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John Hancock Place Post Office Box 111 Boston, Massachusetts 02117 (617)572-0320 Fax: (617)572-9161 E-mail: pminella@jhancock.com Paula J. Minella AVP and Senior Counsel | | 
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VIA EDGAR
April 10, 2018
Sonny Oh, Esq.
Division of Investment Management
Office of Insurance Products
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
100 F Street, NE
Washington, D.C. 20549-4644
Re: | John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.) |
| “Accumulation Variable Life 2014” |
| File Nos.811-4834 and333-193994 |
| “Protection Variable Universal Life 2017” |
| File Nos.811-4834 and333-217721 |
Dear Mr. Oh:
This letter is in response to the comments conveyed by telephone on March 27, 2018 concerning the above-captioned filings (the “Registration Statements”) for John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.) (the “Registrant”). We repeat in bold face type below each comment and set forth Registrant’s response thereto. Unless indicated otherwise, the responses relate to both the Accumulation Variable Life 14 (“AVUL 14”) and the Protection Variable Universal Life 2017 (“PVUL 17”) prospectuses. In addition, we have enclosed a blackline of the AVUL 14 and PVUL 17 prospectuses reflecting the revisions requested by the Staff in addition to an updated list of currently available underlying variable investment accounts, related expenses and footnotes.
******
Comments for PVUL 17 and AVUL 14 Prospectuses:
| 1. | Summary of Benefits and Risks |
| a. | Assure Summary of Benefits and Risks section does not exceed 5 pages |
In order to shorten this long-standing disclosure, Registrant will need tore-write this section of each prospectus and analyze each section that follows to ensure the integrity and accuracy of the prospectus disclosure as a whole. Given that the Staff reviewed this disclosure when
the initial registration statement for PVUL 17 was filed with the SEC on May 5, 2017, and more recently when PVUL 17 NY(333-221236) was filed on October 31, 2017, and given the amount of time it will take to reduce the summary sections, Registrant respectfully requests to be allowed to implement this request with the Registrants’ post-effective amendment following April 30, 2018.
| b. | Revise the 2nd sentence in the “Lapse risk” section so that it includes a reference that performance “has been poor.” (page 6) |
Registrant has complied with this request.
Add a reference to the “Fee Tables” in the Table of Contents
Registrant has complied with this request.
| a. | In footnote #3, provide in a parenthetical what is meant by a “Critical Illness Risk Classification?” (page 10) |
Registrant has revised the disclosure in footnote #3 to include this information.
| 4. | Healthy Engagement Rider (page 34) |
The following sentence in the 4th paragraph should be bold: “We will continue to deduct the Healthy Engagement Rider charge in instances where no Rider Credits are being earned and we are charging the maximum cost of insurance rate under the policy.”
Registrant has complied with this request.
| 5. | Critical Illness Benefit Rider (page 35) |
| a. | Please remove “up to a maximum of $250,000” from the 1st sentence of the 1st paragraph. |
Registrant has complied with this request.
| b. | Add a statement as to how the Critical Illness Benefit Rider impacts other policy values under the contract (e.g., policy value and surrender value). |
Registrant has complied with this request.
| c. | Add the following statement to this section: “We will treat the monthly charges for the Critical Illness Rider as distributions from your life insurance policy for federal income tax purposes (see “Tax considerations”).” |
Registrant has complied with this request.
| 6. | ROP rider description, make the following sentence bold:This rider is only available at issue with Death Benefit Option 1. |
Registrant has complied with this request.
| 7. | Variations in policy terms (page 37) |
Retain the following sentence as the last sentence of the section: “We disclose all material variations in this prospectus.”
Registrant has complied with this request.
| 8. | The ’40 Act and ’33 Act numbers should appear in a smaller font size from the rest of the page. |
Registrant has complied with this request.
Comments for AVUL 14 Prospectus:
Include the “Variable Investment Accounts” subsection of the Summary of Benefits and Risks section in the Table of Contents
Registrant has complied with this request.
Add the following sentence as the 4th sentence of the 1st paragraph under “Maximum Premium Payments”
“If our receipt of any premium payment would cause the policy to be treated as a Modified Endowment Contract under the Federal income tax laws, we will only process the payment on the first Business Day after we have received satisfactory written instructions from you.”
Registrant has complied with this request.
Comments for PVUL 17 Prospectus:
| a. | In footnote #3, change the age for the Representative Insured for the Critical Illness Rider so that it reflects a55-year old instead of a45-year old. (page 10) |
Registrant has updated the Fee Table and footnote #3 so that the charge for the Representative Insured reflects that of a55-year old.
| 12. | Persistency Credit (page 26) |
Revise the 1st sentence of the 3rd paragraph to include “Measure.”
Registrant has complied with this request.
******
Please note, the Registrant has filed delaying amendments to the Registration Statements indicating that these Registration Statements will go effective on April 30, 2018, as part of the annual update cycle. These Registration Statements will include audited fiscal year end 2017 financial statements for the Registrant and the Depositor, and auditor’s consents.
Tandy Representations
The Registrant acknowledges and agrees that:
| • | | should the Commission or the staff, acting pursuant to delegated authority, declare the filings effective, it does not foreclose the Commission from taking any action with respect to the filing; |
| • | | the action of the Commission or the staff, acting pursuant to delegated authority, in declaring the filings effective, does not relieve the Registrant from its full responsibility for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure in the filings; and |
| • | | the Registrant may not assert this action as defense in any proceeding initiated by the Commission or any person under the federal securities laws of the United States. |
Please direct all questions to the undersigned at (617)572-0320. Thank you.
Sincerely,
/s/ Paula Minella
Enclosures
Prospectus dated April 30, 2018
for interests in
John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.) Separate Account A (the “Separate Account”)
Interests are made available under
Accumulation Variable Universal Life 2014
a flexible premium variable universal life insurance policy
JOHN HANCOCK LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY (U.S.A.)
(“John Hancock USA”)
The policy provides a fixed account option with fixed rates of return declared by John Hancock USA and the following variable investment accounts:
500 Index
Active Bond
American Asset Allocation
American Global Growth
American Growth
American Growth-Income
American International
Blue Chip Growth
Capital Appreciation
Capital Appreciation Value
Core Bond
Emerging Markets Value
Equity Income
Financial Industries
Fundamental All Cap Core
Fundamental Large Cap Value
Global
Global Bond
Health Sciences
High Yield
International Equity Index
International Growth Stock
International Small Company
International Value
Investment Quality Bond
Lifestyle Balanced
Lifestyle Conservative
Lifestyle Growth
Lifestyle Moderate
Managed Volatility Aggressive
Managed Volatility Balanced
Managed Volatility Conservative
Managed Volatility Growth
Managed Volatility Moderate
Mid Cap Index
Mid Cap Stock
Mid Value
Money Market
PIMCO VIT All Asset
Real Estate Securities
Science & Technology
Select Bond
Short Term Government Income
Small Cap Index
Small Cap Opportunities
Small Cap Stock
Small Cap Value
Small Company Value
Strategic Income Opportunities
Total Bond Market
Total Stock Market Index
Ultra Short Term Bond
Utilities
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Please note that the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has not approved or disapproved these securities, or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
GUIDE TO THIS PROSPECTUS
This prospectus is arranged in the following way:
• | Starting on the next page is a Table of Contents for this prospectus. |
• | The section after the Table of Contents is called “Summary of Benefits and Risks.” It contains a summary of the benefits available under the policy and of the principal risks of purchasing the policy. You should read this section before reading any other section of this prospectus. |
• | Behind the Summary of Benefits and Risks section is a section called “Fee Tables” that describes the fees and expenses you will pay when buying, owning and surrendering the policy. |
• | Behind the Fee Tables section is a section called “Detailed Information.” This section gives more details about the policy. It may repeat certain information contained in the Summary of Benefits and Risks section in order to put the more detailed information in proper context. |
• | Finally, on the back cover of this prospectus is information concerning the Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”) and how the SAI, audited financial statements for John Hancock USA and the Separate Account, personalized illustrations and other information can be obtained. |
Prior to making any investment decisions, you should carefully review this product prospectus and all applicable supplements.In addition, you will receive the prospectuses for the underlying funds that we make available as investment options under the policies. The funds' prospectuses describe the investment objectives, policies and restrictions of, and the risks relating to, investment in the funds. In the case of any of the portfolios that are operated as feeder funds, the prospectus for the corresponding master fund is also provided. If you need to obtain additional copies of any of these documents, please contact your John Hancock USA representative or contact our Service Office at the address and telephone number on the back page of this product prospectus.
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SUMMARY OF BENEFITS AND RISKS
The nature of the policy
The policy's primary purpose is to provide lifetime protection against economic loss due to the death of the insured person.The policy is unsuitable as a short-term savings vehicle because of the substantial policy-level charges. We are obligated to pay all amounts promised under the policy. The value of the amount you have invested under the policy may increase or decrease daily based upon the investment results of the variable investment accounts that you choose. The amount we pay to the policy's beneficiary on the death of the insured person (we call this the “death benefit”) may be similarly affected. That's why the policy is referred to as a “variable” life insurance policy. We call the investments you make in the policy “premiums” or “premium payments.” The amount we require as your first premium depends upon the specifics of your policy and the insured person. Except as noted in the “Detailed Information” section of this prospectus, you can make any other premium payments you wish at any time. That's why the policy is called a “flexible premium” policy.
In your application for the policy, you will tell us how much life insurance coverage you want on the life of the insured person. This is called the “Total Face Amount.” Total Face Amount is comprised of the Base Face Amount and any Supplemental Face Amount you elect based on your individual needs and objectives. Some of these considerations are discussed under “Base Face Amount vs. Supplemental Face Amount” in this prospectus; however, you should discuss your insurance needs and financial objectives with your registered representative before purchasing any life insurance product. You should also consider that the amount of compensation paid to the selling broker-dealer will generally be less if you elect greater portions of Supplemental Face Amount coverage at issue.
If the life insurance protection described in this prospectus is provided under a master group policy, the term “policy” as used in this prospectus refers to the certificate we issue and not to the master group policy.
Summary of policy benefits
Death benefit
When the insured person dies, we will pay the death benefit minus any policy debt and unpaid fees and charges. There are two ways of calculating the death benefit (Option 1 and Option 2). You choose which one you want in the application. The two death benefit options are:
• | Option 1 - The death benefit will equal the greater of (1) the Total Face Amount plus any amount payable under a supplementary benefit rider, or (2) the minimum death benefit (as described under “The minimum death benefit” provision in the “Detailed Information” section of this prospectus). |
• | Option 2 - The death benefit will equal the greater of (1) the Total Face Amount plus any amount payable under a supplementary benefit rider,plus the policy value on the date of death, or (2) the minimum death benefit. |
Variable investment accounts
The policy offers a number of variable investment accounts, as listed on page 1 of this prospectus. These variable investment accounts are subaccounts of John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.) Separate Account A (the “Separate Account”) (“Separate Account”), a separate account operated by us under Michigan law. The variable investment accounts cover a broad spectrum of investment styles and strategies. Although the portfolios of the series funds that underlie those variable investment accounts operate like publicly traded mutual funds, there are important differences between the variable investment accounts and publicly traded mutual funds. You can transfer money from one variable investment account to another without tax liability. Moreover, any dividends and capital gains distributed by each underlying portfolio are automatically reinvested and reflected in the portfolio’s value and create no taxable event for you. If and when policy earnings are distributed (generally as a result of a surrender or withdrawal), they will be treated as ordinary income instead of as capital gains. Also, you must keep in mind that you are purchasing an insurance policy and you will be assessed charges at the policy level as well as at the fund level. Such policy level charges, in aggregate, are significant and will reduce the investment performance of your policy.
Surrender of the policy
You may surrender the policy in full at any time. If you do, we will pay you the policy value less any outstanding policy debt and less any surrender charge that then applies. This is called your “net cash surrender value.” You must return your policy when you request a surrender.
If you have not taken a loan on your policy, the “policy value” of your policy will, on any given date, be equal to:
• | the amount you invested, |
• | plus any gain or minus any loss of the investment experience of the variable investment accounts you’ve chosen, |
• | minus all charges we deduct, and |
• | minus all withdrawals you have made. |
If you take a loan on your policy, your policy value will be computed somewhat differently (see “Effects of policy loans”).
Withdrawals
After the first policy year, you may make a withdrawal of part of your net cash surrender value. Generally, each withdrawal must be at least $500. Your policy value is automatically reduced by the amount of the withdrawal and any surrender charge that then applies. A withdrawal may also reduce the Total Face Amount (see “Surrender and withdrawals— Withdrawals”). We reserve the right to refuse any withdrawal that would cause the policy's Base Face Amount to fall below $50,000.
Policy loans
If your policy is in force and has sufficient policy value, you may borrow from it at any time by completing the appropriate form. Generally, the minimum amount of each loan is $500. The maximum amount you can borrow is determined by a formula as described in your policy. Interest is charged on each loan. You can pay the interest or allow it to become part of the outstanding loan balance. You can repay all or part of a loan at any time. If there is an outstanding loan when the insured person dies, it will be deducted from the death benefit. Policy loans permanently affect the calculation of your policy value, and may also result in adverse tax consequences.
Optional supplementary benefit riders
When you apply for the policy, you can request any of the optional supplementary benefit riders that we make available. Availability of riders varies from state to state. Charges for most riders will be deducted monthly from the policy value. Some riders may not be available in combination with other riders or benefits (see “Other policy benefits, rights and limitations— Optional supplementary benefit riders you can add”).
Summary of policy risks
Lapse risk
If the net cash surrender value is insufficient to pay the charges when due and the No-Lapse Guarantee is not in effect, your policy can terminate (i.e. “lapse”). This can happen because you haven't paid enough premium, because the investment performance of the variable investment accounts you’ve chosen has been poor, or because of a combination of both factors. You will be given a “grace period” within which to make additional premium payments to keep the policy in force. If lapse occurs, you may be given the opportunity to reinstate the policy by making the required premium payments and satisfying certain other conditions (see “Lapse and reinstatement”).
Since withdrawals reduce your policy value, withdrawals increase the risk of lapse. Policy loans also increase the risk of lapse.
Investment risk
As mentioned above, the investment performance of any variable investment account may be good or bad. Your policy value will rise or fall based on the investment performance of the variable investment accounts you’ve chosen. Some variable
investment accounts are riskier than others. These risks (and potential rewards) are discussed in detail in the prospectuses of the underlying portfolios.
Transfer risk
There is a risk that you will not be able to transfer your policy value from one variable investment account to another because of limitations on the dollar amount or frequency of transfers you can make. The limitations on transfers out of the fixed account are more restrictive than those that apply to transfers out of variable investment accounts. If you purchase the Long-Term Care Rider, while benefits are being paid under that rider you will be subject to special transfer restrictions (see “Optional supplementary benefit riders you can add”).
Early surrender risk
There are surrender charges assessed if you surrender your policy in the first ten policy years. Surrender charges may also apply to a Face Amount decrease (see “The death benefit—Requesting a decrease in coverage”). Depending on the policy value at the time you are considering surrender, there may be little or no surrender value payable to you.
Market timing and disruptive trading risks
The policy is not designed for professional market timers or highly active traders, including persons or entities that engage in programmed, large or frequent transfers among the variable investment accounts or between the variable investment accounts and any available fixed account. The policy is also not designed to accommodate trading that result in transfers that are large in relation to the total assets of the underlying portfolio.
To discourage market timing and disruptive trading activity, we impose restrictions (see “Market timing and disruptive trading practices”) on transfers and reserve the right to change, suspend or terminate telephone, facsimile and internet transaction privileges (see “How you communicate with us”).
While we seek to identify and prevent disruptive trading activity, it may not always be possible to do so.Therefore, no assurance can be given that the restrictions we impose will be successful in preventing all disruptive trading and avoiding harm to long term investors.
Tax risks
Life insurance death benefits are ordinarily not subject to income tax. Other Federal and state taxes may apply as further discussed below. In general, you will be taxed on the amount of lifetime distributions that exceed the premiums paid under the policy. Any taxable distribution will be treated as ordinary income (rather than as capital gains) for tax purposes. If you have elected the Long-Term Care Rider, the Healthy Engagement Rider or the Critical Illness Rider, please see the section of the prospectus entitled “Tax considerations” for a description of certain tax risks associated with that rider.
In order for you to receive the tax benefits extended to life insurance under the Internal Revenue Code, your policy must comply with certain requirements of the Code. We will monitor your policy for compliance with these requirements, but a policy might fail to qualify as life insurance in spite of our monitoring. If this were to occur, you would be subject to income tax on the income credited to your policy for the period of disqualification and all subsequent periods. The tax laws also contain a so-called “7 pay limit” that limits the amount of premium that can be paid in relation to the policy’s death benefit. If the limit is violated, the policy will be treated as a “modified endowment contract,” which can have adverse tax consequences. There are also certain Treasury Department rules referred to as the “investor control rules” that determine whether you would be treated as the “owner” of the assets underlying your policy. If that were determined to be the case, you would be taxed on any income or gains those assets generate. In other words, you would lose the value of the so-called “inside build-up” that is a major benefit of life insurance.
There is a tax risk associated with policy loans. Although no part of a loan is treated as income to you when the loan is made unless your policy is a “modified endowment contract,” surrender or lapse of the policy with a loan outstanding would result in the loan being treated as a distribution at the time of lapse or surrender. This could result in a considerable tax bill. Under certain circumstances involving large amounts of outstanding loans and an insured person of advanced age, you might find yourself having to choose between high premium requirements to keep your policy from lapsing and a significant tax burden if you allow the lapse to occur.
Tax consequences of ownership or receipt of policy proceeds under Federal, state and local estate, inheritance, gift and other tax laws can vary greatly depending upon the circumstances of each owner or beneficiary. There can also be
unfavorable tax consequences on such things as the change of policy ownership or assignment of ownership interests. For these and all the other reasons mentioned above,we recommend you consult with a qualified tax adviser before buying the policy and before exercising certain rights under the policy.
FEE TABLES
This section contains tables that describe all of the fees and expenses that you will pay when buying, owning and surrendering the policy. In the first three tables, certain entries show the maximum charge, the minimum charge and the charge for a representative insured person. Other entries showonly the maximum charge we can assess. Except where necessary to show a rate greater than zero, all rates shown in the tables have been rounded to two decimal places as required by prospectus disclosure rules. Consequently, the actual rates charged may be slightly higher or lower than those shown in the tables.
The first table below describes the fees and expenses that you will payat the time that you pay a premium, surrender the policy, lapse the policy or transfer policy value between variable investment accounts. A portion of the premium charge is used to cover premium taxes. Premium taxes vary by jurisdiction and are subject to change. Currently, premium tax levels range from 0% to 3.5%.
Transaction Fees |
Charge | When Charge is Deducted | Amount Deducted |
Premium charge(1) | Upon payment of premium | 8% of each premium paid |
Surrender charge(2) | Upon surrender, policy lapse or reduction in Base Face Amount | |
Maximum charge | | $55.43 per $1,000 of Base Face Amount |
Minimum charge | | $0.00 per $1,000 of Base Face Amount |
Charge for representative insured person | | $27.29 per $1,000 of Base Face Amount |
Transfer fee(3) | Upon each transfer into or out of a variable investment account beyond an annual limit of not less than twelve | $25.00 |
(1) The maximum premium charge on premiums paid is 6% in year 2-10 and 2% in years 11 and thereafter.
(2) A surrender charge is applicable for ten policy years from the Policy Date, and varies based upon the sex, issue age and duration, risk classification of the insured person, the death benefit option elected, any riders elected under the policy, and premiums paid under the policy. The maximum charge shown is the amount in month one in the first policy year for a 64 year old male super preferred nonsmoker underwriting risk with death benefit Option 1 for which the Minimum Initial Premium under the policy has been paid. The minimum charge shown is for a 90 year old male standard smoker underwriting risk with death benefit Option 2 for which the guideline single premium has been paid in the first policy year. The charge for the representative insured person is for a 45 year old male standard nonsmoker underwriting risk with death benefit Option 1 for which the Target Premium in policy year 1 has been paid. (For more information about the surrender charge, see “Deductions from policy value - - Surrender charge.”) These charges may not be particularly relevant to your current situation. For more information, contact your John Hancock USA representative.
(3) This charge is not currently imposed, but we reserve the right to do so in the policy.
The next two tables describe the charges and expenses that you will payperiodically during the time you own the policy. These tables donot include fees and expenses paid at the portfolio level. The second table is devoted only to optional supplementary rider benefits. For more information about the cost of insurance rates and other charges talk to your John Hancock USA representative.
Periodic Charges Other Than Fund Operating Expenses |
Charge | When Charge is Deducted | Amount Deducted |
Cost of insurance charge(1) | Monthly | |
Maximum charge | | $83.33 per $1,000 of NAR |
Minimum charge | | $0.02 per $1,000 of NAR |
Charge for representative insured person | | $0.22 per $1,000 of NAR |
Base Face Amount charge(2) | Monthly for ten policy years from the Policy Date | |
Maximum charge | | $11.52 per $1,000 of Base Face Amount |
Minimum charge | | $0.04 per $1,000 of Base Face Amount |
Charge for representative insured person | | $0.26 per $1,000 of Base Face Amount |
Supplemental Face Amount charge(3) | Monthly for ten policy years from the Policy Date | |
Maximum charge | | $9.75 per $1,000 of Supplemental Face Amount |
Minimum charge | | $0.02 per $1,000 of Supplemental Face Amount |
Charge for representative insured person | | $0.05 per $1,000 of Supplemental Face Amount |
Administrative charge | Monthly | $20.00 |
Asset-based risk charge(4) | Monthly | 0.02% of policy value |
Policy loan interest rate(5) | Accrues daily Payable annually | 3.25% |
(1) The cost of insurance charge is determined by multiplying the net amount of insurance for which we are at risk (the net amount at risk or “NAR”) by the applicable cost of insurance rate. The rates vary widely depending upon the length of time the policy has been in effect, the insurance risk characteristics of the insured person and (generally) the gender of the insured person. The maximum rate shown is the rate in the thirteenth policy year for an 80 year old male substandard smoker underwriting risk. The minimum rate shown is the rate in the first policy year for a 5 year old female standard non-smoker underwriting risk. The representative insured person rate shown is for a 45 year old male standard non-smoker underwriting risk with a policy in the first policy year. These charges may not be particularly relevant to your current situation. For more information, contact your John Hancock USA representative.
(2) This charge is determined by multiplying the Base Face Amount at issue by the applicable rate. The rates vary by the sex, age, death benefit option, and risk classification at issue of the insured person. The charge also varies by policy year. The maximum rate shown is the rate in the fourth policy year for a 90 year old male standard smoker electing death benefit Option 2. The minimum rate shown is the rate in the first policy year for a 0 year old female standard non-smoker underwriting risk electing death benefit Option 1. The representative insured person rate shown is for a 45 year old male standard non-smoker electing death benefit Option 1. These charges may not be particularly relevant to your current situation. For more information, contact your John Hancock USA representative.
(3) This charge is determined by multiplying the Supplemental Face Amount at issue by the applicable rate. The rates vary by the sex, age, death benefit option, and risk classification of the insured person. The charge also varies by policy year. The maximum rate shown is the rate in the fourth policy year for a 90 year old male standard smoker electing death benefit Option 2. The minimum rate shown is the rate in the first policy year for a 0 year old female standard non-smoker underwriting risk electing death benefit Option 1. The representative insured person rate shown is for a 45 year old male standard non-smoker electing death benefit Option 1. These charges may not be particularly relevant to your current situation. For more information, contact your John Hancock USA representative.
(4) This charge is not currently imposed, but we reserve the right do so in the policy. This charge only applies to that portion of policy value held in the variable investment accounts. The charge determined does not apply to any fixed account.
(5) 3.25% is the maximum effective annual interest rate we can charge and applies only during policy years 1-10. The effective annual interest rate is 2.00% thereafter (although we reserve the right to increase the rate after the tenth policy year to as much as 2.25%). The amount of any loan is transferred from the accounts to a special loan account which earns interest at an effective annual rate of 2.00%. Therefore, the cost of a loan is the difference between the loan interest we charge and the interest we credit to the special loan account.
