Of redesigned products now hitting the market, "Retirement Cornerstone" from AXA Equitable Life Insurance Co. incorporates market gains into customers' benefit bases just once every three years. But a big selling point is expected to be its use of a floating rate to determine minimum rises to those bases and the size of annual checks ultimately pegged to them, rather than the static 5% in most rival products.
Should interest rates rise as many economists expect, the floating rate would put more money in the pockets of buyers who use the safety net. The rate will be set annually at one percentage point above the 10-year Treasury, ranging from 4% to 8%, according to the insurer's marketing material.
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