversary)(5) 0.30%
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
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12
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQ ADVISORS TRUST ANNUAL EXPENSES
(AS A PERCENTAGE OF AVERAGE DAILY NET ASSETS IN EACH PORTFOLIO)
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
TOTAL
OTHER ANNUAL
EXPENSES EXPENSES
MANAGEMENT (AFTER EXPENSE (AFTER EXPENSE
FEES(6) 12B-1 FEE(7) LIMITATION)(8) LIMITATION)(9)
-------------- ---------------- ---------------- ---------------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Alliance Aggressive Stock 0.54% 0.25% 0.04% 0.83%
Alliance Common Stock 0.36% 0.25% 0.04% 0.65%
Alliance Conservative Investors 0.48% 0.25% 0.06% 0.79%
Alliance Equity Index 0.31% 0.25% 0.04% 0.60%
Alliance Global 0.64% 0.25% 0.08% 0.97%
Alliance Growth and Income 0.55% 0.25% 0.04% 0.84%
Alliance Growth Investors 0.51% 0.25% 0.05% 0.81%
Alliance High Yield 0.60% 0.25% 0.04% 0.89%
Alliance Intermediate Government Securities 0.50% 0.25% 0.06% 0.81%
Alliance International 0.90% 0.25% 0.17% 1.32%
Alliance Money Market 0.35% 0.25% 0.03% 0.63%
EQ/Alliance Premier Growth 0.90% 0.25% 0.00% 1.15%
Alliance Small Cap Growth 0.90% 0.25% 0.06% 1.21%
BT Equity 500 Index 0.25% 0.25% 0.05% 0.55%
BT International Equity Index 0.35% 0.25% 0.40% 1.00%
BT Small Company Index 0.25% 0.25% 0.25% 0.75%
Capital Guardian Research 0.65% 0.25% 0.05% 0.95%
Capital Guardian U.S. Equity 0.65% 0.25% 0.05% 0.95%
EQ/Evergreen 0.75% 0.25% 0.05% 1.05%
EQ/Evergreen Foundation 0.63% 0.25% 0.07% 0.95%
Merrill Lynch Basic Value Equity 0.55% 0.25% 0.05% 0.85%
Merrill Lynch World Strategy 0.70% 0.25% 0.25% 1.20%
MFS Emerging Growth Companies 0.55% 0.25% 0.05% 0.85%
MFS Growth with Income 0.55% 0.25% 0.05% 0.85%
MFS Research 0.55% 0.25% 0.05% 0.85%
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Equity 1.15% 0.25% 0.35% 1.75%
EQ/Putnam Balanced 0.55% 0.25% 0.10% 0.90%
EQ/Putnam Growth & Income Value 0.55% 0.25% 0.05% 0.85%
T. Rowe Price Equity Income 0.55% 0.25% 0.05% 0.85%
T. Rowe Price International Stock 0.75% 0.25% 0.20% 1.20%
Warburg Pincus Small Company Value 0.65% 0.25% 0.10% 1.00%
</TABLE>
Notes:
(1) A portion of this charge is for providing the guaranteed minimum death
benefit.
(2) We reserve the right to increase this charge to a maximum annual rate of
0.35%.
(3) During the first two contract years this charge is equal to the lesser of
$30 or 2% of your account value if it applies. Thereafter, the charge is
$30 for each contract year.
(4) Deducted upon a withdrawal of amounts in excess of the 15% free
withdrawal amount and upon surrender of a contract.
<PAGE>
- -----
13
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(5) This charge is for providing a guaranteed minimum income benefit in
combination with the guaranteed minimum death benefit available under the
contract. The charge for the 5% roll up to age 70 baseBUILDER benefit is
0.15%. The benefit base is described under "Our baseBUILDER Option" in
"Contract features and benefits."
(6) The management fee for each portfolio cannot be increased without a vote
of that portfolio's shareholders.
(7) Portfolio shares are all subject to fees imposed under the distribution
plan (the "Rule 12b-1 Plan") adopted by EQ Advisors Trust pursuant to
Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The 12b-1 fee will
not be increased for the life of the contracts. Prior to October 18,
1999, the total annual expenses for the Alliance Small Cap Growth
portfolio were limited to 1.20% under an expense limitation arrangement
related to that portfolio's Rule 12b-1 Plan. The arrangement is no longer
in effect. The amounts shown have been restated to reflect the expenses
that would have been incurred in 1998, absent the expense limitation
arrangement.
(8) The amounts shown as "Other Expenses" will fluctuate from year to year
depending on actual expenses. See footnote (9) for any expense limitation
agreements.
On October 18, 1999 the Alliance portfolios (other than EQ/Alliance
Premier Growth) became part of the portfolios of EQ Advisors Trust. The
"Other Expenses" for these portfolios have been restated to reflect the
estimated expenses that would have been incurred had these portfolios been
portfolios of EQ Advisors Trust for the year ended December 31, 1998. The
restated expenses reflect an increase of 0.01%.
(9) Equitable Life, EQ Advisors Trust's manager, has entered into an expense
limitation agreement with respect to certain portfolios. Under this
agreement Equitable Life has agreed to waive or limit its fees and assume
other expenses. Under the expense limitation agreement, total annual
operating expenses of certain portfolios (other than interest, taxes,
brokerage commissions, capitalized expenditures, extraordinary expenses,
and 12b-1 fees) are limited as a percentage of the average daily net
assets of each of the following portfolios: 0.90% for EQ/Alliance Premier
Growth; 0.30% for BT Equity 500 Index; 0.75% for BT International Equity
Index; 0.50% for BT Small Company Index; 0.70% for Capital Guardian
Research and Capital Guardian U.S. Equity; 0.80% for EQ/Evergreen; 0.70%
for EQ/Evergreen Foundation; 0.60% for Merrill Lynch Basic Value Equity,
MFS Emerging Growth Companies, MFS Growth with Income, and MFS Research;
0.95% for Merrill Lynch World Strategy; 1.50% for Morgan Stanley Emerging
Markets Equity; 0.65% for EQ/Putnam Balanced; 0.60% for EQ/Putnam Growth
& Income Value and T. Rowe Price Equity Income; 0.95% for T. Rowe Price
International Stock; and 0.75% for Warburg Pincus Small Company Value.
The expenses shown for the BT International Equity Index and BT Small
Company Index portfolios reflect an increase effective on May 1, 1999.
Absent the expense limitation, the "Other Expenses" for 1998 on an
annualized basis for each of the portfolios would have been as follows:
0.33% for BT Equity 500 Index; 0.89% for BT International Equity Index;
1.31% for BT Small Company Index; 0.26% for Merrill Lynch Basic Value
Equity; 0.66% for Merrill Lynch World Strategy; 0.24% for MFS Emerging
Growth Companies; 0.25% for MFS Research; 1.23% for Morgan Stanley
Emerging Markets Equity; 0.45% for EQ/Putnam Balanced; 0.24% for EQ/Putnam
Growth & Income Value and T. Rowe Price Equity Income; 0.40% for T. Rowe
Price International Stock; and 0.27% for Warburg Pincus Small Company
Value. For the following portfolios, the "Other Expenses" for 1999, absent
the expense limitation, are estimated to be as follows: 0.74% for
EQ/Alliance Premier Growth, Capital Guardian Research, and Capital
Guardian U.S. Equity; 0.76% for EQ/Evergreen; 0.86% for EQ/Evergreen
Foundation; and 0.59% for MFS Growth with Income. Initial seed capital was
invested on December 31, 1998 for the EQ/Evergreen, EQ/Evergreen
Foundation, and MFS Growth with Income portfolios and April 30, 1999 for
the EQ/Alliance Premier Growth, Capital Guardian Research, and Capital
Guardian U.S. Equity portfolios and therefore expenses have been
estimated.
Each portfolio may at a later date make a reimbursement to Equitable Life
for any of the management fees waived or limited and other expenses
assumed and paid by Equitable Life pursuant to the expense limitation
agreement provided that, among other things, such portfolio has reached
sufficient size to permit such reimbursement to be made and provided that
the portfolio's current annual operating expenses do not exceed the
operating expense limit determined for such portfolio. For more
information see the prospectus for EQ Advisors Trust.
<PAGE>
- -----
14
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EXAMPLES
The examples below show the expenses that a hypothetical contract owner who has
purchased a Flexible Premium IRA or Flexible Premium Roth IRA contract would
pay in the situations illustrated. The examples show the expenses if (1)
baseBUILDER is elected with a 5% roll up to age 80 or annual ratchet to age 80
guaranteed minimum death benefit and (2) APO Plus is elected. We assume that a
$1,000 contribution is invested in one of the variable investment options
listed and a 5% annual return is earned on the assets in that option.(1) The
annual administrative charge is based on charges that apply to a mix of
estimated contract sizes, resulting in an estimated administrative charge for
the purpose of these examples of $0.57 per $1,000. Since the annual
administrative charge only applies under Flexible Premium IRA and Flexible
Premium Roth IRA contracts, the charges shown in the examples would be lower
for NQ, Rollover IRA, Roth Conversion IRA, QP, and Rollover TSA contracts.
These examples should not be considered a representation of past or future
expenses for each option. Actual expenses may be greater or less than those
shown. Similarly, the annual rate of return assumed in the examples is not an
estimate or guarantee of future investment performance.
(1) EXPENSES REFLECTING BASEBUILDER ELECTION
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
IF YOU SURRENDER YOUR CONTRACT AT THE END
OF EACH PERIOD SHOWN, THE EXPENSES
WOULD BE:
-------------------------------------------------
1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS
----------- ------------ ------------ -----------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Alliance Aggressive Stock $ 94.69 $ 132.13 $ 172.40 $ 306.52
Alliance Common Stock $ 92.91 $ 126.77 $ 163.49 $ 288.86
Alliance Conservative Investors $ 94.30 $ 130.95 $ 170.44 $ 302.63
Alliance Global $ 96.08 $ 136.28 $ 179.30 $ 320.06
Alliance Growth and Income $ 94.79 $ 132.43 $ 172.91 $ 307.50
Alliance Growth Investors $ 94.49 $ 131.53 $ 171.42 $ 304.58
Alliance High Yield $ 95.29 $ 133.91 $ 175.37 $ 312.35
Alliance Intermediate Government Securities $ 94.49 $ 131.53 $ 172.42 $ 304.58
Alliance International $ 99.56 $ 146.61 $ 196.34 $ 353.12
Alliance Money Market $ 92.71 $ 126.18 $ 162.50 $ 286.88
EQ/Alliance Premier Growth $ 97.87 $ 141.59 - -
Alliance Small Cap Growth $ 98.46 $ 143.37 $ 191.01 $ 342.85
BT Equity 500 Index $ 91.91 $ 123.78 $ 158.50 $ 278.91
BT International Equity Index $ 96.38 $ 137.17 $ 180.77 $ 322.94
BT Small Company Index $ 93.90 $ 129.75 $ 168.45 $ 298.71
Capital Guardian Research $ 95.88 $ 135.69 - -
Capital Guardian U.S. Equity $ 95.88 $ 135.69 - -
EQ/Evergreen $ 96.88 $ 138.66 - -
EQ/Evergreen Foundation $ 95.88 $ 135.69 - -
Merrill Lynch Basic Value Equity $ 94.89 $ 132.71 $ 173.39 $ 308.48
<CAPTION>
IF YOU DO NOT SURRENDER YOUR CONTRACT AT
THE END OF EACH PERIOD SHOWN, THE
EXPENSES WOULD BE:
------------------------------------------------
1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS
----------- ---------- ------------ ------------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Alliance Aggressive Stock $ 27.84 $ 85.60 $ 146.23 $ 311.41
Alliance Common Stock $ 26.06 $ 80.24 $ 137.32 $ 293.75
Alliance Conservative Investors $ 27.45 $ 84.42 $ 144.27 $ 307.52
Alliance Global $ 29.23 $ 89.75 $ 153.13 $ 324.95
Alliance Growth and Income $ 27.94 $ 85.90 $ 146.74 $ 312.39
Alliance Growth Investors $ 27.64 $ 85.00 $ 145.25 $ 309.47
Alliance High Yield $ 28.44 $ 87.38 $ 149.20 $ 317.24
Alliance Intermediate Government Securities $ 27.64 $ 85.00 $ 145.25 $ 309.47
Alliance International $ 32.71 $ 100.08 $ 170.17 $ 358.01
Alliance Money Market $ 25.86 $ 79.65 $ 136.33 $ 291.77
EQ/Alliance Premier Growth $ 31.02 $ 95.06 - -
Alliance Small Cap Growth $ 31.61 $ 96.84 $ 164.84 $ 347.74
BT Equity 500 Index $ 25.06 $ 77.25 $ 132.33 $ 283.80
BT International Equity Index $ 29.53 $ 90.64 $ 154.60 $ 327.83
BT Small Company Index $ 27.05 $ 83.22 $ 142.28 $ 303.60
Capital Guardian Research $ 29.03 $ 89.16 - -
Capital Guardian U.S. Equity $ 29.03 $ 89.16 - -
EQ/Evergreen $ 30.03 $ 92.13 - -
EQ/Evergreen Foundation $ 29.03 $ 89.16 - -
Merrill Lynch Basic Value Equity $ 28.04 $ 86.18 $ 147.22 $ 313.37
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
- -----
15
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
IF YOU SURRENDER YOUR CONTRACT AT THE END
OF EACH PERIOD SHOWN, THE EXPENSES
WOULD BE:
-------------------------------------------------
1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS
----------- ------------ ------------ -----------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Merrill Lynch World Strategy $ 98.36 $ 143.07 $ 190.52 $ 341.90
MFS Emerging Growth Companies $ 94.89 $ 132.71 $ 173.39 $ 308.48
MFS Growth with Income $ 94.89 $ 132.71 - -
MFS Research $ 94.89 $ 132.71 $ 173.39 $ 308.48
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Equity $ 103.82 $ 159.20 $ 216.95 $ 392.22
EQ/Putnam Balanced $ 95.39 $ 134.20 $ 175.85 $ 313.31
EQ/Putnam Growth & Income Value $ 94.89 $ 132.71 $ 173.39 $ 308.48
T. Rowe Price Equity Income $ 94.89 $ 132.71 $ 173.39 $ 308.48
T. Rowe Price International Stock $ 98.36 $ 143.07 $ 190.52 $ 341.90
Warburg Pincus Small Company Value $ 96.38 $ 137.17 $ 180.77 $ 322.94
<CAPTION>
IF YOU DO NOT SURRENDER YOUR CONTRACT AT
THE END OF EACH PERIOD SHOWN, THE
EXPENSES WOULD BE:
------------------------------------------------
1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS
----------- ---------- ------------ ------------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Merrill Lynch World Strategy $ 31.51 $ 96.54 $ 164.35 $ 346.79
MFS Emerging Growth Companies $ 28.04 $ 86.18 $ 147.22 $ 313.37
MFS Growth with Income $ 28.04 $ 86.18 - -
MFS Research $ 28.04 $ 86.18 $ 147.22 $ 313.37
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Equity $ 36.97 $ 112.67 $ 190.78 $ 397.11
EQ/Putnam Balanced $ 28.54 $ 87.67 $ 149.68 $ 318.20
EQ/Putnam Growth & Income Value $ 28.04 $ 86.18 $ 147.22 $ 313.37
T. Rowe Price Equity Income $ 28.04 $ 86.18 $ 147.22 $ 313.37
T. Rowe Price International Stock $ 31.51 $ 96.54 $ 164.35 $ 346.79
Warburg Pincus Small Company Value $ 29.53 $ 90.64 $ 154.60 $ 327.83
</TABLE>
(2) EXPENSES REFLECTING APO PLUS ELECTION
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
IF YOU SURRENDER YOUR CONTRACT AT THE END IF YOU DO NOT SURRENDER YOUR CONTRACT AT
OF EACH PERIOD SHOWN, THE EXPENSES THE END OF EACH PERIOD SHOWN, THE
WOULD BE: EXPENSES WOULD BE:
------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------
1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS 1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS
--------- ---------- ---------- ----------- --------- ---------- ---------- ----------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Alliance Common Stock $92.91 $120.53 $150.67 $258.01 $22.91 $70.53 $120.67 $258.01
Alliance Equity Index $92.41 $119.03 $148.16 $252.96 $22.41 $69.03 $118.16 $252.96
</TABLE>
- ----------
(1) The amount accumulated from the $1,000 contribution could not be paid in
the form of an annuity payout option at the end of any of the periods
shown in the examples. This is because if the amount applied to purchase
an annuity payout option is less than $2,000, or the initial payment is
less than $20, we may pay the amount to you in a single sum instead of
payments under an annuity payout option. See "Accessing your money."
IF YOU ELECT A VARIABLE IMMEDIATE ANNUITY PAYOUT OPTION:
Assuming an annuity payout option could be issued (see note (1) above), and you
elect a Variable Immediate Annuity the expenses shown in the example for "if
you do not surrender your contract" would, in each case, be increased by $4.43
based on the average amount applied to annuity payout options in 1998. See
"Annuity administrative fee" in "Charges and expenses."
<PAGE>
Contract features and benefits
- --------
16
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOW YOU CAN PURCHASE AND CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR CONTRACT
You may purchase a contract by making payments to us that we call
"contributions." We require a minimum contribution amount for each type of
contract purchased. The following table summarizes our rules regarding
contributions to your contract. All ages in the table refer to the age of the
annuitant named in the contract.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The "annuitant" is the person who is the measuring life for determining
contract benefits. The annuitant is not necessarily the contract owner.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
AVAILABLE
CONTRACT FOR ANNUITANT MINIMUM LIMITATIONS ON
TYPE ISSUE AGES CONTRIBUTIONS SOURCE OF CONTRIBUTIONS CONTRIBUTIONS
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
NQ o 0 through 90 o $5,000 (initial) o After-tax money. o For annuitants up to
age 83 at contract
o 0 through 85 in o $1,000 (additional) o Paid to us by check or issue, additional
New York and transfer of contract contributions may be
Pennsylvania value in a tax-deferred made up to age 84.
exchange under
Section 1035 of the o For annuitants age 84
Internal Revenue Code. and older at contract
issue, additional
contributions may be
made up to one year
beyond the annuitant's
issue age.
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
- -----
17
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
AVAILABLE
CONTRACT FOR ANNUITANT MINIMUM LIMITATIONS ON
TYPE ISSUE AGES CONTRIBUTIONS SOURCE OF CONTRIBUTIONS CONTRIBUTIONS
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Flexible 20 through 70 o $2,000 (initial) o "Regular" traditional o No regular IRA
Premium IRA IRA contributions. contributions in the
o $50 (additional after calendar year you turn
the first contract year) o Rollovers from a age 70 1/2 and
qualified plan. thereafter.
o Rollovers from a TSA.
o Total regular
o Rollovers from another contributions may
traditional individual not exceed $2,000 for
retirement a year.
arrangement.
o No additional rollover
o Direct custodian- or direct transfer
to-custodian transfers contributions after
from another age 71.
traditional individual o Rollover and direct
retirement arrangement. transfer contributions
after age 70 1/2 must
be net of required
minimum distributions.
Although we accept rollover and direct transfer contributions under the Flexible
Premium IRA contract, we intend that this contract be used for ongoing regular
contributions.
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
- -----
18
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AVAILABLE
CONTRACT FOR ANNUITANT MINIMUM LIMITATIONS ON
TYPE ISSUE AGES CONTRIBUTIONS SOURCE OF CONTRIBUTIONS CONTRIBUTIONS
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Rollover IRA o 20 through 90 o $5,000 (initial) o Rollovers from a o For annuitants up to
qualified plan. age 83 at contract
o 20 through 85 in o $1,000 (additional) issue, additional
New York and o Rollovers from a TSA. contributions may be
Pennsylvania made up to age 84.
o Rollovers from another
traditional individual o For annuitants age 84
retirement and older at contract
arrangement. issue, additional
o Direct contributions may be
custodian-to-custodian made up to one year
transfers from another beyond your issue age.
traditional individual o Contributions after
retirement age 70 1/2 must be net
arrangement. of required minimum
distributions.
o Regular IRA
contributions are not
permitted.
Only rollover and direct transfer contributions are permitted under the Rollover IRA
contract.
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flexible o 20 through 90 o $2,000 (initial) o Regular after-tax o For annuitants up to
Premium contributions. age 83 at contract
Roth IRA o 20 through 85 in o $50 (additional after issue, additional contributions may be
New York and the first contract year) o Rollovers from another made up to age 84.
Pennsylvania Roth IRA.
o Conversion rollovers o For annuitants age 84
from a traditional IRA. and older at contract issue,
o Direct transfers from additional
another Roth IRA. contributions may be
made up to one year
beyond your issue age.
o Contributions are
subject to income limits
and other tax rules. See
"Contributions to
Roth IRAs" in "Tax
Information."
Although we accept rollover and direct transfer contributions under the Flexible
Premium Roth IRA contract, we intend that this contract be used for ongoing
regular contributions.
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
- -----
19
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
AVAILABLE
CONTRACT FOR ANNUITANT MINIMUM LIMITATIONS ON
TYPE ISSUE AGES CONTRIBUTIONS SOURCE OF CONTRIBUTIONS CONTRIBUTIONS
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Roth o 20 through 90 o $5,000 (initial) o Rollovers from another o For annuitants up to
Conversion IRA Roth IRA. age 83 at contract
o 20 through 85 in o $1,000 (additional) issue, additional
New York and o Conversion rollovers contributions may be
Pennsylvania from a traditional IRA. made up to age 84.
o Direct transfers from
another Roth IRA. o For annuitants age 84
and older at contract issue,
additional
contributions may be
made up to one year
beyond your issue age.
o Conversion rollovers
after age 70 1/2 must be
net of required
minimum distributions
for the traditional IRA
you are rolling over.
o You cannot roll over
funds from a traditional
IRA if your adjusted
gross income is
$100,000 or more.
o Regular after-tax
contributions are not
permitted.
Only rollover and direct transfer contributions are permitted under the Roth
Conversion IRA contract.
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
- -----
20
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AVAILABLE
CONTRACT FOR ANNUITANT MINIMUM LIMITATIONS ON
TYPE ISSUE AGES CONTRIBUTIONS SOURCE OF CONTRIBUTIONS CONTRIBUTIONS
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
QP 20 through 75 o $5,000 (initial) o Only transfer o Regular ongoing
contributions from an payroll contributions
o $1,000 (additional) existing qualified plan are not permitted.
trust as a change of o No additional transfer
investment vehicle contributions after
under the plan. age 76.
o The plan must be o For defined benefit
qualified under Section plans, employee
401(a) of the Internal contributions are not
Revenue Code. permitted.
o For 401(k) plans, o Contributions after
transferred age 70 1/2 must be net
contributions may only of any required
include employee minimum distributions.
pre-tax contributions.
Rollover TSA o 20 through 90 o $5,000 (initial) o Rollovers from another o For annuitants up to
TSA contract or age 83 at contract
o 20 through 85 in o $1,000 (additional) arrangement. issue, additional
New York and contributions may be
Pennsylvania o Rollovers from a made up to age 84.
traditional IRA which
was a "conduit" for o For annuitants age 84
TSA funds previously and older at contract issue,
rolled over. additional
contributions may be
made up to one year
o Direct transfers from beyond your issue age.
another contract or
arrangement under o Contributions after age
Section 403(b) of the 70 1/2 must be net of
Internal Revenue Code, required minimum
complying with IRS distributions.
Revenue Ruling 90-24.
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
- -----
21
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AVAILABLE
CONTRACT FOR ANNUITANT MINIMUM LIMITATIONS ON
TYPE ISSUE AGES CONTRIBUTIONS SOURCE OF CONTRIBUTIONS CONTRIBUTIONS
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Rollover 53 1/2 through 83 o $10,000 (initial) o Rollovers from a o Additional rollover or
IRA or qualified plan. direct transfer
Flexible o $1,000 (additional) contributions may be
Premium o Rollovers from a TSA. made until the earlier
IRA with of age 84 or within
Assured o Rollovers from another seven years from the
Payment traditional individual end of the fixed period.
Option or retirement
APO Plus arrangement.
o Contributions after age
o Direct 70 1/2 must be net of
custodian-to-custodian required minimum
transfers from another distributions.
traditional individual
retirement arrangement.
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
See "Tax information" for a more detailed discussion of sources of
contributions and certain contribution limitations. We may refuse to accept any
contribution if the sum of all contributions under all Equitable Accumulator
contracts with the same annuitant would then total more than $1,500,000. We
reserve the right to limit aggregate contributions made after the first
contract year to 150% of first-year contributions. We may also refuse to accept
any contribution if the sum of all contributions under all Equitable Life
annuity accumulation contracts that you own would then total more than
$2,500,000.
For information on when contributions are credited under your contract see
"Dates and prices at which contract events occur" in "More information" later
in this prospectus.
<PAGE>
- ----------
22
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OWNER AND ANNUITANT REQUIREMENTS
Under NQ contracts, the annuitant can be different than the owner. A joint
owner may also be named. Only natural persons can be joint owners. This means
that an entity such as a corporation cannot be a joint owner.
Under all IRA and Rollover TSA contracts, the owner and annuitant must be the
same person.
Under QP contracts, the owner must be the trustee of the qualified plan and
the annuitant must be the plan participant/employee. See Appendix I for more
information on QP contracts.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A "participant" is an individual who is currently, or was formerly,
participating in an eligible employer's QP or TSA plan.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOW YOU CAN MAKE YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS
Except as noted below, contributions must be by check drawn on a U.S. bank, in
U.S. dollars, and made payable to Equitable Life. We do not accept third-party
checks endorsed to us except for rollover contributions, tax-free exchanges or
trustee checks that involve no refund. All checks are subject to our ability
to collect the funds. We reserve the right to reject a payment if it is
received in an unacceptable form.
Additional contributions may also be made under our automatic investment
program. This method of payment is discussed in detail in "More information"
later in this prospectus.
Your initial contribution must generally be accompanied by an application and
any other form we need to process the payments. If any information is missing
or unclear, we will try to obtain that information. If we are unable to obtain
all of the information we require within five business days after we receive
an incomplete application or form, we will inform the financial professional
submitting the application on your behalf. We will then return the
contribution to you unless you specifically direct us to keep your
contribution until we receive the required information.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our "business day" is any day the New York Stock Exchange is open for trading.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
SECTION 1035 EXCHANGES
You may apply the value of an existing nonqualified deferred annuity contract
(or life insurance or endowment contract) to purchase an Equitable Accumulator
NQ contract in a tax-free exchange if you follow certain procedures as shown
in the form that we require you to use. Also see "Tax information" later in
this prospectus.
WHAT ARE YOUR INVESTMENT OPTIONS UNDER THE CONTRACT?
Your investment options are the variable investment options, the fixed
maturity options, and the account for special dollar cost averaging.
VARIABLE INVESTMENT OPTIONS
Your investment results in any one of the variable investment options will
depend on the investment performance of the underlying portfolios. Listed
below are the currently available portfolios, their investment objectives, and
their advisers.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
You can choose from among the variable investment options.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
<PAGE>
- -----
23
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PORTFOLIOS OF EQ ADVISORS TRUST
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PORTFOLIO NAME OBJECTIVE ADVISER
- ---------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------
<S> <C> <C>
Alliance Aggressive Stock Long-term growth of capital Alliance Capital Management L.P.
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alliance Common Stock Long-term growth of capital and increasing Alliance Capital Management L.P.
income
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alliance Conservative Investors High total return without, in the adviser's Alliance Capital Management L.P.
opinion, undue risk to principal
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alliance Equity Index Total return (before deduction of portfolio Alliance Capital Management L.P.
(available only under APO Plus) expenses) that approximates the total return
performance of the Standard & Poor's 500
Composite Index
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alliance Global Long-term growth of capital Alliance Capital Management L.P.
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alliance Growth and Income High total return through a combination of Alliance Capital Management L.P.
current income and capital appreciation
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alliance Growth Investors High total return consistent with the adviser's Alliance Capital Management L.P.
determination of reasonable risk
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alliance High Yield High return by maximizing current income and, Alliance Capital Management L.P.
to the extent consistent with that objective,
capital appreciation
Alliance Intermediate High current income consistent with relative Alliance Capital Management L.P.
Government Securities stability of principal
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alliance International Long-term growth of capital Alliance Capital Management L.P.
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alliance Money Market High level of current income while preserving Alliance Capital Management L.P.
assets and maintaining liquidity
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQ/Alliance Premier Growth Long-term growth of capital Alliance Capital Management L.P.
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alliance Small Cap Growth Long-term growth of capital Alliance Capital Management L.P.
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BT Equity 500 Index Replicate as closely as possible (before Bankers Trust Company
deduction of portfolio expenses) the total
return of the Standard & Poor's 500
Composite Stock Price Index
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BT International Equity Index Replicate as closely as possible (before Bankers Trust Company
deduction of portfolio expenses) the total
return of the Morgan Stanley Capital
International Europe, Australia, Far East Index
- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
- -----
24
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
PORTFOLIOS OF EQ ADVISORS TRUST (CONTINUED)
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PORTFOLIO NAME OBJECTIVE ADVISER
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S> <C> <C>
BT Small Company Index Replicate as closely as possible (before Bankers Trust Company
deduction of portfolio expenses) the total
return of the Russell 2000 Index
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Capital Guardian Research Long-term growth of capital Capital Guardian Trust Company
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Capital Guardian U.S. Equity Long-term growth of capital Capital Guardian Trust Company
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQ/Evergreen Capital appreciation Evergreen Asset Management Corp.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQ/Evergreen Foundation In order of priority, reasonable income, Evergreen Asset Management Corp.
conservation of capital, and capital appreciation
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Merrill Lynch Basic Value Equity Capital appreciation and secondarily, income Merrill Lynch Asset Management, L.P.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Merrill Lynch World Strategy High total investment return Merrill Lynch Asset Management, L.P.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MFS Emerging Growth Long-term capital growth Massachusetts Financial Services Company
Companies
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MFS Growth with Income Reasonable current income and long-term Massachusetts Financial Services Company
growth of capital and income
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MFS Research Long-term growth of capital and future income Massachusetts Financial Services Company
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Morgan Stanley Emerging Long-term capital appreciation Morgan Stanley Asset Management
Markets Equity
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQ/Putnam Balanced Balanced investment Putnam Investment Management, Inc.
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EQ/Putnam Growth & Income Capital growth, current income is a secondary Putnam Investment Management, Inc.
Value objective
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
T. Rowe Price Equity Income Substantial dividend income and also capital T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.
appreciation
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
T. Rowe Price International Long-term growth of capital Rowe Price-Fleming International, Inc.
Stock
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Warburg Pincus Small Company Long-term capital appreciation Warburg Pincus Asset Management, Inc.
Value
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
- ----------
25
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other important information about the portfolios is included in the prospectus
for EQ Advisors Trust attached at the end of this prospectus.
FIXED MATURITY OPTIONS
We offer fixed maturity options with maturity dates ranging from one to ten
years. You can allocate your contributions to one or more of these fixed
maturity options. Under the Assured Payment Option and APO Plus, we offer
additional fixed maturity options with maturity dates ranging from eleven to
fifteen years. We provide distributions during the fixed period under the
Assured Payment Option and APO Plus by allocating your contributions to fixed
maturity options that mature in consecutive order. These amounts become part of
our general account assets. They will accumulate interest at the "rate to
maturity" for each fixed maturity option. The total amount you allocate to and
accumulate in each fixed maturity option is called the "fixed maturity amount."
The fixed maturity options are generally not available in contracts issued in
Maryland. In Maryland the fixed maturity options are only available under the
Assured Payment Option and APO Plus which are issued as separate contracts
rather than as a part of a Rollover IRA or Flexible Premium IRA contract. See
Appendix V for more information on the Assured Payment Option and APO Plus
contracts available in Maryland.
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fixed maturity options range from one to ten years to maturity. Assured Payment
Option and APO Plus offer additional fixed maturity options for years eleven to
fifteen.
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The rate to maturity you will receive for each fixed maturity option is the rate
to maturity in effect for new contributions allocated to that fixed maturity
option on the date we apply your contribution. If you make any withdrawals or
transfers from a fixed maturity option before the maturity date, we will make a
"market value adjustment" that may increase or decrease any fixed maturity
amount you have left in that fixed maturity option. We discuss the market value
adjustment below and in greater detail later in this prospectus in "More
information."