Rider Charges |
Charge | When Charge is Deducted | Amount Deducted |
Healthy Engagement Rider | Monthly | $2 |
Critical Illness Benefit Rider(1) | Monthly | |
Maximum charge | | $48.43 per $1,000 of Critical Illness Benefit Amount |
Minimum charge | | $0.20 per $1,000 of Critical Illness Benefit Amount |
Charge for representative insured person | | $2.12 per $1,000 of Critical Illness Benefit Amount |
Disability Payment of Specified Premium Rider(2) | Monthly | |
Maximum charge | | $198.67 per $1,000 of Specified Premium |
Minimum charge | | $16.57 per $1,000 of Specified Premium |
Charge for representative insured person | | $51.66 per $1,000 of Specified Premium |
Long-Term Care Rider(3) | Monthly | |
Maximum charge | | $3.34 per $1,000 of NAR |
Minimum charge | | $0.01 per $1,000 of NAR |
Charge for representative insured person | | $0.08 per $1,000 of NAR |
Return of Premium Death Benefit Rider(4) | Monthly | |
Maximum charge | | $83.33 per $1,000 of NAR |
Minimum charge | | $0.02 per $1,000 of NAR |
Charge for representative insured person | | $0.22 per $1,000 of NAR |
Cash Value Enhancement Rider | Upon policy issue | $500.00 |
Overloan Protection Rider(5) | At exercise of benefit | |
Maximum charge | | 8.00% |
Minimum charge | | 0.04% |
Accelerated Benefit Rider(6) | At exercise of benefit | $150.00 |
(1) The charge for this rider is determined by multiplying the Critical Illness Benefit Amount by the applicable rate. The rates vary by issue age, duration, gender, and critical illness risk classification of the insured person (e.g., the risk that the insured person will develop a Critical Illness, as defined in the rider). The maximum rate shown is the rate in the sixteenth policy year for a 49-year old male standard smoker underwriting risk. The minimum rate shown is the rate in the second policy year for an 18-year old female standard non-smoker underwriting risk. The rate for the representative insured person is the rate in the first policy year for a 45-year old male standard non-smoker underwriting risk. These charges may not be particularly relevant to your current situation. For more information, contact your John Hancock USA representative.
(2) The charge for this rider is determined by multiplying the Specified Premium by the applicable rate. The Specified Premium is stated in the Policy Specifications page of your policy. The rates vary by the sex, issue age and the disability insurance risk characteristics of the insured person. The maximum rate shown is for a 54 year old female substandard smoker underwriting risk. The minimum rate shown is for a 20 year old male standard non-smoker underwriting risk. The representative insured person rate shown is for a 45 year old male standard non-smoker underwriting risk. These charges may not be particularly relevant to your current situation. For more information, contact your John Hancock USA representative.
(3) The charge for this rider is determined by multiplying the net amount of insurance for which we are at risk (the net amount at risk or “NAR”) by the applicable rate. The rates vary by the long-term care insurance risk characteristics of the insured person and the rider
benefit level selected. The maximum rate shown is for a 75 year old male substandard smoker underwriting risk with a 4% Monthly Acceleration Percentage. The minimum rate shown is for a 20 year old female super preferred non-smoker underwriting risk with a 1% Monthly Acceleration Percentage, which is a percentage of the death benefit you can accelerate each month. The Monthly Acceleration Percentage is stated in the Policy Specifications page of your policy. The representative insured person rate shown is for a 45 year old male standard non-smoker underwriting risk with a 4% Monthly Acceleration Percentage. These charges may not be particularly relevant to your current situation. For more information, contact your John Hancock USA representative.
(4) The Return of Premium Death Benefit Rider charge is determined by multiplying the net amount of insurance for which we are at risk (the net amount at risk or “NAR”) by the applicable cost of insurance rate. The rates vary widely depending upon the length of time the policy has been in effect, the insurance risk characteristics of the insured person and (generally) the sex of the insured person. The maximum rate shown is the rate in the thirteenth policy year for an 80 year old male substandard smoker underwriting risk. The minimum rate shown is the rate in the first policy year for a 5 year old female standard non-smoker underwriting risk. The representative insured person rate shown is for a 45 year old male standard non-smoker underwriting risk with a policy in the first policy year. These charges may not be particularly relevant to your current situation. For more information, contact your John Hancock USA representative.
(5) The charge for this rider is determined as a percentage of unloaned account value. The rates vary by the attained age of the insured person at the time of exercise. The rates also differ according to the tax qualification test elected at issue. The maximum rate shown is for an insured person who has reached attained age 75 and the cash value accumulation test has been elected. The minimum rate shown is for an insured person who has reached attained age 100 and the guideline premium test or the cash value accumulation test has been elected. These charges may not be particularly relevant to your current situation. For more information, contact your John Hancock USA representative.
(6) This charge is not currently imposed, but we reserve the right to do so in the policy.
The next table describes the minimum and maximum portfolio level fees and expenses charged by any of the portfolios underlying a variable investment account offered through this prospectus, expressed as a percentage of average net assets (rounded to two decimal places). These expenses are deducted from portfolio assets. For more information, please refer to the prospectus for the portfolio.
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses | Minimum | Maximum |
Range of expenses, including management fees, distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees, and other expenses1 | 0.41% | 1.73% |
1 Certain of the portfolios’ advisers or subadvisers have contractually agreed to reimburse or waive certain portfolio level expenses. The minimum and maximum expenses shown do not reflect these contractual expense reimbursements or waivers. If such reimbursements or waivers were reflected, the minimum and maximum expenses would be 0.28% and 1.52%, respectively.
The next table describes the fees and expenses for each portfolio underlying a variable investment account offered through this prospectus. None of the portfolios charge a sales load or surrender fee. The fees and expenses do not reflect the fees and expenses of any variable insurance contract or qualified plan that may use the portfolio as its underlying investment medium. Except for the American Asset Allocation, American Global Growth, American Growth, American Growth-Income, American International, and PIMCO VIT All Asset portfolios, all of the portfolios shown in the table are NAV class shares that are not subject to Rule 12b-1 fees. Except as indicated in the footnotes appearing at the end of the table, the expense ratios are based upon the portfolio's actual expenses for the year ended December 31, 2017.
Portfolio Annual Expenses
(as a percentage of portfolio average net assets, rounded to two decimal places)
Portfolio | | Management Fee | | 12b-1 Fees | | Other Expenses | | Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses | | Total Fund Operating Expenses |
500 Index1
| | 0.46% | | 0.00% | | 0.04% | | 0.00% | | 0.50% |
Active Bond2
| | 0.60% | | 0.00% | | 0.05% | | 0.01% | | 0.66% |
American Asset Allocation3
| | 0.27% | | 0.60% | | 0.05% | | 0.00% | | 0.92% |
American Global Growth3
| | 0.52% | | 0.60% | | 0.08% | | 0.00% | | 1.20% |
American Growth3
| | 0.33% | | 0.60% | | 0.05% | | 0.00% | | 0.98% |
American Growth-Income3
| | 0.26% | | 0.60% | | 0.05% | | 0.00% | | 0.91% |
American International3
| | 0.50% | | 0.60% | | 0.07% | | 0.00% | | 1.17% |
Blue Chip Growth
| | 0.75% | | 0.00% | | 0.04% | | 0.00% | | 0.79% |
Capital Appreciation
| | 0.70% | | 0.00% | | 0.05% | | 0.00% | | 0.75% |
Portfolio | | Management Fee | | 12b-1 Fees | | Other Expenses | | Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses | | Total Fund Operating Expenses |
Capital Appreciation Value
| | 0.81% | | 0.00% | | 0.06% | | 0.00% | | 0.87% |
Core Bond
| | 0.58% | | 0.00% | | 0.04% | | 0.00% | | 0.62% |
Emerging Markets Value
| | 0.95% | | 0.00% | | 0.12% | | 0.00% | | 1.07% |
Equity Income
| | 0.72% | | 0.00% | | 0.05% | | 0.00% | | 0.77% |
Financial Industries2
| | 0.76% | | 0.00% | | 0.07% | | 0.04% | | 0.87% |
Fundamental All Cap Core
| | 0.68% | | 0.00% | | 0.03% | | 0.00% | | 0.71% |
Fundamental Large Cap Value
| | 0.65% | | 0.00% | | 0.04% | | 0.00% | | 0.69% |
Global4
| | 0.82% | | 0.00% | | 0.09% | | 0.00% | | 0.91% |
Global Bond
| | 0.70% | | 0.00% | | 0.07% | | 0.00% | | 0.77% |
Health Sciences
| | 1.05% | | 0.00% | | 0.06% | | 0.00% | | 1.11% |
High Yield
| | 0.68% | | 0.00% | | 0.08% | | 0.00% | | 0.76% |
International Equity Index5
| | 0.53% | | 0.00% | | 0.10% | | 0.00% | | 0.63% |
International Growth Stock2
| | 0.79% | | 0.00% | | 0.09% | | 0.01% | | 0.89% |
International Small Company
| | 0.95% | | 0.00% | | 0.18% | | 0.00% | | 1.13% |
International Value
| | 0.80% | | 0.00% | | 0.08% | �� | 0.00% | | 0.88% |
Investment Quality Bond
| | 0.60% | | 0.00% | | 0.07% | | 0.00% | | 0.67% |
Lifestyle Balanced2
| | 0.04% | | 0.00% | | 0.03% | | 0.56% | | 0.63% |
Lifestyle Conservative2,6
| | 0.04% | | 0.00% | | 0.07% | | 0.58% | | 0.69% |
Lifestyle Growth2
| | 0.04% | | 0.00% | | 0.03% | | 0.55% | | 0.62% |
Lifestyle Moderate2,6
| | 0.04% | | 0.00% | | 0.05% | | 0.57% | | 0.66% |
Managed Volatility Aggressive2,7
| | 0.06% | | 0.00% | | 0.05% | | 0.76% | | 0.87% |
Managed Volatility Balanced2,7
| | 0.06% | | 0.00% | | 0.02% | | 0.62% | | 0.70% |
Managed Volatility Conservative2,7
| | 0.05% | | 0.00% | | 0.03% | | 0.58% | | 0.66% |
Managed Volatility Growth2,7
| | 0.06% | | 0.00% | | 0.02% | | 0.65% | | 0.73% |
Managed Volatility Moderate2,7
| | 0.05% | | 0.00% | | 0.03% | | 0.61% | | 0.69% |
Mid Cap Index8
| | 0.47% | | 0.00% | | 0.04% | | 0.00% | | 0.51% |
Mid Cap Stock
| | 0.83% | | 0.00% | | 0.05% | | 0.00% | | 0.88% |
Mid Value Trust
| | 0.95% | | 0.00% | | 0.04% | | 0.00% | | 0.99% |
Money Market9
| | 0.37% | | 0.00% | | 0.04% | | 0.00% | | 0.41% |
PIMCO VIT All Asset10
| | 0.43% | | 0.45% | | 0.00% | | 0.85% | | 1.73% |
Real Estate Securities
| | 0.70% | | 0.00% | | 0.06% | | 0.00% | | 0.76% |
Science & Technology
| | 1.02% | | 0.00% | | 0.05% | | 0.00% | | 1.07% |
Select Bond
| | 0.56% | | 0.00% | | 0.04% | | 0.00% | | 0.60% |
Short Term Government Income
| | 0.56% | | 0.00% | | 0.06% | | 0.00% | | 0.62% |
Small Cap Index11
| | 0.48% | | 0.00% | | 0.05% | | 0.00% | | 0.53% |
Small Cap Opportunities4
| | 0.98% | | 0.00% | | 0.07% | | 0.00% | | 1.05% |
Small Cap Stock
| | 1.00% | | 0.00% | | 0.06% | | 0.00% | | 1.06% |
Small Cap Value2
| | 1.03% | | 0.00% | | 0.05% | | 0.05% | | 1.13% |
Small Company Value2
| | 1.05% | | 0.00% | | 0.05% | | 0.12% | | 1.22% |
Strategic Income Opportunities
| | 0.63% | | 0.00% | | 0.05% | | 0.00% | | 0.68% |
Total Bond Market1,2
| | 0.47% | | 0.00% | | 0.05% | | 0.01% | | 0.53% |
Total Stock Market Index2
| | 0.48% | | 0.00% | | 0.04% | | 0.01% | | 0.53% |
Ultra Short Term Bond
| | 0.55% | | 0.00% | | 0.06% | | 0.00% | | 0.61% |
Utilities
| | 0.83% | | 0.00% | | 0.06% | | 0.00% | | 0.89% |
1 John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC (“JHIMS”) has contractually agreed to waive those expenses of the 500 Index and Total Bond Market portfolios that exceed 0.25% and 027%, respectively, of average annual net assets of each portfolio, or, if necessary, make payment to each portfolio in an amount equal to the amount by which “Total Fund Operating Expenses.” A portfolio’s “Total Fund Operating Expenses” includes all fund-level and class-specific operating expenses, excluding (a) taxes, (b) brokerage commissions, (c) interest expense, (d) litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the
portfolio’s business, (e) class-specific expenses, (f) borrowing costs, (g) prime brokerage fees, (h) acquired fund fees and expenses paid indirectly, and (i) short dividend expense. The current expense limitation expires on April 30, 2019, unless renewed by mutual agreement of the portfolio and JHIMS based upon a determination that this is appropriate under the circumstances at that time. The fees shown in the table do not reflect this waiver or reimbursement. If this waiver or reimbursement had been reflected, the “Total Fund Operating Expenses” for the 500 Index and Total Bond Market portfolios would be 0.25% and 0.26%, respectively. For more information, please refer to the prospectus for the portfolio.
2 “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses” are based on indirect net expenses associated with the portfolio’s investments in the funds (each an “Acquired Fund”) of underlying investment companies. The “Total Fund Operating Expenses” shown may not correlate to the portfolio’s ratios of expenses to average net assets shown in the “Financial highlights” section of the fund’s prospectus, which does not include “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.” For more information, please refer to the prospectus for the portfolio.
3 The table reflects the combined fees of the feeder fund and the master fund.
4 John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC (“JHIMS”) has contractually agreed to waive its management fee so that the amount it retains after payment of the subadvisory fees for the portfolio does not exceed 0.45% of the portfolio’s average net assets. The current expense limitation agreement expires on April 30, 2019 unless renewed by mutual agreement of the portfolio and JHIMS based upon a determination that this is appropriate under the circumstances at that time. The fees in the table do not reflect this waiver. If this waiver had been reflected, the “Total Fund Operating Expenses” for the Global and Small Cap Opportunities portfolios would be 0.89% and 0.97%, respectively. For more information, please refer to the prospectus for the portfolio.
5 John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC (“JHIMS”) has contractually agreed to waive those expenses of the portfolio that exceed 0.34% of average annual net assets of the portfolio, or, if necessary, make payment to the portfolio in an amount equal to the amount by which “Total Fund Operating Expenses” of the portfolio exceed 0.34%. A portfolio’s “Total Fund Operating Expenses” includes all fund-level and class-specific operating expenses, excluding (a) taxes, (b) brokerage commissions, (c) interest expense, (d) litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the fund's business, (e) class-specific expenses, (f) borrowing costs, (g) prime brokerage fees, (h) acquired fund fees and expenses paid indirectly, and (i) short dividend expense. The current expense limitation expires on April 30, 2019, unless renewed by mutual agreement of the portfolio and JHIMS based upon a determination that this is appropriate under the circumstances at that time. The fees shown in the table do not reflect this waiver or reimbursement. If this waiver or reimbursement had been reflected, the “Total Fund Operating Expenses” for the portfolio would be 0.34%. For more information, please refer to the prospectus for the portfolio.
6 John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC (“JHIMS”) has contractually agreed to reduce its management fee and/or make payment to the portfolio in an amount equal to the amount by which “Other Expenses” of the portfolio exceed 0.04% of the average net assets of the portfolios. “Other Expenses” means all of the expenses of the portfolio, excluding certain expenses such as advisory fees, taxes, brokerage commissions, interest expense, litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the portfolio’s business, distribution and service (Rule 12b-1) fees, transfer agency and service fees, underlying fund expenses (acquired fund fees), and short dividend expense. The current expense limitation agreement expires on April 30, 2019, unless renewed by mutual agreement of the portfolio and JHIMS based upon a determination that this is appropriate under the circumstances at that time. The fees shown in the table do not reflect this waiver or reimbursement. If this waiver or reimbursement had been reflected, the “Total Fund Operating Expenses” for the Lifestyle Conservative and Lifestyle Moderate portfolios would be 0.66% and 0.65%, respectively. For more information, please refer to the prospectus for the portfolio.
7 John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC (“JHIMS”) has contractually agreed to reduce its management fee and/or make payment to the portfolio in an amount equal to the amount by which “Other Expenses” of the portfolio exceed 0.00% of the average net assets of the portfolios. “Other Expenses” means all of the expenses of the portfolio, excluding certain expenses such as advisory fees, taxes, brokerage commissions, interest expense, litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the portfolio’s business, distribution and service (Rule 12b-1) fees, transfer agency and service fees, underlying fund expenses (acquired fund fees), and short dividend expense. The current expense limitation agreement expires on April 30, 2019, unless renewed by mutual agreement of the portfolio and JHIMS based upon a determination that this is appropriate under the circumstances at that time. The fees shown in the table do not reflect this waiver or reimbursement. If this waiver or reimbursement had been reflected, the “Total Fund Operating Expenses” for the portfolio would be as indicated in the table below. For more information, please refer to the prospectus for the portfolio.
Portfolio | | Total Fund Operating Expenses |
Managed Volatility Aggressive
| | 0.82% |
Managed Volatility Balanced
| | 0.68% |
Managed Volatility Conservative
| | 0.63% |
Portfolio | | Total Fund Operating Expenses |
Managed Volatility Growth
| | 0.71% |
Managed Volatility Moderate
| | 0.66% |
8 John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC (“JHIMS”) has contractually agreed to waive its management fee by an annual rate of 0.10% of the portfolio’s average daily net assets. This agreement expires in April 30, 2019, unless renewed by mutual agreement of the portfolio and the advisor based upon the determination that this is appropriate under the circumstances at that time. The fees shown in the table do not reflect this waiver or reimbursement. If this waiver had been reflected, the Total Fund Operating Expenses for the portfolio would be 0.41%. For more information, please refer to the prospectus for the portfolio.
9 John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC (“JHIMS”) has contractually agreed to waive those expenses of the portfolio that exceeds 0.28% of average annual net assets of the portfolio, or, if necessary, make payment to the portfolio in an amount equal to the amount by which “Total Fund Operating Expenses” of the portfolio exceeds 0.28%. A portfolio’s “Total Fund Operating Expenses” includes all of its fund-level and class-specific operating expenses, excluding (a) taxes, (b) brokerage commissions, (c) interest expense, (d) litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the fund's business, (e) class-specific expenses, (f) borrowing costs, (g) prime brokerage fees, (h) acquired fund fees and expenses paid indirectly, and (i) short dividend expense. The current expense limitation expires on April 30, 2019, unless renewed by mutual agreement of the portfolio and JHIMS based upon a determination that this is appropriate under the circumstances at that time. The fees shown in the table do not reflect this waiver or reimbursement. If this waiver or reimbursement had been reflected, the “Total Fund Operating Expenses” for the portfolio would be 0.28%. For more information, please refer to the prospectus for the portfolio.
10 Pacific Investment Management Company LLC (“PIMCO”) has contractually agreed through May 1, 2019, to reduce its management fee to the extent that the underlying PIMCO fund expenses attributable to management, supervisory and administrative fees exceeds 0.64% of the total assets invested in the underlying PIMCO funds. PIMCO may recoup these waivers in future periods, not exceeding three years, provided total expenses, including such recoupment, do not exceed the annual expense limit. The fee reduction is implemented based on a calculation of underlying PIMCO fund expenses attributable to management, supervisory and administrative fees that is different from the calculation of “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses” shown in the table. “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses” include interest expense of 0.05%. Interest expense results from certain transactions within the underlying PIMCO funds and is separate from the management fees paid to PIMCO. “Total Fund Operating Expenses” excluding interest expense of the underlying fund is 1.66%. The fees shown in the table do not reflect the expense waiver. If this expense waiver had been reflected, the “Total Fund Operating Expenses” shown (excluding the interest expense of the underlying funds) would be 1.52%. The “Total Fund Operating Expenses” shown may not correlate to the portfolio’s ratio of expense to average net assets shown in the Financial Highlights section of the prospectus for the portfolio, which does not include “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.” For more information, please refer to the prospectus for the portfolio.
11 John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC (“JHIMS”) has contractually agreed to waive its management fee by 0.05% as a percentage of the portfolio’s average annual net assets. The current expense limitation agreement expires on April 30, 2019 unless renewed by mutual agreement of the portfolio and JHIMS based upon a determination that this is appropriate under the circumstances at that time. The fees shown in the table do not reflect this waiver or reimbursement. If this waiver or reimbursement had been reflected, the “Total Fund Operating Expenses” for the portfolio would be 0.48%. For more information, please refer to the prospectus for the portfolio.
DETAILED INFORMATION
This section of the prospectus provides additional detailed information that is not contained in the Summary of Benefits and Risks section.
Table of Variable Investment Accounts and Investment Subadvisers
When you select a Separate Account variable investment account, we invest your money in shares of a corresponding portfolio of the John Hancock Variable Insurance Trust (the “Trust” or “JHVIT”) (or the PIMCO Variable Insurance Trust (the “PIMCO Trust”) with respect to the PIMCO VIT All Asset portfolio) and hold the shares in a subaccount of the Separate Account. The Fee Tables show the investment management fees, Rule 12b-1 fees and other operating expenses for these portfolio shares as a percentage (rounded to two decimal places) of each portfolio's average net assets for 2017, except as indicated in the footnotes appearing at the end of the table. Fees and expenses of the portfolios are not fixed or specified under the terms of the policies and may vary from year to year. These fees and expenses differ for each portfolio and reduce the investment return of each portfolio. Therefore, they also indirectly reduce the return you will earn on any Separate Account investment options you select.
The JHVIT and the PIMCO Trust are so-called “series” type mutual funds and each is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“1940 Act”) as an open-end management investment company. John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC (“JHIMS”) provides investment advisory services to the Trust and receives investment management fees for doing so. JHIMS pays a portion of its investment management fees to other firms that manage the Trust’s portfolios. We are affiliated with JHIMS and may indirectly benefit from any investment management fees JHIMS retains. The PIMCO VIT All Asset portfolio of the PIMCO Trust receives investment advisory services from Pacific Investment Management Company LLC (“PIMCO”) and pays investment management fees to PIMCO.
Each of the American Asset Allocation, American Global Growth, American Growth, American Growth-Income, and American International portfolios invests in Series 1 shares of the corresponding investment portfolio of the Trust. The American Asset Allocation, American Global Growth, American Growth, American Growth-Income and, American International portfolios (“American Portfolios”) operate as “feeder funds,” which means that the portfolios do not buy investment securities directly. Instead, they invest in a “master fund” which in turn purchases investment securities. Each of the American feeder fund portfolios has the same investment objective and limitations as its master fund. The prospectus for the American Fund master fund is included with the prospectuses for the underlying funds. We pay American Funds Distributors, Inc., the principal underwriter for the American Funds Insurance Series, a percentage of some or all of the amounts allocated to the American Portfolios of the Trust for the marketing support services it provides.
The portfolios pay us or certain of our affiliates compensation for some of the distribution, administrative, shareholder support, marketing and other services we or our affiliates provide to the portfolios. Compensation payments may be made by a portfolio’s investment adviser or its affiliates. The compensation payments are based on a percentage of the assets of the portfolios attributable to the variable insurance products that we and our affiliates issue. These percentages may differ from portfolio to portfolio and among classes of shares within a portfolio. In some cases, the compensation is derived from the Rule 12b-1 fees that are deducted from a portfolio’s assets for the services we or our affiliates provide to that portfolio. These compensation payments do not, however, result in any charge to you in addition to what is shown in the Fee Tables.
The following table provides a general description of the portfolios that underlie the variable investment accounts we make available under the policy. You bear the investment risk of any portfolio you choose as a variable investment account for your policy. You can find a full description of each portfolio, including the investment objectives and strategies, policies, restrictions, and risks, in the prospectus for that portfolio. You should read the portfolio’s prospectus carefully before investing in the corresponding variable investment account.
The variable investment accounts in the Separate Account are not publicly traded mutual funds. The variable investment accounts are only available to you as variable investment accounts in the policies, or in some cases through other variable annuity contracts or variable life insurance policies issued by us or by other life insurance companies. In some cases, the variable investment accounts also may be available through participation in certain qualified pension or retirement plans. The portfolios' investment advisers and managers (i.e. subadvisers) may manage publicly traded mutual funds with similar names and investment objectives. However, the portfolios are not directly related to any publicly traded mutual fund. You should not compare the performance of any variable investment account described in this prospectus with the performance of a publicly traded mutual fund. The performance of any publicly traded mutual fund could differ substantially from that of any of the variable investment accounts of our Separate Account.
The portfolios available under the policies, the investment subadvisers (engaged by JHIMS or PIMCO) and the investment objective for each portfolio are described in the table below. For additional information regarding these portfolios’ investment objectives and strategies, policies and restrictions of and the risks relating to investment in the portfolios, please refer to the prospectus for the underlying portfolio.
