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FORTIS BENEFITS INSURANCE COMPANY
MAY 1, 1999
PROFILE THIS PROFILE IS A SUMMARY OF SOME OF THE MORE IMPORTANT POINTS
THAT YOU SHOULD CONSIDER AND KNOW BEFORE PURCHASING THE OPPORTUNITY+ ANNUITY.
THIS ANNUITY IS MORE FULLY DESCRIBED IN THE PROSPECTUS WHICH ACCOMPANIES THIS
PROFILE. PLEASE READ THE PROSPECTUS CAREFULLY.
1. THE ANNUITY CONTRACT
Opportunity+ Fixed and Variable Annuity is a contract between you and
Fortis Benefits Insurance Company. It is designed to help you accumulate
assets for your retirement and other long term financial goals on a tax
deferred basis.
Opportunity+ offers you a diverse selection of money managers and
investment options. You may divide your money among the 18 investment
portfolios of the Fortis Series Fund and the fixed account of Fortis
Benefits.
The investment portfolios offer professionally managed investment options
with goals ranging from capital preservation to aggressive growth. Your
choices are found on the next page. These portfolios are designed to
provide you with better potential return than the fixed account. Your
investment, however, is not guaranteed. The value of your Opportunity+
contract can fluctuate up or down based on your choices and you may
experience a loss. Opportunity+ does provide you with a death benefit that
protects your beneficiaries from such loss.
You can also choose to put all or part of your money in the fixed account.
For this account, Fortis Benefits guarantees your investment and the
interest rate it sets once a year.
Like most annuities, this contract has two phases: the accumulation phase
and the income phase. During the accumulation phase, you invest money in
your contract. Your contract value is based on your investment choices. You
may withdraw money from your contract. However, as with most other
tax-deferred investments, you will pay taxes on earnings and untaxed
contributions when you withdraw them. You may also be subject to an IRS tax
penalty if you make withdrawals before age 59 1/2.
During the income phase, you can elect to receive regular payments from
your contract. Depending on your choice, these payments can be fixed in
dollar amount or can vary with investment performance. The amount of these
income payments also are determined by the amount you are able to
accumulate during the accumulation phase of your contract.
2. ANNUITY INCOME OPTIONS
(THE INCOME PHASE)
You may select one of four annuity income options:
(1) monthly payments during your lifetime;
(2) monthly payments during your lifetime, but with payments continuing
to your beneficiary for a period from 10 to 20 years (as
you select) if you die before the end of the selected period;
(3) monthly payments during your lifetime and the lifetime of another
person you select; and
(4) monthly payments during your lifetime and the lifetime of another
person, with the payments reduced by 1/2 when one of you dies.
At the start of the income phase you can choose to have the payments come
from the fixed account, the investment portfolios, or both. The dollar
amount of your payments coming from the fixed account will be fixed. The
payments from the investment portfolios you select will go up or down
depending on their performance. Once payments begin, you cannot change your
annuity option.
3. PURCHASING AN OPPORTUNITY + FIXED
AND VARIABLE ANNUITY CONTRACT
You can buy this contract through your registered representative who can
help you complete the proper forms. The minimum initial investment is $50.
You can make additional contributions of at least $50 at any time during
the accumulation period. The minimum investment may be smaller for certain
employer sponsored plans.
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4. INVESTMENT OPTIONS
You can invest your money in any of the following investment portfolios
which are described in the fund prospectus:
INTERNATIONAL STOCK
Lazard - International Stock
Fortis - Global Growth
Morgan Stanley - Global Asset
Allocation
DOMESTIC STOCK
SMALL CAP Fortis - Aggressive Growth
Berger - Small Cap Value
MID CAP Fortis - Growth Stock
Dreyfus - Mid Cap Stock
LARGE CAP Alliance - Large Cap Growth
T. Rowe Price - Blue Chip Stock
Dreyfus - S & P 500 Index
Fortis - Growth & Income
Fortis - Value
Fortis - Asset Allocation
INTERNATIONAL BONDS
Mercury - Global Bond
DOMESTIC BONDS
Fortis - High Yield
Fortis - Diversified Income
Fortis - U.S. Government Securities
CASH Fortis - Money Market
You may also choose to invest in the guaranteed fixed account.
5. EXPENSES
Each year we deduct a $30 contract maintenance fee from your contract
value. This fee is waived if your contract value is at least $25,000. We
also deduct insurance charges equal to 1.35% annually of the average daily
value of your contract in the investment portfolios. As with other
professionally managed investments, there are also investment charges on
money in the investment portfolios, estimated to range from 0.35% to 1.25%.