On the maturity date of a fixed maturity option your fixed maturity amount,
assuming you have not made any withdrawals or transfers, will equal your
contribution to that fixed maturity option plus interest, at the rate to
maturity for that contribution, to the date of the calculation. This is the
fixed maturity option's "maturity value." Before maturity, the current value we
will report for your fixed maturity amounts will reflect a market value
adjustment. Your current value will reflect the market value adjustment that we
would make if you were to withdraw all of your fixed maturity amounts on the
date of the report. We call this your "market adjusted amount."
FIXED MATURITY OPTIONS AND MATURITY DATES. We currently offer fixed maturity
options ending on February 15th for each of the maturity years 2001 through
2010. Not all of these fixed maturity options will be available for annuitant
ages 76 and older. See "Allocating your contributions" below. As fixed maturity
options expire, we expect to add maturity years so that generally 10 fixed
maturity options are available at any time.
Under the Assured Payment Option and APO Plus, we offer additional fixed
maturity options ending on February 15th for each of the maturity years 2011
through 2015.
We will not accept allocations to a fixed maturity option if on the date the
contribution is to be applied:
o the fixed maturity option's maturity date is within the current calendar
year; or
o the rate to maturity is 3%.
YOUR CHOICES AT THE MATURITY DATE. We will notify you on or before December 31st
of the year before each of your fixed maturity options is scheduled to mature.
At that time, you may choose to have one of the following take place on
<PAGE>
- ----------
26
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
the maturity date, as long as none of the conditions listed above or in
"Allocating your contributions," below would apply:
(a) transfer the maturity value into another available fixed maturity option or
into any of the variable investment options; or
(b) withdraw the maturity value (there may be a withdrawal charge).
If we do not receive your choice on or before the fixed maturity option's
maturity date, we will automatically transfer your maturity value into the fixed
maturity option that will mature next.
MARKET VALUE ADJUSTMENT. If you make any withdrawals (including transfers,
surrender of your contract, or when we make deductions for charges) from a fixed
maturity option before it matures we will make a market value adjustment, which
will increase or decrease any fixed maturity amount you have in that fixed
maturity option. The amount of the adjustment will depend on two factors:
(a) the difference between the rate to maturity that applies to the amount
being withdrawn and the rate to maturity in effect at that time for new
allocations to that same fixed maturity option, and
(b) the length of time remaining until the maturity date.
In general, if interest rates rise from the time that you originally allocate an
amount to a fixed maturity option to the time that you take a withdrawal, the
market value adjustment will be negative. Likewise, if interest rates drop at
the end of that time, the market value adjustment will be positive. Also, the
amount of the market value adjustment, either up or down, will be greater the
longer the time remaining until the fixed maturity option's maturity date.
Therefore, it is possible that the market value adjustment could greatly reduce
your value in the fixed maturity options, particularly in the fixed maturity
options with later maturity dates.
We provide an illustration of the market adjusted amount of specified maturity
values, an explanation of how we calculate the market value adjustment, and
information concerning our general account and investments purchased with
amounts allocated to the fixed maturity options, in "More information" later in
this prospectus. Appendix II of this prospectus provides an example of how the
market value adjustment is calculated.
OFF MATURITY DATE PAYMENTS. Under Assured Payment Option and APO Plus, you may
choose to receive payments monthly, quarterly or annually. If you choose annual
payments, generally your payments will be made on February 15th as each fixed
maturity option matures. You may instead choose to have your annual payments
made in a month other than February. We refer to payments we make on an annual
basis in any month other than February and monthly or quarterly payments, as
payments made "off maturity dates." If you choose to have your payments made off
maturity dates, we will be required to begin making your payments before the
maturity date of a fixed maturity option. In planning for these payments we will
allocate a portion of your initial contribution or account value to the separate
account for the fixed maturity options, but not to the fixed maturity options
contained in the separate account. We will credit these amounts with interest at
rates that will not be less than 3%.
After that, as each fixed maturity option expires we will transfer your maturity
value from the expired fixed maturity option and hold the maturity value in the
separate account. We will credit interest to these amounts at the same rate as
the rate to maturity that was credited in the expired fixed maturity option.
These amounts will then be used to provide for payments off maturity dates
during the fixed period.
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Whether you choose monthly, quarterly, or annual payments, your payments will be
made on the 15th day of the month.
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We will not make a market value adjustment to the amounts held in the separate
account to provide for payments off maturity dates.
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ACCOUNT FOR SPECIAL DOLLAR COST AVERAGING
The account for special dollar cost averaging is part of our general account. We
pay interest at guaranteed rates in this account. We will credit interest to the
amounts that you have in the account for special dollar cost averaging every
day. We set the interest rates periodically, according to procedures that we
have. We reserve the right to change these procedures.
We guarantee to pay our current interest rate that is in effect on the date that
your contribution is allocated to this account. Your guaranteed interest rate
for the time period you select will be shown in your contract. The rate will
never be less than 3%.
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THE CONTRACT FEATURES AND BENEFITS DESCRIBED BELOW DO NOT APPLY WHEN THE
ASSURED PAYMENT OPTION OR APO PLUS IS IN EFFECT UNDER A ROLLOVER IRA OR
FLEXIBLE PREMIUM IRA CONTRACT. FOR INFORMATION REGARDING YOUR CONTRACT BENEFITS
UNDER THE ASSURED PAYMENT OPTION OR APO PLUS, SEE "ACCESSING YOUR MONEY -
ASSURED PAYMENT OPTION AND APO PLUS."
ALLOCATING YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS
You may choose from among three ways to allocate your contributions under your
contract: self-directed, principal assurance, or dollar cost averaging.
SELF-DIRECTED ALLOCATION
You may allocate your contributions to one or more, or all, of the variable
investment options and fixed maturity options. Allocations must be in whole
percentages and you may change your allocations at any time. However, the total
of your allocations must equal 100%. If the annuitant is age 76 or older, you
may allocate contributions to fixed maturity options if their maturities are
five years or less. Also, you may not allocate amounts to fixed maturity options
with maturity dates that are later than the February 15th immediately following
the date annuity payments are to begin.
PRINCIPAL ASSURANCE ALLOCATION
Under this allocation program you select a fixed maturity option. We specify the
portion of your initial contribution to be allocated to that fixed maturity
option in an amount that will cause the maturity value to equal the amount of
your entire initial contribution on the fixed maturity option's maturity date.
The maturity date you select generally may not be later than 10 years, or
earlier than 7 years from your contract date. You allocate the rest of your
contribution to the variable investment options however you choose.
For example, if your initial contribution is $10,000, and on November 1, 1999
you chose the fixed maturity option with a maturity date of February 15, 2009,
since the rate to maturity was 5.68% on November 1, 1999, we would have
allocated $5,987.74 to that fixed maturity option and the balance to your choice
of variable investment options. On the maturity date your value in the fixed
maturity option would be $10,000.
The principal assurance allocation is only available for annuitant ages 75 or
younger when the contract is issued. If you are purchasing a Rollover IRA,
Flexible Premium IRA, QP, or Rollover TSA contract, before you select a maturity
year that would extend beyond the year in which you will reach age 70 1/2, you
should consider whether your value in the variable investment options, or your
other traditional IRA or TSA funds are sufficient to meet your required minimum
distributions. See "Tax information."
You may not elect principal assurance if the special dollar cost averaging
program is in effect.
DOLLAR COST AVERAGING
We offer two dollar cost averaging programs. Each program allows you to
gradually allocate amounts to the variable investment options by periodically
transferring approximately the same dollar amount to the variable investment
options you select. This will cause you to purchase more units if the unit's
value is low and fewer units if the unit's value is high. Therefore, you may get
a lower average cost per unit over the long term. These plans of investing,
however, do not guarantee that you will earn a profit or be protected against
losses.
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Units measure your value in each variable investment option.
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SPECIAL DOLLAR COST AVERAGING PROGRAMS. Under the special dollar cost averaging
program, you may choose to allocate all or a portion of your initial
contribution to the account for special dollar cost averaging. However, you must
allocate at least $2,000 to the account for special
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dollar cost averaging for this program. In Pennsylvania we refer to this program
as "enhanced rate special dollar cost averaging."
You may have your account value transferred to any of the variable investment
options. We will transfer amounts from the account for special dollar cost
averaging into the variable investment options over the time period that you
select. We offer time periods of 6, 12, or 18 months. We may also offer other
time periods. Your financial professional can provide information on the time
periods currently available in your state, or you may contact our processing
office. You may only select one time period. Each time period has a different
interest rate. Once you select a time period, you may not change it. Currently,
your account value will be transferred from the account for special dollar cost
averaging into the variable investment options on a monthly basis. We may offer
this program in the future with transfers on a different basis. We will transfer
all amounts out of the account for special dollar cost averaging by the end of
the chosen time period. The transfer date will be the same day of the month as
the contract date, but not later than the 28th day of the month.
If you choose to allocate only a portion of your initial contribution to the
account for special dollar cost averaging, the remaining balance of your initial
contribution will be allocated to the variable investment options or fixed
maturity options according to your instructions. You may not allocate additional
contributions to the account for special dollar cost averaging.
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The account for special dollar cost averaging provides guaranteed interest.
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The only amounts that should be transferred from the account for special dollar
cost averaging are your regularly scheduled transfers to the variable investment
options. If you request to transfer or withdraw any other amounts, we will
transfer all of the value that you have remaining in the account for special
dollar cost averaging to the investment options according to the allocation
percentages we have on file for you. As a result, you will no longer be able to
participate in the special dollar cost averaging program. You may also ask us to
cancel your participation at any time.
In the state of Oregon where the account for special dollar cost averaging is
not available, we offer a special dollar cost averaging program in the Alliance
Money Market option for allocation of your entire initial contribution. Under
this program we will not deduct the mortality and expense risks, administrative
charges and distribution charges from assets in the Alliance Money Market
option. You may not allocate amounts other than your initial contribution to
this program.
GENERAL DOLLAR COST AVERAGING PROGRAM. If your value in the Alliance Money
Market option is at least $5,000, you may choose, at any time, to have a
specified dollar amount or percentage of your value transferred from that option
to the other variable investment options. You can select to have transfers made
on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis. The transfer date will be the same
calendar day of the month as the contract date, but not later than the 28th day
of the month. You can also specify the number of transfers or instruct us to
continue making the transfers until all amounts in the Alliance Money Market
option have been transferred out.
The minimum amount that we will transfer each time is $250. The maximum amount
we will transfer is equal to your value in the Alliance Money Market option at
the time the program is elected, divided by the number of transfers scheduled to
be made.
If, on any transfer date, your value in the Alliance Money Market option is
equal to or less than the amount you have elected to have transferred, the
entire amount will be transferred. The general dollar cost averaging program
will then end. You may change the transfer amount once each contract year or
cancel this program at any time.
----------------------------------------
You may not elect dollar cost averaging if you are participating in the
rebalancing program. See "Transferring your money among investment options."
<PAGE>
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YOUR BENEFIT BASE
The benefit base is used to calculate the guaranteed minimum income benefit, the
5% roll up to age 80, and the 5% roll up to age 70 guaranteed minimum death
benefits. See "Our baseBUILDER option" and "Guaranteed minimum death benefit"
below. The benefit base is equal to:
o your initial contribution and any additional contributions to the contract;
plus
o daily interest;
o a deduction that reflects any withdrawals you make (the amount of the
deduction is described under "How withdrawals affect your guaranteed
minimum income benefit and guaranteed minimum death benefit" in "Accessing
your money"); less
o a deduction for any withdrawal charge remaining when you exercise your
guaranteed minimum income benefit; and less
o a deduction for any outstanding loan plus accrued interest on the date that
you exercise your guaranteed minimum income benefit (applies to Rollover
TSA only).
The effective annual interest rate credited to the benefit base is:
o 5% for the benefit base with respect to the variable investment options
(other than the Alliance Money Market and Alliance Intermediate Government
Securities options) and the account for special dollar cost averaging; and
o 3% for the benefit base with respect to the Alliance Money Market and
Alliance Intermediate Government Securities options, the fixed maturity
options and the loan reserve account.
No interest is credited after the annuitant is age 80 (age 70 if the 5% roll up
to age 70 is elected).
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Your benefit base is not an account value or a cash value.
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ANNUITY PURCHASE FACTORS
Annuity purchase factors are the factors applied to determine your periodic
payments under the guaranteed minimum income benefit, annuity payout options
as well as to determine allocation of your contributions under the Assured
Payment Option and APO Plus. The guaranteed minimum income benefit is discussed
under "Our baseBUILDER option" and annuity payout options, Assured Payment
Option and APO Plus are all discussed in, "Accessing your money" later in this
prospectus. The guaranteed annuity purchase factors are those factors specified
in your contract. The current annuity purchase factors are those factors that
are in effect at any given time. Annuity purchase factors are based on interest
rates, mortality tables, frequency of payments, the form of annuity benefit, and
the annuitant's (and any joint annuitant's) age and sex in certain instances.
OUR BASEBUILDER OPTION
The baseBUILDER option offers you a guaranteed minimum income benefit combined
with the guaranteed minimum death benefit available under the contract. For
Rollover IRA, Flexible Premium IRA, and Rollover TSA contracts where the
annuitant is between ages 20 and 60 at contract issue, and where you elect the
baseBUILDER option, we offer an additional guaranteed minimum death benefit of a
5% rollup to age 70. The baseBUILDER benefit is available if the annuitant is
between the ages of 20 and 75 at the time the contract is issued. There is an
additional charge for the baseBUILDER benefit which is described under
"baseBUILDER benefit charge" in "Charges and expenses."
The guaranteed minimum income benefit component of baseBUILDER is described
below. Whether you elect baseBUILDER or not, the guaranteed minimum death
benefit is provided under the contract. The guaranteed minimum death benefit is
described under "Guaranteed minimum death benefit." baseBUILDER is currently not
available in New York.
The guaranteed minimum income benefit guarantees you a minimum amount of fixed
income for your life (or the life of a joint annuitant, if applicable) under our
life annuity payout option. For more information on the life annuity payout
option, see "Your annuity payout options" in "Accessing your money" later in
this prospectus.
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The guaranteed minimum income benefit should be regarded as a safety net only.
It provides income protection if you elect an income payout while the annuitant
is alive.
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When you exercise the guaranteed minimum income benefit, the annual lifetime
income that you will receive under the life annuity payout option will be the
greater of (i) your guaranteed minimum income benefit which is calculated by
applying your benefit base at guaranteed annuity purchase factors, or (ii) the
income provided by applying your actual account value at our then current
annuity purchase factors.
When you elect to receive annual lifetime income, your contract will terminate
and you will receive a life annuity payout option. You will begin receiving
payments one payment period after the life annuity payout option is issued.
Payments end with the last payment before the annuitant's (or joint annuitant's,
if applicable) death. There is no continuation of benefits following the
annuitant's (or joint annuitant's, if applicable) death.
Before you elect baseBUILDER, you should consider the fact that the guaranteed
minimum income benefit is based on conservative actuarial factors. Therefore,
even if your account value is less than your benefit base, you may generate more
income by applying your account value to current annuity purchase factors. We
will make this comparison for you when the need arises.
ILLUSTRATIONS OF GUARANTEED MINIMUM INCOME BENEFIT. The table below illustrates
the guaranteed minimum income benefit amounts per $100,000 of initial
contribution, for a male annuitant age 60 (at issue) on the contract date
anniversaries indicated, using the guaranteed annuity purchase factors as of the
date of this prospectus, assuming no additional contributions, withdrawals, or
loans under Rollover TSA contracts, and assuming there were no allocations to
the Alliance Money Market, Alliance Intermediate Government Securities options,
or the fixed maturity options.
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
GUARANTEED MINIMUM
CONTRACT DATE INCOME BENEFIT - ANNUAL INCOME
ANNIVERSARY AT EXERCISE PAYABLE FOR LIFE
<S> <C>
10 $10,816
15 $16,132
</TABLE>
EXERCISE OF GUARANTEED MINIMUM INCOME BENEFIT. On each contract date anniversary
that you are eligible to exercise the guaranteed minimum income benefit, we will
send you an eligibility notice illustrating how much income could be provided as
of the contract anniversary. You may notify us within 30 days following the
contract date anniversary if you want to exercise the guaranteed minimum income
benefit. You must return your contract to us in order to exercise this benefit.
The amount of income you actually receive will be determined when we receive
your request to exercise the benefit. You will begin receiving payments one
payment period after the life annuity payout contract is issued.
You (or the successor annuitant/owner, if applicable) will be eligible to
exercise the guaranteed minimum income benefit as follows:
o If the annuitant was at least age 20 and no older than age 44 when the
contract was issued, you are eligible to exercise the guaranteed minimum
income benefit within 30 days following each contract date anniversary
beginning with the 15th contract date anniversary.
o If the annuitant was at least age 45 and no older than age 49 when the
contract was issued, you are eligible to exercise the guaranteed minimum
income benefit within 30 days following each contract date anniversary
after the annuitant is age 60.
o If the annuitant was at least age 50 and no older than age 75 when the
contract was issued, you are eligible to exercise the guaranteed minimum
income benefit within 30 days following each contract date anniversary
beginning with the 10th contract date anniversary.
<PAGE>
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Please note:
(i) the latest date you may exercise the guaranteed minimum income benefit is
the contract date anniversary following the annuitant's 85th birthday;
(ii) if the annuitant was age 75 when the contract was issued, the only time you
may exercise the guaranteed minimum income benefit is within 30 days
following the first contract date anniversary that it becomes available;
and
(iii) if the annuitant was older than age 60 at the time an IRA, QP or Rollover
TSA contract was issued, the baseBUILDER may not be an appropriate feature
because the minimum distributions required by tax law must begin before the
guaranteed minimum income benefit can be exercised.
For QP and Rollover TSA contracts, if you are eligible to exercise your
guaranteed minimum income benefit, we will first roll over amounts in such
contract to a Rollover IRA contract. You will be the owner of the Rollover IRA
contract.
GUARANTEED MINIMUM DEATH BENEFIT
A guaranteed minimum death benefit is provided as part of the baseBUILDER
benefit. A guaranteed minimum death benefit is also provided under your contract
even if you do not elect baseBUILDER. In this case, the baseBUILDER benefit
charge does not apply.
GUARANTEED MINIMUM DEATH BENEFIT APPLICABLE FOR ANNUITANT AGES 0 THROUGH 79 AT
ISSUE OF NQ CONTRACTS; 20 THROUGH 79 AT ISSUE OF ROLLOVER IRA, ROTH CONVERSION
IRA, FLEXIBLE PREMIUM ROTH IRA, AND ROLLOVER TSA CONTRACTS; 20 THROUGH 70 AT
ISSUE OF FLEXIBLE PREMIUM IRA CONTRACTS; AND 20 THROUGH 75 AT ISSUE OF QP
CONTRACTS.
You must elect either the "5% roll up to age 80" (or, if available, the 5% roll
up to age 70) or the "annual ratchet to age 80" guaranteed minimum death benefit
when you apply for a contract. Once you have made your election, you may
not change it.
5% ROLL UP TO AGE 80. This guaranteed minimum death benefit is calculated
using the benefit base described earlier in "Your benefit base." This
guaranteed minimum death benefit is not available in New York.
5% ROLL UP TO AGE 70. This is an optional guaranteed minimum death benefit
available for ages 20 through 60 at issue of Rollover IRA, Flexible Premium IRA,
and TSA contracts if baseBUILDER is also elected. Your guaranteed minimum death
benefit will be calculated as described above under "5% roll up to age 80"
except that interest will be credited only through age 70.
ANNUAL RATCHET TO AGE 80. On the contract date, your guaranteed minimum death
benefit equals your initial contribution. Then, on each contract date
anniversary, we will determine your guaranteed minimum death benefit by
comparing your current guaranteed minimum death benefit to your account value on
that contract date anniversary. If your account value is higher than your
guaranteed minimum death benefit, we will increase your guaranteed minimum death
benefit to equal your account value. On the other hand, if your account value on
the contract date anniversary is less than your guaranteed minimum death
benefit, we will not adjust your guaranteed minimum death benefit either up or
down.
If you make additional contributions, we will increase your current guaranteed
minimum death benefit by the dollar amount of the contribution on the date the
contribution is allocated to your investment options. If you take a withdrawal
from your contract, we will reduce your guaranteed minimum death benefit on the
date you take the withdrawal.
GUARANTEED MINIMUM DEATH BENEFIT APPLICABLE FOR ANNUITANT AGES 80 THROUGH 90 AT
ISSUE OF NQ, ROLLOVER IRA, ROTH CONVERSION IRA, FLEXIBLE PREMIUM ROTH IRA, AND
ROLLOVER TSA CONTRACTS.
On the contract date, your guaranteed minimum death benefit equals your initial
contribution. Thereafter, it will be increased by the dollar amount of any
additional
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contributions. We will reduce your guaranteed minimum death benefit if you take
any withdrawals.
----------------------------------------
Please see "How withdrawals affect your guaranteed minimum income benefit and
guaranteed minimum death benefit" in "Accessing your money" for information on
how withdrawals affect your guaranteed minimum death benefit. For contracts
issued in New York, the guaranteed minimum death benefit at the annuitant's
death will never be less than your value in the variable investment options,
plus the sum of the fixed maturity amounts in each fixed maturity option.
See Appendix III for an example of how we calculate the guaranteed minimum death
benefit.
YOUR RIGHT TO CANCEL WITHIN A CERTAIN NUMBER OF DAYS
If for any reason you are not satisfied with your contract, you may return it to
us for a refund. To exercise this cancellation right you must mail the contract
directly to our Processing Office within 10 days after you receive it. If state
law requires, this "free look" period may be longer.
Generally, your refund will equal your account value under the contract and will
reflect (i) any investment gain or loss in the variable investment options (less
the daily charges we deduct), (ii) any positive or negative market value
adjustments in the fixed maturity options, and (iii) any guaranteed interest in
the account for special dollar cost averaging, through the date we receive your
contract. Some states require that we refund the full amount of your
contribution (not reflecting (i), (ii) or (iii) above). For any IRA contract
returned to us within seven days after you receive it, we are required to refund
the full amount of your contribution.
We may require that you wait six months before you may apply for a contract with
us again if:
o you cancel your contract during the free look period; or
o you change your mind before you receive your contract whether we have
received your contribution or not.
Please see "Tax information" for possible consequences of cancelling your
contract.
In addition to the cancellation right described above, if you fully convert an
existing traditional IRA contract to a Roth Conversion IRA or Flexible Premium
Roth IRA contract, you may cancel your Roth Conversion IRA contract and return
to a Rollover IRA or Flexible Premium IRA contract, whichever applies. Our
Processing Office, or your financial professional, can provide you with the
cancellation instructions.
<PAGE>
Determining your contract's value
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34
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YOUR ACCOUNT VALUE AND CASH VALUE
Your "account value" is the total of the (i) values you have in the variable
investment options, (ii) market adjusted amounts in the fixed maturity options,
(iii) value in the account for special dollar cost averaging, and (iv) value you
have in the loan reserve account (applies for Rollover TSA contracts only).
These amounts are subject to certain fees and charges discussed in "Charges and
expenses." Under Rollover TSA contracts, if you have any outstanding loan, your
account value will include any amount in the loan reserve account.
Your contract also has a "cash value." At any time before annuity payments
begin, your contract's cash value is equal to the account value less (i) the
total amount or a pro rata portion of the annual administrative charge
(applicable for Flexible Premium IRA and Flexible Premium Roth IRA contracts
only); (ii) any applicable withdrawal charges; and (iii) the amount of any
outstanding loan plus accrued interest (applicable to Rollover TSA contracts
only). Please see "Surrendering your contract to receive its cash value" in
"Accessing your money."
YOUR CONTRACT'S VALUE IN THE VARIABLE INVESTMENT OPTIONS
Each variable investment option invests in shares of a corresponding portfolio.
Your value in each variable investment option is measured by "units." The value
of your units will increase or decrease as though you had invested it in the
corresponding portfolio's shares directly. Your value, however, will be reduced
by the amount of the fees and charges that we deduct under the contract.
The unit value for each variable investment option depends on the investment
performance of that option, less daily charges for:
(i) mortality and expense risks;
(ii) administrative expenses; and
(iii) distribution charges.
On any day, your value in any variable investment option equals the number of
units credited to that option, adjusted for any units purchased for or deducted
from your contract under that option, multiplied by that day's value for one
unit. The number of your contract units in any variable investment option does
not change unless they are:
(i) increased to reflect additional contributions;
(ii) decreased to reflect a withdrawal (plus applicable withdrawal
charges);
(iii) increased to reflect a transfer into, or decreased to reflect a
transfer out of a variable investment option; and
(iv) decreased to reflect a transfer of your loan amount to the loan
reserve account under a Rollover TSA contract.
In addition, when we deduct the baseBUILDER benefit charge the number of units
credited to your contract will be reduced. Your units are also reduced under
Flexible Premium IRA and Flexible Premium Roth IRA contracts when we deduct the
annual administrative charge. A description of how unit values are calculated is
found in the SAI.
YOUR CONTRACT'S VALUE IN THE FIXED MATURITY OPTIONS
Your value in each fixed maturity option at any time before the maturity date is
the market adjusted amount in each option. This is equivalent to your fixed
maturity amount increased or decreased by the market value adjustment. Your
value, therefore, may be higher or lower than your contributions (less
withdrawals) accumulated at the rate to maturity. At the maturity date, your
value in the fixed maturity option will equal its maturity value. Your value
will also include any amounts held in the separate account to provide for
payments off maturity dates under the Assured Payment Option and APO Plus.
<PAGE>
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YOUR CONTRACT'S VALUE IN THE ACCOUNT FOR SPECIAL DOLLAR COST AVERAGING
Your value in the account for special dollar cost averaging at any time will
equal your initial contribution allocated to that option, plus interest, less
the sum of all amounts that have been transferred to the variable investment
options you have selected.
<PAGE>
3
Transferring your money among investment options
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36
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TRANSFERRING YOUR ACCOUNT VALUE
At any time before the date annuity payments are to begin, you can transfer some
or all of your account value among the investment options, subject to the
following:
o You may not transfer any amount to the account for special dollar cost
averaging.
o You may not transfer to a fixed maturity option that matures in the current
calendar year, or that has a rate to maturity of 3%.
o If the annuitant is 76 or older, you must limit your transfers to fixed
maturity options to those with maturities of five years or less. Also, the
maturity dates may be no later than the February 15th immediately following
the date annuity payments are to begin.
o If you make transfers out of a fixed maturity option other than at its
maturity date the transfer may cause a market value adjustment.
o A transfer request while the Assured Payment Option or APO Plus is in
effect will terminate the option.
You may request a transfer in writing, or by telephone using TOPS or online by
using EQ Access. You must send in all written transfer requests directly to our
processing office. Transfer requests should specify:
(1) the contract number,
(2) the dollar amounts or percentages of your current account value to be
transferred, and
(3) the investment options to and from which you are transferring.
We may, at any time, restrict the use of market timers and other agents acting
under a power of attorney who are acting on behalf of more than one contract
owner. Any agreements to use market timing services to make transfers are
subject to our rules in effect at that time.
We will confirm all transfers in writing.
REBALANCING YOUR ACCOUNT VALUE
We currently offer a rebalancing program that you can use to automatically
reallocate your account value among the variable investment options. You must
tell us:
(a) the percentage you want invested in each variable investment option (whole
percentages only), and
(b) how often you want the rebalancing to occur (quarterly, semiannually, or
annually on a contract year basis. Rebalancing will occur on the same day
of the month as the contract date).
While your rebalancing program is in effect, we will transfer amounts among each
variable investment option so that the percentage of your account value that you
specify is invested in each option at the end of each rebalancing date. Your
entire account value in the variable investment options must be included in the
rebalancing program.
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Rebalancing does not assure a profit or protect against loss. You should
periodically review your allocation percentages as your needs change. You may
want to discuss the rebalancing program with your financial professional or
other financial adviser before electing the program.
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You may elect the rebalancing program at any time. You may also change your
allocation instructions or cancel the program at any time. If you request a
transfer while the rebalancing program is in effect, we will process the
transfer as requested; the rebalancing program will remain in effect unless you
request that it be canceled in writing.
You may not elect the rebalancing program if you are participating in a dollar
cost averaging program or if the Assured Payment Option or APO Plus are in
effect. Rebalancing is not available for amounts you have allocated in the fixed
maturity options.
<PAGE>
Accessing your money
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37
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ASSURED PAYMENT OPTION AND APO PLUS
(Rollover IRA and Flexible Premium IRA contracts only)
We offer two options, the Assured Payment Option and APO Plus, under which you
may receive distributions from your Rollover IRA or Flexible Premium IRA
contract. If you choose one of these two distribution options you will receive
guaranteed payments for a specified period of time we call the "fixed period."
When the fixed period ends you will continue to receive payments for as long as
you are living.
You can elect the Assured Payment Option or APO Plus in the application or at a
later date, provided that your account value is at least $10,000 at the time of
election.
Assured Payment Option and APO Plus benefits will differ for contracts issued in
Maryland. See Appendix V at the end of this prospectus for more information.
ASSURED PAYMENT OPTION
HOW WE ALLOCATE YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS. In order to provide for the payments you
receive during the fixed period, we allocate a portion of your initial
contribution or account value to fixed maturity options that mature in
consecutive date order. The remaining portion is allocated to your choice of a
single life or joint and survivor life contingent annuity to provide for the
payments you will receive after the fixed period. The payments are intended to
pay out your entire account value by the end of the fixed period.
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The life contingent annuity provides for the payments after the fixed period
ends.
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We determine the allocation of your contributions based on a number of factors.
They are:
o the amount of your contribution;
o annuity purchase factors; and
o the fixed period.
We then allocate your initial contribution among:
(1) The separate account containing:
(i) the fixed maturity options; and
(ii) amounts held to provide payments to you off maturity dates; and
(2) the life contingent annuity.
We will allocate your additional contributions in the same manner. Additional
contributions will increase the level of your future payments. You may not
change this allocation.
While the Assured Payment Option is in effect, no amounts may be allocated to
the variable investment options and the account for special dollar cost
averaging.
If you are using funds from multiple sources to purchase the Rollover IRA or
Flexible Premium IRA contract with the Assured Payment Option in effect, we will
allocate your contributions to the Alliance Money Market option until we receive
all amounts under the contract. Once all amounts are received we will then apply
them under the Assured Payment Option.
PAYMENTS. The payments you receive will increase by 10% every three years during
the fixed period on each third anniversary of the payment start date. After the
end of the fixed period, your first payment under the life contingent annuity
will be 10% greater than the final payment made under the fixed period.
Whether you choose monthly, quarterly or annual payments, you will usually begin
receiving payments one payment period after the contract date anniversary on
which you elected to begin payments under your option, unless you elect
otherwise, as described under "Off maturity date payments" earlier in this
prospectus. Your payments will always be made on the 15th day of the month.
However, if you are age 53 1/2 or older, you must defer the date your payments
will start until you are age 59 1/2. If you are at least age 59 1/2 at the time
the Assured Payment Option is elected you may choose to defer the date your
payments will start. Generally, you may defer payments for a period of up to 72
months after you make your election. This is called the deferral period.
Deferral of the payment start date permits you to lock in rates at a time when
you may consider current rates
<PAGE>
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38
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
to be high, while permitting you to delay receiving payments if you have no
immediate need to receive income under your contract.
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The deferral period together with the fixed period may be referred to as a
"liquidity period." You will be able to make withdrawals before the end of the
fixed period. You may also choose to surrender your contract for its cash value
while keeping the life contingent annuity in effect.
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Before you decide to defer payments, you should consider the fact that the
amount of income you purchase is based on the rates to maturity in effect on the
date we allocate your contribution. Therefore, if rates rise during the deferral
period, your payments may be less than they would have been if you had elected
the Assured Payment Option at a later date. Deferral of the payment start date
is not available if you are older than age 80. If your deferred payment start
date is after you reach age 70 1/2, you should consider the effect that
deferral may have on your required minimum distributions.
See Appendix IV for an example of how payments are made under the Assured
Payment Option.
If you are age 701 1/2 or older, your payments during the fixed period are
designed to meet required minimum distributions under your contract. We
determine the amount of the payments based on the value in each fixed maturity
option and the assigned value of the life contingent annuity for tax purposes.
If at any time your payment under the Assured Payment Option would be less than
the minimum amount required to be distributed under minimum distribution rules,
we will notify you of the difference. You may then choose to have an additional
amount withdrawn under your contract. We will treat such withdrawal as a lump
sum withdrawal. However, no withdrawal charge will apply. We will then adjust
your future scheduled payments so that the minimum distribution rules are met.
You also have the option to take the amount from other traditional IRA funds you
may have.