Portfolio | Subadviser | Investment Objective |
500 Index | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited | To approximate the aggregate total return of a broad-based U.S. domestic equity market index. |
Active Bond | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC | To seek to provide income and capital appreciation. |
American Asset Allocation | Capital Research and Management Company (Adviser to the American Funds Insurance Series) | To seek to provide high total return (including income and capital gains) consistent with preservation of capital over the long-term. |
American Global Growth | Capital Research and Management Company (Adviser to the American Funds Insurance Series) | To seek to provide long-term growth of capital. |
American Growth | Capital Research and Management Company (Adviser to the American Funds Insurance Series) | To seek to provide growth of capital. |
American Growth–Income | Capital Research and Management Company (Adviser to the American Funds Insurance Series) | To seek to provide growth of capital and income. |
American International | Capital Research and Management Company (Adviser to the American Funds Insurance Series) | To seek to provide long-term growth of capital. |
Blue Chip Growth | T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. | To seek to provide long-term growth of capital. Current income is a secondary objective. |
Capital Appreciation | Jennison Associates LLC | To seek to provide long-term growth of capital. |
Capital Appreciation Value | T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. | To seek to provide long-term capital appreciation. |
Core Bond | Wells Capital Management, Incorporated | To seek to provide total return consisting of income and capital appreciation. |
Emerging Markets Value | Dimensional Fund Advisors LP | To seek to provide long-term capital appreciation. |
Equity Income | T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. | To seek to provide substantial dividend income and also long-term growth of capital. |
Financial Industries | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC | To seek to provide growth of capital. |
Fundamental All Cap Core | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC | To seek to provide long-term growth of capital. |
Fundamental Large Cap Value | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC | To seek to provide long-term capital appreciation. |
Global | Templeton Global Advisors Limited | To seek to provide long-term capital appreciation. |
Global Bond | Pacific Investment Management Company LLC | To seek to provide maximum total return, consistent with preservation of capital and prudent investment management. |
Health Sciences | T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. | To seek to provide long-term capital appreciation. |
High Yield | Western Asset Management Company | To seek to provide an above-average total return over a market cycle of 3 to 5 years, consistent with reasonable risk. |
International Equity Index | SSGA Funds Management, Inc. | To seek to track the performance of a broad-based equity index of foreign companies primarily in developed countries and, to a lesser extent, in emerging markets. |
International Growth Stock | Invesco Advisers, Inc. | To seek to provide long-term growth of capital. |
International Small Company | Dimensional Fund Advisors LP | To seek to provide long-term capital appreciation. |
Portfolio | Subadviser | Investment Objective |
International Value | Templeton Investment Counsel, LLC | To seek to provide long-term growth of capital. |
Investment Quality Bond | Wellington Management Company LLP | To seek to provide a high level of current income consistent with the maintenance of principal and liquidity. |
Lifestyle Balanced | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC; and John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited | To seek to provide a high level of current income and growth of capital, with a greater emphasis on growth of capital. |
Lifestyle Conservative | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC; and John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited | To seek to provide a high level of current income with some consideration given to growth of capital. |
Lifestyle Growth | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC; and John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited | To seek to provide long-term growth of capital. Current income is also a consideration. |
Lifestyle Moderate | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC; and John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited | To seek to provide a balance between a high level of current income and growth of capital, with a greater emphasis on income. |
Managed Volatility Aggressive | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC; and John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited | To seek to provide long-term growth of capital while seeking to both manage the volatility of return and limit the magnitude of portfolio losses. |
Managed Volatility Balanced | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC; and John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited | To seek to provide growth of capital and current income while seeking to both manage the volatility of return and limit the magnitude of portfolio losses. |
Managed Volatility Conservative | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC; and John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited | To seek to provide current income and growth of capital while seeking to both manage the volatility of return and limit the magnitude of portfolio losses. |
Managed Volatility Growth | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC; and John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited | To seek to provide long-term growth of capital while seeking to both manage the volatility of return and limit the magnitude of portfolio losses. |
Portfolio | Subadviser | Investment Objective |
Managed Volatility Moderate | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC; and John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited | To seek to provide current income and growth of capital while seeking to both manage the volatility of return and limit the magnitude of portfolio losses. |
Mid Cap Index | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited | To seek to approximate the aggregate total return of a medium-capitalization U.S. domestic equity market index. |
Mid Cap Stock | Wellington Management Company, LLP | To seek to provide long-term growth of capital. |
Mid Value | T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. | To seek to provide long-term capital appreciation. |
Money Market | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC | To seek to obtain maximum current income consistent with preservation of principal and liquidity. Certain market conditions may cause the return of the portfolio to become low or possibly negative. |
PIMCO VIT All Asset (a series of PIMCO Variable Insurance Trust) (only Class M is available) | Pacific Investment Management Company LLC | To seek to provide maximum real return, consistent with preservation of real capital and prudent investment management. |
Real Estate Securities | Deutsche Investment Management Americas Inc. | To seek to provide a combination of long-term capital appreciation and current income. |
Science & Technology | Allianz Global Investors U.S. LLC; and T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. | To seek to provide long-term growth of capital. Current income is incidental to the portfolio’s objective. |
Select Bond | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC | To seek to provide income and capital appreciation. |
Short Term Government Income | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC | To seek to provide a high level of current income consistent with preservation of capital. Maintaining a stable share price is a secondary goal. |
Small Cap Index | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited | To seek to approximate the aggregate total return of a small-capitalization U.S. domestic equity market index. |
Small Cap Opportunities | Dimensional Fund Advisors LP; and Invesco Advisers, Inc. | To seek to provide long-term capital appreciation. |
Small Cap Stock | Wellington Management Company LLP | To seek to provide long-term capital appreciation. |
Small Cap Value | Wellington Management Company LLP | To seek to provide long-term capital appreciation. |
Small Company Value | T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. | To seek to provide long-term growth of capital. |
Strategic Income Opportunities | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC | To seek to provide a high level of current income. |
Total Bond Market | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC | To seek to track the performance of the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index.* |
Total Stock Market Index | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited | To seek to approximate the aggregate total return of a broad U.S. domestic equity market index. |
Ultra Short Term Bond | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC | To seek to provide a high level of current income consistent with the maintenance of liquidity and the preservation of capital. |
Utilities | Massachusetts Financial Services Company | To seek to provide capital growth and current income (income above that available from the portfolio invested entirely in equity securities). |
* The Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index represents the U.S. investment grade bond market.
If the shares of a portfolio are no longer available for investment or in our judgment investment in a portfolio becomes inappropriate, we may eliminate the shares of a portfolio and substitute shares of another portfolio of the Trust or another open-end registered investment company. Substitution may be made with respect to both existing investments and the investment of future purchase payments. However, we will make no such substitution without first notifying you and obtaining approval of the appropriate insurance regulatory authorities and the SEC (to the extent required by the 1940 Act).
Valuation
We will purchase and redeem series fund shares for the Separate Account at their net asset value without any sales or redemption charges. Shares of a series fund represent an interest in one of the funds of the series fund which corresponds to a subaccount of the Separate Account. Any dividend or capital gains distributions received by the Separate Account will be reinvested in shares of that same fund at their net asset value as of the dates paid.
On each business day, shares of each series fund are purchased or redeemed by us for each subaccount based on, among other things, the amount of net premiums allocated to the subaccount, distributions reinvested, and transfers to, from and among subaccounts, all to be effected as of that date. Such purchases and redemptions are effected at each series fund's net asset value per share determined for that same date. A “business day” is any date on which the New York Stock Exchange is open for trading. We compute policy values for each business day as of the close of that day (usually 4:00 p.m. Eastern time).
Voting interest
We will vote shares of the portfolios held in the Separate Account at the shareholder meetings according to voting instructions timely received from persons having the voting interest under the policies. We will determine the number of portfolio shares for which voting instructions may be given not more than 90 days prior to the meeting. Proxy material will be distributed to each person having the voting interest under the policy together with appropriate forms for giving voting instructions. We will vote all portfolio shares that we hold in the Separate Account for policy owners in proportion to the instructions timely received by us from policy owners from all our Separate Accounts that are registered with the SEC under the 1940 Act. We will vote all portfolio shares that we otherwise are entitled to vote (including our own shares) on any matter in proportion to the instructions timely received by us and any affiliated insurance companies with respect to the matter from policy owners in Separate Accounts of these insurance companies that are registered with the SEC under the 1940 Act. The effect of this proportional voting is that a small number of policy owners can determine the outcome of a vote.
We determine the number of a series fund's shares held in a subaccount attributable to each owner by dividing the amount of a policy's variable investment account value held in the subaccount by the net asset value of one share in the series fund. Fractional votes will be counted. We determine the number of shares as to which the owner may give instructions as of the record date for a series fund's meeting. Owners of policies may give instructions regarding the election of the Board of Trustees or Board of Directors of a series fund, ratification of the selection of independent auditors, approval of series fund investment advisory agreements and other matters requiring a shareholder vote. We will furnish owners with information and forms to enable owners to give voting instructions. However, we may, in certain limited circumstances permitted by the SEC's rules, disregard voting instructions. If we do disregard voting instructions, you will receive a summary of that action and the reasons for it in the next semi-annual report to owners.
The voting privileges described above reflect our understanding of applicable Federal securities law requirements. To the extent that applicable law, regulations or interpretations change to eliminate or restrict the need for such voting privileges, we reserve the right to proceed in accordance with any such revised requirements. We also reserve the right, subject to compliance with applicable law, including approval of owners if so required, (1) to transfer assets determined by John Hancock USA to be associated with the class of policies to which your policy belongs from the Separate Account to another separate account or subaccount, (2) to deregister the Separate Account under the 1940 Act, (3) to substitute for the fund shares held by a subaccount any other investment permitted by law, and (4) to take any action necessary to comply with or obtain any exemptions from the 1940 Act. Any such change will be made only if, in our judgment, the change would best serve the interests of owners of policies in your policy class or would be appropriate in carrying out the purposes of such policies. We would notify owners of any of the foregoing changes and to the extent legally required, obtain approval of affected owners and any regulatory body prior thereto. Such notice and approval, however, may not be legally required in all cases.
Description of John Hancock (USA)
We are a stock life insurance company incorporated in Maine on August 20, 1955 by a special act of the Maine legislature and redomesticated under the laws of Michigan. We are a licensed life insurance company in the District of Columbia and all states of the United States except New York. Our ultimate parent is Manulife Financial Corporation (“MFC”), a publicly traded company based in Toronto, Canada. MFC is the holding company of John Hancock USA and its subsidiaries. However, neither John Hancock USA nor any of its affiliated companies guarantees the investment performance of the Separate Account. Our executive office is located at 197 Clarendon St., Boston, MA 02117.
We are ranked and rated by independent financial rating services, which may include Moody's, Standard & Poor's, Fitch and A.M. Best. The purpose of these ratings is to reflect the financial strength or claims-paying ability of the company, but they do not specifically relate to its products, the performance (return) of these products, the value of any investment in these products upon withdrawal or to individual securities held in any portfolio. These ratings do not apply to the safety and performance of the Separate Account.
Description of Separate Account A
The variable investment accounts shown on page 1 are in fact subaccounts of the John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.) Separate Account A (the “Separate Account”), a separate account operated by us under Michigan law. The Separate Account meets the definition of “separate account” under the Federal securities laws and is registered as a unit investment trust under the 1940 Act. Such registration does not involve supervision by the SEC of the management of the Separate Account or of us.
The Separate Account’s assets are our property. Each policy provides that amounts we hold in the Separate Account pursuant to the policies cannot be reached by any other persons who may have claims against us and can’t be used to pay any indebtedness of John Hancock USA other than those arising out of policies that use the Separate Account. Income, gains and losses credited to, or charged against, the Separate Account reflect the Separate Account's own investment experience and not the investment experience of John Hancock USA's other assets. John Hancock USA is obligated to pay all amounts promised to policy owners under the policies.
New variable investment accounts may be added and made available to policy owners from time to time. Existing variable investment accounts may be modified or deleted at any time.
The fixed account
Our obligations under any fixed account are backed by our general account assets. Our general account consists of assets owned by us other than those in the Separate Account and in other separate accounts that we may establish. Subject to applicable law, we have sole discretion over the investment of assets of the general account and policy owners do not share in the investment experience of, or have any preferential claim on, those assets. Instead, we guarantee that the policy value allocated to any fixed account will accrue interest daily at an effective annual rate that we determine without regard to the actual investment experience of the general account. We currently offer only one fixed account—the standard fixed account. The effective annual rate we declare for the fixed account will never be less than 2%. We reserve the right to offer one or more additional fixed accounts with characteristics that differ from those of the current fixed account, but we are under no obligation to do so.
Because of exemptive and exclusionary provisions, interests in our fixed account have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act of 1933 (“1933 Act”) and our general account has not been registered as an investment company under the 1940 Act. Accordingly, neither the general account nor any interests therein are subject to the provisions of these acts, and we have been advised that the staff of the SEC has not reviewed the disclosure in this prospectus relating to any fixed account. Disclosure regarding fixed accounts, however, is subject to certain generally-applicable provisions of the Federal securities laws relating to accuracy and completeness of statements made in prospectuses.
The death benefit
In your application for the policy, you will tell us how much life insurance coverage you want on the life of the insured person. This is called the “Total Face Amount.” Total Face Amount is composed of the Base Face Amount and any Supplemental Face Amount you elect. The Supplemental Face Amount you can have generally cannot exceed 400% of the Base Face Amount at the Issue Date. Thereafter, scheduled and unscheduled increases to the Supplemental Face Amount
cannot exceed 400% of the Total Face Amount at the Issue Date. There are a number of factors you should consider in determining whether to elect coverage in the form of Base Face Amount or in the form of Supplemental Face Amount. These factors are discussed under “Base Face Amount vs. Supplemental Face Amount” below.
When the insured person dies, we will pay the death benefit minus any outstanding policy debt and unpaid fees and charges. There are two ways of calculating the death benefit. You must choose which one you want in the application. The two death benefit options are described below.
• | Option 1 - The death benefit will equal the greater of (1) the Total Face Amount plus any amount payable under a supplementary benefit rider, or (2) the minimum death benefit (as described below). |
• | Option 2 - The death benefit will equal the greater of (1) the Total Face Amount plus any amount payable under a supplementary benefit rider,plus the policy value on the date of death, or (2) the minimum death benefit. |
For the same premium payments, the death benefit under Option 2 will tend to be higher than the death benefit under Option 1. On the other hand, the Base Face Amount charge and resulting cost of insurance charges (based on the higher net amount at risk) will be higher under Option 2 to compensate us for the additional insurance risk. Because of that, the policy value will tend to be higher under Option 1 than under Option 2 for the same premium payments.
Limitations on payment of death benefit
If the insured person commits suicide within certain time periods (generally within two years from the Issue Date of the policy), the amount payable will be equal to the premiums paid, less the amount of any policy debt on the date of death, and less any withdrawals.
Also if an application misstated the age or sex of the insured person, we will adjust, if necessary, the Base Face Amount, any Supplemental Face Amount, and every other benefit to that which would have been purchased at the correct age or sex by the most recent cost of insurance charge.
Base Face Amount vs. Supplemental Face Amount
As noted above, you should consider a number of factors in determining whether to elect coverage in the form of Base Face Amount or in the form of Supplemental Face Amount.
For the same amount of premiums paid, the amount of the Face Amount charge deducted from policy value and the amount of compensation paid to the selling insurance agent will generally be less if coverage is included as Supplemental Face Amount, rather than as Base Face Amount. On the other hand, the amount of any Supplemental Face Amount may be subject to a shorter No-Lapse Guarantee Period (see “No-lapse guarantee”). Also, after the insured person reaches age 121, the amount of any Supplemental Face Amount will terminate.
If your priority is to reduce your Face Amount charges, you may wish to maximize the proportion of the Supplemental Face Amount. However, if your priority is to take advantage of the No-Lapse Guarantee feature after the fifth policy year or to maximize the death benefit when the insured person reaches age 121, then you may wish to maximize the proportion of the Base Face Amount. However, the No-Lapse Guarantee for the Base Face Amount under any policy that has elected an increasing Supplemental Face Amount or the Return of Premium Death Benefit Rider is limited to the first five policy years.
The minimum death benefit
In order for a policy to qualify as life insurance under Federal tax law, there has to be a minimum amount of insurance in relation to policy value. There are two tests that can be applied under Federal tax law—the “guideline premium test” and the “cash value accumulation test.” You must elect which test you wish to have applied at issue. Once elected, the test cannot be changed without our approval.
Under the guideline premium test, we compute the minimum death benefit each business day by multiplying the policy value on that date by the death benefit factor applicable on that date. Factors for some ages are shown in the table below:
Attained Age | | Applicable Factor |
40 and under
| | 250% |
45
| | 215% |
50
| | 185% |
55
| | 150% |
60
| | 130% |
65
| | 120% |
70
| | 115% |
75
| | 105% |
90
| | 105% |
95 and above
| | 100% |
A table showing the factor foreach age will appear in the policy.
Under the cash value accumulation test, we compute the minimum death benefit each business day by multiplying the policy value on that date by the death benefit factor applicable on that date. The factor decreases as attained age increases. A table showing the factor for each age will appear in the policy.
The cash value accumulation test may be preferable if you want to fund the policy so that the minimum death benefit will increase earlier than would be required under the guideline premium test, or if you want to fund the policy at the “7 pay” limit for the full seven years (see “Tax considerations”).
To the extent that the calculation of the minimum death benefit under the selected life insurance qualification test causes the death benefit to exceed our limits, we reserve the right to return premiums or distribute a portion of the policy value so that the resulting amount of insurance is maintained within our limits. Alternatively, if we should decide to accept the additional amount of insurance, we may require additional evidence of insurability.
Requesting an increase in coverage
After the first policy year, you may make a written request for an unscheduled increase in Supplemental Face Amount. We must receive your written request within two months of your next policy anniversary. Generally, each such increase must be at least $50,000 and increases in any one policy year cannot exceed 25% of the Total Face Amount at issue. You will have to provide us with evidence that the insured person qualifies for the same risk classification that applied to them at issue. Generally, any increase will be effective on the next policy anniversary following the date we approve the request. Any unscheduled increase in Supplemental Face Amount after issue would first require that you terminate the Disability Payment of Specified Premium, Long-Term Care and Return of Premium Death Benefit Riders you may have elected at issue. The No-Lapse Guarantee Period for the Base Face Amount under any policy that has an unscheduled Supplemental Face Amount increase is limited to the first two policy years.
Requesting a decrease in coverage
After the first policy year, we may approve a reduction in the Base Face Amount or the Supplemental Face Amount, but only if:
• | the remaining Base Face Amount will be at least $50,000, and |
• | the remaining Total Face Amount will at least equal the minimum required by the tax laws to maintain the policy’s life insurance status. |
A pro-rata portion of the surrender charge will be payable upon any requested reduction in the Base Face Amount (see “Surrender charge”). If approved, you may reduce up to 10% of your Base Face Amount at issue without incurring a pro rata
surrender charge at that time. This surrender charge exemption does not apply to full surrenders or net cash surrender withdrawals (see “Surrender and withdrawals - Withdrawals”). An approved decrease will take effect on the monthly deduction date on or next following the date we approve the request. We reserve the right to require that the Supplemental Face Amount be fully depleted before the Base Face Amount can be reduced.
Change of death benefit option
Under our current administrative rules, we permit the death benefit option to be changed from Option 2 to Option 1 after the first policy year. If you request in writing, and we approve a change from Option 2 to Option 1, your Total Face Amount after the change will equal your Total Face Amount before the change plus the policy value as of the effective date of the change. If you change from Option 2 to Option 1, your death benefit will change from one that may increase over time due to the investment experience of the underlying variable investment accounts to one that is a level death benefit. Changing from Option 2 to Option 1 can also lower the monthly Cost of Insurance charge since this charge is lowered when the Net Amount At Risk is reduced; all other charges under the policy would remain the same. We reserve the right to limit a request for a change if the change would cause the policy to fail to qualify as life insurance for tax purposes.
A change in the death benefit option will result in a change in the policy's Total Face Amount, in order to avoid any change in the amount of the death benefit. The new Total Face Amount will be equal to the Total Face Amount prior to the change plus the policy value as of the date of the change. The change will take effect on the monthly deduction date on or next following the date the written request for the change is received at our Service Office.
Notwithstanding other policy limits, if the change from Option 2 to 1 yields a Total Face Amount that is larger than 400% of the Total Face Amount at issue, we will allow for the increase. The change will take effect on the monthly deduction date on or next following the date the written request for the change is received at our Service Office.
Tax consequences of coverage changes
If you change the death benefit option, the Federal tax law test (“guideline premium test” or “cash value accumulation test”) that you elected at issue will continue to apply. Please read “The minimum death benefit” for more information about these Federal tax law tests.
A change in the death benefit option or Total Face Amount will often change the policy's limits under the Federal tax law test that you elected. To avoid having the policy cease to qualify as life insurance for tax purposes, we reserve the right to (i) refuse or limit a change in the death benefit option or Total Face Amount and (ii) change the Guideline Single Premium or Guideline Level Premium, as applicable. Please read “Tax considerations” to learn about possible tax consequences of changing your insurance coverage under the policy.
Changing a payment option
You can change the payment option at any time before the proceeds are payable. If you haven’t made a choice, the payee of the proceeds has a prescribed period in which he or she can make that choice.
Tax impact of payment option chosen
There may be tax consequences to you or your beneficiary depending upon which payment option is chosen. You should consult with a qualified tax adviser before making that choice.
Premiums
Planned premiums
The Policy Specifications page of your policy will show the “Planned Premium” for the policy. You choose this amount in the policy application. You will also choose how often to pay premiums—annually, semi-annually or quarterly. You may also choose to pay premiums by monthly electronic funds transfers. The premium reminder notice we send you is based on the amount and period you choose. However, payment of Planned Premiums is not necessarily required. You need only pay enough premium to keep the policy in force (see “Lapse and reinstatement”).
Minimum initial premium
The Minimum Initial Premium is set forth in the Policy Specifications page of your policy. After the payment of the initial premium, premiums may be paid at any time and in any amount until the insured person's attained age 121, subject to the need to pay enough premium to keep the policy in force, and to the limitations on maximum premium amount described below.
Maximum premium payments
Federal tax law limits the amount of premium payments you can make relative to the amount of your policy’s insurance coverage. We will not knowingly accept any amount by which a premium payment exceeds this limit. If you exceed certain other limits, the law may impose a penalty on amounts you take out of your policy. If our receipt of any premium payment would cause the policy to be treated as a Modified Endowment Contract under the Federal tax laws, we will only process the payment on the first Business Day after we have received satisfactory written instructions from you. More discussion of these tax law requirements is provided under “Tax considerations.”
Large premium payments may expose us to unanticipated investment risk. In addition, in order to limit our investment risk exposure under certain market conditions, we may refuse to accept additional premium payments. This may be the case, for example, in an environment of decreasing interest rates, where we may not be able to acquire investments for our general account that will sufficiently match the liabilities we are incurring under our fixed account guarantees. Excessive allocations may also interfere with the effective management of our variable investment accounts, if we are unable to make an orderly investment of the additional premium into the variable investment accounts. Also, we may refuse to accept or limit an amount of premium if the amount of the premium would increase our insurance risk exposure, and the insured person doesn't provide us with adequate evidence that he or she continues to meet our requirements for issuing insurance.
We will notify you in writing of our refusal to accept premium under these provisions within three days following the date that it is received by us, and will promptly thereafter take the necessary steps to return the premium to you. Notwithstanding the foregoing limits on the premium that we will accept, we will not refuse to accept any premium necessary to prevent the policy from terminating.
Processing premium payments
No premiums will be accepted prior to our receipt of a completed application at our Service Office. All premiums received prior to the Issue Date of the policy will be held in the general account and credited with interest from the date of receipt at the rate of return then being earned on amounts allocated to the Money Market investment account. After the Issue Date but prior to the Allocation Date, net premiums received are allocated to the Money Market variable investment account. The “Allocation Date” of the policy is the tenth day after the Issue Date. The Issue Date is shown on the Policy Specifications page of the policy. On the Allocation Date, the Net Premiums paid plus interest credited, if any, will be allocated among the variable investment accounts or the fixed account in accordance with the policy owner's instructions. The “Net Premium” is the premium paid less the applicable premium charges we deduct from it.
