Common use of Payment of the Death Benefit Clause in Contracts

Payment of the Death Benefit. We require a Valid Claim before we pay any Death Benefit. All Death Benefits are paid in accordance with applicable law or regulation governing Death Benefit payments under Option A, B, or C. Continuation of Contract by the Surviving Spouse During the Accumulation Phase, the surviving Spouse of the deceased Owner who is a primary Beneficiary may choose to continue their portion of this contract as the sole Owner instead of receiving payment of the Death Benefit. Continuation may be elected by providing us a Valid Claim, and this continuation will be effective when we receive a Valid Claim. If a Joint Owner is the surviving Spouse of the deceased Owner, he or she is eligible to continue this contract as the sole Owner because the surviving Spouse automatically becomes the sole primary Beneficiary of the deceased Owner. If this contract is owned by a qualified retirement plan or an IRA held by a third party custodian, the surviving Spouse of the deceased Annuitant is eligible to continue this contract as the Annuitant through a direct rollover or transfer to his or her own IRA if the qualified retirement plan or IRA third party custodian is designated as the primary Beneficiary under this contract and the surviving Spouse is designated as the sole primary beneficiary under the qualified retirement plan or IRA. If a surviving Spouse continues this contract as the sole Owner, he or she may exercise all Ownership rights under this contract. L40538-01 [Admin. Tracking Identifier] Death Benefit continued from the previous page

Payment of the Death Benefit. We require a Valid Claim before we pay any Death Benefit. All Death Benefits are paid in accordance with applicable law or regulation regulations governing Death Benefit payments under Option A, B, or C. Continuation of Contract by the Surviving Spouse During the Accumulation Phase, the surviving Spouse of the deceased Owner who is a primary Beneficiary may choose to continue their portion of this contract as the sole Owner instead of receiving payment of the Death Benefit. Continuation may be elected by providing us a Valid Claim, and this continuation will be effective when we receive a Valid Claim. If a Joint Owner is the surviving Spouse of the deceased Owner, he or she is eligible to continue this contract as the sole Owner because the surviving Spouse automatically becomes the sole primary Beneficiary of the deceased Owner. If this contract is owned by a qualified retirement plan or an IRA held by a third party custodian, the surviving Spouse of the deceased Annuitant is eligible to continue this contract as the Annuitant through a direct rollover or transfer to his or her own IRA if the qualified retirement plan or IRA third party custodian is designated as the primary Beneficiary under this contract and the surviving Spouse is designated as the sole primary beneficiary under the qualified retirement plan or IRA. If a surviving Spouse continues this contract as the sole Owner, he or she may exercise all Ownership rights under this contract. L40538-01 [Admin. Tracking Identifier] NF 12 Death Benefit continued from the previous page

Payment of the Death Benefit. We require a Valid Claim before we pay any Death Benefit. All Death Benefits are paid in accordance with applicable law or regulation governing L40538-01-NY Death Benefit payments under Option A, B, or C. continued from the previous page Continuation of this Contract by the Surviving Spouse During the Accumulation Phase, the surviving Spouse of the deceased Owner who is a primary Beneficiary may choose to continue their portion of this contract as the sole Owner instead of receiving payment of the Death Benefit. Continuation may be elected by providing us a Valid Claim, and this continuation will be effective when we receive a Valid Claim. If a Joint Owner is the surviving Spouse of the deceased Owner is a Joint Owner, he or she the surviving Spouse is eligible to continue their portion of this contract as the sole Owner because since the surviving Spouse Owner automatically becomes the sole primary Beneficiary of the deceased Owner. If this contract is owned by a qualified retirement plan or an IRA held by a third party custodian, the surviving Spouse of the deceased Annuitant is eligible to continue this contract as the Annuitant through a direct rollover or transfer to his or her own IRA if the qualified retirement plan or IRA third party custodian is designated as the primary Beneficiary under this contract and the surviving Spouse is designated as the sole primary beneficiary Beneficiary under the qualified retirement plan or IRA. If a surviving Spouse continues this contract as the sole Owner, he or she may the surviving Spouse can exercise all Ownership ownership rights under this contract. L40538-01 [Admin. Tracking Identifier] Death Benefit continued from the previous page.

Payment of the Death Benefit. We require a Valid Claim before we pay any Death Benefit. All Death Benefits are paid in accordance with applicable law or regulation regulations governing Death Benefit payments under Option A, B, or C. Continuation of Contract by the Surviving Spouse During the Accumulation Phase, the surviving Spouse of the deceased Owner who is a primary Beneficiary may choose to continue their portion of this contract as the sole Owner instead of receiving payment of the Death Benefit. Continuation may be elected by providing us a Valid Claim, and this continuation will be effective when we receive a Valid Claim. If a Joint Owner is the surviving Spouse of the deceased Owner, he or she is eligible to continue this contract as the sole Owner because the surviving Spouse automatically becomes the sole primary Beneficiary of the deceased Owner. If this contract is owned by a qualified retirement plan or an IRA held by a third party custodian, the surviving Spouse of the deceased Annuitant is eligible to continue this contract as the Annuitant through a direct rollover or transfer to his or her own IRA if the qualified retirement plan or IRA third party custodian is designated as the primary Beneficiary under this contract and the surviving Spouse is designated as the sole primary beneficiary under the qualified retirement plan or IRA. If a surviving Spouse continues this contract as the sole Owner, he or she may exercise all Ownership rights under this contract. If the contract continues, the Death Benefit payment that would have otherwise been processed will be placed in the Interim Fund(s). On the next Index Anniversary, we then rebalance your Contract Value among your selected Allocation Options according to your future allocation instructions. L40538-01 IAI 12 [Admin. Admin Tracking Identifier] Death Benefit continued from the previous page