FIXED PERIOD. The fixed period based on your age at the time the contract is
issued (or your age at the time the Assured Payment Option is elected) will be
as follows:
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
- ------------------------------------------------
AGE* FIXED PERIOD
- ------------------------------------------------
<S> <C>
59 1/2 through 70 15 years
71 through 75 12 years
76 through 80 9 years
81 through 83 6 years
- ------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
If you defer the date payments will start, your fixed period will be as follows:
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
FIXED PERIOD
BASED ON DEFERRAL PERIOD
---------------------------------
1-36 37-60 61-72
AGE* MONTHS MONTHS MONTHS
- ---------------------------------------------------------
<S> <C> <C> <C>
53 1/2 through 70 12 years 9 years 9 years
71 through 75 9 years 9 years N/A
76 through 80 6 years 6 years N/A
81 through 83 N/A N/A N/A
</TABLE>
* For joint and survivor payments, the fixed period is based on the age of the
younger annuitant.
PURCHASE RESTRICTIONS FOR JOINT AND SURVIVOR PAYMENTS. If you elect payments on
a joint and survivor basis:
o the joint annuitant must be your spouse; and
o neither you nor the joint annuitant can be over age 83.
PAYMENTS AFTER THE FIXED PERIOD. After the end of the fixed period, we will
continue your payments under the life contingent annuity if either you or the
joint annuitant is living. Payments continue throughout your lifetime (or the
lifetime of the joint annuitant, if joint and survivor payments are elected)
on the same payment schedule (either monthly, quarterly or annually) as the
payments you received during the fixed period.
The portion of your contribution allocated to the life contingent annuity does
not have a cash value or an account value and, therefore, does not provide for
withdrawals.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
THERE IS NO DEATH BENEFIT PROVIDED UNDER THE LIFE CONTINGENT ANNUITY AND
PAYMENTS ARE MADE TO YOU ONLY IF YOU (OR THE JOINT ANNUITANT) ARE LIVING WHEN
THE PAYMENTS ARE SCHEDULED TO BEGIN. THESE
<PAGE>
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39
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAYMENTS ARE ONLY MADE DURING YOUR LIFETIME AND, IF APPLICABLE, THE LIFETIME
OF THE JOINT ANNUITANT. THEREFORE, YOU SHOULD CONSIDER THE POSSIBILITY THAT NO
PAYMENTS WILL BE MADE UNDER THE LIFE CONTINGENT ANNUITY IF YOU (OR THE JOINT
ANNUITANT) DO NOT SURVIVE TO THE DATE PAYMENTS ARE TO BEGIN.
Under the life contingent annuity you may elect single life or joint and
survivor payments. Joint and survivor payments are available on a 100%,
one-half or two-thirds to survivor basis. Your first payment under the life
contingent annuity will be 10% greater than the final payment under the fixed
period. After the fixed period we will increase your payments annually on each
anniversary of the payment start date under the life contingent annuity. We
will base this increase on the annual increase in the Consumer Price Index,
but it will never be greater than 3% per year.
ALLOCATION OF WITHDRAWALS. Only lump sum withdrawals are permitted under the
Assured Payment Option. We will subtract your withdrawal from all remaining
fixed maturity options to which your account value is allocated as well as
from amounts held in the separate account to provide for payments off maturity
dates. As a result we will reduce the amount of your payments and the length
of your fixed period. We will also begin making payments to you under the life
contingent annuity at an earlier date. In order to achieve this result we will
withdraw additional amounts over the amount of the withdrawal you requested.
These amounts will be taken from the separate account which contains the fixed
maturity options and from amounts held to provide for payments off maturity
dates. The amounts are then allocated to the life contingent annuity. The
exact additional amount we withdraw will depend on how much is necessary to
assure that the same pattern of payments will continue in reduced amounts for
your life and the life of the joint annuitant. The first increase in your
payments will take place no later than the date of the next planned increase.
Withdrawals are subject to a withdrawal charge and will have a 10% free
withdrawal amount available. No withdrawal charges will apply to the payments
made during the fixed period or a withdrawal made to meet the minimum
distribution requirement under the contract.
DEATH BENEFIT. If a death benefit becomes payable during the fixed period we
will pay the death benefit amount to the designated beneficiary. The death
benefit amount is the greater of:
(1) your account value; and
(2) the sum of the fixed maturity amounts in each fixed maturity option plus
any amounts to provide for payments off maturity dates.
We will not make any payments under the life contingent annuity after your
death unless you have elected payments on a joint and survivor basis. If you
elect joint and one-half or joint and two-thirds to survivor payments, at your
death or the joint annuitant's death, we will reduce the payments by one-half
or one-third, whichever applies.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A death benefit is never payable under the life contingent annuity. The death
benefit applies only during the fixed period.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
TERMINATION. The Assured Payment Option will be terminated if you:
(1) cancel the option at any time by sending a written request satisfactory to
us; or
(2) submit an additional contribution and you do not want it allocated under
the Assured Payment Option; or
(3) request a transfer of your account value; or
(4) request a change in the date the payments are to start under the life
contingent annuity.
Once the Assured Payment Option has ended, the life contingent annuity will
remain in effect and payments will be made if you or the joint annuitant, are
living on the date payments are to start. No additional amounts will be
allocated under the life contingent annuity. You may elect to restart the
Assured Payment Option by submitting a written request satisfactory to us, but
no sooner than three years after the option was terminated. If you own an
Equitable
<PAGE>
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40
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Accumulator Rollover IRA or Flexible Premium IRA contract and you elected the
Assured Payment Option at age 70 1/2 or older and subsequently terminate this
option, required minimum distributions must continue to be made under your
contract. Before terminating the Assured Payment Option, you should consider
the implications this may have under the minimum distribution requirements.
See "Tax Information."
ANNUITY PAYOUT OPTIONS AND SURRENDERING THE CONTRACT. Once your contract is
surrendered or an annuity payout option is chosen, we will return the contract
to you with a notation that the life contingent annuity is still in effect.
You may not surrender the life contingent annuity.
APO PLUS
APO Plus is a variation of the Assured Payment Option. Except as indicated
below, APO Plus operates under the same guidelines as the Assured Payment
Option. Under APO Plus you will be able to keep a portion of your value in the
Alliance Common Stock option or the Alliance Equity Index option, whichever
one you choose. Once you have selected a variable investment option it may not
be changed.
You may not elect APO Plus if the Assured Payment Option is already in effect.
APO Plus allows you to remain invested in the variable investment option for
longer than would be possible if you had applied your entire account value all
at once to the Assured Payment Option or to an annuity payout option.
HOW WE ALLOCATE YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS. We allocate a portion of your initial
contribution or account value to the Assured Payment Option. Under the Assured
Payment Option amounts are allocated in the same manner as described above.
Your remaining account value is allocated to the variable investment option
you select. Periodically during the fixed period we transfer a portion of your
value in the variable investment option to the fixed maturity options to
increase your guaranteed level payments under the Assured Payment Option.
The amount allocated under the Assured Payment Option will provide for level
payments. The amount of the level payments are equal to the amount of the
initial payment that would have been provided if you had allocated your entire
initial contribution or account value under the Assured Payment Option. The
difference between the amount required for level payments and the amount
required for increasing payments provided under the Assured Payment Option, is
allocated to the variable investment option you selected. If you have any
value in the fixed maturity options at the time this option is elected, a
market value adjustment may apply as a result of such amounts being
transferred to activate the Assured Payment Option.
FIXED PERIOD. The fixed period and deferral period schedule shown for the
Assured Payment Option will also apply under APO Plus.
On the third February 15th following the date your first payment is made
during the fixed period, a portion of your value in the variable investment
option may be transferred to the Assured Payment Option in order to increase
your level payments. If you elect a deferral period of three years or more, a
portion of your value in the variable investment option will be allocated to
the Assured Payment Option on the February 15th before the date your first
payment is made. If your payments are to be made on February 15th, the date of
the first payment will be counted as the first February 15th for the purpose
of this transfer to the Assured Payment Option.
The transfer of amounts to the Assured Payment Option is repeated each third
year during the fixed period. The first increase in payments will be reflected
in the payment made to you after three full years of payments and then every
three years after that. Immediately following your last payment during the
fixed period, your remaining value in the variable investment option is first
allocated to the life contingent annuity to change the level payments
previously purchased to increasing payments. These increasing payments will
increase each year based on the annual increase in the Consumers Price Index,
but never greater than 3%. If you have any value remaining after the
increasing payments are purchased, this amount is allocated to the life
contingent annuity to further increase your lifetime payments. If your
<PAGE>
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41
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
value in the variable investment option is insufficient to purchase the
increasing payments, then the level payments previously purchased will be
raised as much as possible.
While APO Plus provides you with a minimum amount of level guaranteed lifetime
payments under the Assured Payment Option, the total amount of income that you
will receive over time will depend on the investment performance of the
variable investment option which you selected. It will also depend on the
current rates to maturity and the cost of the life contingent annuity, which
also varies. As a result, the combined amount of guaranteed lifetime income
you receive under APO Plus may be more or less than the amount that could have
been purchased if your entire initial contribution or account value had been
allocated to the Assured Payment Option.
See Appendix IV for an example of the payments purchased under APO Plus.
ALLOCATION OF ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS. Any additional contributions you make
may only be allocated to the variable investment option. We do not permit
additional contributions after the end of the fixed period.
WITHDRAWALS. If you take a lump sum withdrawal or if a lump sum withdrawal is
made to satisfy minimum distribution requirements such withdrawal will be
taken from your value in the variable investment option unless you specify
otherwise. If there is insufficient value in the variable investment option
any additional amount will be taken from the separate account containing the
fixed maturity options and from amounts held to provide for payments
off maturity dates, in the same manner as described above for the Assured
Payment Option.
DEATH BENEFIT. If a death benefit becomes payable during the fixed period we
will pay the death benefit amount to the designated beneficiary. The death
benefit amount is equal to the greater of:
(1) your value in the fixed maturity options; and
(2) the separate account containing the fixed maturity amounts in each fixed
maturity option plus any amounts held to provide for payments off
maturity dates.
When the greater of (1) and (2) above is determined, the value in the variable
investment option is added. A death benefit is never payable under the life
contingent annuity.
TERMINATION OF APO PLUS. You may terminate APO Plus at any time by submitting
a written request satisfactory to us. You may choose one of the following two
options if you terminate APO Plus:
(1) your contract will operate under the Equitable Accumulator Rollover IRA
or Flexible Premium IRA rules; or
(2) you may elect the Assured Payment Option.
If you elect the Assured Payment Option, your remaining value in the variable
investment option will be allocated to the fixed maturity options, the
separate account to provide for payments off maturity dates, and the life
contingent annuity. A market value adjustment may apply for any amounts
allocated from a fixed maturity option. At least 45 days prior to the end of
each three-year period, we will send you a quote indicating how much future
income could be provided under the Assured Payment Option. The quote would be
based on your current account value, current rates to maturity for the fixed
maturity options, and current purchase rates under the life contingent annuity
as of the date of the quote. The actual amount of future income you would
receive depends on the rates in effect on the day you switch to the Assured
Payment Option.
WITHDRAWING YOUR ACCOUNT VALUE
You have several ways to withdraw your account value before annuity payments
begin. The table below shows the methods available under each type of
contract. More information follows the table. For the tax consequences of
withdrawals, see "Tax information."
<PAGE>
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42
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
METHOD OF WITHDRAWAL
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUBSTANTIALLY MINIMUM
CONTRACT LUMP SUM SYSTEMATIC EQUAL DISTRIBUTION
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NQ Yes Yes No No
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rollover IRA* Yes Yes Yes Yes
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flexible
Premium IRA* Yes Yes Yes Yes
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roth Conversion
IRA Yes Yes Yes No
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flexible Premium
Roth IRA Yes Yes Yes No
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
QP Yes No No Yes
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rollover TSA Yes** No No Yes
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
* If Assured Payment Option or APO Plus is elected, only lump sum withdrawals
are available.
** For some Rollover TSA contracts, your ability to take withdrawals, loans or
surrender your contract may be limited. You must provide withdrawal
restriction information when you apply for a contract. See "Tax Sheltered
Annuity contracts (TSAs)" in "Tax information."
LUMP SUM WITHDRAWALS
(All contracts)
You may take lump sum withdrawals from your account value at any time.
(Rollover TSA contracts may have restrictions.) The minimum amount you may
withdraw is $1,000. If you request to withdraw more than 90% of a contract's
current cash value we will treat it as a request to surrender the contract for
its cash value. See "Surrendering your contract to receive its cash value"
below.
Lump sum withdrawals in excess of the 15% (10% under Assured Payment Option or
APO Plus) free withdrawal amount (see "15% free withdrawal amount" in "Charges
and expenses") may be subject to a withdrawal charge. Under Rollover TSA
contracts, if a loan is outstanding, you may only take lump sum withdrawals as
long as the cash value remaining after any withdrawal equals at least 10% of
the outstanding loan plus accrued interest.
SYSTEMATIC WITHDRAWALS
(NQ and all IRA contracts)
You may take systematic withdrawals of a particular dollar amount or a
particular percentage of your account value.
You may take systematic withdrawals on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis
as long as the withdrawals do not exceed the following percentages of your
account value: 1.2% monthly, 3.6% quarterly, and 15.0% annually. The minimum
amount you may take in each systematic withdrawal is $250. If the amount
withdrawn would be less than $250 on the date a withdrawal is to be taken, we
will not make a payment and we will terminate your systematic withdrawal
election.
We will make the withdrawals on any day of the month that you select as long
as it is not later than the 28th day of the month. If you do not select a
date, we will make the withdrawals on the same calendar day of the month as
the contract date. You must wait at least 28 days after your contract is
issued before your systematic withdrawals can begin.
You may elect to take systematic withdrawals at any time. If you own an IRA
contract, you may elect this withdrawal method only if you are between ages
59 1/2 and 70 1/2. You may not elect the systematic withdrawal method if you
have balances in the account for special dollar cost averaging.
You may change the payment frequency, or the amount or percentage of your
systematic withdrawals, once each contract year. However, you may not change
the amount or percentage in any contract year in which you have already taken
a lump sum withdrawal. You can cancel the systematic withdrawal option at any
time.
Systematic withdrawals are not subject to a withdrawal charge, except to the
extent that, when added to a lump sum withdrawal previously taken in the same
contract year, the systematic withdrawal exceeds the 15% free withdrawal
amount.
SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL WITHDRAWALS
(All IRA contracts)
The substantially equal withdrawals option allows you to receive distributions
from your account value without triggering the 10% additional federal tax
penalty, which normally applies to distributions made before age 59 1/2. See
"Tax information." Once you begin to take substantially
<PAGE>
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equal withdrawals, you should not stop them or change the pattern of your
withdrawals until the later of age 59 1/2 or five full years after the first
withdrawal. If you stop or change the withdrawals or take a lump sum
withdrawal, you may be liable for the 10% federal tax penalty that would have
otherwise been due on prior withdrawals made under this option and for any
interest on those withdrawals.
You may elect to take substantially equal withdrawals at any time before age
59 1/2. We will make the withdrawal on any day of the month that you select
as long as it is not later than the 28th day of the month. You may not elect
to receive the first payment in the same contract year in which you took a
lump sum withdrawal. We will calculate the amount of your substantially equal
withdrawals. The payments will be made monthly, quarterly, or annually as you
select. These payments will continue until we receive written notice from you
to cancel this option or you take a lump sum withdrawal. You may elect to
start receiving substantially equal withdrawals again, but the payments may
not restart in the same contract year in which you took a lump sum withdrawal.
We will calculate the new withdrawal amount.
You may not elect substantially equal withdrawals if you have balances in the
account for special dollar cost averaging.
Substantially equal withdrawals are not subject to a withdrawal charge.
MINIMUM DISTRIBUTION WITHDRAWALS
(Rollover IRA, Flexible Premium IRA, QP, and Rollover TSA contracts only - See
"Tax information")
We offer the minimum distribution withdrawal option to help you meet required
minimum distributions under federal income tax rules. You may elect this
option in the year in which you reach age 70 1/2. The minimum amount we will
pay out is $250. You may elect the method you want us to use to calculate your
minimum distribution withdrawals from the choices we offer. Currently, minimum
distribution withdrawal payments will be made annually.
We do not impose a withdrawal charge on minimum distribution withdrawals
except if when added to a lump sum withdrawal previously taken in the same
contract year, the minimum distribution withdrawal exceeds the 15% free
withdrawal amount.
We will calculate your annual payment based on your account value at the end
of the prior calendar year based on the method you choose.
Under Rollover TSA contracts, you may not elect minimum distribution
withdrawals if a loan is outstanding.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
For Rollover IRA, Flexible Premium IRA, QP, and Rollover TSA contracts, we
will send a form outlining the distribution options available before you reach
age 701/2 (if you have not begun your annuity payments before that time).
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOW WITHDRAWALS ARE TAKEN FROM YOUR ACCOUNT VALUE
Unless you specify otherwise, we will subtract your withdrawals on a pro rata
basis from your value in the variable investment options. If there is
insufficient value or no value in the variable investment options, any
additional amount of the withdrawal required or the total amount of the
withdrawal will be withdrawn from the fixed maturity options in order of the
earliest maturity date(s) first. A market value adjustment may apply.
HOW WITHDRAWALS AFFECT YOUR GUARANTEED MINIMUM INCOME BENEFIT AND GUARANTEED
MINIMUM DEATH BENEFIT
Withdrawals will reduce your guaranteed benefits on either a dollar-for-dollar
basis or on a pro rata basis as explained below:
INCOME BENEFIT AND DEATH BENEFIT
5% roll up to age 80 or age 70 - If you elect the 5% roll up to age 80 or 5%
roll up to age 70 guaranteed minimum death benefit, your benefit base and
current guaranteed minimum death benefit will be reduced on a
<PAGE>
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44
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dollar-for-dollar basis as long as the sum of your withdrawals in a contract
year is 5% or less of the applicable guaranteed minimum death benefit on the
most recent contract date anniversary. Once you take a withdrawal that causes
the sum of your withdrawals in a contract year to exceed 5% of the applicable
guaranteed minimum death benefit on the most recent contract date anniversary,
that withdrawal and any subsequent withdrawals in that same contract year will
reduce your benefit base and current guaranteed minimum death benefit on a pro
rata basis.
The timing of your withdrawals and whether they exceed the 5% threshold
described above can have a significant impact on your guaranteed minimum income
benefit or guaranteed minimum death benefit.
Annual ratchet to age 80 - If you elect the annual ratchet
to age 80 guaranteed minimum death benefit, each withdrawal will always reduce
your benefit base and current guaranteed minimum death benefit on a pro rata
basis.
Annuitant issue ages 80 through 90 - If your contract was issued when the
annuitant was between ages 80 and 90, each withdrawal will always reduce your
benefit base and current guaranteed minimum death benefit on a pro rata basis.
----------------------------------------
Reduction on a dollar-for-dollar basis means that your current benefit will be
reduced by the dollar amount of the withdrawal. Reduction on a pro rata basis
means that we calculate the percentage of your current account value that is
being withdrawn and we reduce your current benefit by that same percentage.
For example, if your account value is $30,000 and you withdraw $12,000, you
have withdrawn 40% of your account value. If your guaranteed minimum death
benefit was $40,000 before the withdrawal, it would be reduced by $16,000
($40,000 x.40) and your new guaranteed minimum death benefit after the
withdrawal would be $24,000 ($40,000 - $16,000).
LOANS UNDER ROLLOVER TSA CONTRACTS
You may take loans from a Rollover TSA unless restricted by the employer who
provided the Rollover TSA funds. If you cannot take a loan, or cannot take a
loan without approval from the employer who provided the funds, we will have
this information in our records based on what you and the employer who
provided the funds told us when you purchased your contract. The employer must
also tell us whether special employer plan rules of the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA") apply. We will not permit you to take a
loan while you are taking minimum distribution withdrawals.
You should read the terms and conditions on our loan request form carefully
before taking out a loan. Under Rollover TSA contracts subject to ERISA, you
may only take a loan with the written consent of your spouse. Your contract
contains further details of the loan provision. Also, see "Tax information"
for general rules applicable to loans.
We will permit you to have only one loan outstanding at a time. The minimum
loan amount is $1,000. The maximum amount is $50,000 or, if less, 50% of your
account value, subject to any limits under the federal income tax rules. The
term of a loan is five years. However, if you use the loan to acquire your
primary residence, the term is 10 years. The term may not extend beyond the
earliest of:
(1) the date annuity payments begin,
(2) the date the contract terminates, and
(3) the date a death benefit is paid (the outstanding loan will be deducted
from the death benefit amount).
Interest will accrue daily on your outstanding loan at a rate we set. The loan
interest rate will be equal to the Moody's Corporate Bond Yield Averages for
Baa bonds for the calendar month ending two months before the first day of the
calendar quarter in which the rate is determined.
LOAN RESERVE ACCOUNT. On the date your loan is processed, we will transfer the
amount of your loan to the loan reserve account. Unless you specify otherwise,
we will subtract your loan on a pro rata basis from your value in the
<PAGE>
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45
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
variable investment options. If there is insufficient value or no value in the
variable investment options, any additional amount of the loan will be
subtracted from the fixed maturity options in order of the earliest maturity
date(s) first. A market value adjustment may apply.
We will credit interest to the amount in the loan reserve account at a rate of
2% lower than the loan interest rate that applies for the time your loan is
outstanding. On each contract date anniversary after the date the loan is
processed, we will transfer the amount of interest earned in the loan reserve
account to the variable investment options on a pro rata basis. When you make
a loan repayment, unless you specify otherwise, we will transfer the dollar
amount of the loan repaid from the loan reserve account to the investment
options according to the allocation percentages we have on our records.
SURRENDERING YOUR CONTRACT TO RECEIVE ITS CASH VALUE
You may surrender your contract to receive its cash value at any time while
the annuitant is living and before you begin to receive annuity payments.
(Rollover TSA contracts may have restrictions.) For a surrender to be
effective, we must receive your written request and your contract at our
Processing Office. We will determine your cash value on the date we receive
the required information. All benefits under the contract will terminate as of
that date.
You may receive your cash value in a single sum payment or apply it to one or
more of the annuity payout options. See "Your annuity payout options" below.
For the tax consequences of surrenders, see "Tax information."
WHEN TO EXPECT PAYMENTS
Generally, we will fulfill requests for payments out of the variable
investment options within seven calendar days after the date of the
transaction to which the request relates. These transactions may include
applying proceeds to a variable annuity, payment of a death benefit, payment
of any amount you withdraw (less any withdrawal charge) and, upon surrender,
payment of the cash value. We may postpone such payments or applying proceeds
for any period during which:
(1) the New York Stock Exchange is closed or restricts trading,
(2) sales of securities or determination of the fair value of a variable
investment option's assets is not reasonably practicable because of an
emergency, or
(3) the SEC, by order, permits us to defer payment to protect people remaining
in the variable investment options.
We can defer payment of any portion of your value in the fixed maturity
options and the account for special dollar cost averaging (other than for
death benefits) for up to six months while you are living. We also may defer
payments for a reasonable amount of time (not to exceed 10 days) while we are
waiting for a contribution check to clear.
All payments are made by check and are mailed to you (or the payee named in a
tax-free exchange) by U.S. mail, unless you request that we use an express
delivery service at your expense.
YOUR ANNUITY PAYOUT OPTIONS
Equitable Accumulator offers you several choices of annuity payout options.
Some enable you to receive fixed annuity payments, which can be either level
or increasing, and others enable you to receive variable annuity payments.
You can choose from among the annuity payout options listed below. For QP and
Rollover TSA, you may receive only a life annuity with a 10 year period
certain. Other restrictions may apply, depending on the type of contract you
own or the annuitant's age. In addition, you may receive only fixed level life
annuity payments if you elect the guaranteed minimum income benefit under
baseBUILDER.
<PAGE>
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46
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<TABLE>
<S> <C>
- -------------------------------------------------------------
Fixed annuity payout options Life annuity
Life annuity with period
certain
Life annuity with refund
certain
Period certain annuity
- -------------------------------------------------------------
Variable Immediate Annuity Life annuity (not available
payout options in New York)
Life annuity with period
certain
- -------------------------------------------------------------
Income Manager payout Life annuity with period
options (available for certain
annuitants age 83 or less Period certain annuity
at contract issue)
- -------------------------------------------------------------
</TABLE>
o Life annuity: An annuity that guarantees payments for the rest of the
annuitant's life. Payments end with the last monthly payment before the
annuitant's death. Because there is no continuation of benefits following
the annuitant's death with this payout option, it provides the highest
monthly payment of any of the life annuity options, so long as the
annuitant is living.
o Life annuity with period certain: An annuity that guarantees payments for
the rest of the annuitant's life. If the annuitant dies before the end of
a selected period of time ("period certain"), payments continue to the
beneficiary for the balance of the period certain. The period certain
cannot extend beyond the annuitant's life expectancy. A life annuity with
a period certain is the form of annuity under the contracts that you will
receive if you do not elect a different payout option. In this case, the
period certain will be based on the annuitant's age and will not exceed 10
years.
o Life annuity with refund certain: An annuity that guarantees payments for
the rest of the annuitant's life. If the annuitant dies before the amount
applied to purchase the annuity option has been recovered, payments to the
beneficiary will continue until that amount has been recovered. This
payout option is available only as a fixed annuity.
o Period certain annuity: An annuity that guarantees payments for a specific
period of time, usually 5, 10, 15, or 20 years. This guaranteed period may
not exceed the annuitant's life expectancy. This option does not guarantee
payments for the rest of the annuitant's life. It does not permit any
repayment of the unpaid principal, so you cannot elect to receive part of
the payments as a single sum payment with the rest paid in monthly annuity
payments. This payout option is available only as a fixed annuity.
The life annuity, life annuity with period certain, and life annuity with
refund certain payout options are available on a single life or joint and
survivor life basis. The joint and survivor life annuity guarantees payments
for the rest of the annuitant's life and, after the annuitant's death,
payments continue to the survivor. We may offer other payout options not
outlined here. Your financial professional can provide details.
FIXED ANNUITY PAYOUT OPTION
With fixed annuities, we guarantee fixed annuity payments that will be based
either on the tables of guaranteed annuity purchase factors in your contract
or on our then current annuity purchase factors, whichever is more favorable
for you.
VARIABLE IMMEDIATE ANNUITY PAYOUT OPTIONS
Variable Immediate Annuities are described in a separate prospectus that is
available from your financial professional. Before you select a Variable
Immediate Annuity payout option, you should read the prospectus which contains
important information that you should know.
Variable annuities may be funded through your choice of variable investment
options investing in portfolios of EQ Advisors Trust. The contract also offers
a fixed annuity option that can be elected in combination with the variable
annuity payout options. The amount of each variable annuity payment will
fluctuate, depending upon the performance of the variable investment options,
and whether the actual rate of investment return is higher or lower than an
assumed base rate.
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INCOME MANAGER PAYOUT OPTIONS
The Income Manager payout annuity contracts differ from the other payout
annuity contracts. The other payout annuity contracts provide higher or lower
income levels, but do not have all the features of the Income Manager payout
annuity contract. You may request an illustration of the Income Manager payout
annuity contract from your financial professional. Income Manager payout
options are described in a separate prospectus that is available from your
financial professional. Before you select an Income Manager payout option, you
should read the prospectus which contains important information that you
should know.
Both Income Manager payout options provide guaranteed level payments (NQ and
IRA contracts). The Income Manager (life annuity with period certain) also
provides guaranteed increasing payments (NQ contracts only). You may not elect
a period certain Income Manager payout option unless withdrawal charges are no
longer in effect under your Equitable Accumulator.
For QP and Rollover TSA contracts, if you want to elect an Income Manager
payout option, we will first roll over amounts in such contract to a Rollover
IRA contract. You will be the owner of the Rollover IRA contract.
You may choose to apply only part of the account value of your Equitable
Accumulator contract to an Income Manager payout annuity. In this case, we
will consider any amounts applied as a withdrawal from your Equitable
Accumulator and we will deduct any applicable withdrawal charge. For the tax
consequences of withdrawals, see "Tax information."
Depending upon your circumstances, the purchase of an Income Manager contract
may be done on a tax-free basis. Please consult your tax adviser.
THE AMOUNT APPLIED TO PURCHASE AN ANNUITY PAYOUT OPTION
The amount applied to purchase an annuity payout option varies, depending on
the payout option that you choose, and the timing of your purchase as it
relates to any withdrawal charges or market value adjustments.
If amounts in a fixed maturity option are used to purchase any annuity payout
option, prior to the maturity date, a market value adjustment will apply.
o For the fixed annuity payout options and Variable Immediate Annuity payout
options, no withdrawal charge is imposed if you select a life annuity,
life annuity with period certain or life annuity with refund certain.
o For the fixed annuity payout option, the withdrawal charge applicable under
your Equitable Accumulator is imposed if you select a period certain. If
the period certain is more than 5 years, then the withdrawal charge
deducted will not exceed 5% of the account value.
For the Income Manager payout options, the following
applies:
o No withdrawal charge is imposed under the Equitable Accumulator. If the
withdrawal charge that otherwise would have been applied to your account
value under your Equitable Accumulator is greater than 2% of the
contributions that remain in your contract at the time you purchase your
payout option, the withdrawal charges under the Income Manager will apply.
For this purpose, the year in which your account value is applied to the
payout option will be "contract year 1."
SELECTING AN ANNUITY PAYOUT OPTION
When you select a payout option, we will issue you a separate written
agreement confirming your right to receive annuity payments. We require you to
return your contract before annuity payments begin unless you are applying
only some of your account value to an Income Manager contract. The contract
owner and annuitant must meet the issue age and payment requirements.
You can choose the date annuity payments begin but it may not be earlier than
thirteen months from the Equitable Accumulator contract date. Except with
respect to the Income Manager annuity payout options, where payments are made
on the 15th day of each month, you can change
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the date your annuity payments are to begin anytime before that date as long
as you do not choose a date later than the 28th day of any month. Also, that
date may not be later than:
(i) if the annuitant was not older than age 83 when the contract was issued,
the contract date anniversary that follows the annuitant's 90th birthday;
(ii) if the annuitant was age 84 but not older than age 88 when the contract
was issued the annuitant's age at issue plus seven years; and
(iii) if the annuitant was age 89 or 90 when the contract was issued, age 95.
(iv) for contracts issued in New York, by the annuitant's 90th birthday.
The above may be different in some states.
Before the last date by which your annuity payments must begin, we will notify
you by letter. Once you have selected an annuity payout option and payments
have begun, no change can be made other than; (i) transfers (if permitted in
the future) among the variable investment options if a Variable Immediate
Annuity payout option is selected; and (ii) withdrawals or contract surrender
(subject to a market value adjustment) if an Income Manager annuity payout
option is chosen.
The amount of the annuity payments will depend on the amount applied to
purchase the annuity and the applicable annuity purchase factors, discussed
earlier.
In no event will you ever receive payments under a fixed option or an initial
payment under a variable option of less than the minimum amounts guaranteed by
the contract.
If, at the time you elect a payout option, the amount to be applied is less
than $2,000 or the initial payment under the form elected is less than $20
monthly, we reserve the right to pay the account value in a single sum rather
than as payments under the payout option chosen.
<PAGE>
Charges and expenses
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CHARGES THAT EQUITABLE LIFE DEDUCTS
We deduct the following charges each day from the net assets of each variable
investment option. These charges are reflected in the unit values of each
variable investment option:
o A mortality and expense risks charge
o An administrative charge
o A distribution charge
We deduct the following charges from your account value. When we deduct these
charges from your variable investment options, we reduce the number of units
credited to your contract:
o On each contract date anniversary - an annual administrative charge if
applicable (Flexible Premium IRA and Flexible Premium Roth IRA contracts
only).
o At the time you make certain withdrawals or surrender your contract - a
withdrawal charge.
o If you elect the optional benefit - a charge for the optional baseBUILDER
benefit.
o At the time annuity payments are to begin - charges for state premium and
other applicable taxes. An annuity administrative fee may also apply.
More information about these charges appears below. We will not increase these
charges for the life of your contract, except as noted. We may reduce certain
charges under group or sponsored arrangements. See "Group or sponsored
arrangements" below.
To help with your retirement planning, we may offer other annuities with
different charges, benefits, and features. Please contact your financial
professional for more information.
MORTALITY AND EXPENSE RISKS CHARGE
We deduct a daily charge from the net assets in each variable investment
option to compensate us for mortality and expense risks, including the
guaranteed minimum death benefit. The daily charge is equivalent to an annual
rate of 1.10% of the net assets in each variable investment option.