Any Net Premium received on or after the Allocation Date will be allocated among variable investment accounts or the fixed account as of the business day on or next following the date the premium is received at the Service Office. Monthly deductions are normally due on the Policy Date and at the beginning of each policy month thereafter. However, if the monthly deductions are due prior to the Contract Completion Date, they will be deducted from policy value on the Contract Completion Date instead of the dates they were due (see “Procedures for issuance of a policy” for the definition of “Contract Completion Date”).
Payment of premiums will not guarantee that the policy will stay in force. Conversely, failure to pay premiums will not necessarily cause the policy to lapse. However, in states where permitted, the policy will have a No-Lapse Guarantee which would prevent the policy from lapsing during the guarantee period, provided certain criteria are satisfied.
Ways to pay premiums
If you pay premiums by check or money order, they must be drawn on a U.S. bank in U.S. dollars and made payable to “John Hancock.” We will not accept credit card checks. We will not accept starter or third party checks if they fail to satisfy our administrative requirements. Premiums after the first must be sent to the John Hancock USA Service Office at the appropriate address shown on the back cover of this prospectus.
We will also accept premiums:
• | by wire or by exchange from another insurance company, or |
• | via an electronic funds transfer program (any owner interested in makingmonthly premium payments must use this method). |
Lapse and reinstatement
Lapse
Unless the No-Lapse Guarantee is in effect, a policy will go into default if at the beginning of any policy month the policy's net cash surrender value would be zero or below after deducting the monthly deductions then due. Therefore, a policy could lapse eventually if increases in policy value (prior to deduction of policy charges) are not sufficient to cover policy charges. A lapse could have adverse tax consequences as described under “Tax considerations.” We will notify you of the default and will allow a 61 day grace period in which you may make a premium payment sufficient to bring the policy out of default. The required payment will be equal to the amount necessary to bring the net cash surrender value to zero, if it was less than zero on the date of default, plus an amount equal to three times the monthly deductions due on the date of default, plus any applicable premium charge. If the required payment is not received by the end of the grace period, the policy will terminate (i.e., “lapse”) with no value.
No-lapse guarantee
In those states where it is permitted, as long as the cumulative premium test is satisfied during the No-Lapse Guarantee Period, as described below, we will guarantee that the policy will not go into default, even if adverse investment experience or other factors should cause the policy's surrender value to fall to zero or below during such period.
The monthly No-Lapse Guarantee Premium is one-twelfth of the No-Lapse Guarantee Premium. The No-Lapse Guarantee Premium is not a charge assessed against the policy value. It is an amount used in determining whether the cumulative premium test has been satisfied.
The No-Lapse Guarantee Premium is set at issue on the basis of the Base Face Amount and any Supplemental Face Amount and reflects the age, sex and risk class of the proposed insured, the death benefit option elected, as well as any additional rating and supplementary benefits, if applicable. It is subject to change if (i) the Total Face Amount of the policy is changed, (ii) there is a death benefit option change, (iii) there is a decrease in the Face Amount of insurance, or (iv) there is any change in the supplementary benefits added to the policy or in the risk classification of the insured person.
The No-Lapse Guarantee Period is set at issue and is stated in the policy. The No-Lapse Guarantee Period for any Supplemental Face Amount is the first five policy years. Certain state limitations may apply, but generally the No-Lapse Guarantee Period for the Base Face Amount is (i) the lesser of twenty years or to age 75 or (ii) five years if the insured person's issue age is 70 or older. The No-Lapse Guarantee Period for the Base Face Amount under any policy that has elected an increasing Supplemental Face Amount or a Return of Premium Death Benefit Rider, however, is limited to the first five policy years.
While the No-Lapse Guarantee is in effect, we will determine at the beginning of the policy month that your policy would otherwise be in default whether the cumulative premium test, described below, has been met. If the test has not been satisfied, we will notify you of that fact and allow a 61-day grace period in which you may make a premium payment sufficient to keep the policy from going into default. This required payment, as described in the notification, will be equal to the lesser of:
(a) the outstanding premium requirement to satisfy the cumulative premium test at the date of default, plus the monthly No-Lapse Guarantee Premium due for the next three policy months, or
(b) the amount necessary to bring the Net Cash Surrender Value to zero plus an amount equal to three times the monthly deductions due on the date of default, plus the applicable premium charge.
If the required payment is not received by the end of the grace period, the No-Lapse Guarantee and the policy will terminate. If you make the required payment under (a) described above, only the Base Face Amount will remain in effect, and any Supplemental Face Amount and any supplementary benefit riders (unless otherwise stated therein) will terminate as of the end of the grace period.
Cumulative premium test
The cumulative premium test is satisfied if, as of the beginning of the policy month that your policy would otherwise be in default, the sum of all premiums paid to date less any withdrawals taken on or before the date of the test and less any policy debt is equal to or exceeds the sum of the monthly No-Lapse Guarantee Premium due from the Policy Date to the date of the test.
Death during grace period
If the insured person should die during the grace period, the policy value used in the calculation of the death benefit will be the policy value as of the date of default and the death benefit will be reduced by any outstanding monthly deductions due at the time of death.
Reinstatement
By making a written request, you can reinstate a policy that has gone into default and terminated at any time within the three-year period following the date of termination subject to the following conditions:
(a) You must provide to us evidence of the insured person's insurability that is satisfactory to us; and
(b) You must pay a premium equal to the amount that was required to bring the policy out of default immediately prior to termination, plus the amount needed to keep the policy in force for at least the next three policy months.
If the reinstatement is approved, the date of reinstatement will be the later of the date we approve your request or the date the required payment is received at our Service Office. In addition, any surrender charges will be reinstated to the amount they were at the date of default. The policy value on the date of reinstatement, prior to the crediting of any Net Premium paid in connection with the reinstatement, will be equal to the policy value on the date the policy terminated. Any policy debt not paid upon termination of a policy will be reinstated if the policy is reinstated.
Generally, the suicide exclusion and incontestability provisions will apply from the effective date of reinstatement. A surrendered policy cannot be reinstated.
The policy value
From each premium payment you make, we deduct the applicable premium charges described under “Deduction from premium payments.” We invest the rest (known as the “Net Premium”) in the variable investment accounts or and any fixed account you've elected. Special investment rules apply to premiums processed prior to the Allocation Date (see “Premiums - - Processing premium payments”).
Over time, the amount you've invested in any variable investment account will increase or decrease the same as if you had invested the same amount directly in the corresponding underlying portfolio and had reinvested all portfolios' dividends and distributions in additional portfolio shares, except that we will deduct certain additional charges which will reduce your policy value. We describe these charges under “Description of charges at the policy level.” Starting in policy year eleven, we may also credit your policy value with an asset credit (see “Asset credit”).
We calculate the unit values for each variable investment account once every business day as of the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange, usually 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. Sales and redemptions within any variable investment account will be transacted using the unit value next calculated after we receive your request either in writing or other form that we specify. If we receive your request before the close of our business day, we'll use the unit value calculated as of the end of that business day. If we receive your request at or after the close of our business day, we'll use the unit value calculated as of the end of the next business day. If a scheduled transaction falls on a day that is not a business day, we'll process it as of the end of the next business day.
The amount you've invested in the fixed account will earn interest at the rates we declare from time to time. For the fixed account, we guarantee that this rate will be at least 2%. If you want to know what the current declared rate is for the fixed account, just call or write to us. The asset-based risk charge only applies to that portion of the policy value held in the variable investment accounts. The charge determined does not apply to the fixed account. Otherwise, the policy level charges applicable to the fixed account are the same as those applicable to the variable investment accounts. We reserve the right to offer one or more additional fixed accounts with characteristics that differ from those of the current fixed account, but we are under no obligation to do so.
Asset credit
Starting in the eleventh policy year, we may credit your policy value monthly, on the date we calculate your monthly deductions, with an amount equal to the percentage credit listed below multiplied by the policy value in your variable investment accounts on this date. The asset credit does not apply to the loan account or the fixed account. The asset credit percentage is 0.0125% per month in policy year eleven and thereafter and ceasing at attainment of age 121. We add the credit to the same variable investment accounts from which we take your monthly deductions. This credit is not guaranteed and we reserve the right to discontinue it at any time.
Allocation of future premium payments
At any time, you may change the variable investment accounts or any fixed account in which future premium payments will be invested. You make the original allocation in the application for the policy. The percentages you select must be in whole numbers and must total 100%.
Transfers of existing policy value
You may also transfer your existing policy value from one variable investment account or any fixed account to another, subject to the limitations discussed below. To do so, you must tell us how much to transfer, either as a whole number percentage or as a specific dollar amount. A confirmation of each transfer will be sent to you. Without our approval, the maximum amount you may transfer to or from any variable investment account or any fixed account in any policy year is $1,000,000.
Market timing and disruptive trading practices
Variable investment accounts in variable life insurance products can be a prime target for abusive transfer activity because these products value their variable investment accounts on a daily basis and allow transfers among variable investment accounts without immediate tax consequences. As a result, some investors may seek to frequently transfer into and out of variable investment accounts or to make large transfers in reaction to market news or to exploit a perceived pricing inefficiency. Whatever the reason, long-term investors in any variable investment account can be harmed by large or frequent transfer activity. For example, such activity may expose the variable investment account's underlying portfolio to increased portfolio transaction costs and/or disrupt the portfolio manager's ability to effectively manage the portfolio's investments in accordance with the portfolio's investment objectives and policies. This could include causing the portfolio to maintain higher levels of cash than would otherwise be the case, or liquidating investments prematurely. Accordingly, frequent or large transfers may result in dilution with respect to interests held for long-term investment and adversely affect policy owners, beneficiaries and the underlying portfolios.
To discourage market timing and disruptive trading activity, we impose restrictions on transfers and reserve the right to change, suspend or terminate telephone, facsimile and internet transaction privileges (see “How you communicate with us”). We also reserve the right to impose a fee of up to $25 for any transfer beyond an annual limit (which will not be less than twelve). No transfer fee will be imposed on any transfer from a variable investment account into any fixed account if the transfer occurs during the following periods:
• | within 18 months after the policy's Issue Date, or |
• | within 60 days after the later of the effective date of a material change in the investment objectives of any variable investment account or the date you are notified of the change. |
In addition to the actions described above, we also reserve the right to take other actions at any time to restrict trading, including, but not limited to: (i) restricting the number of transfers made during a defined period, (ii) restricting the dollar amount of transfers, (iii) restricting transfers into and out of certain variable investment accounts, (iv) restricting the method used to submit transfers, and (v) deferring a transfer at any time we are unable to purchase or redeem shares of the underlying portfolio.
We may also impose additional administrative conditions upon, or prohibit a transfer request made by a third party giving instructions on behalf of multiple policies, whether owned by the same owner or different owners. If you engage a third party for asset allocation services, then you may be subject to these transfer restrictions because of the actions of that party in providing those services. We will notify the third party you have engaged if we exercise this right. While we seek to
identify and prevent disruptive trading activity, it may not always be possible to do so.Therefore, no assurance can be given that the restrictions we impose will be successful in preventing all disruptive trading and avoiding harm to long-term investors.
Limitations on transfers to or from a variable investment account. Our current practice is to restrict transfers into or out of variable investment accounts to two per calendar month (except with respect to those policies described in the following paragraphs). For purposes of this restriction, and in applying the limitation on the number of free transfers, any transfers made during the period from the opening of a business day (usually 9:00 a.m. Eastern time) to the close of that business day (usually 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) are considered one transfer. You may, however, transfer to the Money Market variable investment account even if the two transfers per month limit has been reached, but only if 100% of the account value in all variable investment accounts is transferred to the Money Market variable investment account. If such a transfer to the Money Market variable investment account is made, then for the 30 calendar day period after such transfer no transfers from the Money Market variable investment account to any other variable account or any fixed account may be made. If your policy offers a dollar cost averaging or automatic asset allocation rebalancing program, any transfers pursuant to such program are not considered transfers subject to these restrictions on frequent trading. The restrictions described in this paragraph will be applied uniformly to all policy owners subject to the restrictions.
Policies such as yours may be purchased by a corporation or other entity as a means to informally finance the liabilities created by an employee benefit plan, and to this end the entity may aggregately manage the policies purchased to match its liabilities under the plan. Policies sold under these circumstances are subject to special transfer restrictions. In lieu of the two transfers per month restriction, we will allow the policy owner under these circumstances to rebalance the variable investment accounts in its policies within the following limits: (i) during the 10 calendar day period after any policy values are transferred from one variable investment account into a second variable investment account, the values can only be transferred out of the second variable investment account if they are transferred into the Money Market variable investment account; and (ii) any policy values that would otherwise not be transferable by application of the 10 day limit described above and that are transferred into the Money Market variable investment account may not be transferred out of the Money Market variable investment account into any other variable investment account or any fixed account for 30 calendar days. The restrictions described in this paragraph will be applied uniformly to all policy owners subject to the restrictions.
Subject to our approval, we may offer policies purchased by a corporation or other entity that has purchased policies to match its liabilities under an employee benefit plan, as described above, the ability to electronically rebalance the variable investment accounts in its policies. Under these circumstances, in lieu of imposing any specific limit upon the number and timing of transfers, we will monitor aggregate trades among the subaccounts for frequency, pattern and size for potentially harmful investment practices. If we detect trading activity that we believe may be harmful to the overall operation of any variable investment account or underlying portfolio, we may impose conditions on policies employing electronic rebalancing to submit trades, including setting limits upon the number and timing of transfers, and revoking privileges to make trades by any means other than written communication submitted via U.S. mail. While we seek to identify and prevent disruptive frequent trading activity, it may not always be possible to do so. Therefore no assurance can be given that the restrictions we impose will be successful in preventing all disruptive frequent trading and avoiding harm to long-term investors. The restrictions described in these paragraphs will be applied uniformly to all policy holders subject to the restrictions.
Rule 22c-2 under the 1940 Act requires us to provide tax identification numbers and other policy owner transaction information to the Trust or to other investment companies in which the Separate Account invests, at their request. An investment company will use this information to identify any pattern or frequency of variable investment account transfers that may violate their frequent trading policy. An investment company may require us to impose trading restrictions in addition to those described above if violations of their frequent trading policy are discovered.
Limitations on transfers out of the fixed account. Transfers out of the fixed account option in any one policy year are limited to the greater of (i) the fixed account maximum transfer amount of $2,000, (ii) the fixed account maximum transfer percentage of 15% multiplied by the amount of the fixed account on the immediately preceding policy anniversary, or (iii) the amount transferred out of the fixed account during the previous policy year. Any transfer out of the fixed account may not involve a transfer to the Money Market variable investment account.
We reserve the right to impose a minimum amount limit on transfers out of any fixed account. We also reserve the right to impose different restrictions on any additional fixed account that we may offer in the future.
We may waive the transfer restrictions on the fixed account. Please contact us or your John Hancock USA representative to find out if a waiver is currently in effect.
Dollar cost averaging. We may offer policy owners a dollar cost averaging (“DCA”) program. Under the DCA program, you will designate an amount that will be transferred monthly from one variable investment account into any other variable investment account or a fixed account. If insufficient funds exist to effect a DCA transfer, the transfer will not be effected and you will be so notified. No fee is charged for this program. This program may be used in conjunction with the asset allocation balancer transfer program detailed below.
We reserve the right to cease to offer this program as of 90 days after written notice is sent to you.
Asset allocation balancer transfers. Under the asset allocation balancer program you will designate an allocation of policy value among variable investment accounts. We will move amounts among the variable investment accounts at specified intervals you select - annually, semi-annually, quarterly or monthly. A change to your premium allocation instructions will automatically result in a change in asset allocation balancer instructions so that the two are identical unless you either instruct us otherwise or have elected the dollar cost averaging program. No fee is charged for this program. This program may be used in conjunction with the DCA program detailed above.
We reserve the right to cease to offer this program as of 90 days after written notice is sent to you.
Surrender and withdrawals
Surrender
You may surrender your policy in full at any time. If you do, we will pay you the policy value less any policy debt and surrender charge that then applies. This is called your “net cash surrender value.” You must return your policy when you request a surrender. We will process surrenders on the day we receive the surrender request (unless such day is not a business day, in which case we will process surrenders as of the business day next following the date of the receipt).
Withdrawals
After the first policy year, you may make a withdrawal of part of your net cash surrender value once in each policy month. Generally, each withdrawal must be at least $500. If the withdrawal results in a reduction in Base Face Amount, a charge equal to a pro-rata portion of any surrender charge will be applied during the surrender charge period. We will automatically reduce the policy value of your policy by the amount of the withdrawal. Unless otherwise specified by you, each variable investment account and any fixed account will be reduced in the same proportion as the policy value that is then allocated among them. We will not permit a withdrawal if it would cause your surrender value to fall below three months’ worth of monthly deductions (see “Deductions from policy value”). We reserve the right to refuse any withdrawal that would cause the policy’s Base Face Amount to fall below $50,000.
Because it reduces the policy value, any withdrawal will reduce your death benefit under either Option 1 or Option 2 (see “The death benefit”). Under Option 1, such a withdrawal may also reduce the Total Face Amount. Generally, any such reduction in the Total Face Amount will be implemented by first reducing any Supplemental Face Amount then in effect. We reserve the right to approve reductions in the Base Face Amount prior to eliminating the Supplemental Face Amount. You should consider a number of factors in determining whether to continue coverage in the form of Base Face Amount or Supplemental Face Amounts (see “Base Face Amount vs. Supplemental Face Amount”). If such a reduction in Total Face Amount would cause the policy to fail the Internal Revenue Code’s definition of life insurance, we will not permit the withdrawal. As noted above, if the withdrawal results in a reduction in Base Face Amount, a pro-rata portion of the applicable surrender charge will be deducted from the policy value (see “Surrender charge”).
For example, assume a policy owner that has elected death benefit Option 1 requests a withdrawal of $25,000 on a policy with a Base Face Amount of $200,000 and a current surrender charge of $10,000. The $25,000 withdrawal would reduce the Base Face Amount from $200,000 to $175,000. The reduction in Base Face Amount would trigger a partial surrender charge equal to the surrender charge times the proportionate reduction in Base Face Amount, in this case equal to $10,000 X (25,000/200,000) or $1,250. The surrender charge after the withdrawal would be equal to $10,000 - $1,250 or $8,750. If the policy owner had instead purchased a policy with $200,000 of Base Face Amount and $100,000 of Supplemental Face Amount, the withdrawal of $25,000 would reduce the Supplemental Face Amount from $100,000 to $75,000. Since the Base Face Amount would remain at $200,000, no partial surrender charge would be deducted.
Policy loans
You may borrow from your policy at any time by completing a form satisfactory to us. The maximum amount you can borrow is the greater of (i) 90% of net cash surrender value and (ii) the amount determined as set out below.
• | We first determine the net cash surrender value of your policy. |
• | We then subtract an amount equal to the monthly deductions then being deducted from policy value times the number of full policy months until the next policy anniversary. |
• | We then multiply the resulting amount by the difference between the effective annual rate then being charged on loans and the effective annual rate then being credited on the loan account. |
• | We then subtract the third item above from the second item above. |
The minimum amount of each loan is $500. The interest charged on any loan is an effective annual rate of 3.25% in the first ten policy years and 2.00% thereafter. However, we reserve the right to increase the percentage after the tenth policy year to as much as 2.25%. Accrued interest will be added to the loan daily and will bear interest at the same rate as the original loan amount. Unless otherwise specified by you, the amount of the loan is deducted from the variable investment accounts and any fixed account in the same proportion as the policy value is then allocated among them. The amount of the loan is then placed in a special loan account. This special loan account will earn interest at an effective annual rate of 2.00%. The tax consequences of a loan interest credited differential of 0% are unclear. You should consult a tax adviser before effecting a loan to evaluate possible tax consequences. If we determine that a loan will be treated as a taxable distribution because of the differential between the loan interest rate and the rate being credited on the special loan account, we reserve the right to increase the rate charged on the loan to a rate that would, in our reasonable judgment, result in the transaction being treated as a loan under Federal tax law. The right to increase the rate charged on the loan is restricted in some states. Please see your John Hancock USA representative for details. We process policy loans as of the business day on or next following the day we receive the loan request.
Repayment of policy loans
You can repay all or part of a loan at any time. Each repayment will be allocated among the variable investment accounts and any fixed account as set out below.
• | The same proportionate part of the loan as was borrowed from the fixed account will be repaid to that fixed account. |
• | The remainder of the repayment will be allocated among the variable investment accounts and any fixed account in the same way a new premium payment would be allocated (unless otherwise specified by you). |
If you want a payment to be used as a loan repayment, you must include instructions to that effect. Otherwise, all payments will be assumed to be premium payments. We process loan repayments as of the day we receive the repayment.
Loan repayments received prior to the close of the New York Stock Exchange will be applied on the same day it was received. Loan repayments received after the close of the New York Stock Exchange will be applied as of the next business day.
Effects of policy loans
The policy value, the net cash surrender value, and any death benefit are permanently affected by any loan, whether or not it is repaid in whole or in part. This is because the amount of the loan is deducted from the variable investment accounts or any fixed account and placed in a special loan account. The variable investment accounts or any fixed account and the special loan account will generally have different rates of investment return.
The amount of the outstanding loan (which includes accrued and unpaid interest) is subtracted from the amount otherwise payable when the policy proceeds become payable.
Taking a loan on the policy increases the risk that the policy may lapse because of the difference between the interest rate charged on the loan and the interest rate credited to the special loan account. When a loan is outstanding, the amount in the loan account is not available to help pay for any policy charges. If, after deducting your policy loan, there is not enough policy value to cover the policy charges, your policy could lapse. Also, whenever the outstanding loan equals or exceeds your policy value after the insured person reaches age 121, the policy will terminate 31 days after we have mailed notice of termination to you (and to any assignee of record at such assignee’s last known address) specifying the amount that must be
paid to avoid termination, unless a repayment of at least the amount specified is made within that period.Policy loans may also result in adverse tax consequences under certain circumstances (see “Tax considerations”).
Description of charges at the policy level
Deduction from premium payments
• | Premium charge - A charge to help defray our sales costs and related taxes. The current charge is 8% is deducted from all premiums paid in the first policy year. A premium charge of 6% is deducted from all premiums paid in policy years 2-10. A premium charge of 2% is deducted from all premiums paid in policy years 11 and thereafter. We will stop accepting premium payments at and after the life insured's age 121 (see “Coverage at and after age 121”). |
Deductions from policy value
• | Administrative charge - A monthly charge to help cover our administrative costs. This is a flat dollar charge of $20 per month that will cease at and after the insured person reaches age 121. |
• | Base Face Amount charge - A monthly charge for the first ten policy years, to primarily help cover sales costs. To determine the charge we multiply the amount of Base Face Amount at issue by a rate that varies by the insured person's sex, age, death benefit option and risk classification at issue. |
• | Supplemental Face Amount charge - A monthly charge for the first ten policy years, to primarily help cover sales costs. To determine the charge we multiply the amount of Supplemental Face Amount at issue by a rate that varies by the insured person's sex, age, death benefit option and risk classification at issue. |
• | Cost of insurance charge - A monthly charge for the cost of insurance. To determine the charge, we multiply the net amount of insurance for which we are then at risk by a cost of insurance rate. The rate is derived from an actuarial table. The table in your policy will show the maximum cost of insurance rates. The cost of insurance rates that we currently apply are generally less than the maximum rates, and the current rates will never be more than the maximum rates shown in the policy. Cost of insurance charges will cease at and after the insured person reaches age 121. The cost of insurance rates we use will depend on the age at issue, the insurance risk characteristics and (usually) sex of the insured person, and the length of time the policy has been in effect. Regardless of the table used, cost of insurance rates generally increase each year that you own your policy, as the insured person's age increases. (The insured person's “age” on any date is his or her age on the birthday nearest that date.) For death benefit Option 1, the net amount at risk is equal to the greater of zero, or the result of (a) minus (b) where: |
(a) is the death benefit as of the first day of the Policy Month, divided by 1.0016516; and
(b) is the policy value as of the first day of the Policy Month after the deduction of all other monthly deductions.
Since the net amount at risk for death benefit Option 1 is based on a formula that includes as factors the death benefit and the policy value, the net amount at risk is affected by the investment performance of the variable investment accounts chosen, payment of premiums and charges assessed.
If the minimum death benefit is greater than the Total Face Amount, the cost of insurance charge will reflect the amount of that additional benefit.
For death benefit Option 2, the net amount at risk is equal to the Total Face Amount of insurance divided by 1.0016516.
