Standard Death Benefit

If the Annuitant and any Joint Annuitant die within six months of the contract's start date, and the contract includes a Cancellation Endorsement, a lump sum death benefit may be paid. To qualify, the Annuitant must be under 75 years old, and the Joint Annuitant, if applicable, must be under 80.If the Cancellation endorsement is not elected, annuity payments will continue as per the selected option. If neither the Annuitant nor the Joint Annuitant is alive on the Income Start Date, the contract is canceled, and the Contract Owner receives a refund of the Premium Payment adjusted for investment performance and accumulated interest. If the Contract Owner (not the Annuitant) dies after the Income Start Date, no death benefit is payable, and payments continue to the Annuitant. If the Annuitant dies after the Income Start Date, the remaining payments will be distributed as follows: if there is a surviving beneficiary, the payments will be made to that beneficiary according to the annuity option. If no beneficiary survives, any remaining benefits will be paid to the Annuitant's assets.