The mortality risk we assume is the risk that annuitants as a group will live
for a longer time than our actuarial tables predict. If that happens, we would
be paying more in annuity income than we planned. We also assume a risk that
the mortality assumptions reflected in our guaranteed annuity payment tables,
shown in each contract, will differ from actual mortality experience. Lastly,
we assume a mortality risk to the extent that at the time of death, the
guaranteed minimum death benefit exceeds the cash value of the contract. The
expense risk we assume is the risk that it will cost us more to issue and
administer the contracts than we expect.
ADMINISTRATIVE CHARGE
We deduct a daily charge from the net assets in each variable investment
option. The charge, together with the annual administrative charge described
below, is to compensate us for administrative expenses under the contracts.
The daily charge is equivalent to an annual rate of 0.25% of the net assets in
each variable investment option. We reserve the right under the contracts to
increase this charge to an annual rate of 0.35%.
DISTRIBUTION CHARGE
We deduct a daily charge from the net assets in each variable investment
option to compensate us for a portion of our sales expenses under the
contracts. The daily charge is equivalent to an annual rate of 0.20% of the
net assets in each variable investment option.
ANNUAL ADMINISTRATIVE CHARGE (FLEXIBLE PREMIUM IRA AND FLEXIBLE PREMIUM ROTH
IRA CONTRACTS ONLY)
Under Flexible Premium IRA and Flexible Premium Roth IRA contracts, we deduct
an administrative charge from your account value on each contract date
anniversary. We deduct the charge if your account value on the last business
day of the contract year is less than $25,000. If your account value on such
date is $25,000 or more, we do not deduct the charge. During the first two
contract years, the charge is
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equal to $30 or, if less, 2% of your account value. The charge is $30 for
contract years three and later.
We will deduct this charge from your value in the variable investment options
on a pro rata basis. If there is not enough value in the variable investment
options, we will deduct all or a portion of the charge from the fixed maturity
options in order of the earliest maturity date(s) first. If you surrender your
contract during the contract year we will deduct a pro rata portion of the
charge.
WITHDRAWAL CHARGE
A withdrawal charge applies in two circumstances:
(1) if you make one or more withdrawals during a contract year that, in total,
exceed the 15% free withdrawal amount, described below, or (2) if you
surrender your contract to receive its cash value.
The withdrawal charge equals a percentage of the contributions withdrawn. The
percentage that applies depends on how long each contribution has been
invested in the contract. We determine the withdrawal charge separately for
each contribution according to the following table:
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
CONTRACT YEAR
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8+
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Percentage of
contribution 7% 6% 5% 4% 3% 2% 1% 0%
</TABLE>
If the Assured Payment Option or APO Plus is in effect, the withdrawal charge
is equal to a percentage of the contributions withdrawn minus any amounts
allocated to the life contingent annuity.
For purposes of calculating the withdrawal charge, we treat the contract year
in which we receive a contribution as "contract year 1." Amounts withdrawn up
to the free withdrawal amount are not considered withdrawal of any
contribution. We also treat contributions that have been invested the longest
as being withdrawn first. We treat contributions as withdrawn before earnings
for purposes of calculating the withdrawal charge. However, federal income tax
rules treat earnings under your contract as withdrawn first. See "Tax
information."
In order to give you the exact dollar amount of the withdrawal you request, we
deduct the amount of the withdrawal and the withdrawal charge from your
account value. Any amount deducted to pay withdrawal charges is also subject
to that same withdrawal charge percentage. We deduct the charge in proportion
to the amount of the withdrawal subtracted from each investment option. The
withdrawal charge helps cover our sales expenses.
For annuitants that are ages 84 and 85 when the contract is issued in New York
State, the withdrawal charge will be computed in the same manner as for other
contracts, except that the withdrawal charge schedule will be different. For
these New York contracts, the withdrawal charge schedule will be 5% of each
contribution made in the first contract year, decreasing by 1% each subsequent
contract year to 0% in the sixth and later contract years.
The withdrawal charge does not apply in the circumstances described below.
ANNUITANT AGES 86 THROUGH 90 WHEN THE CONTRACT IS ISSUED. The withdrawal
charge does not apply under the contract if the annuitant is age 86 or older
when the contract is issued.
15% FREE WITHDRAWAL AMOUNT. Each contract year you can withdraw up to 15% of
your account value without paying a withdrawal charge. The 15% free withdrawal
amount is determined using your account value on the most recent contract date
anniversary, minus any other withdrawals made during the contract year. The
15% free withdrawal amount does not apply if you surrender your contract.
The free withdrawal amount is 10% of your account value under the Assured
Payment Option and APO Plus.
Note the following special rule for NQ contracts issued to a charitable
remainder trust, the free withdrawal amount will equal the greater of: (1) the
current account value, less
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contributions that have not been withdrawn (earnings in the contract), and (2)
the 15% free withdrawal amount defined above.
Minimum distributions. The withdrawal charge does not apply to withdrawals
taken under our minimum distribution withdrawal option. However, those
withdrawals are counted towards the 15% free withdrawal amount if you also
make a lump sum withdrawal in any contract year.
Disability, terminal illness or confinement to nursing home. The withdrawal
charge also does not apply if:
o The annuitant has qualified to receive Social Security disability benefits
as certified by the Social Security Administration; or
o We receive proof satisfactory to us (including certification by a licensed
physician) that the annuitant's life expectancy is six months or less; or
o The annuitant has been confined to a nursing home for more than 90 days (or
such other period, as required in your state) as verified by a licensed
physician. A nursing home for this purpose means one that is (a) approved
by Medicare as a provider of skilled nursing care service, or (b) licensed
as a skilled nursing home by the state or territory in which it is located
(it must be within the United States, Puerto Rico, or U.S. Virgin Islands)
and meets all of the following:
- its main function is to provide skilled, intermediate, or custodial
nursing care;
- it provides continuous room and board to three or more persons;
- it is supervised by a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse;
- it keeps daily medical records of each patient;
- it controls and records all medications dispensed; and
- its primary service is other than to provide housing for residents.
We reserve the right to impose a withdrawal charge, in accordance with your
contract and applicable state law, if the disability is caused by a
preexisting condition or a condition that began within 12 months of the
contract date. Some states may not permit us to waive the withdrawal charge in
the above circumstances, or may limit the circumstances for which the
withdrawal charge may be waived. Your financial professional can provide more
information or you may contact our Processing Office.
BASEBUILDER BENEFIT CHARGE
If you elect the baseBUILDER combined guaranteed minimum income benefit and
guaranteed minimum death benefit, we deduct a charge annually from your
account value on each contract date anniversary until such time as you
exercise the guaranteed minimum income benefit, elect another annuity payout
option, or the contract date anniversary after the annuitant reaches age 85,
whichever occurs first. The charge is equal to 0.30% (0.15% if the 5% roll up
to age 70 baseBUILDER combined benefit is elected) of the benefit base in
effect on the contract date anniversary.
We will deduct this charge from your value in the variable investment options
on a pro rata basis. If there is not enough value in the variable investment
options, we will deduct all or a portion of the charge from the fixed maturity
options in order of the earliest maturity date(s) first. A market value
adjustment may apply.
CHARGES FOR STATE PREMIUM AND OTHER APPLICABLE TAXES
We deduct a charge for applicable taxes such as premium taxes that may be
imposed in your state. Generally, we deduct the charge from the amount applied
to provide an annuity payout option. The current tax charge that might be
imposed varies by state and ranges from 0% to 3.5% (1% in Puerto Rico and 5%
in the U.S. Virgin Islands).
ANNUITY ADMINISTRATIVE FEE
We deduct a fee of $350 from the amount to be applied to purchase a
Variable Immediate Annuity.
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CHARGES THAT EQ ADVISORS TRUST DEDUCTS
EQ Advisors Trust deducts charges for the following types of fees and
expenses:
o Management fees ranging from 0.25% to 1.15%.
o 12b-1 fees of 0.25%.
o Operating expenses, such as trustees' fees, independent auditors' fees,
legal counsel fees, administrative service fees, custodian fees, and
liability insurance.
o Investment-related expenses, such as brokerage commissions.
These charges are reflected in the daily share price of each portfolio. Since
shares of EQ Advisors Trust are purchased at their net asset value, these fees
and expenses are, in effect, passed on to the variable investment options and
are reflected in their unit values. For more information about these charges,
please refer to the prospectus for EQ Advisors Trust following this
prospectus.
GROUP OR SPONSORED ARRANGEMENTS
For certain group or sponsored arrangements, we may reduce the withdrawal
charge or the mortality and expense risks charge, or change the minimum
initial contribution requirements. We also may change the guaranteed minimum
income benefit and the guaranteed minimum death benefit, or offer variable
investment options that invest in shares of EQ Advisors Trust that are not
subject to the 12b-1 fee. Group arrangements include those in which a trustee
or an employer, for example, purchases contracts covering a group of
individuals on a group basis. Group arrangements are not available for IRA
contracts. Sponsored arrangements include those in which an employer allows us
to sell contracts to its employees or retirees on an individual basis.
Our costs for sales, administration, and mortality generally vary with the
size and stability of the group or sponsoring organization, among other
factors. We take all these factors into account when reducing charges. To
qualify for reduced charges, a group or sponsored arrangement must meet
certain requirements, such as requirements for size and number of years in
existence. Group or sponsored arrangements that have been set up solely to buy
contracts or that have been in existence less than six months will not qualify
for reduced charges.
We also may establish different rates to maturity for the fixed maturity
options under different classes of contracts for group or sponsored
arrangements.
We will make these and any similar reductions according to our rules in effect
when we approve a contract for issue. We may change these rules from time to
time. Any variation will reflect differences in costs or services and will not
be unfairly discriminatory.
Group or sponsored arrangements may be governed by federal income tax rules,
ERISA, or both. We make no representations with regard to the impact of these
and other applicable laws on such programs. We recommend that employers,
trustees, and others purchasing or making contracts available for purchase
under such programs seek the advice of their own legal and benefits advisers.
OTHER DISTRIBUTION ARRANGEMENTS
We may reduce or eliminate charges when sales are made in a manner that result
in savings of sales and administrative expenses, such as sales through persons
who are compensated by clients for recommending investments and who receive no
commission or reduced commissions in connection with the sale of the
contracts. We will not permit a reduction or elimination of charges where it
would be unfairly discriminatory.
<PAGE>
Payment of death benefit
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YOUR BENEFICIARY AND PAYMENT OF BENEFIT
You designate your beneficiary when you apply for your contract. You may
change your beneficiary at any time. The change will be effective on the date
the written request for the change is received in our processing office. We
are not responsible for any beneficiary change request that we do not receive.
We will send you a written confirmation when we receive your request. Under
jointly owned contracts, the surviving owner is considered the beneficiary,
and will take the place of any other beneficiary. You may be limited as to the
beneficiary you can designate in a Rollover TSA contract. In a QP contract,
the beneficiary must be the trustee.
The death benefit is equal to your account value, or, if greater, the
guaranteed minimum death benefit. The guaranteed minimum death benefit is part
of your contract, whether you select the baseBUILDER benefit or not. We
determine the amount of the death benefit as of the date we receive
satisfactory proof of the annuitant's death and any required instructions for
the method of payment. Under Rollover TSA contracts we will deduct the amount
of any outstanding loan plus accrued interest from the amount of the death
benefit.
The death benefit payable under the Assured Payment Option or APO Plus is
described earlier in this prospectus. See "Assured Payment Option and APO
Plus."
EFFECT OF THE ANNUITANT'S DEATH
If the annuitant dies before the annuity payments begin, we will pay the death
benefit to your beneficiary.
Generally, the death of the annuitant terminates the contract. However, a
beneficiary who is the surviving spouse of the owner/annuitant can choose to
be treated as the successor owner/annuitant and continue the contract. Only a
spouse can be a successor owner/annuitant. A successor owner/annuitant can
only be named under NQ and IRA contracts.
For Rollover IRA and Flexible Premium IRA contracts, a beneficiary who is not
a surviving spouse may be able to have limited ownership as discussed under
"Beneficiary continuation option for Rollover IRA and Flexible Premium IRA
contracts" below.
WHEN AN NQ CONTRACT OWNER DIES BEFORE THE ANNUITANT
Under certain conditions the owner can change after the original owner's
death. When you are not the annuitant under an NQ contract and you die before
annuity payments begin, the beneficiary named to receive the death benefit
upon the annuitant's death will automatically become the successor owner. If
you do not want the beneficiary to be the successor owner, you should name a
successor owner. You may name a specific successor owner that will become the
successor owner at any time by sending satisfactory notice to our Processing
Office. If the contract is jointly owned and the first owner to die is not the
annuitant, the surviving owner becomes the sole contract owner. This person
will be considered the successor owner for purposes of the distribution rules
described in this section. The surviving owner automatically takes the place
of any other beneficiary designation.
Unless the surviving spouse of the owner who has died (or in the case of a
joint ownership situation, the surviving spouse of the first owner to die) is
the successor owner for this purpose, the entire interest in the contract must
be distributed under the following rules:
o The cash value of the contract must be fully paid to the designated
beneficiary (new owner) by December 31st of the fifth calendar year after
your death (or in a joint ownership situation, the death of the first
owner to die).
o The successor owner may instead elect to receive the cash value as a life
annuity (or payments for a period certain of not longer than the new
owner's life expectancy). Payments must begin no later than December 31st
following the calendar year of the non-annuitant owner's death. Unless
this alternative is elected, we will pay any cash value on December 31st
of the fifth calendar year following the year of your death (or the death
of the first owner to die).
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o If the surviving spouse is the successor owner or joint owner, the spouse
may elect to continue the contract. No distributions are required as long
as the surviving spouse and annuitant are living.
HOW DEATH BENEFIT PAYMENT IS MADE
We will pay the death benefit to the beneficiary in the form of the annuity
payout option you have chosen. If you have not chosen an annuity payout option
as of the time of the annuitant's death, the beneficiary will receive the
death benefit in a single sum. However, subject to any exceptions in the
contract, our rules and any applicable requirements under federal income tax
rules, the beneficiary may elect to apply the death benefit to one or more
annuity payout options we offer at the time. See "Your annuity payout options"
in "Accessing your money" earlier in this prospectus. Please note that if you
are both the contract owner and the annuitant, you may elect only a life
annuity or an annuity that does not extend beyond the life expectancy of the
beneficiary.
SUCCESSOR OWNER AND ANNUITANT
If you are both the contract owner and the annuitant, and your spouse is the
sole beneficiary or the joint owner, then your spouse may elect to receive the
death benefit or continue the contract as successor owner/annuitant.
If your surviving spouse decides to continue the contract, then on the
contract date anniversary following your death, we will increase the account
value to equal your current guaranteed minimum death benefit, if it is higher
than the account value. The increase in the account value will be allocated to
the investment options according to the allocation percentages we have on file
for your contract. Thereafter, withdrawal charges will no longer apply to this
amount. Withdrawal charges will apply if you make additional contributions.
These additional contributions will be withdrawn only after all other amounts
have been withdrawn. In determining whether the guaranteed minimum death
benefit will continue to grow, we will use your surviving spouse's age (as of
the contract date anniversary).
BENEFICIARY CONTINUATION OPTION FOR ROLLOVER IRA AND FLEXIBLE PREMIUM IRA
CONTRACTS
Upon your death under a Rollover IRA or Flexible Premium IRA contract, a
nonspouse beneficiary may generally elect to keep the contract in your name
and receive distributions under the contract instead of the death benefit
being paid in a single sum.
If you die AFTER the "required beginning date" (see "Tax information") for
required minimum distributions, the contract will continue if:
(a) you were receiving minimum distribution withdrawals from this contract;
and
(b) the pattern of minimum distribution withdrawals you chose was based in
part on the life of the designated beneficiary.
The withdrawals will then continue to be paid to the beneficiary on the same
basis as you chose before your death. We will be able to tell your beneficiary
whether this option is available to them. You should contact our Processing
Office for further information.
If you die BEFORE the "Required Beginning Date" (and therefore you were not
taking minimum distribution withdrawals under the contract), an eligible
beneficiary may take minimum distribution withdrawals under the contract. We
will increase the account value to equal the death benefit if the death
benefit is greater than the account value. That amount will be used to provide
the withdrawals. If the eligible beneficiary elects as described in the next
paragraph, these withdrawals will begin by December 31st of the calendar year
following your death. These withdrawals will be based on the beneficiary's
life expectancy. If there is more than one beneficiary, the shortest life
expectancy is used. An eligible beneficiary can choose instead to continue the
contract in your name without having to take annual withdrawals. If the
beneficiary chooses this option, all amounts must be distributed from the
contract by December 31, of the fifth calendar year following your death.
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The designated beneficiary must be a natural person and of legal age at the
time of election. The beneficiary must elect this option within 30 days
following the date we receive proof of your death. This option may not be
elected if the Assured Payment Option or APO Plus were in effect at the time
of your death. The death benefit will be paid to the beneficiary according to
our standard procedures, unless an election is made within 30 days to: (1)
receive the death benefit; (2) continue the contract and take annual
withdrawals as described above; or (3) defer payment of the account value for
up to five years.
While the contract continues in your name, the beneficiary may make transfers
among the investment options. However, additional contributions will not be
permitted and the guaranteed minimum income benefit and the death benefit
(including the guaranteed minimum death benefit) provisions will no longer be
in effect. Although the only withdrawals that will be permitted are minimum
distribution withdrawals, the beneficiary may choose at any time to withdraw
all of the account value and no withdrawal charges will apply.
<PAGE>
Tax information
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OVERVIEW
In this part of the prospectus, we discuss the current federal income tax
rules that generally apply to Equitable Accumulator contracts owned by United
States taxpayers. The tax rules can differ, depending on the type of contract,
whether NQ, Rollover IRA, Flexible Premium IRA, Roth Conversion IRA, Flexible
Premium Roth IRA, QP, or Rollover TSA. Therefore, we discuss the tax aspects
of each type of contract separately.
Federal income tax rules include the United States laws in the Internal
Revenue Code, and Treasury Department Regulations and Internal Revenue Service
("IRS") interpretations of the Internal Revenue Code. These tax rules may
change. We cannot predict whether, when, or how these rules could change. Any
change could affect contracts purchased before the change.
We cannot provide detailed information on all tax aspects of the contracts.
Moreover, the tax aspects that apply to a particular person's contract may
vary depending on the facts applicable to that person. We do not discuss state
income and other state taxes, federal income tax, and withholding rules for
non-U.S. taxpayers, or federal gift and estate taxes. Transfers of the
contract, rights under the contract, or payments under the contract may be
subject to gift or estate taxes. You should not rely only on this document,
but should consult your tax adviser before your purchase.
If you are buying a contract to fund a retirement plan that already provides
tax deferral under sections of the Internal Revenue Code (IRA, QP, and
Rollover TSA), you should do so for the contract's features and benefits other
than tax deferral. In such situations, the tax deferral of the contract does
not provide additional benefits.
TRANSFERS AMONG INVESTMENT OPTIONS
You can make transfers among investment options inside the contract without
triggering taxable income.
TAXATION OF NONQUALIFIED ANNUITIES
CONTRIBUTIONS
You may not deduct the amount of your contributions to a nonqualified annuity
contract.
CONTRACT EARNINGS
Generally, you are not taxed on contract earnings until you receive a
distribution from your contract, whether as a withdrawal or as an annuity
payment. However, earnings are taxable, even without a distribution:
o if a contract fails investment diversification requirements as specified in
federal income tax rules (these rules are based on or are similar to those
specified for mutual funds under the securities laws);
o if you transfer a contract, for example, as a gift to someone other than
your spouse (or former spouse);
o if you use a contract as security for a loan (in this case, the amount
pledged will be treated as a distribution); and
o if the owner is other than an individual (such as a corporation,
partnership, trust, or other non-natural person).
All nonqualified deferred annuity contracts that Equitable Life and its
affiliates issue to you during the same calendar year are linked together and
treated as one contract for calculating the taxable amount of any distribution
from any of those contracts.
ANNUITY PAYMENTS
Once annuity payments begin, a portion of each payment is taxable as ordinary
income. You get back the remaining portion without paying taxes on it. This is
your "investment in the contract." Generally, your investment in the contract
equals the contributions you made, less any amounts you previously withdrew
that were not taxable.
For fixed annuity payments, the tax-free portion of each payment is determined
by (1) dividing your investment in the contract by the total amount you are
expected to receive out of the contract, and (2) multiplying the result by the
amount
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of the payment. For variable annuity payments, your investment in the contract
divided by the number of expected payments is your tax-free portion of each
payment.
Once you have received the amount of your investment in the contract, all
payments after that are fully taxable. If payments under a life annuity stop
because the annuitant dies, there is an income tax deduction for any
unrecovered investment in the contract.
PAYMENTS MADE BEFORE ANNUITY PAYMENTS BEGIN
If you make withdrawals before annuity payments begin under your contract,
they are taxable to you as ordinary income if there are earnings in the
contract. Generally, earnings are your account value less your investment in
the contract. If you withdraw an amount which is more than the earnings in the
contract as of the date of the withdrawal, the balance of the distribution is
treated as a return of your investment in the contract and is not taxable.
CONTRACTS PURCHASED THROUGH EXCHANGES
You may purchase your NQ contract through an exchange of another contract.
Normally, exchanges of contracts are taxable events. The exchange will not be
taxable under Section 1035 of the Internal Revenue Code if:
o the contract that is the source of the funds you are using to purchase the
NQ contract is another nonqualified deferred annuity contract or life
insurance or endowment contract.
o the owner and the annuitant are the same under the source contract and the
Equitable Accumulator NQ contract. If you are using a life insurance or
endowment contract the owner and the insured must be the same on both
sides of the exchange transaction.
The tax basis of the source contract carries over to the
Equitable Accumulator NQ contract.
SURRENDERS
If you surrender or cancel the contract, the distribution is taxable as
ordinary income (not capital gain) to the extent it exceeds your investment in
the contract.
DEATH BENEFIT PAYMENTS MADE TO A BENEFICIARY AFTER YOUR DEATH
For the rules applicable to death benefits, see "Payment of death benefit"
earlier in this prospectus. The tax treatment of a death benefit taken as a
single sum is generally the same as the tax treatment of a withdrawal from or
surrender of your contract. The tax treatment of a death benefit taken as
annuity payments is generally the same as the tax treatment of annuity
payments under your contract.
EARLY DISTRIBUTION PENALTY TAX
If you take distributions before you are age 59 1/2 a penalty tax of 10% of
the taxable portion of your distribution applies in addition to the income
tax. The extra penalty tax does not apply to pre-age 59 1/2 distributions
made:
o on or after your death; or
o because you are disabled (special federal income tax definition); or
o in the form of substantially equal periodic annuity payments for your life
(or life expectancy) or the joint lives (or joint life expectancy) of you
and a beneficiary.
SPECIAL RULES FOR NQ CONTRACTS ISSUED IN
PUERTO RICO
Under current law we treat income from NQ contracts as U.S. source. A Puerto
Rico resident is subject to U.S. taxation on such U.S. source income. Only
Puerto Rico source income of Puerto Rico residents is excludable from U.S.
taxation. Income from NQ contracts is also subject to Puerto Rico tax. The
calculation of the taxable portion of amounts distributed from a contract may
differ in the two jurisdictions. Therefore, you might have to file both U.S.
and Puerto Rico tax returns, showing different amounts of income from the
contract for each tax return. Puerto Rico generally provides a credit against
Puerto Rico tax for U.S. tax paid. Depending on your personal situation and
the timing of the different tax liabilities, you may not be able to take full
advantage of this credit.
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INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ARRANGEMENTS (IRAS)
GENERAL
"IRA" stands for individual retirement arrangement. There are two basic types
of such arrangements, individual retirement accounts and individual retirement
annuities. In an individual retirement account, a trustee or custodian holds
the assets for the benefit of the IRA owner. The assets can include mutual
funds and certificates of deposit. In an individual retirement annuity, an
insurance company issues an annuity contract that serves as the IRA.
There are two basic types of IRAs, as follows:
o Traditional IRAs, typically funded on a pre-tax basis including SEP-IRAs
and SIMPLE-IRAs, issued and funded in connection with employer-sponsored
retirement plans; and
o Roth IRAs, first available in 1998, funded on an after-tax basis.
Regardless of the type of IRA, your ownership interest in the IRA cannot be
forfeited. You or your beneficiaries who survive you are the only ones who can
receive the IRA's benefits or payments.
You can hold your IRA assets in as many different accounts and annuities as
you would like, as long as you meet the rules for setting up and making
contributions to IRAs. However, if you own multiple IRAs, you may be required
to combine IRA values or contributions for tax purposes. For further
information about individual retirement arrangements, you can read Internal
Revenue Service Publication 590 ("Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)").
This publication is usually updated annually, and can be obtained from any IRS
district office or the IRS website (http://www.irs.ustreas.gov).
Equitable Life designs its traditional IRA contracts to qualify as "individual
retirement annuities" under Section 408(b) of the Internal Revenue Code. You
may purchase the contract as a traditional IRA or Roth IRA. The traditional
IRAs we offer are the Rollover IRA and Flexible Premium IRA. The versions of
the Roth IRA available are the Roth Conversion IRA and Flexible Premium Roth
IRA. This prospectus contains the information that the IRS requires you to
have before you purchase an IRA. This section of the prospectus covers some of
the special tax rules that apply to IRAs. The next section covers Roth IRAs.
Education IRAs are not discussed in this prospectus because they are not
available in individual retirement annuity form.
The Equitable Accumulator IRA contract has been approved by the IRS as to form
for use as a traditional IRA. This IRS approval is a determination only as to
the form of the annuity. It does not represent a determination of the merits
of the annuity as an investment. The IRS approval does not address every
feature possibly available under the Equitable Accumulator IRA contract.
Although we do not have IRS approval as to form, we believe that the version
of the Roth IRA currently offered complies with the requirements of the
Internal Revenue Code.
CANCELLATION
You can cancel an Equitable Accumulator IRA contract by following the
directions under "Your right to cancel within a certain number of days" in
"Contract features and benefits" earlier in the prospectus. You can cancel an
Equitable Accumulator Roth Conversion IRA contract issued as a result of a
full conversion of an Equitable Accumulator Rollover IRA or Flexible Premium
IRA contract by following the instructions in the request for full conversion
form. The form is available from our Processing Office or your financial
professional. If you cancel an IRA contract, we may have to withhold tax, and
we must report the transaction to the IRS. A contract cancellation could have
an unfavorable tax impact.
TRADITIONAL INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ANNUITIES (TRADITIONAL IRAS)
CONTRIBUTIONS TO TRADITIONAL IRAS. Individuals may make three different types
of contributions to a traditional IRA:
o regular contributions out of earned income or compensation; or
o tax-free "rollover" contributions; or
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o direct custodian-to-custodian transfers from other traditional IRAs
("direct transfers").
Regular traditional IRA, direct transfer, and rollover contributions may be
made to a Flexible Premium IRA contract. We only permit direct transfer and
rollover contributions under a Rollover IRA contract. See "Rollovers and
transfers" below.
REGULAR CONTRIBUTIONS TO TRADITIONAL IRAS
LIMITS ON CONTRIBUTIONS. Generally, $2,000 is the maximum amount that you may
contribute to all IRAs (including Roth IRAs) in any taxable year. When your
earnings are below $2,000, your earned income or compensation for the year is
the most you can contribute. This $2,000 limit does not apply to rollover
contributions or direct custodian-to-custodian transfers into a traditional
IRA. You cannot make regular traditional IRA contributions for the tax year in
which you reach age 70 1/2 or any tax year after that.
SPECIAL RULES FOR SPOUSES. If you are married and file a joint income tax
return, you and your spouse may combine your compensation to determine the
amount of regular contributions you are permitted to make to traditional IRAs
(and Roth IRAs discussed below). Even if one spouse has no compensation or
compensation under $2,000, married individuals filing jointly can contribute
up to $4,000 for any taxable year to any combination of traditional IRAs and
Roth IRAs. (Any contributions to Roth IRAs reduce the ability to contribute to
traditional IRAs and vice versa.) The maximum amount may be less if earned
income is less and the other spouse has made IRA contributions. No more than a
combined total of $2,000 can be contributed annually to either spouse's
traditional and Roth IRAs. Each spouse owns his or her traditional IRAs and
Roth IRAs even if the other spouse funded the contributions. A working spouse
age 70 1/2 or over can contribute up to the lesser of $2,000 or 100% of
"earned income" to a traditional IRA for a nonworking spouse until the year in
which the nonworking spouse reaches age 70 1/2.
DEDUCTIBILITY OF CONTRIBUTIONS. The amount of traditional IRA contributions
that you can deduct for a tax year depends on whether you are covered by an
employer-sponsored tax-favored retirement plan, as defined under special
federal income tax rules. Your Form W-2 will indicate whether or not you are
covered by such a retirement plan.
IF YOU ARE NOT COVERED BY A RETIREMENT PLAN DURING ANY PART OF THE YEAR, you
can make fully deductible contributions to your traditional IRAs for each tax
year up to $2,000 or, if less, your earned income.
IF YOU ARE COVERED BY A RETIREMENT PLAN DURING ANY PART OF THE YEAR, and your
adjusted gross income (AGI) is BELOW THE LOWER DOLLAR FIGURE IN A PHASE-OUT
RANGE, you can make fully deductible contributions to your traditional IRAs.
For each tax year, your fully deductible contribution can be up to $2,000 or,
if less, your earned income.
IF YOU ARE COVERED BY A RETIREMENT PLAN DURING ANY PART OF THE YEAR, and your
AGI falls within a PHASE-OUT range, you can make PARTIALLY DEDUCTIBLE
CONTRIBUTIONS to your traditional IRAs.
IF YOU ARE COVERED BY A RETIREMENT PLAN DURING ANY PART OF THE YEAR, and your
AGI falls ABOVE THE HIGHER FIGURE IN THE PHASE-OUT RANGE, you may not deduct
any of your regular contributions to your traditional IRAs.
If you are single and covered by a retirement plan during any part of the
taxable year, the deduction for traditional IRA contributions phases out with
AGI between $31,000 and $41,000 in 1999. This range will increase every year
until 2005 when the range is $50,000-$60,000.
If you are married and file a joint return, and you are covered by a
retirement plan during any part of the taxable year, the deduction for
traditional IRA contributions phases out with AGI between $51,000 and $61,000
in 1999. This range will increase every year until 2007 when the range is
$80,000-$100,000.
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Married individuals filing separately and living apart at all times are not
considered married for purposes of this deductible contribution calculation.
Generally, the active participation in an employer-sponsored retirement plan
of an individual is determined independently for each spouse. Where spouses
have "married filing jointly" status, however, the maximum deductible
traditional IRA contribution for an individual who is not an active
participant (but whose spouse is an active participant) is phased out for
taxpayers with AGI of between $150,000 and $160,000.
To determine the deductible amount of the contribution in 1999, you determine
AGI and subtract $31,000 if you are single, or $51,000 if you are married and
file a joint return with your spouse. The resulting amount is your excess AGI.
You then determine the limit on the deduction for traditional IRA
contributions using the following formula:
<TABLE>
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C>
($10,000-excess AGI) times $2,000 (or earned Equals the adjusted
- ------------------------------ deductible
divided by $10,000 x income, if less) = contribution
limit
</TABLE>
NONDEDUCTIBLE REGULAR CONTRIBUTIONS. If you are not eligible to deduct part or
all of the traditional IRA contribution, you may still make nondeductible
contributions on which earnings will accumulate on a tax-deferred basis. The
combined deductible and nondeductible contributions to your traditional IRA
(or the nonworking spouse's traditional IRA) may not, however, exceed the
maximum $2,000 per person limit. See "Excess contributions" below. You must
keep your own records of deductible and nondeductible contributions in order
to prevent double taxation on the distribution of previously taxed amounts.
See "Withdrawals, payments and transfers of funds out of traditional IRAs"
below.
If you are making nondeductible contributions in any taxable year, or you have
made nondeductible contributions to a traditional IRA in prior years and are
receiving distributions from any traditional IRA, you must file the required
information with the IRS. Moreover, if you are making nondeductible
traditional IRA contributions, you must retain all income tax returns and
records pertaining to such contributions until interests in all traditional
IRAs are fully distributed.
WHEN YOU CAN MAKE REGULAR CONTRIBUTIONS. If you file your tax returns on a
calendar year basis like most taxpayers, you have until the April 15 return
filing deadline (without extensions) of the following calendar year to make
your regular traditional IRA contributions for a tax year.
