Are surrender fees waived upon death of the annuitant?
Yes. When the annuitant dies and the contract is still in the surrender fee period, the company will waive all surrender charges when proceeds are paid to the beneficiary on all annuity products except the Heritage Max. With the HERITAGE MAX, surrender charges will be assessed when the death benefit is paid to the beneficiary(ies) if the annuitant died during the surrender fee period. The beneficiary(ies) can avoid the surrender fee by 1) delaying the payment of the death benefit until the surrender fees have expired or 2) by receiving the death benefit in substantially equal periodic payments over a 5 year period.