If you decide to cancel your contract or take money out in excess of the
annual free withdrawal amount, there may be a withdrawal charge equal to 5%
of the investment you withdraw within 5 years of its payment. The annual
free withdrawal amount is 10% of your payments beginning in year one.
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<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
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YEAR 1 2 3 4 5 6
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WITHDRAWAL
CHARGE 5% 5% 5% 5% 5% 0%
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In a limited number of states, you may also be assessed a state premium tax
charge of up to 4%, depending upon the state. In these states, this tax
will be deducted when you cancel the contract, begin the income phase, or
if the death benefit is paid. In many states, there is no tax at all.
The following chart is designed to help you understand the expenses in your
contract. The column labeled "Total Annual Expenses" includes the total of
the $30 contract maintenance fee (included as 0.06%), the 1.35% insurance
charge and the investment management expenses for each portfolio. The right
side of the chart shows you two examples of the expenses, in dollars, you
could pay under the contract. The examples illustrate the average cost per
$1,000 invested, earning 5% annually and withdrawals: (1) at the end of one
year, and (2) at the end of ten years. In the first example, the total
annual expenses are assessed along with the withdrawal charges. In the
second example the total annual expenses for the ten years are shown but
there is no withdrawal charge assessed. The premium tax is assumed to be 0%
for both examples. Please see the prospectus for more complete examples.
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PORTFOLIO
MORTALITY ANNUAL TOTAL ANNUAL TOTAL ANNUAL TOTAL EXAMPLES
EXPENSES, AND CONTRACT INSURANCE INVESTMENT ANNUAL
ADMINISTRATION CHARGE* EXPENSES EXPENSES EXPENSES 1 YEAR 10 YEARS
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<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
INTERNATIONAL STOCK
Lazard - International Stock 1.35% 0.06% 1.41% 0.94% 2.35% $69 $265
Fortis - Global Growth 1.35% 0.06% 1.41% 0.75% 2.16% $67 $246
Morgan Stanley - Global Asset
Allocation 1.35% 0.06% 1.41% 1.01% 2.42% $69 $272
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DOMESTIC STOCK
SMALL CAP
Fortis - Aggressive Growth 1.35% 0.06% 1.41% 0.72% 2.13% $66 $243
Berger - Small Cap Value 1.35% 0.06% 1.41% 1.24% 2.65% $72 $295
MID CAP
Fortis - Growth Stock 1.35% 0.06% 1.41% 0.65% 2.06% $66 $236
Dreyfus - Mid Cap Stock 1.35% 0.06% 1.41% 1.25% 2.66% $72 $296
LARGE CAP
Alliance - Large Cap Growth 1.35% 0.06% 1.41% 1.25% 2.66% $72 $296
T. Rowe Price - Blue Chip Stock 1.35% 0.06% 1.41% 0.94% 2.35% $69 $265
Dreyfus - S&P 500 Index 1.35% 0.06% 1.41% 0.46% 1.87% $64 $216
Fortis - Growth & Income 1.35% 0.06% 1.41% 0.67% 2.08% $66 $238
Fortis - Value 1.35% 0.06% 1.41% 0.76% 2.17% $67 $247
Fortis - Asset Allocation 1.35% 0.06% 1.41% 0.51% 1.92% $64 $221
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INTERNATIONAL BONDS
Mercury - Global Bond 1.35% 0.06% 1.41% 0.88% 2.29% $68 $259
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DOMESTIC BONDS
Fortis - High Yield 1.35% 0.06% 1.41% 0.56% 1.97% $65 $226
Fortis - Diversified Income 1.35% 0.06% 1.41% 0.52% 1.93% $64 $222
Fortis - U.S. Government Securities 1.35% 0.06% 1.41% 0.51% 1.92% $64 $221
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CASH
Fortis - Money Market 1.35% 0.06% 1.41% 0.35% 1.76% $63 $204
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*The annual contract charge is waived for contract values greater than or equal
to $25,000. This number is for illustrative purposes and reflects the average
charge based on assets under management and total feees collected.
6. TAXES
Your earnings are not taxed until you withdraw them from the contract. If
you take money out during the accumulation phase, earnings come out first
and are taxable ordinary income. If you make a withdrawal prior to age
59 1/2, you may be charged a 10% federal tax penalty on that amount.
Payments during the income phase are considered partly a return of your
original investment and partly earnings. You will only be taxed on the
earnings portion. However, if your contract is funded with pretax or tax
deductible dollars (qualified plan contributions), then the entire payment
will be taxable.
7. ACCESS TO YOUR MONEY
You can make withdrawals at any time during the accumulation phase. The
minimum amount you can withdraw is $50. Any payment invested in the
contract for more than five years can be withdrawn without a charge. You
can withdraw up to 10% of your total investments each year at any time with
no charge. All other withdrawals will be charged 5% of each payment you
take out. You may also have to pay income tax and a tax penalty on any
money you withdraw.