EXCESS CONTRIBUTIONS
Excess contributions to IRAs are subject to a 6% excise tax for the year in
which made and for each year after until withdrawn. The following are excess
contributions to IRAs:
o regular contributions of more than $2,000; or
o regular contributions of more than earned income for the year, if that
amount is under $2,000; or
o regular contributions to a traditional IRA made after you reach age
70 1/2; or
o rollover contributions of amounts which are not eligible to be rolled over.
For example, after-tax contributions to a qualified plan or minimum
distributions required to be made after age 70 1/2.
You can avoid the excise tax by withdrawing an excess contribution (rollover
or regular) before the due date (including extensions) for filing your federal
income tax return for the year. If it is an excess regular traditional IRA
contribution, you cannot take a tax deduction for the amount withdrawn. You do
not have to include the excess contribution withdrawn as part of your income.
It is also not subject to the 10% additional penalty tax on early
distributions, discussed below under "Early distribution penalty tax." You do
have to withdraw any earnings that are attributed to the excess contribution.
The withdrawn earnings would be included in your gross income and could be
subject to the 10% penalty tax.
Even after the due date for filing your return, you may withdraw an excess
rollover contribution, without income inclusion or 10% penalty, if:
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(1) the rollover was from a qualified retirement plan to a traditional IRA;
(2) the excess contribution was due to incorrect information that the plan
provided; and
(3) you took no tax deduction for the excess contribution.
RECHARACTERIZATIONS
Amounts that have been contributed as traditional IRA funds may subsequently
be treated as Roth IRA funds. Special federal income tax rules allow you to
change your mind again and have amounts that are subsequently treated as Roth
IRA funds, once again treated as traditional IRA funds. You do this by using
the forms we prescribe. This is referred to as having "recharacterized" your
contribution.
ROLLOVERS AND TRANSFERS
Rollover contributions may be made to a traditional IRA from these sources:
o qualified plans;
o TSAs (including Internal Revenue Code Section 403(b)(7) custodial
accounts); and
o other traditional IRAs.
Any amount contributed to a traditional IRA after you reach age 70 1/2 must
be net of your required minimum distribution for the year in which the
rollover or direct transfer contribution is made.
ROLLOVERS FROM QUALIFIED PLANS OR TSAS
There are two ways to do rollovers:
o Do it yourself
You actually receive a distribution that can be rolled over and you roll
it over to a traditional IRA within 60 days after the date you receive the
funds. The distribution from your qualified plan or TSA will be net of 20%
mandatory federal income tax withholding. If you want, you can replace the
withheld funds yourself and roll over the full amount.
o Direct rollover
You tell your qualified plan trustee or TSA issuer/custodian/fiduciary to
send the distribution directly to your traditional IRA issuer. Direct
rollovers are not subject to mandatory federal income tax withholding.
All distributions from a TSA or qualified plan are eligible
rollover distributions, unless the distribution is:
o only after-tax contributions you made to the plan; or
o "required minimum distributions" after age 70 1/2 or separation from
service; or
o substantially equal periodic payments made at least annually for your life
(or life expectancy) or the joint lives (or joint life expectancies) of
you and your designated beneficiary; or
o a hardship withdrawal; or
o substantially equal periodic payments made for a specified period of 10
years or more; or
o corrective distributions that fit specified technical tax rules; or
o loans that are treated as distributions; or
o a death benefit payment to a beneficiary who is not your surviving spouse;
or
o a qualified domestic relations order distribution to a beneficiary who is
not your current spouse or former spouse.
ROLLOVERS FROM TRADITIONAL IRAS TO TRADITIONAL IRAS
You may roll over amounts from one traditional IRA to one or more of your
other traditional IRAs if you complete the transaction within 60 days after
you receive the funds. You may make such a rollover only once in every
12-month period for the same funds. Trustee-to-trustee or
custodian-to-custodian direct transfers are not rollover transactions. You can
make these more frequently than once in every 12-month period.
The surviving spouse beneficiary of a deceased individual can roll over or
directly transfer an inherited traditional IRA to one or more other
traditional IRAs. Also, in some cases,
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traditional IRAs can be transferred on a tax-free basis between spouses or
former spouses as a result of a court-ordered divorce or separation decree.
WITHDRAWALS, PAYMENTS AND TRANSFERS OF FUNDS OUT OF TRADITIONAL IRAS.
NO FEDERAL INCOME TAX LAW RESTRICTIONS ON WITHDRAWALS. You can withdraw any or
all of your funds from a traditional IRA at any time. You do not need to wait
for a special event like retirement.
TAXATION OF PAYMENTS. Earnings in traditional IRAs are not subject to federal
income tax until you or your beneficiary receive them. Taxable payments or
distributions include withdrawals from your contract, surrender of your
contract, and annuity payments from your contract. Death benefits are also
taxable. Except as discussed below, the total amount of any distribution from
a traditional IRA must be included in your gross income as ordinary income.
If you have ever made nondeductible IRA contributions to any traditional IRA
(it does not have to be to this particular traditional IRA contract), those
contributions are recovered tax free when you get distributions from any
traditional IRA. You must keep permanent tax records of all of your
nondeductible contributions to traditional IRAs. At the end of any year in
which you have received a distribution from any traditional IRA, you calculate
the ratio of your total nondeductible traditional IRA contributions (less any
amounts previously withdrawn tax free) to the total account balances of all
traditional IRAs you own at the end of the year plus all traditional IRA
distributions made during the year. Multiply this by all distributions from
the traditional IRA during the year to determine the nontaxable portion of
each distribution.
In addition, a distribution is not taxable if:
o the amount received is a withdrawal of excess contributions, as described
under "Excess contributions" above; or
o the entire amount received is rolled over to another traditional IRA (see
"Rollovers and transfers" above); or
o in certain limited circumstances, where the traditional IRA acts as a
"conduit," you roll over the entire amount into a qualified plan or TSA
that accepts rollover contributions. To get this conduit traditional IRA
treatment:
o the source of funds you used to establish the traditional IRA must have
been a rollover contribution from a qualified plan; and
o the entire amount received from the traditional IRA (including any
earnings on the rollover contribution) must be rolled over into another
qualified plan within 60 days of the date received.
Similar rules apply in the case of a TSA.
However, you may lose conduit treatment if you make an eligible rollover
distribution contribution to a traditional IRA and you commingle this
contribution with other contributions. In that case, you may not be able to
roll over these eligible rollover distribution contributions and earnings to
another qualified plan or TSA at a future date. The Rollover IRA contract can
be used as a conduit IRA if amounts are not commingled.
Distributions from a traditional IRA are not eligible for favorable five-year
averaging (or, in some cases, ten-year averaging and long-term capital gain
treatment) available to certain distributions from qualified plans.
REQUIRED MINIMUM DISTRIBUTIONS
LIFETIME REQUIRED MINIMUM DISTRIBUTIONS. You must start taking annual
distributions from your traditional IRAs beginning at age 70 1/2.
WHEN YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE FIRST REQUIRED MINIMUM DISTRIBUTION. The first
required minimum distribution is for the calendar year in which you turn age
70 1/2. You have the choice to take this first required minimum distribution
during the calendar year you actually reach age 70 1/2, or to delay taking it
until the first three-month period in the next calendar year (January 1 -
April 1). Distributions must start no later than your Required Beginning Date,
which is April 1st of the calendar year after the calendar year in which you
turn age 70 1/2. If you choose to delay taking the
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first annual minimum distribution, then you will have to take two minimum
distributions in that year - the delayed one for the first year and the one
actually for that year. Once minimum distributions begin, they must be made at
some time each year.
HOW YOU CAN CALCULATE REQUIRED MINIMUM DISTRIBUTIONS. There are two approaches
to taking required minimum distributions - "account-based" or "annuity-based."
Account-based method. If you choose an account-based method, you divide the
value of your traditional IRA as of December 31st of the past calendar year by
a life expectancy factor from IRS tables. This gives you the required minimum
distribution amount for that particular IRA for that year. The required
minimum distribution amount will vary each year as the account value and your
life expectancy factors change.
You have a choice of life expectancy factors, depending on whether you choose
a method based only on your life expectancy, or the joint life expectancies of
you and another individual. You can decide to "recalculate" your life
expectancy every year by using your current life expectancy factor. You can
decide instead to use the "term certain" method, where you reduce your life
expectancy by one every year after the initial year. If your spouse is your
designated beneficiary for the purpose of calculating annual account-based
required minimum distributions, you can also annually recalculate your
spouse's life expectancy if you want. If you choose someone who is not your
spouse as your designated beneficiary for the purpose of calculating annual
account-based required minimum distributions, you have to use the term certain
method of calculating that person's life expectancy. If you pick a nonspouse
designated beneficiary, you may also have to do another special calculation.
You can later apply your traditional IRA funds to a life annuity-based payout.
You can only do this if you already chose to recalculate your life expectancy
annually (and your spouse's life expectancy if you select a spousal joint
annuity). For example, if you anticipate exercising your guaranteed minimum
income benefit or selecting any other form of life annuity payout after you
are age 70 1/2, you must have elected to recalculate life expectancies.
Annuity-based method. If you choose an annuity-based method, you do not have
to do annual calculations. You apply the account value to an annuity payout
for your life or the joint lives of you and a designated beneficiary, or for a
period certain not extending beyond applicable life expectancies.
DO YOU HAVE TO PICK THE SAME METHOD TO CALCULATE YOUR REQUIRED MINIMUM
DISTRIBUTIONS FOR ALL OF YOUR TRADITIONAL IRAS AND OTHER RETIREMENT PLANS? No.
If you want, you can choose a different method and a different beneficiary for
each of your traditional IRAs and other retirement plans. For example, you can
choose an annuity payout from one IRA, a different annuity payout from a
qualified plan, and an account-based annual withdrawal from another IRA.
WILL WE PAY YOU THE ANNUAL AMOUNT EVERY YEAR FROM YOUR TRADITIONAL IRA BASED
ON THE METHOD YOU CHOOSE? No, unless you affirmatively select an annuity
payout option or an account-based withdrawal option such as our minimum
distribution withdrawal option. Because the options we offer do not cover
every option permitted under federal income tax rules, you may prefer to do
your own required minimum distribution calculations for one or more of your
traditional IRAs.
WHAT IF YOU TAKE MORE THAN YOU NEED TO FOR ANY YEAR? The required minimum
distribution amount for your traditional IRAs is calculated on a year-by-year
basis. There are no carry-back or carry-forward provisions. Also, you cannot
apply required minimum distribution amounts you take from your qualified plans
to the amounts you have to take from your traditional IRAs and vice versa.
However, the IRS will let you calculate the required minimum distribution for
each traditional IRA that you maintain, using the method that you picked for
that particular IRA. You can add these required minimum distribution amount
calculations together. As long as the total amount you take out every year
satisfies your overall traditional IRA required minimum distribution
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amount, you may choose to take your annual required minimum distribution from
any one or more traditional IRAs that you own.
WHAT IF YOU TAKE LESS THAN YOU NEED TO FOR ANY YEAR? Your IRA could be
disqualified, and you could have to pay tax on the entire value. Even if your
IRA is not disqualified, you could have to pay a 50% penalty tax on the
shortfall (required amount for traditional IRAs less amount actually taken).
It is your responsibility to meet the required minimum distribution rules. We
will remind you when our records show that your age 70 1/2 is approaching. If
you do not select a method with us, we will assume you are taking your
required minimum distribution from another traditional IRA that you own.
WHAT ARE THE REQUIRED MINIMUM DISTRIBUTION PAYMENTS AFTER YOU DIE? If you die
after either (a) the start of annuity payments, or (b) your Required Beginning
Date, your beneficiary must receive payment of the remaining values in the
contract at least as rapidly as under the distribution method before your
death. In some circumstances, your surviving spouse may elect to become the
owner of the traditional IRA and halt distributions until he or she reaches
age 70 1/2.
If you die before your Required Beginning Date and before annuity payments
begin, federal income tax rules require complete distribution of your entire
value in the contract within five years after your death. Payments to a
designated beneficiary over the beneficiary's life or over a period certain
that does not extend beyond the beneficiary's life expectancy are also
permitted, if these payments start within one year of your death. A surviving
spouse beneficiary can also (a) delay starting any payments until you would
have reached age 70 1/2 or (b) roll over your traditional IRA into his or her
own traditional IRA.
SUCCESSOR ANNUITANT AND OWNER
If your spouse is the sole primary beneficiary and elects to become the
successor annuitant and owner, no death benefit is payable until your
surviving spouse's death.
PAYMENTS TO A BENEFICIARY AFTER YOUR DEATH
IRA death benefits are taxed the same as IRA distributions.
REQUIRED MINIMUM DISTRIBUTIONS UNDER THE ASSURED PAYMENT OPTION AND APO PLUS
Although the life contingent annuity portion of the Assured Payment Option and
APO Plus does not have a cash value, it will be assigned a value for tax
purposes. This value will generally be changed each year. When you determine
the amount of account-based required minimum distributions from your
traditional IRA this value must be included. This must be done even though the
life contingent annuity may not be providing a source of funds to satisfy the
required minimum distribution.
You will generally be required to determine your required minimum distribution
by annually recalculating your life expectancy. The Assured Payment Option and
APO Plus will not be available if you have previously made a different
election. Recalculation is no longer required once the only payments you or
your spouse receive are under the life contingent annuity.
If you surrender your contract, or withdraw any remaining account value before
your payments under the life contingent annuity begin, it may be necessary for
you to satisfy your required minimum distribution by moving forward the start
date of payments under your life contingent annuity. Or to the extent
available, you have to take distributions from other traditional IRA funds you
may have. Or, you may convert your traditional IRA life contingent annuity
under the contract to a nonqualified life contingent annuity. This would be
viewed as a distribution of the value of the life contingent annuity from your
traditional IRA, and therefore, would be a taxable event. However, since the
life contingent annuity would no longer be part of the traditional IRA, you
would not have to include its value when determining future required minimum
distributions.
If you have elected a joint and survivor form of the life contingent annuity,
the joint annuitant must be your spouse. You must determine your required
minimum distribution by annually recalculating both your life expectancy and
your
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spouse's life expectancy. The Assured Payment Option and APO Plus will not be
available if you have previously made a different election. Once the only
payments you or your spouse are receiving are under the life contingent
annuity recalculation is no longer required. In the event of your death or the
death of your spouse the value of such annuity will change. For this reason,
it is important that someone tell us if you or your spouse dies before the
life contingent annuity has started payments so that a lower valuation can be
made. Otherwise, a higher tax value may result in an overstatement of the
amount that would be necessary to satisfy your required minimum distribution
amount.
Allocation of funds to the life contingent annuity may prevent the contract
from later receiving conduit IRA treatment.
BORROWING AND LOANS ARE PROHIBITED TRANSACTIONS
You cannot get loans from a traditional IRA. You cannot use a traditional IRA
as collateral for a loan or other obligation. If you borrow against your IRA
or use it as collateral, its tax-favored status will be lost as of the first
day of the tax year in which this prohibited event occurs. If this happens,
you must include the value of the traditional IRA in your federal gross
income. Also, the early distribution penalty tax of 10% will apply if you have
not reached age 59 1/2 before the first day of that tax year.
EARLY DISTRIBUTION PENALTY TAX
A penalty tax of 10% of the taxable portion of a distribution applies to
distributions from a traditional IRA made before you reach age 59 1/2. The
extra penalty tax does not apply to pre-age 59 1/2 distributions made:
o on or after your death; or
o because you are disabled (special federal income tax definition); or
o used to pay certain extraordinary medical expenses (special federal income
tax definition); or
o used to pay medical insurance premiums for unemployed individuals (special
federal income tax definition); or
o used to pay certain first-time home buyer expenses (special federal income
tax definition; $10,000 lifetime total limit for these distributions from
all your traditional and Roth IRAs); or
o used to pay certain higher education expenses (special federal income tax
definition); or
o in the form of substantially equal periodic payments made at least annually
over your life (or your life expectancy), or over the joint lives of you
and your beneficiary (or your joint life expectancy) using an IRS-approved
distribution method.
To meet this last exception, you could elect to apply your contract value to
an Income Manager (life annuity with a period certain) payout annuity contract
(level payments version). You could also elect the substantially equal
withdrawals option. We will calculate the substantially equal annual payments
under a method we select based on guidelines issued by the IRS (currently
contained in IRS Notice 89-25, Question and Answer 12). Although substantially
equal withdrawals and Income Manager payments are not subject to the 10%
penalty tax, they are taxable as discussed in "Withdrawals, payments and
transfers of funds out of traditional IRAs" above. Once substantially equal
withdrawals or Income Manager annuity payments begin, the distributions should
not be stopped or changed until the later of your reaching age 59 1/2 or five
years after the date of the first distribution, or the penalty tax, including
an interest charge for the prior penalty avoidance, may apply to all prior
distributions under either option. Also, it is possible that the IRS could
view any additional withdrawal or payment you take from your contract as
changing your pattern of substantially equal withdrawals or Income Manager
payments for purposes of determining whether the penalty applies.
ROTH INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ANNUITIES (ROTH IRAS)
This section of the prospectus covers some of the special tax rules that apply
to Roth IRAs. If the rules are the same as those that apply to the traditional
IRA, we will refer you to the same topic under "traditional IRAs."
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The Equitable Accumulator Roth IRA contract is designed to qualify as a Roth
individual retirement annuity under Sections 408A and 408(b) of the Internal
Revenue Code.
CONTRIBUTIONS TO ROTH IRAS
Individuals may make four different types of contributions to a Roth IRA:
o regular after-tax contributions out of earnings; or
o taxable rollover contributions from traditional IRAs ("conversion"
contributions); or
o tax-free rollover contributions from other Roth IRAs; or
o tax-free direct custodian-to-custodian transfers from other Roth IRAs
("direct transfers").
Regular after-tax, direct transfer, and rollover contributions may be made to
a Flexible Premium Roth IRA contract. We only permit direct transfer and
rollover contributions under the Roth Conversion IRA contract. See "Rollovers
and direct transfers" below. If you use the forms we require, we will also
accept traditional IRA funds which are subsequently recharacterized as Roth
IRA funds following special federal income tax rules.
REGULAR CONTRIBUTIONS TO ROTH IRAS
LIMITS ON REGULAR CONTRIBUTIONS. Generally, $2,000 is the maximum amount that
you may contribute to all IRAs (including Roth IRAs) in any taxable year. This
$2,000 limit does not apply to rollover contributions or direct
custodian-to-custodian transfers into a Roth IRA. Any contributions to Roth
IRAs reduce your ability to contribute to traditional IRAs and vice versa.
When your earnings are below $2,000, your earned income or compensation for
the year is the most you can contribute. If you are married and file a joint
income tax return, you and your spouse may combine your compensation to
determine the amount of regular contributions you are permitted to make to
Roth IRAs and traditional IRAs. See the discussion above under traditional
IRAs.
With a Roth IRA, you can make regular contributions when you reach 70 1/2, as
long as you have sufficient earnings. But, you cannot make contributions for
any year that:
o your federal income tax filing status is "married filing jointly" and your
adjusted gross income is over $160,000; or
o your federal income tax filing status is "single" and your adjusted gross
income is over $110,000.
However, you can make regular Roth IRA contributions in reduced amounts when:
o your federal income tax filing status is "married filing jointly" and your
adjusted gross income is between $150,000 and $160,000; or
o your federal income tax filing status is "single" and your adjusted gross
income is between $95,000 and $110,000.
If you are married and filing separately and your adjusted gross income is
between $0 and $10,000 the amount of regular contributions you are permitted
to make is phased out. If your adjusted gross income is more than $10,000 you
cannot make regular Roth IRA contributions.
WHEN YOU CAN MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS. Same as traditional IRAs.
DEDUCTIBILITY OF CONTRIBUTIONS. Roth IRA contributions are not tax deductible.
ROLLOVERS AND DIRECT TRANSFERS
What is the difference between rollover and direct transfer transactions? You
may make rollover contributions to a Roth IRA from only two sources:
o another Roth IRA ("tax-free rollover contribution"); or
o another traditional IRA, including a SEP-IRA or SIMPLE-IRA, in a taxable
conversion rollover ("conversion contribution").
You may not make contributions to a Roth IRA from a qualified plan under
Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, or a TSA under Section 403(b) of
the Internal Revenue
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Code. You may make direct transfer contributions to a Roth IRA only from
another Roth IRA.
The difference between a rollover transaction and a direct transfer
transaction is the following: in a rollover transaction you actually take
possession of the funds rolled over, or are considered to have received them
under tax law in the case of a change from one type of plan to another. In a
direct transfer transaction, you never take possession of the funds, but
direct the first Roth IRA custodian, trustee, or issuer to transfer the first
Roth IRA funds directly to Equitable Life, as the Roth IRA issuer. You can
make direct transfer transactions only between identical plan types (for
example, Roth IRA to Roth IRA). You can also make rollover transactions
between identical plan types. However, you can only use rollover transactions
between different plan types (for example, traditional IRA to Roth IRA).
You may make both Roth IRA to Roth IRA rollover transactions and Roth IRA to
Roth IRA direct transfer transactions. This can be accomplished on a
completely tax-free basis. However, you may make Roth IRA to Roth IRA rollover
transactions only once in any 12-month period for the same funds.
Trustee-to-trustee or custodian-to-custodian direct transfers can be made more
frequently than once a year. Also, if you send us the rollover contribution to
apply it to a Roth IRA, you must do so within 60 days after you receive the
proceeds from the original IRA to get rollover treatment.
The surviving spouse beneficiary of a deceased individual can roll over or
directly transfer an inherited Roth IRA to one or more other Roth IRAs. In
some cases, Roth IRAs can be transferred on a tax-free basis between spouses
or former spouses as a result of a court-ordered divorce or separation decree.
CONVERSION CONTRIBUTIONS TO ROTH IRAS.
In a conversion rollover transaction, you withdraw (or are considered to have
withdrawn) all or a portion of funds from a traditional IRA you maintain and
convert it to a Roth IRA within 60 days after you receive (or are considered
to have received) the traditional IRA proceeds. Unlike a rollover from a
traditional IRA to another traditional IRA, the conversion rollover
transaction is not tax-free. Instead, the distribution from the traditional
IRA is generally fully taxable. For this reason, we are required to withhold
10% federal income tax from the amount converted unless you elect out of such
withholding. If you have ever made nondeductible regular contributions to any
traditional IRA - whether or not it is the traditional IRA you are converting
- a pro rata portion of the distribution is tax free.
There is, however, no early distribution penalty tax on the traditional IRA
withdrawal that you are converting to a Roth IRA, even if you are under age
59 1/2.
You cannot make conversion contributions to a Roth IRA for any taxable year in
which your adjusted gross income exceeds $100,000. For this purpose, your
adjusted gross income is computed without the gross income stemming from the
traditional IRA conversion. You also cannot make conversion contributions to a
Roth IRA for any taxable year in which your federal income tax filing status
is "married filing separately."
Finally, you cannot make conversion contributions to a Roth IRA to the extent
that the funds in your traditional IRA are subject to the annual required
minimum distribution rule applicable to traditional IRAs beginning at age
70 1/2.
WITHDRAWALS, PAYMENTS AND TRANSFERS OF FUNDS OUT OF ROTH IRAS
No federal income tax law restrictions on withdrawals. You can withdraw any or
all of your funds from a Roth IRA at any time; you do not need to wait for a
special event like retirement.
DISTRIBUTIONS FROM ROTH IRAS
Distributions include withdrawals from your contract, surrender of your
contract, and annuity payments from your contract. Death benefits are also
distributions.
The following distributions from Roth IRAs are free of income tax:
o Rollover from a Roth IRA to another Roth IRA;
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o Direct transfers from a Roth IRA to another Roth IRA;
o Qualified distributions from a Roth IRA; and
o Return of excess contributions or amounts recharacterized to a traditional
IRA.
QUALIFIED DISTRIBUTIONS FROM ROTH IRAS. Qualified distributions from Roth IRAs
made because of one of the following four qualifying events or reasons are not
includable in income:
o you reach age 59 1/2; or
o you die; or
o you become disabled (special federal income tax definition); or
o your distribution is a "qualified first-time homebuyer distribution"
(special federal income tax definition; $10,000 lifetime total limit for
these distributions from all of your traditional and Roth IRAs).
You also have to meet a five-year aging period. A qualified distribution is
any distribution made after the five-taxable-year period beginning with the
first taxable year for which you made any contribution to any Roth IRA
(whether or not the one from which the distribution is being made). It is not
possible to have a tax-free qualified distribution before the year 2003
because of the five-year aging requirement.
NONQUALIFIED DISTRIBUTIONS FROM ROTH IRAS.
Nonqualified distributions from Roth IRAs are distributions that do not meet
the qualifying event and five-year aging period tests described above. Such
distributions are potentially taxable as ordinary income. Nonqualified
distributions receive return-of-investment-first treatment. Only the
difference between the amount of the distribution and the amount of
contributions to all of your Roth IRAs is taxable. You have to reduce the
amount of contributions to all of your Roth IRAs to reflect any previous
tax-free recoveries.
You must keep your own records of regular and conversion contributions to all
Roth IRAs to assure appropriate taxation. You may have to file information on
your contributions to and distributions from any Roth IRA on your tax return.
You may have to retain all income tax returns and records pertaining to such
contributions and distributions until your interests in all Roth IRAs are
distributed.
Like traditional IRAs, taxable distributions from a Roth IRA are not entitled
to the special favorable five-year averaging method (or, in certain cases,
favorable ten-year averaging and long-term capital gain treatment) available
in certain cases to distributions from qualified plans.
REQUIRED MINIMUM DISTRIBUTIONS AT DEATH
Same as traditional IRA under "What are the required minimum distribution
payments after you die?" Lifetime required minimum distributions do not apply.
PAYMENTS TO A BENEFICIARY AFTER YOUR DEATH
Distributions to a beneficiary generally receive the same tax treatment as if
the distribution had been made to you.
BORROWING AND LOANS ARE PROHIBITED TRANSACTIONS
Same as traditional IRA.
EXCESS CONTRIBUTIONS
Same as traditional IRA, except that regular contributions made after age
70 1/2 are not excess contributions.
Excess rollover contributions to Roth IRAs are contributions not eligible to
be rolled over (for example, conversion contributions from a traditional IRA
if your adjusted gross income is in excess of $100,000 in the conversion
year).
You can withdraw or recharacterize any contribution to a Roth IRA before the
due date (including extensions) for filing your federal income tax return for
the tax year. If you do this, you must also withdraw or recharacterize any
earnings attributable to the contribution.
EARLY DISTRIBUTION PENALTY TAX
Same as traditional IRA.
For Roth IRAs, special penalty rules may apply to amounts withdrawn
attributable to 1998 conversion rollovers.
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SPECIAL RULES FOR NONQUALIFIED CONTRACTS IN QUALIFIED PLANS
Under QP contracts your plan administrator or trustee notifies you as to tax
consequences. See Appendix I.
TAX-SHELTERED ANNUITY CONTRACTS (TSAS)
GENERAL
This section of the prospectus covers some of the special tax rules that apply
to TSA contracts under Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code (TSAs). If
the rules are the same as those that apply to another kind of contract, for
example, traditional IRAs, we will refer you to the same topic under
"traditional IRAs."
CONTRIBUTIONS TO TSAS
There are two ways you can make contributions to this Equitable Accumulator
Rollover TSA contract:
o a rollover from another TSA contract or arrangement that meets the
requirements of Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, or
o a full or partial direct transfer of assets ("direct transfer") from
another contract or arrangement that meets the requirements of Section
403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code by means of IRS Revenue Ruling 90-24.
With appropriate written documentation satisfactory to us, we will accept
rollover contributions from "conduit IRAs" for TSA funds.
If you make a direct transfer, you must fill out our transfer form.
EMPLOYER-REMITTED CONTRIBUTIONS. The Equitable Accumulator Rollover TSA
contract does not accept employer-remitted contributions. However, we provide
the following discussion as part of our description of restrictions on the
distribution of funds directly transferred, which include employer-remitted
contributions to other TSAs.
Employer-remitted contributions to TSAs made through the employer's payroll
are subject to annual limits. (Tax-free transfer or tax-deferred rollover
contributions from another 403(b) arrangement are not subject to these annual
contribution limits.) Commonly, some or all of the contributions made to a TSA
are made under a salary reduction agreement between the employee and the
employer. These contributions are called "salary reduction" or "elective
deferral" contributions. However, a TSA can also be wholly or partially funded
through nonelective employer contributions or after-tax employee
contributions. Amounts attributable to salary reduction contributions to TSAs
are generally subject to withdrawal restrictions. Also, all amounts
attributable to investments in a 403(b)(7) custodial account are subject to
withdrawal restrictions discussed below.
ROLLOVER OR DIRECT TRANSFER CONTRIBUTIONS. You may make rollover contributions
to your Equitable Accumulator Rollover TSA contract from TSAs under Section
403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code. Generally, you may make a rollover
contribution to a TSA when you have a distributable event from an existing TSA
as a result of your:
o termination of employment with the employer who provided the TSA funds; or
o reaching age 59 1/2 even if you are still employed; or
o disability (special federal income tax definition).
A transfer occurs when changing the funding vehicle, even if there is no
distributable event. Under a direct transfer, you do not receive a
distribution. We accept direct transfers of TSA funds under Revenue Ruling
90-24 only if:
o you give us acceptable written documentation as to the source of the funds,
and
o the Equitable Accumulator contract receiving the funds has provisions at
least as restrictive as the source contract.
Before you transfer funds to an Equitable Accumulator Rollover TSA contract,
you may have to obtain your employer's authorization or demonstrate that you
do not need employer authorization. For example, the transferring TSA may be
subject to Title I of ERISA, if the employer makes matching contributions to
salary reduction contributions
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made by employees. In that case, the employer must continue to approve
distributions from the plan or contract.
Your contribution to the Equitable Accumulator Rollover TSA must be net of the
required minimum distribution for the tax year in which we issue the contract
if:
o you are or will be at least age 70 1/2 in the current calendar year, and
o you have separated from service with the employer who provided the funds to
purchase the TSA you are transferring or rolling over to the Equitable
Accumulator Rollover TSA.
This rule applies regardless of whether the source of funds is a:
o rollover by check of the proceeds from another TSA; or
o direct rollover from another TSA; or
o direct transfer under Revenue Ruling 90-24 from
another TSA.
Further, you must use the same elections regarding recalculation of your life
expectancy (and if applicable, your spouse's life expectancy) if you have
already begun to receive required minimum distributions from or with respect
to the TSA from which you are making your contribution to the Equitable
Accumulator Rollover TSA. You must also elect or have elected a minimum
distribution calculation method requiring recalculation of your life
expectancy (and if applicable, your spouse's life expectancy) if you elect an
annuity payout for the funds in this contract subsequent to this year.
DISTRIBUTIONS FROM TSAS
GENERAL. Depending on the terms of the employer plan and your employment
status, you may have to get your employer's consent to take a loan or
withdrawal. Your employer will tell us this when you establish the TSA through
a direct transfer.
WITHDRAWAL RESTRICTIONS. If this is a Revenue Ruling 90-24 direct transfer,
we will treat all amounts transferred to this contract and any future earnings
on the amount transferred as not eligible for withdrawal until one of the
following events happens:
o you are separated from service with the employer who provided the funds to
purchase the TSA you are transferring to the Equitable Accumulator
Rollover TSA;
o you reach age 59 1/2; or
o you die; or
o you become disabled (special federal income tax definition); or
o you take a hardship withdrawal (special federal income tax definition).
If any portion of the funds directly transferred to your TSA contract is
attributable to amounts that you invested in a 403(b)(7) custodial account,
such amounts, including earnings, are subject to withdrawal restrictions. With
respect to the portion of the funds that were never invested in a 403(b)(7)
custodial account, these restrictions apply to the salary reduction (elective
deferral) contributions to a TSA annuity contract you made and any earnings on
them. These restrictions do not apply to the amount directly transferred to
your TSA contract that represents your December 31, 1988 account balance
attributable to salary reduction contributions to a TSA annuity contract and
earnings. To take advantage of this grandfathering you must properly notify us
in writing at our Processing Office of your December 31, 1988 account balance
if you have qualifying amounts transferred to your TSA contract.
THIS PARAGRAPH APPLIES ONLY TO PARTICIPANTS IN A TEXAS OPTIONAL RETIREMENT
PROGRAM. Texas Law permits withdrawals only after one of the following
distributable events occur:
(1) the requirements for minimum distribution (discussed under "Required
minimum distributions" below) are met; or
(2) death; or
(3) retirement; or
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(4) termination of employment in all Texas public institutions of higher
education.