• | Asset-based risk charge - A monthly charge to help cover sales, administrative and other costs. The charge is a percentage of that portion of your policy value allocated to variable investment accounts. This charge does not apply to the current fixed account. We do not currently impose this charge, but reserve the right to do so in the policy. Any charge would cease at and after the insured person reaches age 121. |
• | Supplementary benefitridercharges - A charge for any supplementary insurance benefits added to the policy by means of a rider. |
• | Loan interest rate - We will charge interest on any amount you borrow from your policy. The interest charged on any loan is an effective annual rate of 3.25% in the first ten policy years and 2.00% thereafter. However, we reserve the right to increase the percentage after the tenth policy year to as much as 2.25% (see “Policy loans”). |
• | Transfer fee - We currently do not impose a fee upon transfers of policy value among the variable investment accounts, but reserve the right to impose a fee of up to $25 for any transfer beyond an annual limit (which will not be less than 12) to compensate us for the costs of processing these transfers (see “Market timing and disruptive trading practices”). |
• | Surrender charge - A charge we deduct if the policy lapses or is surrendered, or if the Base Face Amount is reduced within the first ten policy years. We deduct this charge to compensate us for sales expenses that we would otherwise not recover in the event of early lapse, a surrender or a reduction in Base Face Amount. The surrender charge amount is determined by a formula that is set out in your policy, and is impacted by your age, sex, risk classification, Base Face Amount, death benefit option and the amount of premiums paid in policy year 1. The surrender charge decreases each month and becomes zero at the end of the tenth policy year. |
The surrender charge is equal to the lesser of (a) and (b), multiplied by the Surrender Charge Grading Factor in your policy, where
(a) is a surrender charge for the Base Face Amount at issue, indicated in the Policy Specifications page of the policy, less the result of 4.11% multiplied by the sum of premiums paid in the first policy year, and
(b) is an alternate surrender charge for the Base Face Amount at issue, also indicated in the Policy Specifications page of the policy
Both calculations (a) and (b) are intended to enable us to recoup acquisition expenses incurred in relation to the sale of your policy. The calculation in (a) limits the surrender charge amount in some cases to make sure that your policy conforms to applicable state non-forfeiture laws.
For an example showing how the surrender charge is determined, assume a policy on a male age 45 nonsmoker, providing a $1,000,000 death benefit Option 2 with no riders, paying a Target Premium of $17,090 as of policy year 1, and subject to an applicable Surrender Charge Grading Factor of 100% in policy year 1.
To determine the surrender charge in (a), first multiply 27.990 per $1,000 of $1,000,000 Base Face Amount. The result is $27.990 x ($1,000,000/$1,000) = $27,990. $27,990 is the amount that is indicated in the Policy Specifications page. Next you must subtract from $27,990 the product of 4.11% multiplied by the sum of premiums paid in policy year 1 ($17,090). The result is $27,287.60 - i.e., $27,990 - 4.11% x $17,090 = $27,287.60. In our example above, the surrender charge amount in (a) is $27,287.60. To determine the surrender charge in (b), multiple 30.070 per $1,000 of $1,000,000 of Base Face Amount. The result is $30.070 x ($1,000,000/$1,000) = $30,070. This is the amount indicated in the Policy Specifications page.
The lesser of the amounts in (a) and (b) is the $27,287.60, which is the amount derived from the calculation in (a), and thus, that is the amount of the surrender charge that would be applied. In this example, where the surrender occurs in the first policy year, the Surrender Charge Grading Factor that would be applied to the surrender charge is 100%, and therefore the surrender charge for this example is $27,287.60 – i.e., $27,287.60 x 100% = $27,287.60. The surrender charge is dependent upon the policy year during which a reduction in Base Face Amount, lapse or surrender occurs, and the Surrender Charge Grading Factor percentage is graded down over the policy duration until the tenth policy year.
Policy Year | | Percentage Applied |
1
| | 100% |
2
| | 97% |
3
| | 95% |
4
| | 94% |
5
| | 92% |
6
| | 83% |
7
| | 79% |
8
| | 67% |
9
| | 55% |
10
| | 38% |
11+
| | 0% |
The percentage is graded down proportionately at the beginning of each policy month until the next level is reached. The above table applies only if the insured person is age 45 at issue. A pro-rata portion of the surrender charge may also be charged in the case of any reduction in Base Face Amount (see “Surrender and withdrawals - Withdrawals” and “Requesting a decrease in coverage”). The pro-rata charge is calculated by dividing the reduction in Base Face
Amount by the Base Face Amount immediately prior to the reduction and then multiplying the applicable surrender charge by that ratio. If approved, you may reduce up to 10% of your Base Face Amount at issue without incurring a pro-rata surrender charge at that time. This surrender charge exemption does not apply to full surrenders or net cash surrender withdrawals (see “Surrender and withdrawals - Withdrawals”).
Additional information about how certain policy charges work
Sales expenses and related charges
The premium and Base Face Amount charges help to compensate us for the cost of selling our policies (see “Description of charges at the policy level”). The amount of the charges in any policy year does not specifically correspond to sales expenses for that year. We expect to recover our total sales expenses over the life of the policies. To the extent that the premium and Base Face Amount charges do not cover total sales expenses, the sales expenses may be recovered from other sources, including the asset-based risk charge and other charges with respect to the policies, or from our general assets. Similarly, administrative expenses not fully recovered by the administrative charge may also be recovered from such other sources.
Method of deduction
Unless we agree otherwise or you do not have sufficient funds in any fixed account or variable investment accounts, we deduct the monthly deductions described in the Fee Tables section from your policy’s variable investment accounts and any fixed account in proportion to the amount of policy value you have in each of the variable investment accounts and any fixed account.
Special purchase programs for eligible classes
With respect to policies issued to a class of associated individuals or to a trustee, employer or similar entity where we anticipate that the sales to the members of the class will result in lower than normal sales or administrative expenses, lower taxes or lower risks to us, we may offer the policies with reduced charges or with additional or enhanced features or benefits. We will make these programs available in accordance with our established administrative procedures in effect at the time of the application for a policy. The factors we consider in determining the eligibility of a particular group for such a program are: (i) the nature of the association and its organizational framework; (ii) the method by which sales will be made to the members of the class; (iii) the facility with which premiums will be collected from the associated individuals and the association's capabilities with respect to administrative tasks; (iv) the anticipated lapse and surrender rates of the policies; (v) the size of the class of associated individuals and the number of years it has been in existence; (vi) the aggregate amount of premiums paid; and (vii) any other such circumstances which result in a reduction in sales or administrative expenses, lower taxes or lower risks. Any reduction in charges or feature or benefit enhancement will be reasonable and will apply uniformly to all prospective policy purchasers in the class and will not unfairly discriminate against any owner.
The Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”) contains additional information about any special purchase program we currently make available. For information as to how you may obtain a copy of the SAI, please see the last page of this prospectus.
Other charges we could impose in the future
Except for a portion of the premium charge, we currently make no charge for our Federal income taxes. However, if we incur, or expect to incur, income taxes attributable to any subaccount of the Separate Account or this class of policies in future years, we reserve the right to make a charge for such taxes. Any such charge would reduce what you earn on any affected accounts. However, we expect that no such charge will be necessary.
A portion of the premium charge is used to cover premium taxes. Premium taxes vary by jurisdiction and are subject to change. Currently, premium tax levels range from 0% to 3.5%.
Under current laws, we may incur state and local taxes (in addition to premium taxes) in several states. At present, these taxes are not significant. If there is a material change in applicable state or local tax laws, we may make charges for such taxes.
Description of charges at the portfolio level
The portfolios must pay investment management fees and other operating expenses. These fees and expenses (shown in the tables of portfolio annual expenses under “Fee Tables”) are different for each portfolio and reduce the investment return of each portfolio. Therefore, they also indirectly reduce the return you will earn on any variable investment accounts you select. Expenses of the portfolios are not fixed or specified under the terms of the policy, and those expenses may vary from year to year.
Coverage at and after age 121
Provided the policy is in force at and after the life insured's age 121:
• | We will stop accepting any premium payments |
• | We will no longer take monthly deductions for the cost of insurance charge, the Base Face Amount charge, the administrative charge, and the asset-based risk charge |
• | We will continue to credit interest to a fixed account |
• | We will continue to charge loan interest on any outstanding loan |
• | We will continue to accept loan repayments on existing loans |
• | Any Supplemental Face Amount will be terminated (see “Base Face Amount vs. Supplemental Face Amount”) |
• | We will not allow any withdrawals |
• | Generally, we will not allow any new loans. |
Other policy benefits, rights and limitations
Optional supplementary benefit riders you can add
When you apply for a policy, you can request any of the optional supplementary benefit riders that we then make available. Availability of any rider, the benefits it provides and the charges for it may vary by state. Our rules and procedures will govern eligibility for any rider and, in some cases, the configuration of the actual rider benefits. Each rider contains specific details that you should review before you decide to choose the rider. Charges for most riders will be deducted from the policy value. We may change these charges (or the rates that determine them), but not above any applicable maximum amount stated in the Policy Specifications page of your policy. We may add to, delete from or modify the list of optional supplementary benefit riders.
• | Healthy Engagement Rider - Our Healthy Engagement Rider provides you with the opportunity to add credits (as described below) to your policy value based upon the insured’s ongoing participation in activities that promote a healthy lifestyle. |
Healthy engagement “Status” categories. If you elect this rider, the insured person will qualify for one of four healthy engagement status (“Status”) categories each year. The Status categories are based on the longevity benefits of certain healthy activities in which the insured person engages (such as regular checkups, biometric screenings, exercising regularly, participating in health educational programs, and periodically considering and answering certain health-related questions) and other health-related information about the insured person. The insured person’s Status category may change from year to year. (Current information relating to the insured person’s Status and/or the standards for determining Status are available through our Service Office at 1-800-387-2747.)
Beginning in the second policy year, if the insured person has qualified for one of the three highest Status categories, we will contribute a percentage of your policy’s monthly cost of insurance charge in the form of a credit (a “Rider Credit”) to your policy value, subject to the conditions mentioned below. Any Rider Credits will be allocated automatically to each variable investment account and/or any fixed account from which, and in the same proportion as, we are taking your monthly deductions. The Healthy Engagement Rider also provides the insured person with the possibility of other benefits, including discounted wearable devices, gear used to engage in healthy activities, biometric screenings, access to health and fitness information, and other discounts and offers that depend on the insured person having a certain Status. These and any other benefits available pursuant to the rider, are designed to encourage a high level of engagement by the insured person in activities that are correlated with improved longevity.
Under the Healthy Engagement Rider, several considerations are relevant to the percentage, if any, of any month’s cost of insurance charge that we will contribute as a Rider Credit to your policy. One important consideration is the insured person’s Status category for the current year and for prior years. If the insured person has always been in the lowest Status category, no Rider Credits will be paid. The higher the insured person’s Status category, and the more years the insured person qualifies for higher Status categories, the larger your Rider Credits are likely to be.
Also, the Rider Credit that is contributed to your policy in any month will not be more than the difference between the maximum amount of cost of insurance charge that your policy permits us to deduct for that month and the amount of cost of insurance charge that we actually deduct for that month. This means that the amount of any Rider Credit will be less the closer we are to charging the maximum cost of insurance rate that the policy permits; and there will not be any Rider Credit if and when we are charging the maximum cost of insurance rate.We will continue to deduct the Healthy Engagement Rider charge in instances where no Rider Credits are being earned and we are charging the maximum cost of insurance rate under the policy.Although our ability to change the cost of insurance rate (subject to the maximum rate) can therefore affect whether and how much Rider Credit you may receive, no Rider Credits that we contributed to your policy value prior to such a change would be affected.
The amount of the Rider Credits that are contributed to your policy value in any month also will be reduced if the death benefit under your policy then exceeds $20,000,000. In such cases, the reduction in any Rider Credit will be larger as the death benefit at the time of such credit exceeds $20,000,000.
The amount of any Rider Credit for a month in which the policy is in default (as described under “Lapse and reinstatement”) will be applied first to pay any monthly deductions that are then due and unpaid and next to reduce the Default Payment, with any remaining amount then being contributed to your policy value in accordance with the allocation instructions then in effect for premium payments. The same procedure also will apply for any month in which the policy is being continued in force under it No-Lapse Guarantee provision, except that no amount will be applied to reduce a Default Payment.
We have the right to change at any time the qualification standards for Status categories. Such changes will be based on our expectations of the impact of those standards on future mortality, policy persistency, our expenses, our capital and reserve requirements, and our taxes relating to the policies. Any such changes, however, will be determined prospectively on a basis that does not discriminate unfairly within any class of insured persons. If we change the qualification standards for a Status level, it has an effect on the amount of Rider Credits you may earn for future months, but it will not affect the Rider Credits you have already earned. Also, we may change or terminate any other incentives (such as access to health and fitness information, offers, discounts, tools, or other services designed to encourage the insured to participate in activities that promote a healthy lifestyle) that we may make available from time to time to insured persons under the Healthy Engagement Rider.
Depending on the Healthy Engagement Rider approved in your state, we reserve the right to deduct the rider charge until the later of the policy anniversary nearest the insured person’s 80th birthday or the 20th policy anniversary. However, we currently deduct the rider charge on the policy anniversary nearest the insured person’s 80th birthday in all states. In all states, if the Health Engagement Rider is still in effect on the policy anniversary nearest the insured person’s 80th birthday, no new Rider Credits will be earned and all previously earned Rider Credits will continue to apply as provided in the rider. The availability to the insured person of certain benefits may cease when the rider charge ceases.
You may elect to discontinue the rider at any time by written notice to us. In that case, the same circumstances described above will apply.
If your policy terminates for any reason, the Healthy Engagement Rider also will terminate, although no Rider Credits that we contributed to your policy value prior to the termination will be affected.
Although the standards for determining a Status category may be administered directly by us or through an affiliated or unaffiliated provider that we designate, any termination or change in such third-party provider will not terminate or modify the Healthy Engagement Rider or our obligations thereunder.
There may be costs associated with meeting the standards to qualify for a given Status level that will not be reimbursed by the Company. Examples of such costs include, but are not limited to, health coverage co-pays, health club fees, athletic events, health equipment, health monitoring devices, and athletic attire.
Critical Illness Benefit Rider - Our Critical Illness Benefit Rider is designed to pay the policy owner a one-time, lump sum benefit amount if the insured person is diagnosed for the first time with one of seven critical illnesses (as defined in the rider) (“Critical Illness”) while this rider is in force and after the waiting period has been satisfied, subject to all policy and rider provisions. However, if the Insured receives a first time diagnosis for one of the Critical Illnesses before the rider is in force or during the rider's waiting period, then the policy owner will not receive benefits under this rider for that Critical Illness. Benefits under this rider will not begin until we receive proof of the insured person's initial diagnosis of a Critical Illness. Once the Critical Illness Benefit Amount has been paid, this rider will terminate. The Critical Illness Benefit Amount is an amount that is separate from the death benefit and may be used for any purpose. The charge for this rider is deducted each month from the Policy Value. Deductions for the rider charge will impact your cash surrender value under the policy.We will treat the monthly charges for the Critical Illness Rider as distributions from your life insurance policy for Federal tax purposes. In addition, please note that there is a risk that benefits received by certain third-party owners under this rider may have adverse tax consequences (see “Tax considerations”).
The Critical Illness Benefit Amount is determined at issue, shown in the Policy Specifications, and equal to your election of either 10% or 25% of the Face Amount, subject to a $250,000 maximum. Once issued, you cannot change your Critical Illness Benefit Amount. However, any policy change that results in a reduction in the Face Amount will reduce your Critical Illness Benefit Amount proportionally.
If there is a reduction in the Face Amount, the new Critical Illness Benefit Amount will be equal to the lesser of (a) and (b), where:
(a) is the Critical Illness Benefit Percent, shown in the Policy Specifications, multiplied by the Face Amount immediately after reduction of the Face Amount; and
(b) is the Critical Illness Benefit Amount immediately before the reduction in Face Amount.
Any increases to the Face Amount will not result in a recalculation of the Critical Illness Benefit Amount.
Benefits under this rider do not reduce the Maximum Monthly Benefit Amount that is calculated under the Long-Term Care Benefit Rider.
Benefits paid under this rider do not provide or pay for the cost of medical care and are meant to be supplemental to health insurance that does pay for such costs. This rider is not a substitute for health insurance coverage, nor does it provide for supplemental coverage to Medicare. The benefits provided by this rider may not be coordinated with benefits provided by other coverage. Please review the benefits provided by this rider carefully to avoid possible duplication of coverage.
When this rider terminates, no further Rider Charge will be due and no Critical Illness Benefit Amount will be available.
• | Disability Payment of Specified Premium Rider - This rider will deposit the Specified Premium into the policy value of your policy each month during the total disability (as defined in the rider) of the insured person. There is a six month “waiting period” of total disability before deposits begin. Deposits continue until cessation of total disability, but will cease at the insured person’s 65th birthday if total disability begins on or after the policy anniversary nearest the insured person’s 60th birthday. The “Specified Premium” is chosen at issue and will be stated in the Policy Specifications page of your policy. |
• | Long-Term Care Rider - This rider provides for periodic advance payments to you of a portion of the death benefit if the insured person becomes “chronically ill” so that such person: (1) is unable to perform at least two activities of daily living without substantial human assistance or has a severe cognitive impairment; and (2) is receiving certain qualified services described in the rider. The decision to add this rider must be made at issuance of the policy. If you elect this rider, you will also have an option to apply to have a portion of the policy's death benefit advanced to you in the event of terminal illness.Please note that there is a significant risk that ownership of a policy with this rider by anyone other than the insured will cause adverse tax consequences (see “Tax considerations”). |
Benefits under the Long-Term Care Rider will not begin until we receive proof that the insured person qualifies and has received “qualified long-term care service,” while the policy was in force. You must continue to submit evidence during the insured person's lifetime of the insured person's eligibility for rider benefits.
There is a maximum amount of death benefit that we will advance for each month of qualification. This amount, called the “Maximum Monthly Benefit Amount,” is equal to the amount of the death benefit that may be accelerated under the rider (as of the day the insured qualifies for benefits) multiplied by the Monthly Acceleration Percentage, which is the percentage of the death benefit you can accelerate each month. The Monthly Acceleration Percentage must be elected when you apply for the policy. The actual amount of any advance is based on the expense incurred by the insured person, up to the Maximum Monthly Benefit Amount, for each day of qualified long-term care service in a calendar month, as described in the rider. We will recalculate the Maximum Monthly Benefit Amount if you make a withdrawal of policy value, and for other events described in the rider. Each advance reduces the remaining death benefit under your policy, and causes a proportionate reduction in your policy value. If you have a policy loan, we will use a pro-rata portion of each death benefit advance to repay indebtedness. For example, if current indebtedness is $10,000, the death benefit is $100,000, and the gross advance is $2,000, then the net advance would be $1,800 = $2,000 X (1 - ($10,000/ $100,000)). As a result of the advance, the indebtedness will be reduced by $200.
We restrict your policy value's exposure to market risk when benefits are paid under the Long-Term Care Rider. We do this in several ways. First, before we begin paying any Monthly Benefit, we will transfer all policy value from the variable investment accounts to the fixed account. (The amount to be transferred will be determined on the business day immediately following the date we approve a request for benefits under the rider.) In addition, you will not be permitted to transfer policy value or allocate any additional premium payment to a variable investment account while rider benefits are paid. Your participation in any of the automatic investment plans will also be suspended during this period.
If the insured person no longer qualifies for rider benefits and your policy remains in force, you will be permitted to invest new premium payments or transfer existing policy value in the variable investment accounts. (The restriction on transfers from the fixed account will continue to apply.)Benefits under this rider do not reduce the No-Lapse Guarantee Premium requirements that may be necessary for the No-Lapse Guarantee to remain in effect after a termination of rider benefits.
Finally, please note that there is a significant risk that ownership of a policy with this rider by anyone other than the insured person will cause adverse tax consequences. If the owner of the policy is not the insured person, benefit payments may be included in the owner's income, and the death benefit may be part of the estate of the insured person for purposes of Federal estate tax (see “Tax considerations”).
• | Return of Premium Death Benefit Rider - You may elect to have your policy issued with an optional Return of Premium Death Benefit Rider. This rider provides an additional death benefit payable upon the death of the insured person. The Return of Premium Death Benefit has an initial value equal to your initial premium times the “Percentage of Premium” you select (which may range between 0% and 100%). We show the Percentage of Premium you select in the Policy Specifications page.This benefit is only available to you if you elect death benefit Option 1. It may not be used in conjunction with Disability Payment of Specified Premium or the Long-Term Care Rider. |
• | Cash Value Enhancement Rider - Your policy may be issued with the Cash Value Enhancement Rider. The decision to add this rider to your policy must be made at issuance of the policy and, once made, is irrevocable. The benefit of this rider is that the cash surrender value of your policy is enhanced during the period for which surrender charges are applicable. Under the Cash Value Enhancement Rider, the enhancement is provided by reducing the surrender charge that would otherwise have applied upon policy surrender or lapse. The Cash Value Enhancement Rider does not apply to reduce the surrender charge upon decreases in Face Amount or partial withdrawals. |
Under this rider, the enhancement in cash surrender value is equal to the surrender charge multiplied by the applicable Cash Value Enhancement Waiver Percentage. The applicable Cash Value Enhancement Waiver Percentages under this rider during the Surrender Charge Period are set forth below:
Policy Year | | Cash Value Enhancement Waiver Percentage |
1
| | 90% |
2
| | 80% |
3
| | 60% |
4
| | 40% |
5
| | 20% |
6+
| | 0% |
• | Overloan Protection Rider - This rider will prevent your policy from lapsing on any date if policy debt exceeds the death benefit. The benefit is subject to a number of eligibility requirements relating to, among other things, the number of years the policy has been in force, the attained age of the life insured, the death benefit option elected and the tax status of the policy. |
When the Overloan Protection Benefit in this rider is invoked, all values in the investment accounts are immediately transferred to the fixed account and will continue to grow at the current fixed account interest rate. Transfer fees do not apply to these transfers. Thereafter, policy changes and transactions are limited as set forth in the rider; for example, death benefit increases or decreases, additional premium payments, policy loans, withdrawals, surrender and transfers are no longer allowed. Any outstanding policy debt will remain. Interest will continue to be charged at the policy's specified loan interest rate, and the policy's loan account will continue to be credited with the policy's loan interest credited rate. Any applicable No-Lapse Guarantee under the policy no longer applies, and any supplementary benefit rider requiring a monthly deduction will automatically be terminated.
When the Overloan Protection Rider causes the policy to be converted into a fixed policy, there is risk that the Internal Revenue Service could assert that the policy has been effectively terminated and that the outstanding loan balance should be treated as a distribution. Depending on the circumstances, all or part of such deemed distribution may be taxable as income. You should consult a tax adviser as to the risks associated with the Overloan Protection Rider.
• | Accelerated Benefit Rider - This rider provides for acceleration of payment of a portion of the death benefit should the insured person become terminally ill and have a life expectancy of one year or less. You must meet the following conditions before we pay the benefit. |
• | You must provide written evidence satisfactory to us that the life insured is terminally ill and has a life expectancy of one year or less. |
• | We must have a signed consent of any irrevocable beneficiary and any assignee. |
• | You must claim the benefit voluntarily. We will not pay the benefit if you are claiming it to satisfy creditors or for government benefits. |
If you satisfy the above conditions, we will pay you 50% of the eligible death benefit, up to a maximum of $1,000,000. We will not make a payment if it would be less than $10,000. Payment of the benefit will reduce your death benefit and any cash value or loan value under your policy. You should consult your tax adviser and social service agencies before you decide to receive the benefit under this rider. This rider is only available with policies that are individually owned.
Variations in policy terms
Insurance laws and regulations apply to us in every state in which our policies are sold. As a result, terms and conditions of your insurance coverage may vary depending on where you purchase a policy. We disclose all material variations in this prospectus.
We may vary the charges and other terms of our policies where special circumstances result in sales or administrative expenses, mortality risks or other risks that are different from those normally associated with the policies. These include the type of variations discussed under “Special purchase programs for eligible classes.” No variation in any charge will exceed any maximum stated in this prospectus with respect to that charge.
Any variation discussed above will be made only in accordance with uniform rules that we adopt and that we apply fairly to our customers.
Procedures for issuance of a policy
Generally, the policy is available with a minimum Base Face Amount at issue of $50,000. At the time of issue, the insured person must have an attained age of no more than 90. The insured person must meet certain health and other insurance risk criteria called “underwriting standards.”
Policies issued in Montana or in connection with certain employee plans will not directly reflect the sex of the insured person in either the premium rates or the charges or values under the policy.
Commencement of insurance coverage
After you apply for a policy, it can sometimes take up to several weeks for us to gather and evaluate all the information we need to decide whether to issue a policy to you and, if so, what the insured person's risk classification should be. After we approve an application for a policy and assign an appropriate insurance risk classification, we will prepare the policy for delivery. We will not pay a death benefit under a policy unless the policy is in effect when the insured person dies (except for the circumstances described under “Temporary coverage prior to policy delivery” below).
