Annuities Overview beta
Annuity reserves run on the Commissioners Annuity Reserve Valuation Method (CARVM), added to the Standard Valuation Law in 1976 and interpreted by AG 33 for elective benefits and AG 35 for indexed designs. Variable annuity guarantees moved to a principle-based method under AG 43 in 2009 and to VM-21 in 2020. Non-variable annuities issued on or after January 1, 2026 fall under VM-22.
Product pages are marked beta: VM-21 and VM-22 content is cited to the 2026 Valuation Manual with page numbers; CARVM and actuarial guideline text is characterized and flagged where not yet verified against the primary document.
Products
Each product has three pages: applicable regulations and timeline, assumption comparison, and sources.
Variable annuities
CARVM, AG 34 and AG 39 guarantees, AG 43, then VM-21: CTE 70, the standard projection amount, hedging.
Fixed annuities
Deferred fixed and indexed: CARVM with AG 33 benefit streams, AG 35 for index credits, then VM-22 for 2026+ issues.
Payout annuities
Immediate and deferred income annuities: CARVM, the 2018 VM-22 income annuity valuation rates, then VM-22 PBR.
The regimes
Key annuity documents
- Valuation Manual — 2026 edition (VM-21, VM-22)The operative annuity PBR requirements.
- Model #820 — Standard Valuation LawCARVM and the annuity valuation rate machinery.
- NAIC — Actuarial GuidelinesAG 33, AG 35, AG 43 and the rest, in Appendix C of the AP&P Manual.
- SERT scenariosThe prescribed stochastic exclusion ratio test scenarios used by VM-22.