For you to make a withdrawal, we must receive a properly completed written
acknowledgement from the employer. If a distributable event occurs before you
are vested, we will refund to the employer any amounts provided by an
employer's first-year matching contribution. We reserve the right to change
these provisions without your consent, but only to the extent necessary to
maintain compliance with applicable law. Loans are not permitted under Texas
Optional Retirement Programs.
TAX TREATMENT OF DISTRIBUTIONS. Amounts held under TSAs are generally not
subject to federal income tax until benefits are distributed. Distributions
include withdrawals from your TSA contract and annuity payments from your TSA
contract. Death benefits paid to a beneficiary are also taxable distributions.
Unless an exception applies, amounts distributed from TSAs are includable in
gross income as ordinary income. Distributions from TSAs may be subject to 20%
federal income tax withholding. See "Federal and state income tax withholding
and information reporting" below. In addition, TSA distributions may be
subject to additional tax penalties.
If you have made after-tax contributions, you will have a tax basis in your
TSA contract, which will be recovered tax-free. Since we do not track your
investment in the contract, if any, it is your responsibility to determine how
much of the distribution is taxable.
DISTRIBUTIONS BEFORE ANNUITY PAYMENTS BEGIN. On a total surrender, the amount
received in excess of the investment in the contract is taxable. We will
report the total amount of the distribution. The amount of any partial
distribution from a TSA prior to the annuity starting date is generally
taxable, except to the extent that the distribution is treated as a withdrawal
of after-tax contributions. Distributions are normally treated as pro rata
withdrawals of after-tax contributions and earnings on those contributions.
ANNUITY PAYMENTS. If you elect an annuity payout option, you will recover any
investment in the contract as each payment is received by dividing the
investment in the contract by an expected return determined under an IRS table
prescribed for qualified annuities. The amount of each payment not excluded
from income under this exclusion ratio is fully taxable. The full amount of
the payments received after your investment in the contract is recovered is
fully taxable. If you (and your beneficiary under a joint and survivor
annuity) die before recovering the full investment in the contract, a
deduction is allowed on your (or your beneficiary's) final tax return.
PAYMENTS TO A BENEFICIARY AFTER YOUR DEATH
Death benefit distributions from a TSA generally receive the same tax
treatment as distributions during your lifetime. In some instances,
distributions from a TSA made to your surviving spouse may be rolled over to a
traditional IRA.
LOANS FROM TSAS
You may take loans from a TSA unless restricted by the employer (for example,
under an employer plan subject to ERISA). If you cannot take a loan, or cannot
take a loan without approval from the employer who provided the funds, we will
have this information in our records based on what you and the employer who
provided the TSA funds told us when you purchased your contract.
Loans are generally not treated as a taxable distribution. If the amount of
the loan exceeds permissible limits under federal income tax rules when made,
the amount of the excess is treated (solely for tax purposes) as a taxable
distribution. Additionally, if the loan is not repaid at least quarterly,
amortizing (paying down) interest and principal, the amount not repaid when
due will be treated as a taxable distribution. Under Proposed Treasury
Regulations the entire unpaid balance of the loan is includable in income in
the year of the default.
TSA loans are subject to federal income tax limits and may also be subject to
the limits of the plan from which the funds came. Federal income tax rule
requirements apply even if the plan is not subject to ERISA. For example,
loans offered by TSAs are subject to the following conditions:
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o The amount of a loan to a participant, when combined with all other loans
to the participant from all qualified plans of the employer, cannot exceed
the lesser of (1) the greater of $10,000 or 50% of the participant's
nonforfeitable accrued benefits and (2) $50,000 reduced by the excess (if
any) of the highest outstanding loan balance over the previous twelve
months over the outstanding loan balance of plan loans on the date the
loan was made.
o In general, the term of the loan cannot exceed five years unless the loan
is used to acquire the participant's primary residence. Equitable
Accumulator Rollover TSA contracts have a term limit of 10 years for loans
used to acquire the participant's primary residence.
o All principal and interest must be amortized in substantially level
payments over the term of the loan, with payments being made at least
quarterly.
The amount borrowed and not repaid may be treated as a
distribution if:
o the loan does not qualify under the conditions above;
o the participant fails to repay the interest or principal when due; or
o in some instances, the participant separates from service with the employer
who provided the funds or the plan is terminated.
In this case, the participant may have to include the unpaid amount due as
ordinary income. In addition, the 10% early distribution penalty tax may
apply. The amount of the unpaid loan balance is reported to the IRS on Form
1099-R as a distribution.
TAX-DEFERRED ROLLOVERS AND DIRECT TRANSFERS
You may roll over any "eligible rollover distribution" from a TSA into another
eligible retirement plan, either directly or within 60 days of your receiving
the distribution. To the extent rolled over, a distribution remains
tax-deferred.
You may roll over a distribution from a TSA to another TSA or to a traditional
IRA. A spousal beneficiary may roll over death benefits only to a traditional
IRA.
The taxable portion of most distributions will be eligible for rollover,
except as specifically excluded under federal income tax rules. Distributions
that you cannot roll over generally include periodic payments for life or for
a period of 10 years or more, hardship withdrawals, and required minimum
distributions under federal income tax rules.
Direct transfers of TSA funds from one TSA to another under Revenue Ruling
90-24 are not distributions.
REQUIRED MINIMUM DISTRIBUTIONS
Same as traditional IRA with these differences:
WHEN YOU HAVE TO TAKE THE FIRST REQUIRED MINIMUM DISTRIBUTION. The minimum
distribution rules force TSA participants to start calculating and taking
annual distributions from their TSAs by a required date. Generally, you must
take the first required minimum distribution for the calendar year in which
you turn age 70 1/2. You may be able to delay the start of required minimum
distributions for all or part of your account balance until after age 70 1/2,
as follows:
o For TSA participants who have not retired from service with the employer
who provided the funds for the TSA by the calendar year the participant
turns age 70 1/2, the required beginning date for minimum distributions
is extended to April 1 following the calendar year of retirement.
o TSA plan participants may also delay the start of required minimum
distributions to age 75 of the portion of their account value attributable
to their December 31, 1986 TSA account balance, even if retired at age
70 1/2. We will know whether or not you qualify for this exception
because it will only apply to people who establish their Equitable
Accumulator Rollover TSA by direct Revenue Ruling 90-24 transfers. If you
do not give us the amount of your December 31, 1986 account balance that
is being transferred to the Equitable Accumulator Rollover TSA on the form
used to establish the TSA, you do not qualify.
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SPOUSAL CONSENT RULES
This will only apply to you if you establish your Equitable Accumulator
Rollover TSA by direct Revenue Ruling 90-24 transfer. Your employer will tell
us on the form used to establish the TSA whether or not you need to get
spousal consent for loans, withdrawals, or other distributions. If you do, you
will need such consent if you are married when you request a withdrawal under
the TSA contract. In addition, unless you elect otherwise with the written
consent of your spouse, the retirement benefits payable under the plan must be
paid in the form of a qualified joint and survivor annuity. A qualified joint
and survivor annuity is payable for the life of the annuitant with a survivor
annuity for the life of the spouse in an amount not less than one-half of the
amount payable to the annuitant during his or her lifetime. In addition, if
you are married, the beneficiary must be your spouse, unless your spouse
consents in writing to the designation of another beneficiary.
If you are married and you die before annuity payments have begun, payments
will be made to your surviving spouse in the form of a life annuity unless at
the time of your death a contrary election was in effect. However, your
surviving spouse may elect, before payments begin, to receive payments in any
form permitted under the terms of the TSA contract and the plan of the
employer who provided the funds for the TSA.
EARLY DISTRIBUTION PENALTY TAX
A penalty tax of 10% of the taxable portion of a distribution applies to
distributions from a TSA before you reach age 59 1/2. This is in addition to
any income tax. There are exceptions to the extra penalty tax. No penalty tax
applies to pre-age 59 1/2 distributions made:
o on or after your death; or
o because you are disabled (special federal income tax definition); or
o to pay for certain extraordinary medical expenses (special federal income
tax definition); or
o if you are separated from service, any form of payout after you are age 55;
or
o only if you are separated from service, a payout in the form of
substantially equal periodic payments made at least annually over your
life (or your life expectancy), or over the joint lives of you and your
beneficiary (or your joint life expectancy) using an IRS-approved
distribution method.
FEDERAL AND STATE INCOME TAX WITHHOLDING
AND INFORMATION REPORTING
We must withhold federal income tax from distributions from annuity contracts.
You may be able to elect out of this income tax withholding in some cases.
Generally, we do not have to withhold if your distributions are not taxable.
The rate of withholding will depend on the type of distribution and, in
certain cases, the amount of your distribution. Any income tax withheld is a
credit against your income tax liability. If you do not have sufficient income
tax withheld or do not make sufficient estimated income tax payments, you may
incur penalties under the estimated income tax rules.
You must file your request not to withhold in writing before the payment or
distribution is made. Our Processing Office will provide forms for this
purpose. You cannot elect out of withholding unless you provide us with your
correct Taxpayer Identification Number and a United States residence address.
You cannot elect out of withholding if we are sending the payment out of the
United States.
You should note the following special situations:
o We might have to withhold on amounts we pay under a free look or
cancellation.
o We are generally required to withhold on conversion rollovers of
traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs, as it is considered a withdrawal from the
traditional IRA and is taxable.
o We are required to withhold on the gross amount of a distribution from a
Roth IRA unless you elect out of withholding. This may result in tax being
withheld even though the Roth IRA distribution is not taxable in whole or
in part.
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Special withholding rules apply to foreign recipients and United States
citizens residing outside the United States. We do not discuss these rules
here. Certain states have indicated that state income tax withholding will
also apply to payments from the contracts made to residents. In some states,
you may elect out of state withholding, even if federal withholding applies.
Generally, an election out of federal withholding will also be considered an
election out of state withholding. If you need more information concerning a
particular state or any required forms, call our Processing Office at the
toll-free number.
FEDERAL INCOME TAX WITHHOLDING ON PERIODIC ANNUITY PAYMENTS
We withhold differently on "periodic" and "non-periodic" payments. For a
periodic annuity payment, for example, unless you specify a different number
of withholding exemptions, we withhold assuming that you are married and
claiming three withholding exemptions. If you do not give us your correct
Taxpayer Identification Number, we withhold as if you are single with no
exemptions.
Based on the assumption that you are married and claiming three withholding
exemptions, if you receive less than $14,700 in periodic annuity payments in
1999, your payments will generally be exempt from federal income tax
withholding. You could specify a different choice of withholding exemption or
request that tax be withheld. Your withholding election remains effective
unless and until you revoke it. You may revoke or change your withholding
election at any time.
FEDERAL INCOME TAX WITHHOLDING ON NON-PERIODIC ANNUITY PAYMENTS (WITHDRAWALS)
For a non-periodic distribution (total surrender or partial withdrawal), we
generally withhold at a flat 10% rate. We apply that rate to the taxable
amount in the case of nonqualified contracts, and to the payment amount in the
case of IRAs and Roth IRAs.
You cannot elect out of withholding if the payment is an eligible rollover
distribution from a qualified plan or TSA. If a non-periodic distribution from
a qualified plan or TSA is not an eligible rollover distribution then the 10%
withholding rate applies.
MANDATORY WITHHOLDING FROM TSA AND QUALIFIED PLAN DISTRIBUTIONS
Unless you have the distribution go directly to the new plan, eligible
rollover distributions from qualified plans and TSAs are subject to mandatory
20% withholding. An eligible rollover distribution from a TSA can be rolled
over to another TSA or a traditional IRA. An eligible rollover distribution
from a qualified plan can be rolled over to another qualified plan or
traditional IRA. All distributions from a TSA or qualified plan are eligible
rollover distributions unless they are on the following list of exceptions:
o any after-tax contributions you made to the plan; or
o any distributions which are required minimum distributions after age
70 1/2 or separation from service; or
o hardship withdrawals; or
o substantially equal periodic payments made at least annually for your life
(or life expectancy) or the joint lives (or joint life expectancy) of you
and your designated beneficiary; or
o substantially equal periodic payments made for a specified period of 10
years or more; or
o corrective distributions that fit specified technical tax rules; or
o loans that are treated as distributions; or
o a death benefit payment to a beneficiary who is not your surviving spouse;
or
o a qualified domestic relations order distribution to a beneficiary who is
not your current spouse or former spouse.
A death benefit payment to your surviving spouse, or a qualified domestic
relations order distribution to your current or former spouse, may be a
distribution subject to mandatory 20% withholding.
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IMPACT OF TAXES TO EQUITABLE LIFE
The contracts provide that we may charge Separate Account No. 45 for taxes. We
do not now, but may in the future set up reserves for such taxes.
<PAGE>
More information
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ABOUT OUR SEPARATE ACCOUNT NO. 45
Each variable investment option is a subaccount of our Separate Account No.
45. We established Separate Account No. 45 in 1994 under special provisions of
the New York Insurance Law. These provisions prevent creditors from any other
business we conduct from reaching the assets we hold in our variable
investment options for owners of our variable annuity contracts. We are the
legal owner of all of the assets in Separate Account No. 45 and may withdraw
any amounts that exceed our reserves and other liabilities with respect to
variable investment options under our contracts. The results of Separate
Account No. 45's operations are accounted for without regard to Equitable
Life's other operations.
Separate Account No. 45 is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940
and is classified by that act as a "unit investment trust." The SEC, however,
does not manage or supervise Equitable Life or Separate Account No. 45.
Each subaccount (variable investment option) within Separate Account No. 45
invests solely in class IB shares issued by the corresponding portfolio of EQ
Advisors Trust.
We reserve the right subject to compliance with laws that apply:
(1) to add variable investment options to, or to remove variable investment
options from, Separate Account No. 45, or to add other separate
accounts;
(2) to combine any two or more variable investment options;
(3) to transfer the assets we determine to be the shares of the class of
contracts to which the contracts belong from any variable investment
option to another variable investment option;
(4) to operate Separate Account No. 45 or any variable investment option as a
management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940
(in which case, charges and expenses that otherwise would be assessed
against an underlying mutual fund would be assessed against Separate
Account No. 45 or a variable investment option directly);
(5) to deregister Separate Account No. 45 under the Investment Company Act of
1940;
(6) to restrict or eliminate any voting rights as to Separate Account No. 45;
and
(7) to cause one or more variable investment options to invest some or all of
their assets in one or more other trusts or investment companies.
ABOUT EQ ADVISORS TRUST
EQ Advisors Trust is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940. It
is classified as an "open-end management investment company," more commonly
called a mutual fund. EQ Advisors Trust issues different shares relating to
each portfolio.
Equitable Life serves as the investment manager of EQ Advisors Trust. As such,
Equitable Life oversees the activities of the investment advisers with respect
to EQ Advisors Trust and is responsible for retaining or discontinuing the
services of those advisers. (Prior to September 1999 EQ Financial Consultants,
Inc., the predecessor to AXA Advisors, LLC and an affiliate of Equitable Life,
served as investment manager to EQ Advisors Trust.)
EQ Advisors Trust commenced operations on May 1, 1997. For periods prior to
October 18, 1999 the Alliance portfolios (other than EQ/Alliance Premier
Growth) were part of The Hudson River Trust. On October 18, 1999, these
portfolios became corresponding portfolios of EQ Advisors Trust.
EQ Advisors Trust does not impose sales charges or "loads" for buying and
selling its shares. All dividends and other distributions on a trust's shares
are reinvested in full. The Board of Trustees of EQ Advisors Trust may
establish additional portfolios or eliminate existing portfolios at any time.
More detailed information about EQ Advisors Trust, their investment
objectives, policies, restrictions, risks, expenses, their Rule 12b-1 Plan
relating to its Class IB shares, and other aspects of its operations, appears
in the prospectus for EQ Advisors Trust attached at the end of this
prospectus, or in its SAI which is available upon request.
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ABOUT OUR FIXED MATURITY OPTIONS
Rates to maturity and price per $100 of maturity value
We can determine the amount required to be allocated to one or more fixed
maturity options in order to produce specified maturity values. For example,
we can tell you how much you need to allocate per $100 of maturity value.
The rates to maturity for new allocations as of November 1, 1999 and the
related price per $100 of maturity value were as follows:
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
FIXED MATURITY
OPTIONS WITH
FEBRUARY 15TH RATE TO MATURITY PRICE
MATURITY DATE OF AS OF PER $100 OF
MATURITY YEAR NOVEMBER 1, 1999 MATURITY VALUE
<S> <C> <C>
2000 3.03% $ 99.14
2001 4.34% $ 94.65
2002 4.84% $ 89.73
2003 5.09% $ 84.92
2004 5.20% $ 80.44
2005 5.33% $ 75.96
2006 5.42% $ 71.73
2007 5.50% $ 67.66
2008 5.61% $ 63.58
2009 5.68% $ 59.83
</TABLE>
Available under the Assured Payment Option and APO Plus
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
FIXED MATURITY
OPTIONS WITH
FEBRUARY 15TH RATE TO MATURITY PRICE
MATURITY DATE OF AS OF PER $100 OF
MATURITY YEAR NOVEMBER 1, 1999 MATURITY VALUE
<S> <C> <C>
2010 5.42% $ 58.07
2011 5.42% $ 55.08
2012 5.42% $ 52.25
2013 5.42% $ 49.56
2014 5.42% $ 47.01
</TABLE>
How we determine the market value adjustment
We use the following procedure to calculate the market value adjustment (up or
down) we make if you withdraw all of your value from a fixed maturity option
before its maturity date.
(1) We determine the market adjusted amount on the date of the withdrawal as
follows:
(a) We determine the fixed maturity amount that would be payable on the
maturity date, using the rate to maturity for the fixed maturity
option.
(b) We determine the period remaining in your fixed maturity option (based
on the withdrawal date) and convert it to fractional years based on
a 365-day year. For example, three years and 12 days becomes 3.0329.
(c) We determine the current rate to maturity that applies on the withdrawal
date to new allocations to the same fixed maturity option.
(d) We determine the present value of the fixed maturity amount payable at
the maturity date, using the period determined in (b) and the rate
determined in (c).
(2) We determine the fixed maturity amount as of the current date.
(3) We subtract (2) from the result in (1)(d). The result is the market value
adjustment applicable to such fixed maturity option, which may be
positive or negative.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your market adjusted amount is the present value of the maturity value
discounted at the rate to maturity in effect for new contributions to that
same fixed maturity option on the date of the calculation.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you withdraw only a portion of the amount in a fixed maturity option, the
market value adjustment will be a percentage of the market value adjustment
that would have applied if you had withdrawn the entire value in that fixed
maturity option. This percentage is equal to the percentage of the value in
the fixed maturity option that you are withdrawing. Any withdrawal charges
that are deducted from a fixed maturity option will result in a market value
adjustment calculated in the same way. See Appendix I for an example.
For purposes of calculating the rate to maturity for new allocations to a
fixed maturity option (see (1)(c) above), we use the rate we have in effect
for new allocations to that
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fixed maturity option. We use this rate even if new allocations to that option
would not be accepted at that time. This rate will not be less than 3%. If we
do not have a rate to maturity in effect for a fixed maturity option to which
the "current rate to maturity" in (1)(c) would apply, we will use the rate at
the next closest maturity date. If we are no longer offering new fixed
maturity options, the "current rate to maturity" will be determined in
accordance with our procedures then in effect. We reserve the right to add up
to 0.25% to the current rate in (1)(c) above for purposes of calculating the
market value adjustment only.
INVESTMENTS UNDER THE FIXED MATURITY OPTIONS
Amounts allocated to the fixed maturity options are held in a "nonunitized"
separate account we have established under the New York Insurance Law. This
separate account provides an additional measure of assurance that we will make
full payment of amounts due under the fixed maturity options. Under New York
Insurance Law, the portion of the separate account's assets equal to the
reserves and other contract liabilities relating to the contracts are not
chargeable with liabilities from any other business we may conduct. We own the
assets of the separate account, as well as any favorable investment
performance on those assets. You do not participate in the performance of the
assets held in this separate account. We may, subject to state law that
applies, transfer all assets allocated to the separate account to our general
account. We guarantee all benefits relating to your value in the fixed
maturity options, regardless of whether assets supporting fixed maturity
options are held in a separate account or our general account.
We have no specific formula for establishing the rates to maturity for the
fixed maturity options. We expect the rates to be influenced by, but not
necessarily correspond to, among other things, the yields that we can expect
to realize on the separate account's investments from time to time. Our
current plans are to invest in fixed-income obligations, including corporate
bonds, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, and government and agency
issues having durations in the aggregate consistent with those of the fixed
maturity options.
Although the above generally describes our plans for investing the assets
supporting our obligations under the fixed maturity options under the
contracts, we are not obligated to invest those assets according to any
particular plan except as we may be required to by state insurance laws. We
will not determine the rates to maturity we establish by the performance of
the nonunitized separate account.
ABOUT THE GENERAL ACCOUNT
Our general account supports all of our policy and contract guarantees,
including those that apply to the fixed maturity options and the account for
special dollar cost averaging, as well as our general obligations.
The general account is subject to regulation and supervision by the Insurance
Department of the State of New York and to the insurance laws and regulations
of all jurisdictions where we are authorized to do business. Because of
exemptions and exclusionary provisions that apply, interests in the general
account have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, nor is the
general account an investment company under the Investment Company Act of
1940. However, the market value adjustment interests under the contracts are
registered under the Securities Act of 1933.
We have been advised that the staff of the SEC has not reviewed the portions
of this prospectus that relate to the general account (other than market value
adjustment interests). The disclosure with regard to the general account,
however, may be subject to certain provisions of the federal securities laws
relating to the accuracy and completeness of statements made in prospectuses.
ABOUT OTHER METHODS OF PAYMENT
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AUTOMATIC INVESTMENT PROGRAM - FOR NQ, FLEXIBLE PREMIUM IRA, AND FLEXIBLE
PREMIUM ROTH IRA CONTRACTS ONLY
You may use our automatic investment program, or "AIP," to have a specified
amount automatically deducted from a checking account, money market account,
or credit union checking account and contributed as an additional contribution
into an NQ, Flexible Premium IRA or Flexible Premium Roth IRA contract on a
monthly or quarterly basis. AIP is not available for Rollover IRA, Roth
Conversion IRA, QP, or Rollover TSA contracts. It is also not available under
the Assured Payment Option or APO Plus.
For NQ contracts, the minimum amounts we will deduct are $100 monthly and $300
quarterly. Under Flexible Premium IRA and Flexible Premium Roth IRA contracts,
the minimum amount is $50. AIP additional contributions may be allocated to
any of the variable investment options and available fixed maturity options,
but not the account for special dollar cost averaging. You choose the day of
the month you wish to have your account debited. However, you may not choose a
date later than the 28th day of the month.
You may cancel AIP at any time by notifying our Processing Office. We are not
responsible for any debits made to your account before the time written notice
of cancellation is received at our Processing Office.
DATES AND PRICES AT WHICH CONTRACT EVENTS OCCUR
We describe below the general rules for when, and at what prices, events under
your contract will occur. Other portions of this prospectus describe
circumstances that may cause exceptions. We generally do not repeat those
exceptions below.
BUSINESS DAY
Our business day is any day the New York Stock Exchange is open for trading.
Our business day ends at 4:00 p.m., Eastern time for purposes of determining
the date when contributions are applied and any other transaction requests are
processed. Contributions will be applied and any other transaction requests
will be processed when they are received along with all the required
information.
o If your contribution, transfer, or any other transaction request,
containing all the required information, reaches us on a non-business day
or after 4:00 p.m. on a business day, we will use the next business day.
o A loan request under your Rollover TSA contract will be processed on the
first business day of the month following the date on which the properly
completed loan request form is received.
o If your transaction is set to occur on the same day of the month as the
contract date and that date is the 29th, 30th or 31st of the month, then
the transaction will occur on the 1st day of the next month.
o When a charge is to be deducted on a contract date anniversary that is a
non-business day, we will deduct the charge on the next business day.
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CONTRIBUTIONS AND TRANSFERS
o Contributions allocated to the variable investment options are invested at
the value next determined after the close of the business day.
o Contributions allocated to a fixed maturity option will receive the rate to
maturity in effect for that fixed maturity option on that business day.
o Initial contributions allocated to the account for special dollar cost
averaging receive the interest rate in effect on that business day. At
certain times, we may offer the opportunity to lock in the interest rate
for an initial contribution to be received under Section 1035 exchanges
and trustee to trustee transfers. Your registered representative can
provide information or you can call our processing office.
o Transfers to or from variable investment options will be made at the value
next determined after the close of the business day.
o Transfers to a fixed maturity option will be based on the rate to maturity
in effect for that fixed maturity option on the business day of the
transfer.
ABOUT YOUR VOTING RIGHTS
As the owner of the shares of EQ Advisors Trust we have the right to vote on
certain matters involving the portfolios, such as:
o the election of trustees;
o the formal approval of independent auditors selected for EQ Advisors Trust;
or
o any other matters described in the prospectus for EQ Advisors Trust or
requiring a shareholders' vote under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
We will give contract owners the opportunity to instruct us how to vote the
number of shares attributable to their contracts if a shareholder vote is
taken. If we do not receive instructions in time from all contract owners, we
will vote the shares of a portfolio for which no instructions have been
received in the same proportion as we vote shares of that portfolio for which
we have received instructions. We will also vote any shares that we are
entitled to vote directly because of amounts we have in a portfolio in the
same proportions that contract owners vote.
VOTING RIGHTS OF OTHERS
Currently, we control EQ Advisors Trust. EQ Advisors Trust shares are sold to
our separate accounts and an affiliated qualified plan trust. In addition,
shares of EQ Advisors Trust are held by separate accounts of insurance
companies both affiliated and unaffiliated with us. Shares held by these
separate accounts will probably be voted according to the instructions of the
owners of insurance policies and contracts issued by those insurance
companies. While this will dilute the effect of the voting instructions of the
contract owners, we currently do not foresee any disadvantages because of
this. The Board of Trustees of EQ Advisors Trust intends to monitor events in
order to identify any material irreconcilable conflicts that may arise and to
determine what action, if any, should be taken in response. If we believe that
a response to any of those events insufficiently protects our contract owners,
we will see to it that appropriate action is taken.
SEPARATE ACCOUNT NO. 45 VOTING RIGHTS
If actions relating to Separate Account No. 45 require contract owner
approval, contract owners will be entitled to one vote for each unit they have
in the variable investment options. Each contract owner who has elected a
variable annuity payout option may cast the number of votes equal to the
dollar amount of reserves we are holding for that annuity in a variable
investment option divided by the annuity unit value for that option. We will
cast votes attributable to any amounts we have in the variable investment
options in the same proportion as votes cast by contract owners.
CHANGES IN APPLICABLE LAW
The voting rights we describe in this prospectus are created under applicable
federal securities laws. To the extent that those laws or the regulations
published under those laws eliminate the necessity to submit matters for
approval by
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persons having voting rights in separate accounts of insurance companies, we
reserve the right to proceed in accordance with those laws or regulations.
ABOUT LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Equitable Life and its affiliates are parties to various legal proceedings. In
our view, none of these proceedings is likely to have a material adverse
effect upon Separate Account No. 45, our ability to meet our obligations under
the contracts, or the distribution of the contracts.
ABOUT OUR INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS
The consolidated financial statements of Equitable Life incorporated in this
prospectus by reference to the Annual Report on Form 10-K at December 31, 1998
and 1997, and for the three years ended December 31, 1998, have been so
incorporated in reliance on the report of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP,
independent accountants, given on the authority of said firm as experts in
auditing and accounting.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The financial statements of Separate Account No. 45, as well as the
consolidated financial statements of Equitable Life, are in the SAI. The SAI
is available free of charge. You may request one by writing to our processing
office or calling 1-800-789-7771.
TRANSFERS OF OWNERSHIP, COLLATERAL ASSIGNMENTS, LOANS, AND BORROWING
You can transfer ownership of an NQ contract at any time before annuity
payments begin. We will continue to treat you as the owner until we receive
notification of any change at our Processing Office. You cannot assign your NQ
contract as collateral or security for a loan. Loans are also not available
under your NQ contract. In some cases, an assignment or change of ownership
may have adverse tax consequences. See "Tax information" earlier in this
prospectus.
You cannot assign or transfer ownership of an IRA, QP, or Rollover TSA
contract except by surrender to us. Loans are not available and you cannot
assign IRA and QP contracts as security for a loan or other obligation. If the
employer that provided the funds does not restrict them, loans are available
under a Rollover TSA contract.
For limited transfers of ownership after the owner's death see "Beneficiary
continuation option for Rollover IRA and Flexible Premium IRA contracts" in
"Payment of death benefit" earlier in this prospectus. You may direct the
transfer of the values under your IRA, QP, or Rollover TSA contract to another
similar arrangement. Under federal income tax rules, in the case of such a
transfer, we will impose a withdrawal charge, if one applies.
DISTRIBUTION OF THE CONTRACTS
AXA Advisors, LLC ("AXA Advisors"), the successor to EQ Financial Consultants,
Inc. and an affiliate of Equitable Life, is the distributor of the contracts
and has responsibility for sales and marketing functions for Separate Account
No. 45. AXA Advisors serves as the principal underwriter of Separate Account
No. 45. AXA Advisors is registered with the SEC as a broker-dealer and is a
member of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. AXA Advisors'
principal business address is 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York
10104. Pursuant to a Distribution and Servicing Agreement between AXA
Advisors, Equitable Life, and certain of Equitable Life's separate accounts,
including Separate Account No. 45, Equitable Life paid AXA Advisors
distribution fees of $325,380 for 1998, as the distributor of certain
contracts and as the principal underwriter of certain separate accounts
including Separate Account No. 45. Before May 1, 1998, Equitable Distributors,
Inc. ("EDI"), also an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Equitable Life,
served as the distributor of the contracts and the principal underwriter of
Separate Account No. 45. Pursuant to a Distribution Agreement between
Equitable Life, certain of Equitable Life's separate accounts, including
Separate Account No. 45, and EDI, Equitable Life paid EDI distribution fees of
$9,444,621 for 1997 and $888,486 for 1996 as the
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distributor of certain contracts and as the principal underwriter of certain
separate accounts including Separate Account No. 45.
The contracts will be sold by financial professionals who are registered
representatives of AXA Advisors and its affiliates, who are also our licensed
insurance agents. AXA Advisors may also receive compensation and reimbursement
for its marketing services under the terms of its distribution agreement with
Equitable Life. The offering of the contracts is intended to be continuous.
<PAGE>
Investment performance
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We provide the following tables to show five different measurements of the
investment performance of the variable investment options and/or the
portfolios in which they invest. We include these tables because they may be
of general interest to you. THE RESULTS SHOWN REFLECT PAST PERFORMANCE. THEY
DO NOT INDICATE HOW THE VARIABLE INVESTMENT OPTIONS MAY PERFORM IN THE FUTURE.
THEY ALSO DO NOT REPRESENT THE RESULTS EARNED BY ANY PARTICULAR INVESTOR. YOUR
RESULTS WILL DIFFER.
Table 1 shows the average annual total return of the variable investment
options. Average annual total return is the annual rate of growth that would
be necessary to achieve the ending value of a contribution invested in the
variable investment options for the periods shown.
Table 2 shows the growth of a hypothetical $1,000 investment in the variable
investment options over the periods shown. Both Tables 1 and 2 take into
account all fees and charges under the contract, including the withdrawal
charge, the optional baseBUILDER benefit charge, the annual administrative
charge under Flexible Premium IRA and Flexible Premium Roth IRA contracts, but
do not reflect the charges for any applicable taxes such as premium taxes or
any applicable annuity administrative fee.
Tables 3, 4, and 5 show the rates of return of the variable investment options
on an annualized, cumulative, and year-by-year basis. These tables take into
account all fees and charges under the contract, but do not reflect the
withdrawal charge, the optional baseBUILDER benefits charge, the annual
administrative charge or the charges for any applicable taxes such as premium
taxes or any applicable annuity administrative fee. If the charges were
reflected they would effectively reduce the rates of return shown.
In all cases the results shown are based on the actual historical investment
experience of the portfolios in which the variable investment options invest.
In some cases, the results shown relate to periods when the variable
investment options and/or the contracts were not available. In those cases, we
adjusted the results of the portfolios to reflect the charges under the
contracts that would have applied had the investment options and/or contracts
been available. The contracts are being offered for the first time in 2000.
For the "Alliance" portfolios (other than EQ/Alliance Premier Growth), we have
adjusted the results prior to October 1996, when Class IB shares for these
portfolios were not available, to reflect the 12b-1 fees currently imposed.