The policy will take effect only if all of the following conditions are satisfied:
• | The policy is delivered to and received by the applicant. |
• | The Minimum Initial Premium is received by us. |
• | The insured person is living and there has been no deterioration in the insurability of the insured person since the date of the application. |
The date all of the above conditions are satisfied is referred to in this prospectus as the “Contract Completion Date.” If all of the above conditions are satisfied, the policy will take effect on the date shown in the policy as the “Policy Date.” That is the date on which we begin to take monthly deductions. Policy months, policy years and policy anniversaries are all measured from the Policy Date.
Backdating
Under limited circumstances, we may backdate a policy, upon request, by assigning a Policy Date earlier than the date the application is signed. However, in no event will a policy be backdated earlier than the earliest date allowed by state law, which is generally three months to one year prior to the date of application for the policy. The most common reasons for backdating are to preserve a younger age at issue for the insured person or to retain a common monthly deduction date in certain corporate-owned life insurance cases involving multiple policies issued over time. If used to preserve age, backdating will result in lower insurance charges. However, monthly deductions will begin earlier than would otherwise be the case. Monthly deductions for the period the Policy Date is backdated will actually be deducted from policy value on the Contract Completion Date.
Temporary coverage prior to policy delivery
If a specified amount of premium is paid with the application for a policy and other conditions are met, we will provide temporary term life insurance coverage on the insured person for a period prior to the time coverage under the policy takes effect. Such temporary term coverage will be subject to the terms and conditions described in the Temporary Life Insurance Agreement and Receipt attached to the application for the policy, including conditions to coverage and limits on amount and duration of coverage.
Monthly deduction dates
Each charge that we deduct monthly is assessed against your policy value at the close of business on the Policy Date and at the close of the first day in each subsequent policy month.
Changes that we can make as to your policy
We reserve the right to make any changes in the policy necessary to ensure the policy is within the definition of life insurance under the Federal tax laws and is in compliance with any changes in Federal or state tax laws.
In our policies, we reserve the right to make certain changes if they would serve the best interests of policy owners or would be appropriate in carrying out the purposes of the policies. These changes include the following:
• | Changes necessary to comply with or obtain or continue exemptions under the Federal securities laws |
• | Combining or removing fixed accounts or variable investment accounts |
• | Changes in the form of organization of any separate account |
Any such changes will be made only to the extent permitted by applicable laws and only in the manner permitted by such laws. When required by law, we will obtain your approval of the changes and the approval of any appropriate regulatory authority.
The owner of the policy
Who owns the policy? That's up to the person who applies for the policy. The owner of the policy is the person who can exercise most of the rights under the policy, such as the right to choose the accounts in which to invest or the right to surrender the policy. In many cases, the person buying the policy is also the person who will be the owner. However, the application for a policy can name another person or entity (such as a trust) as owner. Whenever we've used the term “you” in this prospectus, we've assumed that the reader is the person who has whatever right or privilege is being discussed. There may be tax consequences if the owner and the insured person are different, so you should discuss this issue with your tax adviser.
While the insured person is alive, you will have a number of options under the policy. These options include those listed below:
• | Determine when and how much you invest in the variable investment accounts and any fixed account |
• | Borrow or withdraw amounts you have in the variable investment account and any fixed account |
• | Change the beneficiary who will receive the death benefit |
• | Change the amount of insurance |
• | Turn in (i.e., “surrender”) the policy for the full amount of its net cash surrender value |
• | Choose the form in which we will pay out the death benefit or other proceeds |
It is possible to name so-called “joint owners” of the policy. If more than one person owns a policy, all owners must join in most requests to exercise rights under the policy.
Your beneficiary
You name your beneficiary when you apply for the policy. The beneficiary is entitled to the proceeds we pay following the insured person's death. Until the death of the insured person you can change your beneficiary by written request. Such a change requires the consent of any named irrevocable beneficiary. A new beneficiary designation will not affect any payments we make before we receive it. If no beneficiary is living when the insured person dies, we will pay the insurance proceeds to the owners or the owner's estate.
Policy cancellation right
You have the right to cancel your policy within ten days after you receive it (the period may be longer in some states). This is often referred to as the “free look” period. During this period, your premiums will be allocated as described under “Processing premium payments” in this prospectus. To cancel your policy, simply deliver or mail the policy to:
• | John Hancock USA at either of the addresses shown on the back cover of this prospectus, or |
• | the John Hancock USA representative who delivered the policy to you. |
The date of cancellation will be the date of such mailing or delivery. In most states, you will receive a refund of any premiums you’ve paid. In some states, the refund will be your policy value on the date of cancellation.
Delay to challenge coverage
We may challenge the validity of your insurance policy based on any material misstatements made to us in the application for the policy. We cannot make such a challenge, however, beyond certain time limits that are specified by the laws of the state in which your policy was issued. The longest limit is two years, except in cases of fraud.
Reports that you will receive
At least annually, we will send you a statement setting forth at least the following information as of the end of the most recent reporting period: the amount of the death benefit, the portion of the policy value in the fixed account and in each variable investment account, premiums received and charges deducted from premiums since the last report, any outstanding policy loan (and interest charged for the preceding policy year), and any further information required by law. Moreover, you also will receive confirmations of premium payments, transfers among accounts, policy loans, partial withdrawals and certain other policy transactions.
Semi-annually we will send you a report containing the financial statements of the portfolios, including a list of securities held in each portfolio.
Assigning your policy
You may assign your rights in the policy to someone else as collateral for a loan or for some other reason. Assignments do not require the consent of any revocable beneficiary. A copy of the assignment must be forwarded to us. We are not responsible for any payment we make or any action we take before we receive a copy of the assignment at our Service Office. Nor are we responsible for the validity of the assignment or its efficacy in meeting your objectives. An absolute assignment is a change of ownership. All collateral assignees of record must usually consent to any surrender, withdrawal or loan from the policy.
When we pay policy proceeds
General
We will ordinarily pay any death benefit, withdrawal, surrender value or loan within seven days after we receive the last required form or request (and, with respect to the death benefit, any other documentation that may be required). You may choose to receive proceeds from the policy as a single sum. If we do not have information about the desired manner of payment within seven days after the date we receive documentation of the insured person's death, we will pay the proceeds as a single sum. As permitted by state law and our current administrative procedures, death claim proceeds may be placed into an interest-bearing John Hancock retained asset account in the beneficiary's name. The interest earned in a John Hancock retained asset account is normally subject to income tax. You should consult with your tax advisor if you have any questions regarding taxation of the interest earned. We will provide the beneficiary with a checkbook, so checks may be written for all or a part of the proceeds. The retained asset account is part of our general account and is subject to the claims of our creditors. It is not a bank account and it is not insured by the FDIC. We may receive a benefit from managing proceeds held in a retained asset account. Alternatively, you can elect to have proceeds of $1,000 or more applied to any of the other payment options we may offer at the time. You cannot choose an option if the monthly payments under the option would be less than $50. We will issue a supplementary agreement when the proceeds are applied to any alternative payment option. That agreement will spell out terms of the option in full. Please contact our Service Office for more information.
Delay for check clearance
We reserve the right to defer payment of that portion of your policy value that is attributable to a premium payment made by check for a reasonable period of time (not to exceed fifteen days) to allow the check to clear the banking system. We will not delay payment longer than necessary for us to verify a check has cleared the banking system.
Delay of separate account proceeds
We reserve the right to defer payment of any death benefit, loan or other distribution that is derived from a variable investment account if (1) the New York Stock Exchange is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings) or trading on the New York Stock Exchange is restricted; (2) an emergency exists, as determined by the SEC, as a result of which disposal of securities is not reasonably practicable or it is not reasonably practicable to fairly determine the policy value; or (3) the SEC by order permits the delay for the protection of owners. Transfers and allocations of policy value among the variable investment accounts may also be postponed under these circumstances. If we need to defer calculation of separate account values for any of the foregoing reasons, all delayed transactions will be processed at the next values that we do compute.
Delay of general account surrender proceeds
State laws allow us to defer payment of any portion of the net cash surrender value derived from the fixed account for up to six months. These laws were enacted many years ago to help insurance companies in the event of a liquidity crisis.
How you communicate with us
General rules
You should mail or express all checks and money orders for premium payments and loan repayments to the John Hancock USA Service Office at the appropriate address shown on the back cover.
Under our current rules, certain requests must be made in writing and be signed and dated by you. Those requests include the following.
• | loans |
• | surrenders or withdrawals |
• | change of death benefit option |
• | increase or decrease in Face Amount |
• | change of beneficiary |
• | election of payment option for policy proceeds |
• | tax withholding elections |
• | election of telephone/internet transaction privilege |
The following requests may be made either in writing (signed and dated by you) or by telephone or fax or through the Company's secured website, if a special form is completed (see “Telephone, facsimile and internet transactions” below).
• | transfers of policy value among the variable investment accounts and any fixed account |
• | change of allocation among the variable investment accounts and any fixed account for new premium payments |
You should mail or express all written requests to our Service Office at the appropriate address shown on the back cover. You should also send notice of the insured person's death and related documentation to our Service Office. We do not consider that we’ve “received” any communication until such time as it has arrived at the proper place and in the proper and complete form.
We have special forms that should be used for a number of the requests mentioned above. You can obtain these forms from our Service Office or your John Hancock USA representative. Each communication to us must include your name, your policy number and the name of the insured person. We cannot process any request that doesn’t include this required information. Any communication that arrives after the close of our business day, or on a day that is not a business day, will be considered “received” by us on the next following business day. Our business day currently closes at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, but special circumstances (such as suspension of trading on a major exchange) may dictate an earlier closing time.
Telephone, facsimile and internet transactions
If you complete a special authorization form, you can request transfers among the variable investment accounts and any fixed account and changes of allocation among the variable investment accounts and any fixed account simply by telephoning us at 1-800-827-4546 or by faxing us at 1-617-572-1571 or through the Company's secured website. Any fax or internet request should include your name, daytime telephone number, policy number and, in the case of transfers and changes of allocation, the names of the variable investment accounts and any fixed account involved. We will honor telephone and internet instructions from anyone who provides the correct identifying information, so there is a risk of loss to you if this service is used by an unauthorized person. However, you will receive written confirmation of all telephone/internet transactions. There is also a risk that you will be unable to place your request due to equipment malfunction or heavy phone line or internet usage. If this occurs, you should submit your request in writing.
If you authorize telephone or internet transactions, you will be liable for any loss, expense or cost arising out of any unauthorized or fraudulent telephone or internet instructions which we reasonably believe to be genuine, unless such loss, expense or cost is the result of our mistake or negligence. We employ procedures which provide safeguards against the execution of unauthorized transactions which are reasonably designed to confirm that instructions received by telephone or internet are genuine. These procedures include requiring personal identification, the use of a unique password for internet authorization, recording of telephone calls, and providing written confirmation to the owner. If we do not employ reasonable procedures to confirm that instructions communicated by telephone or internet are genuine, we may be liable for any loss due to unauthorized or fraudulent instructions.
As stated earlier in this prospectus, the policies are not designed for professional market timing organizations or other persons or entities that use programmed, large or frequent transfers among investment options. To discourage disruptive trading, we have imposed certain transfer restrictions (see “Transfers of existing policy value”). In addition, we also reserve the right to change our telephone, facsimile and internet transaction privileges outlined in this section at any time, and to suspend or terminate any or all of those privileges with respect to any owners who we feel are abusing the privileges to the detriment of other owners.
Distribution of policies
John Hancock Distributors LLC (“JH Distributors”), a Delaware limited liability company affiliated with us, is the principal distributor and underwriter of the securities offered through this prospectus and of other annuity and life insurance products we and our affiliates offer. JH Distributors also acts as the principal underwriter of the Trust, whose securities are used to fund certain variable investment accounts under the policies and under other annuity and life insurance products we offer.
JH Distributors' principal address is 601 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02210 and it also maintains offices with us at 197 Clarendon Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116. JH Distributors is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “1934 Act”) and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”).
We offer the policies for sale through individuals who are licensed as insurance agents and who are registered representatives of broker-dealers that have entered into selling agreements with JH Distributors. Our affiliate, Signator Investors, Inc., is one such broker-dealer. In addition, we, either directly or through JH Distributors, have entered into agreements with other financial intermediaries that provide marketing, sales support and certain administrative services to help promote the policies (“financial intermediaries”). In a limited number of cases, we have entered into loans, leases or other financial agreements with these broker-dealers or financial intermediaries or their affiliates.
Compensation
The broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries that distribute or support the marketing of our policies may be compensated by means of various compensation and revenue sharing arrangements. A general description of these arrangements is set out below under “Standard compensation” and “Additional compensation and revenue sharing.” These arrangements may differ between firms, and not all broker-dealers or financial intermediaries will receive the same compensation and revenue sharing benefits for distributing our policies. Also, a broker-dealer may receive more or less compensation or other benefits for the promotion and sale of our policy than it would expect to receive from another issuer.
Under their own arrangements, broker-dealers determine how much of any amounts received from us is to be paid to their registered representatives. Our affiliated broker-dealer, Signator Investors, Inc., may pay its registered representatives additional compensation and benefits, such as bonus payments, expense payments, health and retirement benefits or the waiver of overhead costs or expenses in connection with the sale of the policies that they would not receive in connection with the sale of policies issued by unaffiliated companies.
Policy owners do not pay any compensation or revenue sharing benefits directly. These payments are made from JH Distributors’ and our own revenues, profits or retained earnings, which may be derived from a number of sources, such as fees received from an underlying fund’s distribution plan (“12b-1 fees”), the fees and charges imposed under the policy and other sources.
You should contact your registered representative for more information on compensation arrangements in connection with your purchase of a policy. We provide additional information on special compensation or reimbursement arrangements involving broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries in the SAI, which is available upon request.
Standard compensation.JH Distributors pays compensation to broker-dealers for the promotion and sale of the policies, and for providing ongoing service in relation to policies that have already been purchased. We may also pay a limited number of broker-dealers commissions or overrides to “wholesale” the policies; that is, to provide marketing support and training services to the broker-dealer firms that do the actual selling.
The compensation JH Distributors pays to broker-dealers may vary depending on the selling agreement. The compensation paid is not expected to exceed 138% of target premium paid in the first policy year, and 8% of target premium paid in years 2-10. Compensation paid on any premium in excess of target will not exceed 10% in any year. This compensation schedule is exclusive of additional compensation and revenue sharing and inclusive of overrides and expense allowances paid to broker-dealers for sale of the policies (not including riders).
Additional compensation and revenue sharing.To the extent permitted by SEC and FINRA rules and other applicable laws and regulations, we may enter into special compensation or reimbursement arrangements (“revenue sharing”), either directly or through JH Distributors, with selected broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries. In consideration of these arrangements, a firm may feature our policy in its sales system, give us preferential access to sales staff, or allow JH Distributors or its affiliates to participate in conferences, seminars or other programs attended by the firm’s sales force. We hope to benefit from these revenue sharing and other arrangements through increased sales of our policies.
Selling broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries may receive, directly or indirectly, additional payments in the form of cash, other compensation or reimbursement. These additional compensation or reimbursement arrangements may include, for example, payments in connection with the firm's “due diligence” examination of the policies, payments for providing conferences or seminars, sales or training programs for invited registered representatives and other employees, payment for travel expenses, including lodging, incurred by registered representatives and other employees for such seminars or training programs, seminars for the public or client seminars, advertising and sales campaigns regarding the policies, payments to assist a firm in connection with its systems, operations and marketing expenses and/or other events or activities sponsored by the firms. We may contribute to, as well as sponsor, various educational programs, sales promotions, and/or other contests in which participating firms and their sales persons may receive gifts and prizes such as merchandise, cash or other rewards as may be permitted under FINRA rules and other applicable laws and regulations.
Tax considerations
This description of Federal income tax consequences is only a brief summary and is neither exhaustive nor authoritative. It was written to support the promotion of our products. It does not constitute legal or tax advice, and it is not intended to be used and cannot be used to avoid any penalties that may be imposed on you. Tax consequences will vary based on your own particular circumstances, and for further information you should consult a qualified tax adviser. Federal, state and local tax laws, regulations and interpretations can change from time to time. As a result, the tax consequences to you and the beneficiary may be altered, in some cases retroactively. The policy may be used in various arrangements, including non-qualified deferred compensation or salary continuation plans, split dollar insurance plans, executive bonus plans, retiree medical benefit plans and others. The tax consequences of such plans may vary depending on the particular facts and circumstances of each individual arrangement. Therefore, if the value of using the policy in any such arrangement depends in part on the tax consequences, a qualified tax adviser should be consulted for advice.
General
We are taxed as a life insurance company. Under current tax law rules, we include the investment income (exclusive of capital gains) of the Separate Account in our taxable income and take deductions for investment income credited to our policy holder reserves. We are also required to capitalize and amortize certain costs instead of deducting those costs when they are incurred. We do not currently charge the Separate Account for any resulting income tax costs, other than a charge we may impose against the Separate Account to compensate us for the cost of a delay in the deductibility of deferred acquisition costs (the “DAC tax” adjustment) pursuant to section 848 of the Internal Revenue Code. We also claim certain tax credits or deductions relating to foreign taxes paid and dividends received by the series funds. These benefits can be material. We do not pass these benefits through to the Separate Account, principally because: (i) the deductions and credits are allowed to us and not the policy owners under applicable tax law; and (ii) the deductions and credits do not represent investment return on the Separate Account assets that is passed through to policy owners.
The policies permit us to deduct a charge for any taxes we incur that are attributable to the operation or existence of the policies or the Separate Account. Currently, we do not anticipate making any specific charge for such taxes other than any DAC tax charge and premium taxes where applicable. If the level of the current taxes increases, however, or is expected to increase in the future, we reserve the right to make a charge in the future.
Death benefit proceeds and other policy distributions
Generally, death benefits paid under policies such as yours are not subject to income tax unless policy ownership has been transferred in exchange for payment. Earnings on your policy value are ordinarily not subject to income tax as long as we don’t pay them out to you. If we do pay out any amount of your policy value upon surrender or partial withdrawal, all or part of that distribution would generally be treated as a return of the premiums you’ve paid and not subjected to income tax. Any portion not treated as a return of your premiums would be includible in your income.
Please note that certain distributions associated with a reduction in death benefit or other policy benefits within the first fifteen years after issuance of the policy are ordinarily taxable in whole or in part. Amounts you borrow are generally not taxable to you.
However, some of the tax rules change if your policy becomes a modified endowment contract. This can happen if you’ve paid premiums in excess of limits prescribed by the tax laws. In that case, additional taxes and penalties may be payable for policy distributions of any kind, including loans. (See “7-pay premium limit and modified endowment contract status” below.)
We expect the policy to receive the same Federal income and estate tax treatment as fixed benefit life insurance policies. Section 7702 of the Internal Revenue Code defines a life insurance contract for Federal tax purposes. For a policy to be treated as a life insurance contract, it must satisfy either the cash value accumulation test or the guideline premium test. These tests limit the amount of premium that you may pay into the policy. We will monitor compliance with these standards. If we determine that a policy does not satisfy section 7702, we may take whatever steps are appropriate and reasonable to bring it into compliance with section 7702.
If the policy complies with section 7702, the death benefit proceeds under the policy ordinarily should be excludable from the beneficiary’s gross income under section 101 of the Internal Revenue Code. (As noted above, a transfer of the policy for valuable consideration may limit the exclusion of death benefits from the beneficiary's income.) In addition, if you have elected a Long-Term Care Rider, the rider's benefits generally will be excludable from gross income under the Internal Revenue Code. The tax-free nature of these accelerated benefits is contingent on the rider meeting specific requirements under section 101 and/or section 7702B of the Internal Revenue Code. The riders are intended to meet these standards.
If you have elected a Long-Term Care Rider, we caution you that there is a significant risk that ownership by anyone other than the person insured by the policy will cause adverse tax consequences. If the owner of the policy is not the insured person, benefit payments may be included in the owner's income, and the death benefit may be part of the insured person's estate for purposes of the Federal estate tax. A policy with a Long-Term Care Rider should not be purchased by or transferred to a person other than the insured person unless you have carefully reviewed the tax implications with your tax adviser.
Increases in policy value as a result of interest or investment experience will not be subject to Federal income tax unless and until values are received through actual or deemed distributions. In general, unless the policy is a modified endowment contract, the owner will be taxed only on the amount of distributions that exceed the premiums paid under the policy. An exception to this general rule occurs in the case of a decrease in the policy's death benefit or any other change that reduces benefits under the policy in the first fifteen years after the policy is issued and that results in a cash distribution to the policy owner. Changes that reduce benefits include partial withdrawals, death benefit option changes, and distributions required to keep the policy in compliance with section 7702. For purposes of this rule any distribution within the two years immediately before a reduction in benefits will also be treated as if it were a result of the reduction. A cash distribution that reduces policy benefits will be taxed in whole or in part (to the extent of any gain in the policy) under rules prescribed in section 7702. The taxable amount is subject to limits prescribed in section 7702(f)(7). Any taxable distribution will be ordinary income to the owner (rather than capital gain).
Distributions for tax purposes include amounts received upon surrender or partial withdrawals. You may also be deemed to have received a distribution for tax purposes if you assign all or part of your policy rights or change your policy’s ownership. If you have elected a Long-Term Care Rider, as described in “Optional supplementary benefit riders you can add,” deductions from policy value to pay the rider charges will reduce your investment in the contract but will not be included in income even if you have recovered all of your investment in the contract.
If you have elected the Critical Illness Benefit Rider, as described in “Optional supplementary benefit riders you can add,” we will treat the monthly charges for the Critical Illness Rider as distributions from your life insurance policy for federal income tax purposes. Therefore, such charges may be includable in your taxable income if your policy is a modified endowment contract or if your investment in the contract has been reduced to zero. We anticipate that benefits paid under the Critical Illness Rider will generally be excludible from gross income under Internal Revenue Code section 104(a)(3). However, the benefits may not qualify for this exclusion with certain third-party ownership arrangements. Nevertheless, you should consult your tax adviser as to the income tax consequences to you.
It is possible that, despite our monitoring, a policy might fail to qualify as a life insurance contract under the Internal Revenue Code. This could happen, for example, if we inadvertently failed to return to you any premium payments that were in excess of amounts permitted under section 7702, or if any of the funds failed to meet certain investment diversification or other requirements of the Internal Revenue Code. If this were to occur, you would be subject to income tax on the income credited to the policy from the date of issue to the date of the disqualification and for subsequent periods.
Tax consequences of ownership or receipt of policy proceeds under Federal, state and local estate, inheritance, gift and other tax laws will depend on the circumstances of each owner or beneficiary. If the person insured by the policy is also its owner, either directly or indirectly through an entity such as a revocable trust, the death benefit will be includible in his or her estate for purposes of the Federal estate tax. If the owner is not the person insured, the value of the policy will be includible in the owner's estate upon his or her death. Even if ownership has been transferred, the death proceeds or the policy value may be includible in the former owner's estate if the transfer occurred less than three years before the former owner's death or if
the former owner retained certain kinds of control over the policy. You should consult your tax adviser regarding these possible tax consequences.
Because there may be unfavorable tax consequences (including recognition of taxable income and the loss of income tax-free treatment for any death benefit payable to the beneficiary), you should consult a qualified tax adviser prior to changing the policy’s ownership or making any assignment of ownership interests.
If you have elected the Healthy Engagement Rider, we will treat the monthly charges for the Rider as distributions from your life insurance policy for federal income tax purposes. Therefore, such charges may be includable in your taxable income if your policy is a modified endowment contract or if your investment in the contract has been reduced to zero.
We do not expect that we will be required to report any free or discounted services or products that are available to the insured person under the Healthy Engagement Rider to the Internal Revenue Service on Form 1099. Nevertheless, you should consult your tax adviser as to the income tax consequences to you.
Policy loans
We expect that, except as noted below (see “7-pay premium limit and modified endowment contract status”), loans received under the policy will be treated as indebtedness of an owner and that no part of any loan will constitute income to the owner. However, if the policy terminates for any reason other than the payment of the death benefit, an amount equal to any outstanding loan that was not previously considered income will be treated as if it had been distributed to the owner upon such termination. This could result in a considerable tax bill. Under certain circumstances involving large amounts of outstanding loans, you might find yourself having to choose between high premiums required to keep your policy from lapsing and a significant tax burden if you allow the lapse to occur.
Diversification rules and ownership of the Separate Account
Your policy will not qualify for the tax benefits of a life insurance contract unless the Separate Account follows certain rules requiring diversification of investments underlying the policy. In addition, the rules require that the policy owner not have “investor control” over the underlying assets.