SYSTEMATIC WITHDRAWALS: You can have money automatically sent to you each
month during the accumulation phase of your contract. Systematic
withdrawals are available for amounts of $50 or more. Of course,
withdrawals may be taxable and subject to an IRS tax penalty.
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8. PERFORMANCE
The value of your contract will go up or down depending on the investment
portfolios you choose. The following chart shows the total return for each
investment portfolio for the time periods shown. Insurance charges,
investment management charges and all other expenses of the investment
portfolio have been deducted from these numbers. These numbers do not
reflect any withdrawal charges or the annual contract fee which, if
applied, would reduce the performance. Past performance is not
a guarantee of future results.
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Portfolio 1998 1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 1991 1990 1989
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<S> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C> <C>
INTERNATIONAL STOCK
Lazard - International Stock 14.85% 10.42% 12.41% 12.76% -- -- -- -- -- --
Fortis - Global Growth 9.81% 5.32% 17.43% 28.67% -4.34% 16.27% -- -- -- --
Morgan Stanley - Global Asset
Allocation 14.35% 11.92% 11.11% 15.83% -- -- -- -- -- --
DOMESTIC STOCK - SMALL CAP
Fortis - Aggressive Growth 19.49% 0.00% 6.13% 28.08% -- -- -- -- -- --
Berger - Small Cap Value* -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
DOMESTIC STOCK - MID CAP
Fortis - Growth Stock 17.36% 10.85% 14.78% 25.88% -4.18% 7.26% 1.50% 51.35% -4.46% 34.62%
Dreyfus - Mid Cap Stock* -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Domestic Stock - Large Cap
Alliance - Large Cap Growth* -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
T. Rowe Price - Blue Chip Stock 26.33% 25.18% -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Dreyfus - S&P 500 Index 26.33% 30.47% -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Fortis - Growth & Income 11.64% 25.91% 19.80% 27.90% -- -- -- -- -- --
Fortis - Value 8.12% 23.48% -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Fortis - Asset Allocation 18.30% 18.55% 10.92% 20.27% -1.71% 8.25% 5.45% 25.86% 0.57% 21.97%
INTERNATIONAL BONDS
Mercury - Global Bond 11.91% -1.10% 1.80% 17.36% -- -- -- -- -- --
DOMESTIC BONDS
Fortis - High Yield -0.79% 8.22% 8.96% 11.19% -- -- -- -- -- --
Fortis - Diversified Income 4.82% 8.90% 2.68% 15.65% -6.56% 11.18% 5.58% 13.06% 7.34% 10.74%
Fortis - U.S. Government Securities 7.35% 7.56% 0.76% 17.15% -7.76% 7.92% 4.65% 12.76% 6.41% --
CASH
Fortis - Money Market 3.84% 3.87% 3.69% 4.25% 2.46% 1.33% 1.91% 4.44% 6.36% 7.91%
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*Inception Date May 1, 1998; per the SEC, portfolio numbers must reflect an entire year's performance.
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9. DEATH BENEFIT
If you die during the accumulation phase, your contract beneficiary
will receive a death benefit. This death benefit will be the greater of
three amounts:
1) Your contract value;
2) the money you put in less a proportionate reduction related to any
withdrawals; and
3) at the time of death, the highest anniversary contract value up to
your 75th birthday; plus (a) any money you put in since that
anniversary, less (b) a proportionate reduction related to any
money you took out since that anniversary.
10. OTHER INFORMATION
FREE LOOK PERIOD: You may cancel your contract within 10 days of
receiving it (or whatever period is required by your state). We will pay
you the value of your contract without imposing a withdrawal charge. This
may be more or less that the amount you invested. If required by law, we
will return your original payment.
NO PROBATE: In most cases, your beneficiary will receive the death benefit
when you die without going through probate.
DOLLAR COST AVERAGING: You can invest gradually with a regular amount of
money into your chosen investment portfolios from any of the portfolios, or
from the fixed account. This can lower your average cost per unit over time
as compared to your cost on a single purchase.
AUTOMATIC REBALANCING: You can maintain your asset allocation mix by asking
us to readjust your money on a periodic basis. This can help you keep your
investment in line with your goals.
NURSING HOME WAIVER: You will be able to take your money out without a
withdrawal charge when you are in a nursing home and meet certain
conditions.
11. INQUIRIES
If you need more information, please contact us at:
Fortis Benefits Insurance Company
P.O. Box 64272
St. Paul, MN 55164
800-800-2000, Ext. 3057
99250