Finally, the results shown for the Alliance Money Market and Alliance Common
Stock options for periods before March 22, 1985 reflect the results of the
variable investment options that preceded them. The "Since portfolio
inception" figures for these options are based on the date of inception of the
preceding variable investment options. We have adjusted these results to
reflect the maximum investment advisory fee payable for the portfolios, as
well as an assumed charge of 0.06% for direct operating expenses.
EQ Advisors Trust commenced operations on May 1, 1997. For periods prior to
October 18, 1999 the Alliance portfolios (other than EQ/Alliance Premier
Growth) were part of The Hudson River Trust. On October 18, 1999, these
portfolios became corresponding portfolios of EQ Advisors Trust. In each case,
the performance shown is for the indicated EQ Advisors Trust portfolio, and
any predecessors it may have had.
All rates of return presented are time-weighted and include reinvestment of
investment income, including interest and dividends.
BENCHMARKS
Tables 3 and 4 compare the performance of variable investment options to
market indices that serve as benchmarks. Market indices are not subject to any
charges for investment advisory fees, brokerage commission or other operating
expenses typically associated with a managed portfolio. Also, they do not
reflect other contract charges such as the mortality and expense risks charge,
administrative charge and distribution charge or any withdrawal or optional
benefit charge. Comparisons with these benchmarks, therefore, may be of
limited use. We include them because they are widely known and may help you to
understand the universe of securities from which each
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portfolio is likely to select its holdings. Benchmark data reflect the
reinvestment of dividend income. The benchmarks include:
ALLIANCE AGGRESSIVE STOCK: 50% Russell 2000 Index and 50%
Standard & Poor's Mid-Cap Total Return Index.
ALLIANCE COMMON STOCK: Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
ALLIANCE CONSERVATIVE INVESTORS: 70% Lehman Treasury Bond
Composite Index and 30% Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
ALLIANCE EQUITY INDEX: Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
ALLIANCE GLOBAL: Morgan Stanley Capital International World Index.
ALLIANCE GROWTH AND INCOME: 75% Standard & Poor's 500 Index
and 25% Value Line Convertibles Index.
ALLIANCE GROWTH INVESTORS: 70% Standard & Poor's 500 Index
and 30% Lehman Government/Corporate Bond Index.
ALLIANCE HIGH YIELD: Merrill Lynch High Yield Master Index.
ALLIANCE INTERMEDIATE GOVERNMENT SECURITIES: Lehman
Intermediate Government Bond Index.
ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL: Morgan Stanley Capital International
Europe, Australia, Far East Index.
ALLIANCE MONEY MARKET: Salomon Brothers Three-Month T-Bill
Index.
EQ/ALLIANCE PREMIER GROWTH: Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
ALLIANCE SMALL CAP GROWTH: Russell 2000 Growth Index.
BT EQUITY 500 INDEX: Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
BT INTERNATIONAL EQUITY INDEX: Morgan Stanley Capital
International Europe, Australia, Far East Index.
BT SMALL COMPANY INDEX: Russell 2000 Index.
CAPITAL GUARDIAN RESEARCH: Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
CAPITAL GUARDIAN U.S. EQUITY: Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
EQ/EVERGREEN: Russell 2000 Index.
EQ/EVERGREEN FOUNDATION: 60% Standard & Poor's 500
Index/40% Lehman Brothers Aggregate Bond Index.
MERRILL LYNCH BASIC VALUE EQUITY: Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
MERRILL LYNCH WORLD STRATEGY: 36% Standard & Poor's 500
Index/24% Morgan Stanley Capital International Europe, Australia,
Far East Index/21% Salomon Brothers U.S. Treasury Bond 1 Year+
14% Salomon Brothers World Government Bond (excluding
U.S.)/and 5% Three-Month U.S. Treasury Bill.
MFS EMERGING GROWTH COMPANIES: Russell 2000 Index.
MFS GROWTH WITH INCOME: Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
MFS RESEARCH: Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
MORGAN STANLEY EMERGING MARKETS EQUITY: Morgan Stanley
Capital International Emerging Markets Free Price Return Index.
EQ/PUTNAM BALANCED: 60% Standard & Poor's 500 Index and 40%
Lehman Government/ Corporate Bond Index.
EQ/PUTNAM GROWTH & INCOME VALUE: Standard & Poor's 500
Index.
T. ROWE PRICE EQUITY INCOME: Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
T. ROWE PRICE INTERNATIONAL STOCK: Morgan Stanley Capital
International Europe, Australia, Far East Index.
WARBURG PINCUS SMALL COMPANY VALUE: Russell 2000 Index.
LIPPER SURVEY. The Lipper Variable Insurance Products Performance Analysis
Survey (Lipper Survey) records the performance of a large group of variable
annuity products, including managed separate accounts of insurance companies.
According to Lipper Analytical Services, Inc. (Lipper), the data are presented
net of investment management fees, direct operating expenses and asset-based
charges applicable under annuity contracts. Lipper data provide a more
accurate picture than market benchmarks of the Equitable Accumulator
performance relative to other variable annuity products.
<PAGE>
- -----
85
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE 1
AVERAGE ANNUAL TOTAL RETURN UNDER A CONTRACT SURRENDERED ON DECEMBER 31, 1998:
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
LENGTH OF INVESTMENT PERIOD
SINCE SINCE
1 3 5 10 OPTION PORTFOLIO
VARIABLE INVESTMENT OPTIONS YEAR YEARS YEARS YEARS INCEPTION* INCEPTION**
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Alliance Aggressive Stock (10.47)% 4.73% 6.50% 15.22% 10.13% 14.12%
Alliance Common Stock 17.52% 21.66% 16.99% 14.37% 23.68% 12.78%
Alliance Conservative Investors 2.60% 4.66% 4.16% - 7.00% 5.32%
Alliance Equity Index 16.25% 21.88% - - 23.52% 19.68%
Alliance Global 10.23% 9.92% 9.21% 10.57% 11.81% 7.94%
Alliance Growth and Income 9.32% 16.59% 12.83% - 17.70% 11.79%
Alliance Growth Investors 7.65% 10.16% 8.83% - 12.90% 11.89%
Alliance High Yield (15.71)% 5.35% 4.98% 6.75% 6.96% 5.98%
Alliance Intermediate Government Securities ( 3.31)% 0.14% - - 1.66% 2.33%
Alliance International ( 0.58)% (0.54)% - - 1.50% 1.79%
Alliance Money Market ( 5.62)% (0.77)% (0.19)% 0.69% ( 0.38)% 2.67%
Alliance Small Cap Growth (14.80)% - - - 4.49% 4.49%
BT Equity 500 Index 13.73% - - - 13.73% 13.73%
BT International Equity Index 8.87% - - - 8.87% 8.87%
BT Small Company Index (12.74)% - - - (12.74)% (12.74)%
Merrill Lynch Basic Value Equity 0.65% - - - 9.68% 9.68%
Merrill Lynch World Strategy ( 3.93)% - - - ( 0.57)% ( 0.57)%
MFS Emerging Growth Companies 22.78% - - - 26.93% 26.93%
MFS Research 12.74% - - - 16.64% 16.64%
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Equity (36.59)% - - - (37.44)% (40.49)%
EQ/Putnam Balanced 0.88% - - - 8.30% 8.30%
EQ/Putnam Growth & Income Value 1.85% - - - 9.96% 9.96%
T. Rowe Price Equity Income ( 1.77)% - - - 11.07% 11.07%
T. Rowe Price International Stock 2.70% - - - ( 0.52)% ( 0.52)%
Warburg Pincus Small Company Value (20.17)% - - - ( 3.20)% ( 3.20)%
</TABLE>
- ----------
* The variable investment option inception dates are: Alliance Aggressive
Stock, Alliance Common Stock, Alliance Conservative Investors, Alliance
Equity Index, Alliance Global, Alliance Growth and Income, Alliance Growth
Investors, Alliance High Yield, Alliance Intermediate Government
Securities, Alliance International, and Alliance Money Market (May 1,
1995); Alliance Small Cap Growth, Merrill Lynch Basic Value Equity,
Merrill Lynch World Strategy, MFS Emerging Growth Companies, MFS Research,
T. Rowe Price Equity Income, T. Rowe Price International Stock, and
Warburg Pincus Small Company Value (May 1, 1997); Morgan Stanley Emerging
Markets Equity (September 2, 1997); BT Equity 500 Index, BT International
Equity Index, and BT Small Company Index (December 31, 1997). The
inception dates for the variable investment options that became available
on or after December 31, 1998 and are therefore not shown in this table
are: EQ/Evergreen, EQ/Evergreen Foundation, and MFS Growth with Income
(December 31, 1998); EQ/Alliance Premier Growth, Capital Guardian
Research, and Capital Guardian U.S. Equity (April 30, 1999).
** The inception dates for the portfolios underlying the Alliance variable
investment options are for portfolios of The Hudson River Trust, the
assets of which became assets of corresponding portfolios of EQ Advisors
Trust on October 18, 1999. The portfolio inception dates are: Alliance
Aggressive Stock (January 27, 1986); Alliance Common Stock (January 13,
1976); Alliance Conservative Investors and Alliance Growth Investors
(October 2, 1989); Alliance Equity Index (March 1, 1994); Alliance Global
(August 27, 1987); Alliance Growth & Income (October 1, 1993); Alliance
High Yield (January 2, 1987); Alliance Intermediate Government Securities
(April 1, 1991); Alliance International (April 3, 1995); Alliance Money
Market (July 13, 1981); Alliance Small Cap Growth, Merrill Lynch Basic
Value Equity, Merrill Lynch World Strategy, MFS Emerging Growth Companies,
MFS Research, T. Rowe Price Equity Income, T. Rowe Price International
Stock, and Warburg Pincus Small Company Value (May 1, 1997); BT Equity 500
Index, BT International Equity Index, and BT Small Company Index (December
31, 1997); and Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Equity (August 20, 1997).
The inception dates for the portfolios that became available on or after
December 31, 1998 and are therefore not shown in the tables are:
EQ/Evergreen, EQ/Evergreen Foundation, and MFS Growth with Income
(December 31, 1998); EQ/Alliance Premier Growth, Capital Guardian
Research, and Capital Guardian U.S. Equity (April 30, 1999).
<PAGE>
- -----
86
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE 2
GROWTH OF $1,000 UNDER A CONTRACT SURRENDERED ON DECEMBER 31, 1998:
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
LENGTH OF INVESTMENT PERIOD
SINCE
1 3 5 10 PORTFOLIO
VARIABLE INVESTMENT OPTIONS YEAR YEARS YEARS YEARS INCEPTION*
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Alliance Aggressive Stock $ 895.30 $ 1,148.65 $ 1,370.02 $ 4,123.96 $ 5,512.44
Alliance Common Stock $ 1,175.19 $ 1,800.84 $ 2,191.35 $ 3,828.00 $ 15,816.10
Alliance Conservative Investors $ 1,026.03 $ 1,146.29 $ 1,225.89 - $ 1,614.54
Alliance Equity Index $ 1,162.55 $ 1,810.59 N/A - $ 2,383.71
Alliance Global $ 1,102.28 $ 1,328.24 $ 1,553.67 $ 2,730.42 $ 2,378.75
Alliance Growth and Income $ 1,093.16 $ 1,584.73 $ 1,829.00 - $ 1,795.25
Alliance Growth Investors $ 1,076.50 $ 1,336.70 $ 1,526.88 - $ 2,826.15
Alliance High Yield $ 842.87 $ 1,169.39 $ 1,275.30 $ 1,920.89 $ 2,007.19
Alliance Intermediate Government Securities $ 966.94 $ 1,004.17 $ 999.86 - $ 1,195.73
Alliance International $ 994.18 $ 983.81 - - $ 1,068.53
Alliance Money Market $ 943.81 $ 977.16 $ 990.72 $ 1,071.07 $ 1,584.05
Alliance Small Cap Growth $ 851.98 - - - $ 1,076.07
BT Equity 500 Index $ 1,137.26 - - - $ 1,137.26
BT International Equity Index $ 1,088.65 - - - $ 1,088.65
BT Small Company Index $ 872.56 - - - $ 872.56
Merrill Lynch Basic Value Equity $ 1,006.53 - - - $ 1,166.68
Merrill Lynch World Strategy $ 960.67 - - - $ 990.45
MFS Emerging Growth Companies $ 1,227.81 - - - $ 1,488.76
MFS Research $ 1,127.36 - - - $ 1,292.89
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Equity $ 634.13 - - - $ 492.51
EQ/Putnam Balanced $ 1,008.78 - - - $ 1,142.30
EQ/Putnam Growth & Income Value $ 1,018.49 - - - $ 1,171.59
T. Rowe Price Equity Income $ 982.32 - - - $ 1,191.41
T. Rowe Price International Stock $ 1,027.01 - - - $ 991.40
Warburg Pincus Small Company Value $ 798.28 - - - $ 947.11
</TABLE>
- ----------
* Portfolio inception dates are shown in Table 1.
<PAGE>
- -----
87
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE 3
ANNUALIZED RATES OF RETURN FOR PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1998:
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
SINCE
PORTFOLIO
1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS 20 YEARS INCEPTION*
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
ALLIANCE AGGRESSIVE STOCK (1.50)% 8.75% 9.45% 16.75% - 15.65%
Lipper Mid-Cap Growth 12.16% 16.33% 14.87% 15.44% - 13.69%
Benchmark 8.28% 17.77% 15.56% 16.49% - 14.78%
ALLIANCE COMMON STOCK 27.06% 25.31% 19.72% 16.50% 16.48% 14.30%
Lipper Growth 22.86% 22.23% 18.63% 16.72% 16.30% 16.01%
Benchmark 28.58% 28.23% 24.06% 19.21% 17.76% 15.98%
ALLIANCE CONSERVATIVE INVESTORS 11.84% 8.71% 7.43% - - 8.02%
Lipper Flexible Portfolio 14.20% 15.62% 14.31% - - 12.55%
Benchmark 15.59% 14.45% 13.37% - - 12.08%
ALLIANCE EQUITY INDEX 25.77% 25.31% - - - 22.10%
Lipper S&P 500 Index 28.05% 27.67% - - - 24.31%
Benchmark 28.58% 28.23% - - - 24.79%
ALLIANCE GLOBAL 19.62% 13.82% 12.20% 12.74% - 10.53%
Lipper Global 14.34% 14.67% 11.98% 11.21% - 9.64%
Benchmark 24.34% 17.77% 15.68% 10.66% - 9.55%
ALLIANCE GROWTH AND INCOME 18.69% 20.33% 15.70% - - 14.74%
Lipper Growth & Income 15.61% 21.25% 18.35% - - 17.89%
Benchmark 20.10% 23.99% 21.07% - - 20.48%
ALLIANCE GROWTH INVESTORS 16.99% 14.05% 11.86% - - 13.98%
Lipper Flexible Portfolio 14.20% 15.62% 14.31% - - 12.55%
Benchmark 22.85% 22.69% 19.96% - - 15.55%
ALLIANCE HIGH YIELD (6.85)% 9.35% 8.01% 9.16% - 8.51%
Lipper High Current Yield (0.44)% 8.21% 7.37% 9.34% - 8.97%
Benchmark 3.66% 9.11% 9.01% 11.08% - 10.72%
ALLIANCE INTERMEDIATE GOVERNMENT
SECURITIES 5.81% 4.34% 3.50% - - 5.19%
Lipper Intermediate Government 7.68% 6.21% 5.91% - - 7.25%
Benchmark 8.49% 6.74% 6.45% - - 7.60%
ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL 8.59% 3.69% - - - 5.55%
Lipper International 13.02% 9.94% - - - 10.74%
Benchmark 20.00% 9.00% - - - 9.68%
ALLIANCE MONEY MARKET 3.45% 3.47% 3.28% 3.69% - 5.16%
Lipper Money Market 4.84% 4.87% 4.77% 5.20% - 6.77%
Benchmark 5.05% 5.18% 5.11% 5.44% - 6.76%
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
- -----
88
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE 3 (CONTINUED)
ANNUALIZED RATES OF RETURN FOR PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1998:
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
SINCE
PORTFOLIO
1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS 20 YEARS INCEPTION*
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
ALLIANCE SMALL CAP GROWTH (5.92)% - - - - 10.31%
Lipper Small Company Growth (0.33)% - - - - 16.72%
Benchmark 1.23% - - - - 16.58%
BT EQUITY 500 INDEX 23.19% - - - - 23.19%
Lipper S&P 500 Index 26.78% - - - - 26.78%
Benchmark 28.58% - - - - 28.58%
BT INTERNATIONAL EQUITY INDEX 18.23% - - - - 18.23%
Lipper International 12.17% - - - - 12.17%
Benchmark 20.00% - - - - 20.00%
BT SMALL COMPANY INDEX (3.82)% - - - - (3.82)%
Lipper Small Cap 1.53% - - - - 1.53%
Benchmark (2.54)% - - - - (2.54)%
MERRILL LYNCH BASIC VALUE EQUITY 9.85% - - - - 15.52%
Lipper Growth & Income 15.54% - - - - 21.32%
Benchmark 28.58% - - - - 31.63%
MERRILL LYNCH WORLD STRATEGY 5.17% - - - - 5.28%
Lipper Global Flexible Portfolio 9.34% - - - - 11.15%
Benchmark 19.55% - - - - 20.00%
MFS EMERGING GROWTH COMPANIES 32.43% - - - - 32.76%
Lipper Mid-Cap 15.97% - - - - 22.72%
Benchmark (2.54)% - - - - 14.53%
MFS RESEARCH 22.18% - - - - 22.51%
Lipper Growth 25.82% - - - - 28.73%
Benchmark 28.58% - - - - 31.63%
MORGAN STANLEY EMERGING MARKET
EQUITY (28.15)% - - - - (33.75)%
Lipper Emerging Markets (30.50)% - - - - (36.28)%
Benchmark (25.34)% - - - - (28.92)%
EQ/PUTNAM BALANCED 10.08% - - - - 14.14%
Lipper Balanced 14.61% - - - - 17.83%
Benchmark 21.36% - - - - 23.48%
EQ/PUTNAM GROWTH & INCOME VALUE 11.07% - - - - 15.80%
Lipper Growth & Income 15.54% - - - - 21.32%
Benchmark 28.58% - - - - 31.63%
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
- -----
89
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE 3 (CONTINUED)
ANNUALIZED RATES OF RETURN FOR PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1998:
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
SINCE
PORTFOLIO
1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS 20 YEARS INCEPTION*
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
T. ROWE PRICE EQUITY INCOME 7.38% - - - - 16.90%
Lipper Equity Income 10.76% - - - - 19.07%
Benchmark 28.58% - - - - 31.63%
T. ROWE PRICE INTERNATIONAL STOCK 11.94% - - - - 5.35%
Lipper International 12.17% - - - - 9.06%
Benchmark 20.00% - - - - 13.43%
WARBURG PINCUS SMALL COMPANY VALUE (11.40)% - - - - 2.64%
Lipper Small Cap 1.53% - - - - 16.77%
Benchmark (2.54)% - - - - 14.53%
</TABLE>
- ----------
* Portfolio inception dates are shown in Table 1.
<PAGE>
- -----
90
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE 4
CUMULATIVE RATES OF RETURN FOR PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1998:
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
SINCE
PORTFOLIO
1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS 20 YEARS INCEPTION*
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
ALLIANCE AGGRESSIVE STOCK (1.50)% 28.61% 57.06% 370.43% - 554.90%
Lipper Mid-Cap Growth 12.16% 58.64% 102.73% 334.88% - 448.32%
Benchmark 8.28% 63.35% 106.12% 360.30% - 494.67%
ALLIANCE COMMON STOCK 27.06% 96.76% 145.97% 360.62% 2,012.51% 2,051.70%
Lipper Growth 22.86% 84.52% 138.97% 388.00% 2,185.68% 3,490.04%
Benchmark 28.58% 110.85% 193.91% 479.62% 2,530.43% 2,919.92%
ALLIANCE CONSERVATIVE INVESTORS 11.84% 28.48% 43.09% - - 104.01%
Lipper Flexible Portfolio 14.20% 55.28% 97.15% - - 202.48%
Benchmark 15.59% 49.92% 87.28% - - 187.40%
ALLIANCE EQUITY INDEX 25.77% 96.77% - - - 162.61%
Lipper S&P 500 Index 28.05% 108.12% - - - 186.34%
Benchmark 28.58% 110.85% - - - 192.17%
ALLIANCE GLOBAL 19.62% 47.45% 77.82% 231.81% - 211.41%
Lipper Global 14.34% 51.58% 77.94% 194.96% - 188.08%
Benchmark 24.34% 63.34% 107.19% 175.31% - 181.57%
ALLIANCE GROWTH AND INCOME 18.69% 74.22% 107.30% - - 105.82%
Lipper Growth & Income 15.61% 79.05% 133.95% - - 139.10%
Benchmark 20.10% 90.62% 160.09% - - 166.00%
ALLIANCE GROWTH INVESTORS 16.99% 48.35% 75.11% - - 235.42%
Lipper Flexible Portfolio 14.20% 55.28% 97.15% - - 202.48%
Benchmark 22.85% 84.68% 148.41% - - 280.88%
ALLIANCE HIGH YIELD (6.85)% 30.77% 47.03% 140.33% - 166.31%
Lipper High Current Yield (0.44)% 26.80% 43.00% 145.62% - 182.21%
Benchmark 3.66% 29.90% 53.96% 186.01% - 239.69%
ALLIANCE INTERMEDIATE
GOVERNMENT SECURITIES 5.81% 13.60% 18.74% - - 48.04%
Lipper Intermediate Government 7.68% 19.84% 33.36% - - 72.35%
Benchmark 8.49% 21.61% 36.71% - - 76.55%
ALLIANCE INTERNATIONAL 8.59% 11.47% - - - 22.40%
Lipper International 13.02% 33.62% - - - 47.74%
Benchmark 20.00% 29.52% - - - 41.40%
ALLIANCE MONEY MARKET 3.45% 10.77% 17.51% 43.62% - 140.91%
Lipper Money Market 4.84% 15.34% 26.25% 66.09% - 214.68%
Benchmark 5.05% 16.35% 28.27% 69.88% - 214.45%
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
- -----
91
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE 4 (CONTINUED)
CUMULATIVE RATES OF RETURN FOR PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1998:
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
SINCE
PORTFOLIO
1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS 20 YEARS INCEPTION*
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
ALLIANCE SMALL CAP GROWTH (5.92)% - - - - 17.79%
Lipper Small Company Growth (0.33)% - - - - 28.98%
Benchmark 1.23% - - - - 29.23%
BT EQUITY 500 INDEX 23.19% - - - - 23.19%
Lipper S&P 500 Index 26.78% - - - - 26.78%
Benchmark 28.58% - - - - 28.58%
BT INTERNATIONAL EQUITY INDEX 18.23% - - - - 18.23%
Lipper International 12.17% - - - - 12.23%
Benchmark 20.00% - - - - 20.00%
BT SMALL COMPANY INDEX (3.82)% - - - - (3.82)%
Lipper Small Cap 1.53% - - - - 1.49%
Benchmark (2.54)% - - - - (2.54)%
MERRILL LYNCH BASIC VALUE EQUITY 9.85% - - - - 27.22%
Lipper Growth & Income 15.54% - - - - 15.59%
Benchmark 28.58% - - - - 57.60%
MERRILL LYNCH WORLD STRATEGY 5.17% - - - - 8.97%
Lipper Global Flexible Portfolio 9.34% - - - - 19.41%
Benchmark 19.55% - - - - 33.33%
MFS EMERGING GROWTH COMPANIES 32.43% - - - - 60.45%
Lipper Mid-Cap 15.97% - - - - 42.16%
Benchmark (2.54)% - - - - 25.40%
MFS RESEARCH 22.18% - - - - 40.31%
Lipper Growth 25.82% - - - - 52.86%
Benchmark 28.58% - - - - 57.60%
MORGAN STANLEY EMERGING
MARKETS EQUITY (28.15)% - - - - (42.98)%
Lipper Emerging Markets (30.50)% - - - - (45.67)%
Benchmark (25.34)% - - - - (36.71)%
EQ/PUTNAM BALANCED 10.08% - - - - 24.70%
Lipper Balanced 14.61% - - - - 31.59%
Benchmark 21.36% - - - - 42.22%
EQ/PUTNAM GROWTH & INCOME
VALUE 11.07% - - - - 27.73%
Lipper Growth & Income 15.54% - - - - 38.49%
Benchmark 28.58% - - - - 57.60%
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
- -----
92
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE 4 (CONTINUED)
CUMULATIVE RATES OF RETURN FOR PERIODS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 1998:
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
SINCE
PORTFOLIO
1 YEAR 3 YEARS 5 YEARS 10 YEARS 20 YEARS INCEPTION*
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
T. ROWE PRICE EQUITY INCOME 7.38% - - - - 29.77%
Lipper Equity Income 10.76% - - - - 33.92%
Benchmark 28.58% - - - - 57.60%
T. ROWE PRICE INTERNATIONAL
STOCK 11.94% - - - - 9.09%
Lipper International 12.17% - - - - 15.88%
Benchmark 20.00% - - - - 23.42%
WARBURG PINCUS SMALL COMPANY
VALUE (11.40)% - - - - 4.44%
Lipper Small Cap 1.53% - - - - 29.95%
Benchmark (2.54)% - - - - 25.40%
</TABLE>
- ----------
* Portfolio inception dates are shown in Table 1.
<PAGE>
- -----
93
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE 5
YEAR-BY-YEAR RATES OF RETURN:
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
1989 1990 1991 1992 1993
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Alliance Aggressive Stock 40.93% 6.21% 83.52% (4.91)% 14.65%
Alliance Common Stock 23.35% (9.77)% 35.41% 1.36% 22.59%
Alliance Conservative Investors 2.62% 4.45% 17.73% 3.82% 8.82%
Alliance Equity Index - - - - -
Alliance Global 24.47% (7.76)% 28.21% (2.30)% 29.75%
Alliance Growth and Income - - - - (0.71)%
Alliance Growth Investors 3.36% 8.67% 46.23% 3.01% 13.20%
Alliance High Yield 3.25% (2.90)% 22.23% 10.29% 20.94%
Alliance Intermediate Government Securities - - 10.75% 3.69% 8.56%
Alliance International - - - - -
Alliance Money Market 7.23% 6.29% 4.28% 1.70% 1.11%
Alliance Small Cap Growth - - - - -
BT Equity 500 Index - - - - -
BT International Equity Index - - - - -
BT Small Company Index - - - - -
Merrill Lynch Basic Value Equity - - - - -
Merrill Lynch World Strategy - - - - -
MFS Emerging Growth Companies - - - - -
MFS Research - - - - -
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Equity - - - - -
EQ/Putnam Balanced - - - - -
EQ/Putnam Growth & Income Value - - - - -
T. Rowe Price Equity Income - - - - -
T. Rowe Price International Stock - - - - -
Warburg Pincus Small Company Value - - - - -
<CAPTION>
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998
<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
Alliance Aggressive Stock (5.54)% 29.28% 19.99% 8.82% ( 1.50)%
Alliance Common Stock (3.89)% 30.08% 22.03% 26.90% 27.06%
Alliance Conservative Investors (5.82)% 18.25% 3.30% 11.20% 11.84%
Alliance Equity Index (0.43)% 34.04% 20.17% 30.19% 25.77%
Alliance Global 3.35% 16.69% 12.53% 9.55% 19.62%
Alliance Growth and Income (2.36)% 21.85% 17.92% 24.48% 18.69%
Alliance Growth Investors (4.89)% 24.11% 10.57% 14.68% 16.99%
Alliance High Yield (4.53)% 17.77% 20.66% 16.34% ( 6.85)%
Alliance Intermediate Government Securities (6.09)% 11.30% 1.90% 5.37% 5.81%
Alliance International - 9.81% 7.82% ( 4.79)% 8.59%
Alliance Money Market 2.15% 3.85% 3.43% 3.53% 3.45%
Alliance Small Cap Growth - - - 25.21%+ ( 5.92)%
BT Equity 500 Index - - - - 23.19%
BT International Equity Index - - - - 18.23%
BT Small Company Index - - - - ( 3.82)%
Merrill Lynch Basic Value Equity - - - 15.81%+ 9.85%
Merrill Lynch World Strategy - - - 3.62%+ 5.17%
MFS Emerging Growth Companies - - - 21.15%+ 32.43%
MFS Research - - - 14.84%+ 22.18%
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Equity - - - (20.64)%+ (28.15)%
EQ/Putnam Balanced - - - 13.28%+ 10.08%
EQ/Putnam Growth & Income Value - - - 15.00%+ 11.07%
T. Rowe Price Equity Income - - - 20.85%+ 7.38%
T. Rowe Price International Stock - - - ( 2.54)%+ 11.94%
Warburg Pincus Small Company Value - - - 17.88%+ (11.40)%
</TABLE>
- ----------
+ Returns for these portfolios represent less than 12 months of performance.
The returns are as of each portfolio inception date as shown in Table 1.
<PAGE>
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COMMUNICATING PERFORMANCE DATA
In reports or other communications to contract owners or in advertising
material, we may describe general economic and market conditions affecting our
variable investment options and the portfolios and may compare the performance
or ranking of those options and the portfolios with:
o those of other insurance company separate accounts or mutual funds included
in the rankings prepared by Lipper Analytical Services, Inc., Morningstar,
Inc., VARDS, or similar investment services that monitor the performance
of insurance company separate accounts or mutual funds;
o other appropriate indices of investment securities and averages for peer
universes of mutual funds; or
o data developed by us derived from such indices or averages.
We also may furnish to present or prospective contract owners advertisements
or other communications that include evaluations of a variable investment
option or portfolio by nationally recognized financial publications. Examples
of such publications are:
Barron's Investment Management Weekly
Morningstar's Variable Money Management Letter
Annuity Sourcebook Investment Dealers Digest
Business Week National Underwriter
Forbes Pension & Investments
Fortune USA Today
Institutional Investor Investor's Business Daily
Money The New York Times
Kiplinger's Personal Finance The Wall Street Journal
Financial Planning The Los Angeles Times
Investment Adviser The Chicago Tribune
Lipper compiles performance data for peer universes of funds with similar
investment objectives in its Lipper Survey. Morningstar, Inc. compiles similar
data in the Morningstar Variable Annuity/Life Report (Morningstar Report).
The Lipper Survey records performance data as reported to it by over 800
mutual funds underlying variable annuity and life insurance products. It
divides these actively managed portfolios into 25 categories by portfolio
objectives. The Lipper Survey contains two different universes, which reflect
different types of fees in performance data:
o The "separate account" universe reports performance data net of investment
management fees, direct operating expenses and asset-based charges
applicable under variable life and annuity contracts; and
o The "mutual fund" universe reports performance net only of investment
management fees and direct operating expenses, and therefore reflects only
charges that relate to the underlying mutual fund.
The Morningstar Variable Annuity/Life Report consists of nearly 700 variable
life and annuity funds, all of which report their data net of investment
management fees, direct operating expenses and separate account level charges.
VARDS is a monthly reporting service that monitors approximately 2,500
variable life and variable annuity funds on performance and account
information.
YIELD INFORMATION
Current yield for the Alliance Money Market option will be based on net
changes in a hypothetical investment over a given seven-day period, exclusive
of capital changes, and then "annualized" (assuming that the same seven-day
result would occur each week for 52 weeks). Current yield for the Alliance
High Yield option and Alliance Intermediate Government Securities option will
be based on net changes in a hypothetical investment over a given 30-day
period, exclusive of capital changes, and then "annualized" (assuming that the
same 30-day result would occur each month for 12 months).
"Effective yield" is calculated in a similar manner, but when annualized, any
income earned by the investment is assumed to be reinvested. The "effective
yield" will be slightly higher than the "current yield" because any earnings
are compounded weekly for the Alliance Money Market option. The current yields
and effective yields assume the deduction of all contract charges and expenses
other than the withdrawal charge, the optional baseBUILDER benefits charge,
the annual administrative charge, and any charge for
<PAGE>
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95
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taxes such as premium tax. The yields and effective yields for the Alliance
Money Market option, when used for the special dollar cost averaging program,
assume that no contract charges are deducted. For more information, see "Yield
Information for the Alliance Money Market Option, Alliance High Yield Option,
and Alliance Intermediate Government Securities Option" in the SAI.
<PAGE>
10
Incorporation of certain documents by reference
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96
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Equitable Life's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
1998, a current report on Form 8-K dated April 8, 1999, and a quarterly report
on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 1999, are considered to be a
part of this prospectus because they are incorporated by reference.
After the date of this prospectus and before we terminate the offering of the
securities under this prospectus, all documents or reports we file with the
SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") will be
considered to become part of this prospectus because they are incorporated by
reference.