In certain circumstances, the owner of a variable life insurance policy may be considered the owner, for Federal income tax purposes, of the assets of the Separate Account used to support the policy. In those circumstances, income and gains from the Separate Account assets would be includible in the policy owner's gross income. The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) has stated in published rulings that a variable policy owner will be considered the owner of Separate Account assets if the policy owner possesses incidents of ownership in those assets, such as the ability to exercise investment control over the assets. A Treasury Decision issued in 1986 (T.D. 8101) stated that guidance would be issued in the form of regulations or rulings on “the extent to which policyholders may direct their investments to particular sub-accounts of a Separate Account without being treated as owners of the underlying assets.” As of the date of this prospectus, no comprehensive guidance on this point has been issued. In Rev. Rul. 2003-91, however, the IRS ruled that a contract holder would not be treated as the owner of assets underlying a variable life insurance or annuity contract despite the owner’s ability to allocate funds among as many as twenty subaccounts.
The ownership rights under your policy are similar to, but different in certain respects from, those described in IRS rulings in which it was determined that policyholders were not owners of Separate Account assets. Since you have greater flexibility in allocating premiums and policy values than was the case in those rulings, it ispossible that you would be treated as the owner of your policy’s proportionate share of the assets of the Separate Account.
We do not know what future Treasury Department regulations or other guidance may require. We cannot guarantee that the funds will be able to operate as currently described in the series funds' prospectuses, or that a series fund will not have to change any fund's investment objectives or policies. We have reserved the right to modify your policy if we believe doing so will prevent you from being considered the owner of your policy's proportionate share of the assets of the Separate Account, but we are under no obligation to do so.
7-pay premium limit and modified endowment contract status
At the time of policy issuance, we will determine whether the Planned Premium schedule will exceed the 7-pay limit discussed below. If so, our standard procedures prohibit issuance of the policy unless you sign a form acknowledging that fact.
The 7-pay limit at any time during the first seven contract years is the total of net level premiums that would have been payable at or before that time under a comparable fixed policy that would be fully “paid-up” after the payment of seven equal annual premiums. “Paid-up” means that no further premiums would be required to continue the coverage in force until maturity, based on certain prescribed assumptions. If the total premiums paid at any time during the first seven policy years exceed the 7-pay limit, the policy will be treated as a modified endowment contract, which can have adverse tax consequences.
Policies classified as modified endowment contracts are subject to the following tax rules:
• | First, all withdrawals from such a policy are treated as ordinary income subject to tax up to the amount equal to the excess (if any) of the policy value immediately before the withdrawal over the investment in the policy at such time. If you own any other modified endowment contracts issued to you in the same calendar year by the same insurance company or its affiliates, their values will be combined with the value of the policy from which you take the withdrawal for purposes of determining how much of the withdrawal is taxable as ordinary income. |
• | Second, loans taken from or secured by such a policy and assignments or pledges of any part of its value are treated as partial withdrawals from the policy and taxed accordingly. Past-due loan interest that is added to the loan amount is treated as an additional loan. |
• | Third, a 10% additional penalty tax is imposed on the portion of any distribution (including distributions on surrender) from, or loan taken from or secured by, such a policy that is included in income except where the distribution or loan: |
• | is made on or after the date on which the policy owner attains age 59½; |
• | is attributable to the policy owner becoming disabled; or |
• | is part of a series of substantially equal periodic payments for the life (or life expectancy) of the policy owner or the joint lives (or joint life expectancies) of the policy owner and the policy owner’s beneficiary. |
These exceptions to the 10% additional tax do not apply in situations where the policy is not owned by an individual.
Furthermore, any time there is a “material change” in a policy, the policy will begin a new 7-pay testing period as if it were a newly-issued policy. The material change rules for determining whether a policy is a modified endowment contract are complex. In general, however, the determination of whether a policy will be a modified endowment contract after a material change depends upon the relationship among the death benefit of the policy at the time of such change, the policy value at the time of the change, and the additional premiums paid into the policy during the seven years starting with the date on which the material change occurs.
Moreover, under a policy insuring a single life, if there is a reduction in benefits (such as a reduction in the death benefit or the reduction or cancellation of certain rider benefits) during a 7-pay testing period, the 7-pay limit will generally be recalculated based on the reduced benefits and the policy will be re-tested from the beginning of the 7-pay testing period using the lower limit. If the premiums paid to date at any point during the 7-pay testing period are greater than the recalculated 7-pay limit, the policy will become a modified endowment contract. If your policy is a survivorship policy, a reduction in benefits under the policy at any time will require re-testing. For such a policy the 7-pay limit will generally be recalculated based on the reduced benefits and the policy will be re-tested, using the lower limit, from the date it was issued. You should consult your tax adviser if you have questions regarding the possible impact of the 7-pay limit on your policy.
If your policy is issued as a result of an exchange subject to section 1035 of the Internal Revenue Code, it may be considered to be a modified endowment contract if the death benefit under the new policy is smaller than the death benefit under the exchanged policy, or if you reduce coverage in your new policy after it is issued. Therefore, if you desire to reduce the face amount as part of a 1035 exchange, a qualified tax adviser should be consulted for advice. A new policy issued in exchange for a modified endowment contract will also be a modified endowment contract regardless of any change in the death benefit.
All modified endowment contracts issued by the same insurer (or its affiliates) to the same owner during any calendar year generally are required to be treated as one contract for the purpose of applying the rules on taxation of withdrawals from modified endowment contracts. You should consult your tax adviser if you have questions regarding the possible impact of the 7-pay limit on your policy.
Corporate and H.R. 10 retirement plans
The policy may be acquired in connection with the funding of retirement plans satisfying the qualification requirements of section 401 of the Internal Revenue Code. If so, the Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to such plans and life
insurance benefits thereunder should be carefully scrutinized. We are not responsible for compliance with the terms of any such plan or with the requirements of applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code.
Withholding
To the extent that policy distributions to you are taxable, they are generally subject to withholding for your Federal income tax liability. However if you reside in the United States, you can generally choose not to have tax withheld from distributions. Electing to have no withholding will not reduce your tax liability and may expose you to penalties under the rules governing payment of estimated taxes.
Life insurance purchases by residents of Puerto Rico
In Rev. Rul. 2004-75, 2004-31 I.R.B. 109, the Internal Revenue Service ruled that income received by residents of Puerto Rico under a life insurance policy issued by a United States company is U.S.-source income that is subject to United States Federal income tax.
Life insurance purchases by non-resident aliens
If you are not a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien or other U.S. person, you will generally be subject to U.S. Federal withholding tax on taxable distributions from life insurance policies at a 30% rate, unless a lower treaty rate applies. In addition, you may be subject to state and/or municipal taxes and taxes imposed by your country of citizenship or residence. You should consult with a qualified tax adviser before purchasing a policy.
Life insurance owned by citizens or residents living abroad
If you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident living outside the United States, you are still subject to income taxation by the United States. Since many countries tax on the basis of domicile, you may also be subject to tax in the country or territory in which you are living. The tax-deferred accumulation of gain that a life insurance policy provides under United States tax law may not be available under the tax laws of the country in which you are living. If you are living outside the United States or planning to do so, you should consult with a qualified tax adviser before purchasing or retaining ownership of a policy. If your policy is issued as a result of an exchange of a policy owned or issued outside the United States, the country or territory in which you reside may still tax you on the surrender of the policy replaced through the exchange. You should consult with a qualified tax adviser before exchanging your policy issued outside of the United States for one issued within the United States.
Financial statements reference
The financial statements of John Hancock USA and the Separate Account can be found in the SAI. The financial statements of John Hancock USA should be distinguished from the financial statements of the Separate Account and should be considered only as bearing upon the ability of John Hancock USA to meet its obligations under the policies. Our general account is comprised of securities and other investments, the value of which may decline during periods of adverse market conditions.
Registration statement filed with the SEC
This prospectus omits certain information contained in the Registration Statement which has been filed with the SEC. More details may be obtained from the SEC upon payment of the prescribed fee.
Legal and Regulatory Matters
There are no legal proceedings to which the Depositor, the Separate Account or the principal underwriter is a party or to which the assets of the Separate Account are subject that are likely to have a material adverse effect on the Separate Account or the ability of the principal underwriter to perform its contract with the Separate Account or of the Depositor to meet its obligations under the policy.
Independent registered public accounting firm
The statutory-basis financial statements of John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.) at December 31, 2017 and 2016, and for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2017, and the financial statements of John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.) Separate Account A at December 31, 2017, and for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2017, appearing in this Prospectus and Registration Statement have been audited by Ernst &Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their reports thereon appearing elsewhere herein, and are included in reliance upon such reports given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
In addition to this prospectus, John Hancock USA has filed with the SEC an SAI that contains additional information about John Hancock USA and the Separate Account, including information on our history, services provided to the Separate Account, and the audited financial statements for John Hancock USA and the Separate Account. The SAI and personalized illustrations of death benefits, policy values and surrender values are available, without charge, upon request. You may obtain the personalized illustrations from your John Hancock USA representative. The SAI may be obtained by contacting the John Hancock USA Service Office. You should also contact the John Hancock USA Service Office to request any other information about your policy or to make any inquiries about its operation.
JOHN HANCOCK USA SERVICE OFFICE |
Overnight Express Delivery | Mail Delivery |
Life Post Issue John Hancock Insurance Company 30 Dan Road, Suite #55979 Canton, MA 02021 | Life Post Issue John Hancock Life Insurance Company PO Box 55979 Boston, MA 02205 |
Phone: | Fax: |
1-800-827-4546 | 1-617-572-1571 |
Information about the Separate Account (including the SAI) can be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Branch, 100 F Street, NE, Room 1580, Washington, DC, 20549. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 202-551-8090. Reports and other information about the Account are available on the SEC’s Internet website athttp://www.sec.gov. Copies of such information may be obtained, upon payment of a duplicating fee, by writing the Public Reference Section of the SEC at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549-0102.
1940 Act File No. 811-4834—1933 Act File No. 333-193994
Prospectus dated April 30, 2018
for interests in
John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.) Separate Account A
Interests are made available under
Protection Variable Universal Life 2017
a flexible premium variable universal life insurance policy
JOHN HANCOCK LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY (U.S.A.)
(“John Hancock USA”)
The policy provides a fixed account option with fixed rates of return declared by John Hancock USA and the following variable investment accounts:
500 Index
Active Bond
American Asset Allocation
American Global Growth
American Growth
American Growth-Income
American International
Blue Chip Growth
Capital Appreciation
Capital Appreciation Value
Core Bond
Emerging Markets Value
Equity Income
Financial Industries
Fundamental All Cap Core
Fundamental Large Cap Value
Global
Global Bond
Health Sciences
High Yield
International Equity Index
International Growth Stock
International Small Company
International Value
Investment Quality Bond
Lifestyle Balanced
Lifestyle Conservative
Lifestyle Growth
Lifestyle Moderate
Managed Volatility Aggressive
Managed Volatility Balanced
Managed Volatility Conservative
Managed Volatility Growth
Managed Volatility Moderate
Mid Cap Index
Mid Cap Stock
Mid Value
Money Market
PIMCO VIT All Asset
Real Estate Securities
Science & Technology
Select Bond
Short Term Government Income
Small Cap Index
Small Cap Opportunities
Small Cap Stock
Small Cap Value
Small Company Value
Strategic Income Opportunities
Total Bond Market
Total Stock Market Index
Ultra Short Term Bond
Utilities
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Please note that the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has not approved or disapproved these securities, or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
GUIDE TO THIS PROSPECTUS
This prospectus is arranged in the following way:
• | Starting on the next page is a Table of Contents for this prospectus. |
• | The section after the Table of Contents is called “Summary of Benefits and Risks.” It contains a summary of the benefits available under the policy and of the principal risks of purchasing the policy. You should read this section before reading any other section of this prospectus. |
• | Behind the Summary of Benefits and Risks section is a section called “Fee Tables” that describes the fees and expenses you will pay when buying, owning and surrendering the policy. |
• | Behind the Fee Tables section is a section called “Detailed Information.” This section gives more details about the policy. It may repeat certain information contained in the Summary of Benefits and Risks section in order to put the more detailed information in proper context. |
• | Finally, on the back cover of this prospectus is information concerning the Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”) and how the SAI, audited financial statements for John Hancock USA and the Separate Account, personalized illustrations and other information can be obtained. |
Prior to making any investment decisions, you should carefully review this product prospectus and all applicable supplements.In addition, you will receive the prospectuses for the underlying funds that we make available as investment options under the policies. The funds' prospectuses describe the investment objectives, policies and restrictions of, and the risks relating to, investment in the funds. In the case of any of the portfolios that are operated as feeder funds, the prospectus for the corresponding master fund is also provided. If you need to obtain additional copies of any of these documents, please contact your John Hancock USA representative or contact our Service Office at the address and telephone number on the back page of this product prospectus.
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SUMMARY OF BENEFITS AND RISKS
The nature of the policy
The policy's primary purpose is to provide lifetime protection against economic loss due to the death of the insured person.The policy is unsuitable as a short-term savings vehicle because of the substantial policy-level charges. We are obligated to pay all amounts promised under the policy. The value of the amount you have invested under the policy may increase or decrease daily based upon the investment results of the variable investment accounts that you choose. The amount we pay to the policy’s beneficiary on the death of the insured person (we call this the “death benefit”) may be similarly affected. That’s why the policy is referred to as a “variable” life insurance policy. We call the investments you make in the policy “premiums” or “premium payments.” The amount we require as your first premium depends upon the specifics of your policy and the insured person. Except as noted in the “Detailed Information” section of this prospectus, you can make any other premium payments you wish at any time. That’s why the policy is called a “flexible premium” policy.
The policy comes with a Death Benefit Protection feature, which will protect your policy from lapsing so long as the Death Benefit Protection Value minus policy debt is greater than zero (see “Death Benefit Protection”). However, if your policy debt is greater than your policy value, the Death Benefit Protection will not prevent your policy from going into default. Thus, if your goal is to maximize the protection under the Death Benefit Protection feature, you may wish to minimize the amount you borrow from the policy.
Beginning in policy year six, we will calculate a Persistency Credit to be applied to your policy value on each monthly deduction date. The Persistency Credit is designed to help improve the long-term performance of your policy. The value of the Persistency Credit applied to your policy is affected by the amounts and timing of the premiums that you pay into the policy, and how well the investment options you select perform.
You should discuss your priorities for this policy with your registered representative.
Summary of policy benefits
Death benefit
When the insured person dies, we will pay the death benefit minus any policy debt and unpaid fees and charges. There are two ways of calculating the death benefit (Option 1 and Option 2). You choose which one you want in the application. The two death benefit options are:
• | Option 1 - The death benefit will equal the greater of (1) the Face Amount plus any amount payable under a supplementary benefit rider, or (2) the minimum death benefit (as described under “The minimum death benefit” provision in the “Detailed Information” section of this prospectus). |
• | Option 2 - The death benefit will equal the greater of (1) the Face Amount plus any amount payable under a supplementary benefit rider,plus the policy value on the date of death, or (2) the minimum death benefit. |
Variable investment accounts
The policy offers a number of variable investment accounts, as listed on page 1 of this prospectus. These variable investment accounts are subaccounts of John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.) Separate Account A (“Separate Account”), a separate account operated by us under Michigan law. The variable investment accounts cover a broad spectrum of investment styles and strategies. Although the portfolios of the series funds that underlie those variable investment accounts operate like publicly traded mutual funds, there are important differences between the variable investment accounts and publicly traded mutual funds. You can transfer money from one variable investment account to another without tax liability. Moreover, any dividends and capital gains distributed by each underlying portfolio are automatically reinvested and reflected in the portfolio’s value and create no taxable event for you. If and when policy earnings are distributed (generally as a result of a surrender or withdrawal), they will be treated as ordinary income instead of as capital gains. Also, you must keep in mind that you are purchasing an insurance policy and you will be assessed charges at the policy level as well as at the fund level. Such policy level charges, in aggregate, are significant and will reduce the investment performance of your policy.
Surrender of the policy
You may surrender the policy in full at any time. If you do, we will pay you the policy value less any outstanding policy debt and less any surrender charge that then applies. This is called your “net cash surrender value.” You must return your policy when you request a surrender.
If you have not taken a loan on your policy, the “policy value” of your policy will, on any given date, be equal to:
• | the amount you invested, |
• | plus any gain or minus any loss of the investment experience of the variable investment accounts you’ve chosen, |
• | plus any amounts credited or applied to your policy value, |
• | minus all charges we deduct, and |
• | minus all withdrawals you have made. |
If you take a loan on your policy, your policy value will be computed somewhat differently (see “Effects of policy loans”).
Withdrawals
After the first policy year, you may make a withdrawal of part of your net cash surrender value. Generally, each withdrawal must be at least $500. Your policy value is automatically reduced by the amount of the withdrawal and any surrender charge that then applies. A withdrawal may also reduce the Face Amount (see “Surrender and withdrawals— Withdrawals”). We reserve the right to refuse any withdrawal that would cause the Face Amount to fall below $50,000. Withdrawals will reduce your Persistency Measure; this means a withdrawal may reduce the amount of Persistency Credit you receive over the long term (see “Persistency Credit”). Withdrawals will also reduce the Death Benefit Protection Value; this means the Death Benefit Protection feature would be more likely to go into default (see “Death Benefit Protection”).
Policy loans
If your policy is in force and has sufficient policy value, you may borrow from it at any time by completing the appropriate form. Generally, the minimum amount of each loan is $500. The maximum amount you can borrow is determined by a formula as described in your policy. Interest is charged on each loan. You can pay the interest or allow it to become part of the outstanding loan balance. You can repay all or part of a loan at any time. If there is an outstanding loan when the insured person dies, it will be deducted from the death benefit. Policy loans permanently affect the calculation of your policy value, and may also result in adverse tax consequences.
Persistency Credit
Beginning in policy year six, we will calculate a Persistency Credit to be applied to your policy value on each monthly deduction date (see “Persistency Credit”). The Persistency Credit is designed to help improve the long-term performance of your policy. The value of the Persistency Credit applied to your policy is affected by the amounts and timing of the premiums that you pay into the policy, and how well the variable investment accounts you select perform. Many factors, including loans, withdrawals, and other changes you make to the policy, may impact the amount of Persistency Credit, if any, applied to your policy value. You can see the effect that these factors have on the policy value by requesting an illustration at various assumptions.
Optional supplementary benefit riders
When you apply for the policy, you can request any of the optional supplementary benefit riders that we make available. Availability of riders varies from state to state. Charges for most riders will be deducted monthly from the policy value. Some riders may not be available in combination with other riders or benefits (see “Other policy benefits, rights and limitations— Optional supplementary benefit riders you can add”).
Summary of policy risks
Lapse risk
A policy will go into default if on any monthly deduction date the policy’s net cash surrender value would be zero or below after deducting the monthly deductions then due and the Death Benefit Protection feature is in default (i.e. “lapse”). This can happen because you haven't paid enough premium, because the investment performance of the variable investment accounts you’ve chosen has been poor, or because of a combination of both factors. You will be given a “grace period” within which to make additional premium payments to keep the policy in force. If lapse occurs, you may be given the opportunity to reinstate the policy by making the required premium payments and satisfying certain other conditions (see “Lapse and reinstatement”).
Since withdrawals reduce your policy value, withdrawals increase the risk of lapse. Policy loans also increase the risk of lapse.
Investment risk
As mentioned above, the investment performance of any variable investment account may be good or bad. Your policy value will rise or fall based on the investment performance of the variable investment accounts you’ve chosen. Some variable investment accounts are riskier than others. These risks (and potential rewards) are discussed in detail in the prospectuses of the underlying portfolios.
Transfer risk
There is a risk that you will not be able to transfer your policy value from one variable investment account to another because of limitations on the dollar amount or frequency of transfers you can make. The limitations on transfers out of the fixed account are more restrictive than those that apply to transfers out of variable investment accounts. If you purchase the Long-Term Care Rider, while benefits are being paid under that rider you will be subject to special transfer restrictions (see “Optional supplementary benefit riders you can add”).
Early surrender risk
There are surrender charges assessed if you surrender your policy in the first ten policy years. Surrender charges may also apply to a Face Amount decrease (see “The death benefit—Requesting a decrease in coverage”). Depending on the policy value at the time you are considering surrender, there may be little or no surrender value payable to you.
Market timing and disruptive trading risks
The policy is not designed for professional market timers or highly active traders, including persons or entities that engage in programmed, large or frequent transfers among the variable investment accounts or between the variable investment accounts and any available fixed account. The policy is also not designed to accommodate trading that result in transfers that are large in relation to the total assets of the underlying portfolio.
To discourage market timing and disruptive trading activity, we impose restrictions (see “Market timing and disruptive trading practices”) on transfers and reserve the right to change, suspend or terminate telephone, facsimile and internet transaction privileges (see “How you communicate with us”).
While we seek to identify and prevent disruptive trading activity, it may not always be possible to do so.Therefore, no assurance can be given that the restrictions we impose will be successful in preventing all disruptive trading and avoiding harm to long term investors.
Tax risks
Life insurance death benefits are ordinarily not subject to income tax. Other Federal and state taxes may apply as further discussed below. In general, you will be taxed on the amount of lifetime distributions that exceed the premiums paid under the policy. Any taxable distribution will be treated as ordinary income (rather than as capital gains) for tax purposes. If you have elected the Long-Term Care Rider, the Healthy Engagement Rider or the Critical Illness Rider, please see the section of the prospectus entitled “Tax considerations” for a description of certain tax risks associated with that rider.
In order for you to receive the tax benefits extended to life insurance under the Internal Revenue Code, your policy must comply with certain requirements of the Code. We will monitor your policy for compliance with these requirements, but a policy might fail to qualify as life insurance in spite of our monitoring. If this were to occur, you would be subject to income tax on the income credited to your policy for the period of disqualification and all subsequent periods. The tax laws also contain a so-called “7 pay limit” that limits the amount of premium that can be paid in relation to the policy’s death benefit. If the limit is violated, the policy will be treated as a “modified endowment contract,” which can have adverse tax consequences. There are also certain Treasury Department rules referred to as the “investor control rules” that determine whether you would be treated as the “owner” of the assets underlying your policy. If that were determined to be the case, you would be taxed on any income or gains those assets generate. In other words, you would lose the value of the so-called “inside build-up” that is a major benefit of life insurance.
There is a tax risk associated with policy loans. Although no part of a loan is treated as income to you when the loan is made unless your policy is a “modified endowment contract,” surrender or lapse of the policy with a loan outstanding would result in the loan being treated as a distribution at the time of lapse or surrender. This could result in a considerable tax bill. Under certain circumstances involving large amounts of outstanding loans and an insured person of advanced age, you might find yourself having to choose between high premium requirements to keep your policy from lapsing and a significant tax burden if you allow the lapse to occur.
Tax consequences of ownership or receipt of policy proceeds under Federal, state and local estate, inheritance, gift and other tax laws can vary greatly depending upon the circumstances of each owner or beneficiary. There can also be unfavorable tax consequences on such things as the change of policy ownership or assignment of ownership interests. For these and all the other reasons mentioned above,we recommend you consult with a qualified tax adviser before buying the policy and before exercising certain rights under the policy.
FEE TABLES
This section contains tables that describe all of the fees and expenses that you will pay when buying, owning and surrendering the policy. In the first three tables, certain entries show the maximum charge, the minimum charge and the charge for a representative insured person. Other entries show only the maximum charge we can assess. Except where necessary to show a rate greater than zero, all rates shown in the tables have been rounded to two decimal places as required by prospectus disclosure rules. Consequently, the actual rates charged may be slightly higher or lower than those shown in the tables.
The first table below describes the fees and expenses that you will payat the time that you pay a premium, surrender the policy, lapse the policy, reduce the Face Amount, or transfer policy value between variable investment accounts. A portion of the premium charge is used to cover premium taxes. Premium taxes vary by jurisdiction and are subject to change. Currently, premium tax levels range from 0% to 5%.