Any statement contained in a document that is or becomes part of this
prospectus, will be considered changed or replaced for purposes of this
prospectus if a statement contained in this prospectus changes or is replaced.
Any statement that is considered to be a part of this prospectus because of
its incorporation will be considered changed or replaced for the purpose of
this prospectus if a statement contained in any other subsequently filed
document that is considered to be part of this prospectus changes or replaces
that statement. After that, only the statement that is changed or replaced
will be considered to be part of this prospectus.
We file our Exchange Act documents and reports, including our annual and
quarterly reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q,
electronically according to EDGAR under CIK No. 0000727920. The SEC maintains
a Web site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other
information regarding registrants that file electronically with the SEC. The
address of the site is http://www.sec.gov.
Upon written or oral request, we will provide, free of charge, to each person
to whom this prospectus is delivered, a copy of any or all of the documents
considered to be part of this prospectus because they are incorporated herein.
This does not include exhibits not specifically incorporated by reference into
the text of such documents. Requests for documents should be directed to The
Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, 1290 Avenue of the
Americas, New York, New York 10104. Attention: Corporate Secretary (telephone:
(212) 554-1234).
<PAGE>
Appendix I: Purchase considerations for QP contracts
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A-1
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Trustees who are considering the purchase of an Equitable Accumulator QP
contract should discuss with their tax advisers whether this is an appropriate
investment vehicle for the employer's plan. Trustees should consider whether
the plan provisions permit the investment of plan assets in the QP contract,
the distribution of such an annuity, the purchase of the guaranteed minimum
income benefit, and the payment of death benefits in accordance with the
requirements of the federal income tax rules. The QP contract and this
prospectus should be reviewed in full, and the following factors, among others,
should be noted. Assuming continued plan qualification and operation, earnings
on qualified plan assets will accumulate value on a tax-deferred basis even if
the plan is not funded by the Equitable Accumulator QP contract or another
annuity. Therefore, you should purchase an Equitable Accumulator QP Contract to
fund a plan for the contract's features and benefits other than tax deferral.
This QP contract accepts transfer contributions only and not regular, ongoing
payroll contributions. For 401(k) plans under defined contribution plans, no
employee after-tax contributions are accepted.
Under defined benefit plans, we will not accept rollovers from a defined
contribution plan to a defined benefit plan. We will only accept transfers from
a defined benefit plan or a change of investment vehicles in the plan. For
defined benefit plans, the maximum percentage of actuarial value of the plan
participant/employee's normal retirement benefit that can be funded by a QP
contract is 80%. The account value under a QP contract may at any time be more
or less than the lump sum actuarial equivalent of the accrued benefit for a
defined benefit plan participant/employee. Equitable Life does not guarantee
that the account value under a QP contract will at any time equal the actuarial
value of 80% of a participant/employee's accrued benefit. If overfunding of a
plan occurs, withdrawals from the QP contract may be required. A withdrawal
charge and/or market value adjustment may apply.
Further, Equitable Life will not perform or provide any plan recordkeeping
services with respect to the QP contracts. The plan's administrator will be
solely responsible for performing or providing for all such services. There is
no loan feature offered under the QP contracts, so if the plan provides for
loans and a participant/employee takes a loan from the plan, other plan assets
must be used as the source of the loan and any loan repayments must be credited
to other investment vehicles and/or accounts available under the plan.
Given that required minimum distributions must generally commence from the plan
for annuitants after age 70 1/2, trustees should consider that:
o The QP contract may not be an appropriate purchase for annuitants approaching
or over age 70 1/2; and
o The guaranteed minimum income benefit under baseBUILDER may not be an
appropriate feature for annuitants who are older than age 60 1/2 when the
contract is issued.
Finally, because the method of purchasing the QP contract and the features of
the QP contract may appeal more to plan participants/employees who are older
and tend to be highly paid, and because certain features of the QP contract are
available only to plan participants/employees who meet certain minimum and/or
maximum age requirements, plan trustees should discuss with their advisers
whether the purchase of the QP contract would cause the plan to engage in
prohibited discrimination in contributions, benefits or otherwise.
<PAGE>
Appendix II: Market value adjustment example
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The example below shows how the market value adjustment would be determined and
how it would be applied to a withdrawal, assuming that $100,000 was allocated
on February 15, 2000 to a fixed maturity option with a maturity date of
February 15, 2009 (nine years later) at a rate to maturity of 7.00%, resulting
in a maturity value of $183,846 on the maturity date. We further assume that a
withdrawal of $50,000 is made four years later on February 15, 2004.
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
ASSUMED RATE TO MATURITY
ON FEBRUARY 15, 2004
5.00% 9.00%
<S> <C> <C>
AS OF FEBRUARY 15, 2004 (BEFORE WITHDRAWAL)
(1) Market adjusted amount $144,048 $ 119,487
(2) Fixed maturity amount $131,080 $ 131,080
(3) Market value adjustment:
(1) - (2) $ 12,968 $ (11,593)
ON FEBRUARY 15, 2004 (AFTER WITHDRAWAL)
(4) Portion of market value adjustment associated with withdrawal:
(3) x [$50,000/(1)] $ 4,501 $ (4,851)
(5) Reduction in fixed maturity amount:
[$50,000 - (4)] $ 45,499 $ 54,851
(6) Fixed maturity amount: (2) - (5) $ 85,581 $ 76,229
(7) Maturity value $120,032 $ 106,915
(8) Market adjusted amount of (7) $ 94,048 $ 69,487
</TABLE>
You should note that under this example if a withdrawal is made when rates have
increased from 7.00% to 9.00% (right column), a portion of a negative market
value adjustment is realized. On the other hand, if a withdrawal is made when
rates have decreased from 7.00% to 5.00% (left column), a portion of a positive
market value adjustment is realized.
<PAGE>
Appendix III: Guaranteed minimum death benefit example
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The death benefit under the contracts is equal to the account value or, if
greater, the guaranteed minimum death benefit.
The following illustrates the guaranteed minimum death benefit calculation.
Assuming $100,000 is allocated to the variable investment options (with no
allocation to the Alliance Money Market option, Alliance Intermediate
Government Securities option or the fixed maturity options), no additional
contributions, no transfers and no withdrawals, and no loans under a Rollover
TSA contract, the guaranteed minimum death benefit for an annuitant age 45
would be calculated as follows:
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
END OF 5% ROLL UP TO AGE 80 ANNUAL RATCHET TO AGE 80
CONTRACT GUARANTEED MINIMUM GUARANTEED MINIMUM
YEAR ACCOUNT VALUE DEATH BENEFIT(1) DEATH BENEFIT
<S> <C> <C> <C>
1 $105,000 $ 105,000(1) $ 105,000(3)
2 $115,500 $ 110,250(2) $ 115,500(3)
3 $129,360 $ 115,763(2) $ 129,360(3)
4 $103,488 $ 121,551(1) $ 129,360(4)
5 $113,837 $ 127,628(1) $ 129,360(4)
6 $127,497 $ 134,010(1) $ 129,360(4)
7 $127,497 $ 140,710(1) $ 129,360(4)
</TABLE>
The account values for contract years 1 through 7 are based on hypothetical
rates of return of 5.00%, 10.00%, 12.00%, (20.00)%, 10.00%, 12.00% and 0.00%.
We are using these rates solely to illustrate how the benefit is determined.
The return rates bear no relationship to past or future investment results.
5% ROLL UP TO AGE 80
(1) At the end of contract year 1, and again at the end of contract years 4
through 7, the death benefit will be equal to the guaranteed minimum
death benefit.
(2) At the end of contract years 2 and 3, the death benefit will be equal to
the current account value since it is higher than the current guaranteed
minimum death benefit.
ANNUAL RATCHET TO AGE 80
(3) At the end of contract years 1 through 3, the guaranteed minimum death
benefit is equal to the current account value.
(4) At the end of contract years 4 through 7, the guaranteed minimum death
benefit is equal to the guaranteed minimum death benefit at the end of
the prior year since it is equal to or higher than the current account
value.
<PAGE>
Appendix IV: Example of payments under the Assured Payment Option and APO Plus
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The second column in the chart below illustrates the payments for a male age 70
who purchased the Assured Payment Option on August 2, 1999 with a single
contribution of $100,000, with increasing annual payments. The payments are to
commence on August 15, 2000. It assumes that the fixed period is 15 years and
that the life contingent annuity will provide payments on a single life basis.
Based on the rates to maturity for the fixed maturity options and the current
purchase rate for the life contingent annuity, on August 2, 1999, the initial
payment would be $6,763.29 and would increase in each three-year period to a
final payment of $9,902.13. The first payment under the life contingent annuity
would be $10,892.34.
The rates to maturity as of August 2, 1999 for fixed maturity options maturing
on February 15, 2000 through 2014 are: 3.47%, 4.51%, 5.01%, 5.40%, 5.47%,
5.59%, 5.69%, 5.72%, 5.82%, 5.85%, 5.58%, 5.58%, 5.58%, 5.58%, and 5.58%,
respectively.
Alternatively as shown in the third and fourth columns, this individual could
purchase APO Plus with the same $100,000 contribution, with the same fixed
period and the life contingent annuity on a single life basis. Assuming
election of the Alliance Common Stock option based on the rates to maturity for
the fixed maturity options and the current purchase rate for the life
contingent annuity, on August 2, 1999, the same initial payment of $6,763.29
would be purchased under APO Plus. However, unlike the payment under the
Assured Payment Option that will increase every three years, this initial
payment under APO Plus is not guaranteed to increase. Therefore, only
$78,856.38 is needed to purchase the initial payment stream, and the remaining
$21,143.62 is invested in the variable investment options. Any future increase
in payments under APO Plus will depend on the investment performance in the
Alliance Common Stock option.
Assuming hypothetical average annual rates of return of 0% and 8% (after
deduction of charges) for the variable investment option, the value in the
variable investment option would grow to $21,143.62 and $27,764.53 respectively
as of February 15, 2003. A portion of this amount is used to purchase the
increase in the payments for the fourth year. The remainder will stay in the
variable investment option to be drawn upon for the purchase of increases in
payments at for each third year thereafter during the fixed period and at the
end of the fixed period under the life contingent annuity. Based on the rates
to maturity for the fixed maturity options and purchase rates for the life
contingent annuity as of August 2, 1999, the third and fourth columns
illustrate the increasing payments that would be purchased under APO Plus
assuming 0% and 8% rates of return respectively.
Under both options, while you are living payments increase annually after the
16th year under the life contingent annuity based on the increase, if any, in
the Consumer Price Index, but in no event greater than 3% per year.
ANNUAL PAYMENTS
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
GUARANTEED INCREASING ILLUSTRATIVE ILLUSTRATIVE
PAYMENTS UNDER THE PAYMENTS UNDER PAYMENTS UNDER
YEARS ASSURED PAYMENT OPTION APO PLUS AT 0% APO PLUS AT 8%
<S> <C> <C> <C>
1-3 $ 6,763.29 $ 6,763.29 $ 6,763.29
4-6 $ 7,439.62 $ 7,090.83 $ 7,605.72
7-9 $ 8,183.58 $ 7,485.98 $ 8,478.16
10-12 $ 9,001.94 $ 7,888.32 $ 9,385.79
13-15 $ 9,902.13 $ 8,261.36 $ 10,283,71
16 $ 10,892.34 $ 8,547.58 $ 11,095.54
</TABLE>
<PAGE>
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As described above, a portion of the illustrated contribution is applied to the
life contingent annuity. This amount will generally be larger under the Assured
Payment Option than under APO Plus. Also, a larger portion of the contribution
will be allocated to fixed maturity options under the former than the latter.
In this illustration, $79,857.86 is allocated under the Assured Payment Option
to the fixed maturity options and under APO Plus, $67,531.44 is allocated to
the fixed maturity options. In addition, under APO Plus $21,143.62 is allocated
to the variable investment option. The balance of the $100,000 ($20,142.14 and
$11,324.94, respectively) is applied to the life contingent annuity.
The rates of return of 0% and 8% are for illustrative purposes only and are not
intended to represent an expected or guaranteed rate of return. Your investment
results will vary. Payments will also depend on the the rates to maturity and
life contingent annuity purchase rates in effect on the day the contribution is
applied. It is assumed that no lump sum withdrawals are taken.
<PAGE>
Appendix V: Assured Payment Option and APO Plus contracts issued in the state
of Maryland
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THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION SPECIFIES THE VARIATIONS THAT RELATE TO THE ASSURED
PAYMENT OPTION AND APO PLUS
CONTRACTS ISSUED IN MARYLAND.
The Assured Payment Option and APO Plus (available only as traditional IRAs)
are issued as separate contracts rather than as a distribution option under a
Rollover IRA or Flexible Premium IRA contract.
You may purchase an Assured Payment Option of APO Plus contract with a minimum
single contribution of $10,000. You may also choose to apply the account value
from a Flexible Premium IRA or Rollover IRA contract to purchase an Assured
Payment Option or APO Plus contract. Your account value will be applied as a
single contribution.
We will allocate your single contribution in the same manner as described under
"Assured Payment Option and APO Plus" earlier in this prospectus. You are not
permitted to make additional contributions under the Assured Payment Option and
APO Plus.
PAYMENTS. Your payments must begin within 13 months after the contract date.
You may not elect to defer your payments.
DEATH BENEFIT. If you die during the fixed period, we will continue payments to
your designated beneficiary. Your beneficiary may choose to discontinue the
payments and receive a lump sum amount. If the lump sum is elected within one
year of your death, the amount will be equal the death benefit payable under
the Assured Payment Option and APO Plus.
TERMINATING THE CONTRACT. You may choose to terminate the contract by
surrendering the contract as described under "Surrendering your contract to
receive its cash value." We will return the contract to you with a notation
that the life contingent annuity is still in effect. The date payments are to
start under the life contingent annuity will be moved forward.
TAX INFORMATION. The Assured Payment Option and APO Plus contracts have not
been submitted to the IRS for approval as to form for use as a traditional IRA.
<PAGE>
Statement of additional information
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE OF CONTENTS
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
PAGE
<S> <C>
Unit Values 2
Custodian and Independent Accountants 3
Yield Information for the Alliance Money Market Option, Alliance High Yield Option,
and Alliance Intermediate Government Securities Option 3
Financial Statements 4
</TABLE>
HOW TO OBTAIN AN EQUITABLE ACCUMULATOR STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR
SEPARATE ACCOUNT NO. 45
Send this request form to:
Equitable Accumulator
P.O. Box 1547 Secaucus, NJ 07096-1547
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Please send me an Equitable Accumulator SAI for Separate Account No. 45 dated
October 18, 1999.
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Name:
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address:
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City State Zip
<PAGE>
PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
ITEM 15. INDEMNIFICATION OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS
The by-laws of The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the
United States ("Equitable Life") provide, in Article VII, as follows:
7.4 Indemnification of Directors, Officers and Employees. (a) To
the extent permitted by the law of the State of New York and
subject to all applicable requirements thereof:
(i) any person made or threatened to be made a party to any
action or proceeding, whether civil or criminal, by
reason of the fact that he or she, or his or her
testator or intestate, is or was a director, officer or
employee of the Company shall be indemnified by the
Company;
(ii) any person made or threatened to be made a party to any
action or proceeding, whether civil or criminal, by
reason of the fact that he or she, or his or her
testator or intestate serves or served any other
organization in any capacity at the request of the
Company may be indemnified by the Company; and
(iii) the related expenses of any such person in any of said
categories may be advanced by the Company.
(b) To the extent permitted by the law of the State of New
York, the Company may provide for further indemnification or
advancement of expenses by resolution of shareholders of the
Company or the Board of Directors, by amendment of these
By-Laws, or by agreement. {Business Corporation Law ss.ss.
721-726; Insurance Law ss.1216}
The directors and officers of Equitable Life are insured under policies
issued by Lloyd's of London, X. L. Insurance Company and ACE Insurance Company.
The annual limit on such policies is $100 million, and the policies insure the
officers and directors against certain liabilities arising out of their conduct
in such capacities.
II-1
<PAGE>
ITEM 16. EXHIBITS
Exhibits No.
(1) (a) Form of Distribution Agreement by and among
Equitable Distributors, Inc., Separate
Account Nos. 45 and 49 of Equitable Life and
Equitable Life Assurance Society of the
United States, incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 1(a) to the Registration Statement
on Form S-3 (File No. 33-88456), filed June
7, 1996.
(b) Form of Distribution Agreement dated as of
January 1, 1998 among The Equitable Life
Assurance Society of the United States for
itself and as depositor on behalf of certain
separate accounts and Equitable
Distributors, Inc., incorporated herein by
reference to Exhibit 3(b) to the
Registration Statement on Form N-4 (File No.
333-05593) on May 1, 1998.
(c) Distribution and Servicing Agreement among
Equico Securities (now AXA Advisors, LLC),
The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the
United States, and Equitable Variable Life
Insurance Company, dated as of May 1, 1994,
incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit
3(c) to the Registration Statement on
Form N-4 File No. 2-30070, refiled
electronically July 10, 1998.
(d) Letter of Agreement for Distribution
Agreement among The Equitable Life Assurance
Society of the United States and EQ
Financial Consultants, Inc. (now AXA
Advisors, LLC), dated April 20, 1998,
incorporated herein by reference to
Exhibit No. 3(c) to Registration Statement
(File No. 33-83750), filed on May 1, 1998.
(4) (a) Form of group annuity contract no.
1050-94IC, previously filed with this
Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No.
333-24009) on March 6, 1998.
(b) Form of group annuity certificate nos. 94ICA
and 94ICB, previously filed with this
Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No.
333-24009) on March 6, 1998.
(b)(i) Form of Data pages for Equitable Accumulator
TSA, incorporated by reference to Exhibit
No. 4(s) to the Registration Statement on
Form N-4 (File No. 33-05593) filed on May
22, 1998.
(c) Forms of Endorsement Nos. 94ENIRAI, 94ENNQI
and 94ENMVAI to contract no. 1050-94IC and
data pages no. 94ICA/BIM(IRA), (NQ), (NQ
Plan A) and (NQ Plan B), previously filed
with this Registration Statement on Form S-3
(File No. 333-24009) on March 6, 1998.
(c)(i) Form of Data Pages for Equitable Accumulator
Select TSA, incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 4(k) to the Registration Statement
on Form N-4 (File No. 333-31131) filed on
May 22, 1998.
(d) Forms of Application used with the IRA, NQ
and Fixed Annuity Markets, previously filed
with this Registration Statement on Form S-3
(File No. 333-24009) on March 6, 1998.
(d)(i) Form of Data Pages for Equitable Accumulator
TSA, incorporated by reference to Exhibit
No. 4(v) to the Registration Statement on
Form N-4 (File No. 33-83750) filed on May
22, 1998.
(e) Form of Endorsement no. 95ENLCAI to contract
no. 1050-94IC and data pages no. 94ICA/BLCA,
previously filed with this Registration
Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-24009)
on March 6, 1998.
(e)(i) Form of Endorsement Applicable to TSA
Certificates, incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 4(t) to the Registration Statement
on Form N-4 (File No. 333-05593) filed on
May 22, 1998.
(f) Forms of Data Pages for Rollover IRA, IRA
Assured Payment Option, IRA Assured Payment
Option Plus, Accumulator, Assured Growth
Plan, Assured Growth Plan (Flexible Income
Program), Assured Payment Plan (Period
Certain) and Assured Payment Plan (Life with
a Period Certain), incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 4(f) to the Registration
Statement on Form S-3 (File No. 33-88456)
filed August 31, 1995.
(f)(i) Form of Enrollment Form/Application for
Equitable Accumulator (IRA, NQ, QF and TSA),
incorporated by reference to Exhibit No.
5(f) to the Registration Statement on Form
N-4 (File No. 333-05593) filed on May 22,
1998.
II-2
<PAGE>
Exhibits No.
(g) Forms of Data Pages for Rollover IRA, IRA
Assured Payment Option, IRA Assured Payment
Option Plus, Accumulator, Assured Growth
Plan and Assured Payment Plan (Life Annuity
with a Period Certain), incorporated by
reference to Exhibit 4(g) to the
Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File No.
33-88456), filed on April 23, 1996.
(h) Form of Separate Account Insulation
Endorsement for the Endorsement Applicable
to Market Value Adjustment Terms,
incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4(h) to
the Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File
No. 33-88456), filed on April 23, 1996.
(i) Forms of Guaranteed Minimum Income Benefit
Endorsements (and applicable data page for
Rollover IRA) for Endorsement Applicable to
Market Value Adjustment Terms and for the
Life Contingent Annuity Endorsement,
incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4(i) to
the Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File
No. 33-88456), filed on April 23, 1996.
(j) Forms of Enrollment Form/Application for
Rollover IRA, Choice Income Plan, Assured
Growth Plan, Accumulator and Assured Payment
Plan, incorporated by reference to Exhibit
4(j) to the Registration Statement on Form
S-3 (File No. 33-88456), filed on April 23,
1996.
(k) Forms of Data Pages for the Accumulator,
incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4(k) to
the Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File
No. 33-88456), filed June 7, 1996.
(l) Forms of Data Pages for the Rollover IRA,
incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4(l) to
the Registration Statement on Form S-3 (File
No. 33-88456), filed June 7, 1996.
(m) Forms of Data Pages for the Accumulator and
Rollover IRA, incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 4(m) to the Registration Statement
on Form S-3 (File No. 33-88456), filed
October 9, 1996.
(n) Forms of Data Pages for Accumulator and
Rollover IRA, incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 4(n) to the Registration Statement
on Form S-3 (File No. 33-88456), filed
October 16, 1996.
(o) Forms of Data Pages for the Accumulator,
Rollover IRA, Income Manager Accumulator,
Income Manager Rollover IRA, Equitable
Accumulator, Income Manager (IRA and NQ) and
MVA Annuity (IRA and NQ), previously filed
with this Registration Statement (File No.
333-24009) on April 30, 1997.
(p) Forms of Enrollment Form/Application for
Income Manager Accumulator, Income Manager
Rollover IRA, Equitable Accumulator, Income
Manager (IRA and NQ) and MVA Annuity (IRA
and NQ), previously filed with this
Registration Statement (File No. 333-24009)
on April 30, 1997.
(q) Forms of Data Pages for Equitable
Accumulator Select (IRA) and Equitable
Accumulator Select (NQ), previously filed
with this Registration Statement (File No.
333-24009) on September 18, 1997.
(r) Forms of Enrollment Form/Application for
Equitable Accumulator Select (IRA and NQ),
previously filed with this Registration
Statement (File No. 333-24009) on September
18, 1997.
(s) Form of Data Pages No. 94ICB and 94ICBMVA
for Equitable Accumulator (IRA)
Certificates, incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 4(m) to the Registration Statement
on Form N-4 (File No. 33-83750) on
February 27, 1998.
(t) Form of Data Pages No. 94ICB and 94ICBMVA
for Equitable Accumulator (NQ) Certificates,
incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4(n) to
the Registration Statement on Form N-4 (File
No. 33-83750) on February 27, 1998.
(u) Form of Data Pages No. 94ICB and 94ICBMVA
for Equitable Accumulator (QP) Certificates,
incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4(o) to
the Registration Statement on Form N-4 (File
No. 33-83750) on February 27, 1998.
(v) Form of Data Pages No. 94ICB, 94ICBMVA and
94ICBLCA for Assured Payment Option
Certificates, incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 4(p) to the Registration Statement
on Form N-4 (File No. 33-83750) on
February 27, 1998.
(w) Form of Data Pages No. 94ICB, 94ICBMVA and
94ICBLCA for APO Plus Certificates,
incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4(q) to
the Registration Statement on Form N-4 (File
No. 33-83750) on February 27, 1998.
(x) Form of Endorsement applicable to Defined
Benefit Qualified Plan Certificates No.
98ENDQPI incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 4(r) to the Registration Statement
on Form N-4 (File No. 33-83750) on
February 27, 1998.
(y) Form of Endorsement applicable to
Non-Qualified Certificates No. 98ENJONQI,
incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4(s) to
the Registration Statement on Form N-4 (File
No. 33-83750) on February 27, 1998.
(z) Form of Endorsement applicable to Charitable
Remainder Trusts No. 97ENCRTI, incorporated
by reference to Exhibit 4(t) to the
Registration Statement on Form N-4 (File No.
33-83750) on February 27, 1998.
(a)(a) Form of Enrollment Form/Application No.
126737 (5/98) for Equitable Accumulator
(IRA, NQ and QP), incorporated by reference
to Exhibit 5(e) to the Registration
Statement on Form N-4 (File No. 33-83750)
on February 27, 1998.
(b)(b) Form of Endorsement for Extra Credit Annuity
Form No. 98ECENDI and Data Pages 94ICA/B,
incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit
No. 4(j) to the Registration Statement
File No. 333-64749 on Form N-4, filed
September 30, 1998.
(c)(c) Form of Endorsement for Extra Credit Annuity
Form No. 98ECENDI and Data Pages 94ICA/B,
incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit
No. 4(k) to the Registration Statement
File No. 333-64751 on Form N-4, filed
September 30, 1998.
(d)(d) Form of Endorsement applicable to Defined
Contribution Qualified Plan Certificates No.
97ENQPI and Data Pages 94ICA/B, incorporated
herein by reference to Exhibit No. 4 (k) to
the Registration Statement File No.
333-64749 on Form N-4, filed September 30,
1998.
(e)(e) Form of Endorsement applicable to Defined
Contribution Qualified Plan Certificates No.
97ENQPI and Data Pages 94ICA/B, incorporated
herein by reference to Exhibit No. 4(l) to
the Registration Statement File No.
333-64751 on Form N-4, filed September 30,
1998.
(f)(f) Form of Data Pages for Equitable Accumulator
Express, incorporated herein by reference to
Exhibit No. 4(h) to Registration Statement
File No. 333-79379 on Form N-4, filed on May
26, 1999.
(g)(g) Form of Enrollment Form/Application for
Equitable Accumulator Express, incorporated
herein by reference to Exhibit No. 5 to
Registration Statement File No. 333-79379 on
Form N-4, filed on May 26, 1999.
(h)(h) Form of Data Pages for new version of
Equitable Accumulator, incorporated herein
by reference to Exhibit 4(z) to Registration
Statement File No. 333-05593 on Form N-4,
filed on November 23, 1999.
(i)(i) Form of Data Pages for new version of
Equitable Accumulator, incorporated herein
by reference to Exhibit 4(c)(c) to
Registration Statement File No. 33-83750 on
Form N-4, filed on December 3, 1999.
II-3
<PAGE>
Exhibits No.
(5) (a) Opinion and Consent of Jonathan E. Gaines,
Esq., Vice President and Associate General
Counsel of Equitable, as to the legality of
the securities being registered, previously
filed with this Registration Statement (File
No. 333-24009) on April 30, 1997.
(b) Copy of the Internal Revenue Service
determination letter regarding qualification
under Section 401 of the Internal Revenue
Code, incorporated by reference to Exhibit
5(b) to the Registration Statement on Form
S-3 (File No. 33-88456), filed August 31,
1995.
(8) (a) Not applicable.
(23) (a) Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.
(b) Consent of Counsel (see Exhibit 5(a).
(c) Powers of Attorney, previously filed with
this Registration Statement, File No.
333-24009, on April 30, 1999.
(d) Power of Attorney.
II-4
<PAGE>
ITEM 17. UNDERTAKINGS
(a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:
(1) To file, during any period in which offers or
sales are being made, a post-effective amendment
to this registration statement:
(i) to include any prospectus required
by section 10(a)(3) of the
Securities Act of 1933;
(ii) to reflect in the prospectus any
facts or events arising after the
effective date of the registration
statement (or the most recent
post-effective amendment thereof)
which, individually or in the
aggregate represent a fundamental
change in the information set forth
in the registration statement;
(iii) to include any material information
with respect to the plan of
distribution not previously
disclosed in the registration
statement or any material change to
such information in the registration
statement;
provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not
apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective
amendment by those paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed
with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to
Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Act of 1934 that are incorporated
by reference in the registration statement.
(2) That, for the purpose of determining any
liability under the Securities Act of 1933,
each such post-effective amendment shall be
deemed to be a new registration statement
relating to the securities offered therein,
and the offering of such securities at that
time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.
(3) To remove from registration by means of a
post-effective amendment any of the
securities being registered which remain
unsold at the termination of the offering.
(b) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for
purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act
of 1933, each filing of the registrant's annual report
pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 that is incorporated by reference in the
registration statement shall be deemed to be a new
registration statement relating to the securities offered
therein, and the offering of such securities at that time
shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
II-5
<PAGE>
(c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers
and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the
foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been
advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange
Commission such indemnification is against public policy as
expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the
event that claim for indemnification against such liabilities
(other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred
or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the
registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or
proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or
controlling person in connection with the securities being
registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its
counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent,
submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question
whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as
expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final
adjudication of such issue.
II-6
<PAGE>
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the
Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all
of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and has duly caused this amendment to
the Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned,
thereunto duly authorized, in the City and State of New York, on December 3,
1999.
THE EQUITABLE LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY OF THE
UNITED STATES
(Registrant)
By: /s/ Naomi J. Weinstein
------------------
Naomi J. Weinstein
Vice President
The Equitable Life Assurance Society
of the United States
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this
amendment to the Registration Statement has been signed by or on behalf of
the following persons in the capacities and on the date indicated.
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICERS:
<S> <C>
*Michael Hegarty President, Chief Operating Officer and Director
*Edward D. Miller Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and Director
PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL OFFICER:
*Stanley B. Tulin Vice Chairman of the Board, Chief Financial Officer and Director
PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING OFFICER:
*Alvin H. Fenichel Senior Vice President and Controller
</TABLE>
*DIRECTORS:
Francoise Colloc'h Donald J. Greene George T. Lowy
Henri de Castries John T. Hartley Edward D. Miller
Joseph L. Dionne John H.F. Haskell, Jr. Didier Pineau-Valencienne
Denis Duverne Michael Hegarty George J. Sella, Jr.
Jean-Rene Fourtou Mary R. (Nina) Henderson Peter J. Tobin
Norman C. Francis W. Edwin Jarmain Stanley B. Tulin
Dave H. Williams
*By: /s/Naomi J. Weinstein
---------------------
Naomi J. Weinstein
Attorney-in-Fact
December 3, 1999
II-7
<PAGE>
EXHIBIT INDEX
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
EXHIBIT NO. TAG VALUE
- ----------- ---------
<S> <C> <C>
23(a) Consent of Independent Accountants. EX-99.23a
10(d) Power of Attorney EX-99.10d
</TABLE>
II-8
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS
We hereby consent to the incorporation by reference in the Prospectuses
constituting part of this Post-Effective Amendment No. 11 to the Registration
Statement No. 333-24009 on Form S-3 of our report dated February 8, 1999
appearing on page F-1 of The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United
States' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998. We
also consent to the incorporation by reference of our report on the Consolidated
Financial Statement Schedules dated February 8, 1999 which appears on page F-53
of such Annual Report on Form 10-K. We also consent to the reference to us
under the heading "About our independent accountants" in the Prospectuses.
/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- ------------------------------
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
New York, New York
December 2, 1999
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that the undersigned officer or
Director of The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States (the
"Company"), a New York stock life insurance company, hereby constitutes and
appoints, Mark A. Hug, James D. Goodwin, Pauline Sherman, Michael F. McNelis,
Naomi J. Weinstein, Maureen K. Wolfson, Mildred Oliver, Mary P. Breen and each
of them (with full power to each of them to act alone), his or her true and
lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of substitution to each, for
him or her and on his or her behalf and in his or her name, place and stead, to
execute and file any of the documents referred to below relating to
registrations under the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940 with respect to any insurance or
annuity contracts or other agreements providing for allocation of amounts to
Separate Accounts of the Company, and related units or interests in Separate
Accounts: registration statements on any form or forms under the Securities Act
of 1933 and the Investment Company Act of 1940 and annual reports on any form or
forms under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and any and all amendments and
supplements thereto, with all exhibits and all instruments necessary or
appropriate in connection therewith, each of said attorneys-in-fact and agents
and his, her or their substitutes being empowered to act with or without the
others, and to have full power and authority to do or cause to be done in the
name and on behalf of the undersigned each and every act and thing requisite and
necessary or appropriate with respect thereto to be done in and about the
premises in order to effectuate the same, as fully to all intents and purposes
as the undersigned might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming
all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, may do or cause to
be done by virtue hereof.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned has hereunto set his or her hand this
11th day of August, 1999.
/s/ Alvin H. Fenichel
---------------------
Alvin H. Fenichel
59838v2