Transaction Fees |
Charge | When Charge is Deducted | Amount Deducted |
Premium charge | Upon payment of premium | 18% of each premium paid |
Surrender charge(1) | Upon surrender, policy lapse or any reduction in Face Amount | |
Maximum charge | | $59.00 per $1,000 of Face Amount |
Minimum charge | | $1.72 per $1,000 of Face Amount |
Charge for representative insured person | | $31.27 per $1,000 of Face Amount |
Transfer fee | Upon each transfer into or out of a variable investment account beyond an annual limit of not less than twelve | $25.00(2) |
(1) A surrender charge is applicable for ten policy years from the Policy Date, and varies based upon the sex, issue age, and risk classification of the insured person. The surrender charge is also affected by the amount of the premium paid under the policy, with the surrender charge increasing with payment of additional premiums in excess of the Surrender Charge Limit Premium. The maximum charge shown is the amount in month one in the first policy year for a 68-year old male standard non-smoker underwriting risk, paying any amount of premium. The minimum charge shown is the amount in month one in the first policy year for a 0-year old female standard non-smoker underwriting risk, paying premiums under the Surrender Charge Limit Premium, which is $1,100.00 for year one for a policy with a Face Amount of $1,000,000.00. The representative insured person rate shown is the amount in month one in the first policy year for a 55-year old male preferred non-smoker underwriting risk, paying premiums under the Surrender Charge Limit Premium, which is $20,010.00 for year one for a policy with a Face Amount of $1,000,000.00. These charges may not be particularly relevant to your current situation. For more information, contact your John Hancock USA representative.
(2) This charge is not currently imposed, but we reserve the right to do so in the policy.
The next two tables describe the charges and expenses that you will payperiodically during the time you own the policy. These tables donot include fees and expenses paid at the portfolio level. The second table is devoted only to optional supplementary rider benefits.
Periodic Charges Other Than Fund Operating Expenses |
Charge | When Charge is Deducted | Amount Deducted |
Cost of insurance charge(1) | Monthly | |
Maximum charge | | $0.08 per $1 of NAR |
Minimum charge | | $0.0000067 per $1 of NAR |
Charge for representative insured person | | $0.0002838 per $1 of NAR |
Face Amount charge(2) | Monthly | |
Maximum charge | | $12.60 per $1,000 of Face Amount |
Minimum charge | | $0.04 per $1,000 of Face Amount |
Charge for representative insured person | | $0.43 per $1,000 of Face Amount |
Administrative charge | Monthly | $20.00 |
Asset-based risk charge(3) | Monthly | 0.02% of policy value |
Policy loan interest rate(4) | Accrues daily Payable annually | 3.25% |
(1) The cost of insurance charge is determined by multiplying the net amount of insurance for which we are at risk (the net amount at risk or “NAR”) by the applicable cost of insurance rate. The rates vary widely depending upon the length of time the policy has been in effect, the insurance risk characteristics of the insured person and (generally) the gender of the insured person. The maximum rate shown is the rate in policy year 14 for a policy issued to cover a 90-year old male substandard smoker underwriting risk. The minimum rate shown is the rate in the first policy year for a 5-year old female standard non-smoker underwriting risk. The representative insured person rate shown is the rate for a 55-year old male preferred non-smoker underwriting risk with a policy in the first policy year. These charges may not be particularly relevant to your current situation. For more information, contact your John Hancock USA representative.
(2) This charge is determined by multiplying the Face Amount at issue by the applicable rate. The rates vary by the sex, issue age, and risk classification at issue of the insured person. The maximum rate shown is for a 90-year old male standard smoker underwriting risk. The minimum rate shown is for a 0-year old male standard non-smoker underwriting risk. The representative insured person rate shown is the rate for a 55- year old male preferred non-smoker underwriting risk. These charges may not be particularly relevant to your current situation. For more information, contact your John Hancock USA representative.
(3) This charge only applies to that portion of policy value held in the variable investment accounts. The charge determined does not apply to any policy value held in a fixed account. We currently do not impose an asset-based risk charge for any policy years, but we reserve the right to do so in the policy.
(4) 3.25% is the maximum effective annual interest rate we can charge and applies only during policy years 1-10. The effective annual interest rate is 2.00% thereafter (although we reserve the right to increase the rate after the tenth policy year to as much as 2.25%). The amount of any loan is transferred from the accounts to a special loan account which earns interest at an effective annual rate of 2.00%. Therefore, the cost of a loan is the difference between the loan interest we charge and the interest we credit to the special loan account.
Rider Charges |
Charge | When Charge is Deducted | Amount Deducted |
Healthy Engagement Rider | Monthly | $2 |
Disability Payment of Specified Premium Rider(1) | Monthly | |
Maximum charge | | $198.67 per $1,000 of Specified Premium |
Minimum charge | | $16.57 per $1,000 of Specified Premium |
Charge for representative insured person | | $88.11 per $1,000 of Specified Premium |
Long-Term Care Rider(2) | Monthly | |
Maximum charge | | $3.34 per $1,000 of NAR |
Minimum charge | | $0.01 per $1,000 of NAR |
Charge for representative insured person | | $0.11 per $1,000 of NAR |
Critical Illness Benefit Rider(3) | Monthly | |
Maximum charge | | $48.43 per $1,000 of Critical Illness Benefit Amount |
Minimum charge | | $0.20 per $1,000 of Critical Illness Benefit Amount |
Charge for representative insured person | | $5.10 per $1,000 of Critical Illness Benefit Amount |
Return of Premium Death Benefit Rider(4) | Monthly | |
Maximum charge | | $0.08 per $1 of NAR |
Minimum charge | | $0.0000067 per $1 of NAR |
Charge for representative insured person | | $0.0002838 per $1 of NAR |
Accelerated Benefit Rider(5) | At exercise of benefit | $150.00 |
(1) The charge for this rider is determined by multiplying the Specified Premium by the applicable rate. The Specified Premium is stated in the Policy Specifications page of your policy. The rates vary by the sex, issue age and the disability insurance risk characteristics of the insured person. The maximum rate shown is for a 54-year old female substandard smoker underwriting risk. The minimum rate shown is for a 20-year old male standard non-smoker underwriting risk. The representative insured person rate shown is for a 55 year old male preferred non-smoker underwriting risk. These charges may not be particularly relevant to your current situation. For more information, contact your John Hancock USA representative.
(2) The charge for this rider is determined by multiplying the net amount of insurance for which we are at risk (the net amount at risk or “NAR”) by the applicable rate. The rates vary by the long-term care insurance risk characteristics of the insured person and the rider benefit level selected. The maximum rate shown is for a 75-year old male substandard smoker underwriting risk with a 4% Monthly Acceleration Percentage. The minimum rate shown is for a 20-year old female super preferred non-smoker underwriting risk with a 1% Monthly Acceleration Percentage, which is a percentage of the death benefit you can accelerate each month. The Monthly Acceleration Percentage is stated in the Policy Specifications page of your policy. The representative insured person rate shown is for a 55-year old male preferred non-smoker underwriting risk with a 4% Monthly Acceleration Percentage. These charges may not be particularly relevant to your current situation. For more information, contact your John Hancock USA representative.
(3) The charge for this rider is determined by multiplying the Critical Illness Benefit Amount by the applicable rate. The rates vary by issue age, duration, gender, and critical illness risk classification of the insured person (e.g., the risk that the insured person will develop a Critical Illness, as defined in the rider). The maximum rate shown is the rate in the sixteenth policy year for a 49-year old male standard smoker underwriting risk. The minimum rate shown is the rate in the second policy year for an 18-year old female standard non-smoker underwriting risk. The rate for the representative insured person is the rate in the first policy year for a 55-year old male standard non-smoker underwriting risk. These charges may not be particularly relevant to your current situation. For more information, contact your John Hancock USA representative.
(4) The Return of Premium Death Benefit Rider charge is determined by multiplying the net amount of insurance for which we are at risk (the net amount of risk or “NAR”) by the applicable cost of insurance rate. The rates vary widely depending upon the length of time the policy has been in effect, the insurance risk characteristics of the insured person and (generally) the sex of the insured person. The maximum rate shown is the rate in policy year 14 for a policy issued to cover a 90-year old male substandard smoker underwriting
risk. The minimum rate shown is the rate in the first policy year for a 5-year old female standard non-smoker underwriting risk. The representative insured person rate shown is the rate for a 55-year old male preferred non-smoker underwriting risk with a policy in the first policy year. These charges may not be particularly relevant to your current situation. For more information, contact your John Hancock USA representative.
(5) The charge is not currently imposed, but we reserve the right to do so in the policy.
The next table describes the minimum and maximum portfolio level fees and expenses charged by any of the portfolios underlying a variable investment account offered through this prospectus, expressed as a percentage of average net assets (rounded to two decimal places). These expenses are deducted from portfolio assets. For more information, please refer to the prospectus for the portfolio.
Total Annual Portfolio Operating Expenses | Minimum | Maximum |
Range of expenses, including management fees, distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees, and other expenses1 | 0.41% | 1.73% |
1 Certain of the portfolios’ advisers or subadvisers have contractually agreed to reimburse or waive certain portfolio level expenses. The minimum and maximum expenses shown do not reflect these contractual expense reimbursements or waivers. If such reimbursements or waivers were reflected, the minimum and maximum expenses would be 0.28% and 1.52%, respectively.
The next table describes the fees and expenses for each portfolio underlying a variable investment account offered through this prospectus. None of the portfolios charge a sales load or surrender fee. The fees and expenses do not reflect the fees and expenses of any variable insurance contract or qualified plan that may use the portfolio as its underlying investment medium. Except for the American Asset Allocation, American Global Growth, American Growth, American Growth-Income, American International, and PIMCO VIT All Asset portfolios, all of the portfolios shown in the table are NAV class shares that are not subject to Rule 12b-1 fees. Except as indicated in the footnotes appearing at the end of the table, the expense ratios are based upon the portfolio's actual expenses for the year ended December 31, 2017.
Portfolio Annual Expenses
(as a percentage of portfolio average net assets, rounded to two decimal places)
Portfolio | | Management Fee | | 12b-1 Fees | | Other Expenses | | Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses | | Total Fund Operating Expenses |
500 Index1
| | 0.46% | | 0.00% | | 0.04% | | 0.00% | | 0.50% |
Active Bond2
| | 0.60% | | 0.00% | | 0.05% | | 0.01% | | 0.66% |
American Asset Allocation3
| | 0.27% | | 0.60% | | 0.05% | | 0.00% | | 0.92% |
American Global Growth3
| | 0.52% | | 0.60% | | 0.08% | | 0.00% | | 1.20% |
American Growth3
| | 0.33% | | 0.60% | | 0.05% | | 0.00% | | 0.98% |
American Growth-Income3
| | 0.26% | | 0.60% | | 0.05% | | 0.00% | | 0.91% |
American International3
| | 0.50% | | 0.60% | | 0.07% | | 0.00% | | 1.17% |
Blue Chip Growth
| | 0.75% | | 0.00% | | 0.04% | | 0.00% | | 0.79% |
Capital Appreciation
| | 0.70% | | 0.00% | | 0.05% | | 0.00% | | 0.75% |
Capital Appreciation Value
| | 0.81% | | 0.00% | | 0.06% | | 0.00% | | 0.87% |
Core Bond
| | 0.58% | | 0.00% | | 0.04% | | 0.00% | | 0.62% |
Emerging Markets Value
| | 0.95% | | 0.00% | | 0.12% | | 0.00% | | 1.07% |
Equity Income
| | 0.72% | | 0.00% | | 0.05% | | 0.00% | | 0.77% |
Financial Industries2
| | 0.76% | | 0.00% | | 0.07% | | 0.04% | | 0.87% |
Fundamental All Cap Core
| | 0.68% | | 0.00% | | 0.03% | | 0.00% | | 0.71% |
Fundamental Large Cap Value
| | 0.65% | | 0.00% | | 0.04% | | 0.00% | | 0.69% |
Global4
| | 0.82% | | 0.00% | | 0.09% | | 0.00% | | 0.91% |
Global Bond
| | 0.70% | | 0.00% | | 0.07% | | 0.00% | | 0.77% |
Health Sciences
| | 1.05% | | 0.00% | | 0.06% | | 0.00% | | 1.11% |
High Yield
| | 0.68% | | 0.00% | | 0.08% | | 0.00% | | 0.76% |
International Equity Index5
| | 0.53% | | 0.00% | | 0.10% | | 0.00% | | 0.63% |
International Growth Stock2
| | 0.79% | | 0.00% | | 0.09% | | 0.01% | | 0.89% |
International Small Company
| | 0.95% | | 0.00% | | 0.18% | | 0.00% | | 1.13% |
International Value
| | 0.80% | | 0.00% | | 0.08% | | 0.00% | | 0.88% |
Investment Quality Bond
| | 0.60% | | 0.00% | | 0.07% | | 0.00% | | 0.67% |
Lifestyle Balanced2
| | 0.04% | | 0.00% | | 0.03% | | 0.56% | | 0.63% |
Lifestyle Conservative2,6
| | 0.04% | | 0.00% | | 0.07% | | 0.58% | | 0.69% |
Lifestyle Growth2
| | 0.04% | | 0.00% | | 0.03% | | 0.55% | | 0.62% |
Portfolio | | Management Fee | | 12b-1 Fees | | Other Expenses | | Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses | | Total Fund Operating Expenses |
Lifestyle Moderate2,6
| | 0.04% | | 0.00% | | 0.05% | | 0.57% | | 0.66% |
Managed Volatility Aggressive2,7
| | 0.06% | | 0.00% | | 0.05% | | 0.76% | | 0.87% |
Managed Volatility Balanced2,7
| | 0.06% | | 0.00% | | 0.02% | | 0.62% | | 0.70% |
Managed Volatility Conservative2,7
| | 0.05% | | 0.00% | | 0.03% | | 0.58% | | 0.66% |
Managed Volatility Growth2,7
| | 0.06% | | 0.00% | | 0.02% | | 0.65% | | 0.73% |
Managed Volatility Moderate2,7
| | 0.05% | | 0.00% | | 0.03% | | 0.61% | | 0.69% |
Mid Cap Index8
| | 0.47% | | 0.00% | | 0.04% | | 0.00% | | 0.51% |
Mid Cap Stock
| | 0.83% | | 0.00% | | 0.05% | | 0.00% | | 0.88% |
Mid Value Trust
| | 0.95% | | 0.00% | | 0.04% | | 0.00% | | 0.99% |
Money Market9
| | 0.37% | | 0.00% | | 0.04% | | 0.00% | | 0.41% |
PIMCO VIT All Asset10
| | 0.43% | | 0.45% | | 0.00% | | 0.85% | | 1.73% |
Real Estate Securities
| | 0.70% | | 0.00% | | 0.06% | | 0.00% | | 0.76% |
Science & Technology
| | 1.02% | | 0.00% | | 0.05% | | 0.00% | | 1.07% |
Select Bond
| | 0.56% | | 0.00% | | 0.04% | | 0.00% | | 0.60% |
Short Term Government Income
| | 0.56% | | 0.00% | | 0.06% | | 0.00% | | 0.62% |
Small Cap Index11
| | 0.48% | | 0.00% | | 0.05% | | 0.00% | | 0.53% |
Small Cap Opportunities4
| | 0.98% | | 0.00% | | 0.07% | | 0.00% | | 1.05% |
Small Cap Stock
| | 1.00% | | 0.00% | | 0.06% | | 0.00% | | 1.06% |
Small Cap Value2
| | 1.03% | | 0.00% | | 0.05% | | 0.05% | | 1.13% |
Small Company Value2
| | 1.05% | | 0.00% | | 0.05% | | 0.12% | | 1.22% |
Strategic Income Opportunities
| | 0.63% | | 0.00% | | 0.05% | | 0.00% | | 0.68% |
Total Bond Market1,2
| | 0.47% | | 0.00% | | 0.05% | | 0.01% | | 0.53% |
Total Stock Market Index2
| | 0.48% | | 0.00% | | 0.04% | | 0.01% | | 0.53% |
Ultra Short Term Bond
| | 0.55% | | 0.00% | | 0.06% | | 0.00% | | 0.61% |
Utilities
| | 0.83% | | 0.00% | | 0.06% | | 0.00% | | 0.89% |
1 John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC (“JHIMS”) has contractually agreed to waive those expenses of the 500 Index and Total Bond Market portfolios that exceed 0.25% and 027%, respectively, of average annual net assets of each portfolio, or, if necessary, make payment to each portfolio in an amount equal to the amount by which “Total Fund Operating Expenses.” A portfolio’s “Total Fund Operating Expenses” includes all fund-level and class-specific operating expenses, excluding (a) taxes, (b) brokerage commissions, (c) interest expense, (d) litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the portfolio’s business, (e) class-specific expenses, (f) borrowing costs, (g) prime brokerage fees, (h) acquired fund fees and expenses paid indirectly, and (i) short dividend expense. The current expense limitation expires on April 30, 2019, unless renewed by mutual agreement of the portfolio and JHIMS based upon a determination that this is appropriate under the circumstances at that time. The fees shown in the table do not reflect this waiver or reimbursement. If this waiver or reimbursement had been reflected, the “Total Fund Operating Expenses” for the 500 Index and Total Bond Market portfolios would be 0.25% and 0.26%, respectively. For more information, please refer to the prospectus for the portfolio.
2 “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses” are based on indirect net expenses associated with the portfolio’s investments in the funds (each an “Acquired Fund”) of underlying investment companies. The “Total Fund Operating Expenses” shown may not correlate to the portfolio’s ratios of expenses to average net assets shown in the “Financial highlights” section of the fund’s prospectus, which does not include “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.” For more information, please refer to the prospectus for the portfolio.
3 The table reflects the combined fees of the feeder fund and the master fund.
4 John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC (“JHIMS”) has contractually agreed to waive its management fee so that the amount it retains after payment of the subadvisory fees for the portfolio does not exceed 0.45% of the portfolio’s average net assets. The current expense limitation agreement expires on April 30, 2019 unless renewed by mutual agreement of the portfolio and JHIMS based upon a determination that this is appropriate under the circumstances at that time. The fees in the table do not reflect this waiver. If this waiver had been reflected, the “Total Fund Operating Expenses” for the Global and Small Cap Opportunities portfolios would be 0.89% and 0.97%, respectively. For more information, please refer to the prospectus for the portfolio.
5 John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC (“JHIMS”) has contractually agreed to waive those expenses of the portfolio that exceed 0.34% of average annual net assets of the portfolio, or, if necessary, make payment to the portfolio in an amount equal to the amount by which “Total Fund Operating Expenses” of the portfolio exceed 0.34%. A portfolio’s “Total Fund Operating Expenses” includes all fund-level and class-specific operating expenses, excluding (a) taxes, (b) brokerage commissions, (c) interest expense, (d)
litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the fund's business, (e) class-specific expenses, (f) borrowing costs, (g) prime brokerage fees, (h) acquired fund fees and expenses paid indirectly, and (i) short dividend expense. The current expense limitation expires on April 30, 2019, unless renewed by mutual agreement of the portfolio and JHIMS based upon a determination that this is appropriate under the circumstances at that time. The fees shown in the table do not reflect this waiver or reimbursement. If this waiver or reimbursement had been reflected, the “Total Fund Operating Expenses” for the portfolio would be 0.34%. For more information, please refer to the prospectus for the portfolio.
6 John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC (“JHIMS”) has contractually agreed to reduce its management fee and/or make payment to the portfolio in an amount equal to the amount by which “Other Expenses” of the portfolio exceed 0.04% of the average net assets of the portfolios. “Other Expenses” means all of the expenses of the portfolio, excluding certain expenses such as advisory fees, taxes, brokerage commissions, interest expense, litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the portfolio’s business, distribution and service (Rule 12b-1) fees, transfer agency and service fees, underlying fund expenses (acquired fund fees), and short dividend expense. The current expense limitation agreement expires on April 30, 2019, unless renewed by mutual agreement of the portfolio and JHIMS based upon a determination that this is appropriate under the circumstances at that time. The fees shown in the table do not reflect this waiver or reimbursement. If this waiver or reimbursement had been reflected, the “Total Fund Operating Expenses” for the Lifestyle Conservative and Lifestyle Moderate portfolios would be 0.66% and 0.65%, respectively. For more information, please refer to the prospectus for the portfolio.
7 John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC (“JHIMS”) has contractually agreed to reduce its management fee and/or make payment to the portfolio in an amount equal to the amount by which “Other Expenses” of the portfolio exceed 0.00% of the average net assets of the portfolios. “Other Expenses” means all of the expenses of the portfolio, excluding certain expenses such as advisory fees, taxes, brokerage commissions, interest expense, litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the portfolio’s business, distribution and service (Rule 12b-1) fees, transfer agency and service fees, underlying fund expenses (acquired fund fees), and short dividend expense. The current expense limitation agreement expires on April 30, 2019, unless renewed by mutual agreement of the portfolio and JHIMS based upon a determination that this is appropriate under the circumstances at that time. The fees shown in the table do not reflect this waiver or reimbursement. If this waiver or reimbursement had been reflected, the “Total Fund Operating Expenses” for the portfolio would be as indicated in the table below. For more information, please refer to the prospectus for the portfolio.
Portfolio | | Total Fund Operating Expenses |
Managed Volatility Aggressive
| | 0.82% |
Managed Volatility Balanced
| | 0.68% |
Managed Volatility Conservative
| | 0.63% |
Portfolio | | Total Fund Operating Expenses |
Managed Volatility Growth
| | 0.71% |
Managed Volatility Moderate
| | 0.66% |
8 John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC (“JHIMS”) has contractually agreed to waive its management fee by an annual rate of 0.10% of the portfolio’s average daily net assets. This agreement expires in April 30, 2019, unless renewed by mutual agreement of the portfolio and the advisor based upon the determination that this is appropriate under the circumstances at that time. The fees shown in the table do not reflect this waiver or reimbursement. If this waiver had been reflected, the Total Fund Operating Expenses for the portfolio would be 0.41%. For more information, please refer to the prospectus for the portfolio.
9 John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC (“JHIMS”) has contractually agreed to waive those expenses of the portfolio that exceeds 0.28% of average annual net assets of the portfolio, or, if necessary, make payment to the portfolio in an amount equal to the amount by which “Total Fund Operating Expenses” of the portfolio exceeds 0.28%. A portfolio’s “Total Fund Operating Expenses” includes all of its fund-level and class-specific operating expenses, excluding (a) taxes, (b) brokerage commissions, (c) interest expense, (d) litigation and indemnification expenses and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of the fund's business, (e) class-specific expenses, (f) borrowing costs, (g) prime brokerage fees, (h) acquired fund fees and expenses paid indirectly, and (i) short dividend expense. The current expense limitation expires on April 30, 2019, unless renewed by mutual agreement of the portfolio and JHIMS based upon a determination that this is appropriate under the circumstances at that time. The fees shown in the table do not reflect this waiver or reimbursement. If this waiver or reimbursement had been reflected, the “Total Fund Operating Expenses” for the portfolio would be 0.28%. For more information, please refer to the prospectus for the portfolio.
10 Pacific Investment Management Company LLC (“PIMCO”) has contractually agreed through May 1, 2019, to reduce its management fee to the extent that the underlying PIMCO fund expenses attributable to management, supervisory and administrative fees exceeds 0.64% of the total assets invested in the underlying PIMCO funds. PIMCO may recoup these waivers in future periods, not exceeding three years, provided total expenses, including such recoupment, do not exceed the annual expense limit. The fee reduction is implemented based on a calculation of underlying PIMCO fund expenses attributable to management, supervisory and administrative fees that is different from the calculation of “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses” shown in the table. “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses” include interest expense of 0.05%. Interest expense results from certain transactions within the underlying PIMCO funds and is separate from the management fees paid to PIMCO. “Total Fund Operating Expenses” excluding interest expense of the underlying fund is 1.66%. The fees shown in the table do not reflect the expense waiver. If this expense waiver had been reflected, the “Total Fund Operating Expenses” shown (excluding the interest expense of the underlying funds) would be 1.52%. The “Total Fund Operating
Expenses” shown may not correlate to the portfolio’s ratio of expense to average net assets shown in the Financial Highlights section of the prospectus for the portfolio, which does not include “Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses.” For more information, please refer to the prospectus for the portfolio.
11 John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC (“JHIMS”) has contractually agreed to waive its management fee by 0.05% as a percentage of the portfolio’s average annual net assets. The current expense limitation agreement expires on April 30, 2019 unless renewed by mutual agreement of the portfolio and JHIMS based upon a determination that this is appropriate under the circumstances at that time. The fees shown in the table do not reflect this waiver or reimbursement. If this waiver or reimbursement had been reflected, the “Total Fund Operating Expenses” for the portfolio would be 0.48%. For more information, please refer to the prospectus for the portfolio.
DETAILED INFORMATION
This section of the prospectus provides additional detailed information that is not contained in the Summary of Benefits and Risks section.
Table of Variable Investment Accounts and Investment Subadvisers
When you select a Separate Account variable investment account, we invest your money in shares of a corresponding portfolio of the John Hancock Variable Insurance Trust (the “Trust” or “JHVIT”) (or the PIMCO Variable Insurance Trust (the “PIMCO Trust”) with respect to the PIMCO VIT All Asset portfolio) and hold the shares in a subaccount of the Separate Account. The Fee Tables show the investment management fees, Rule 12b-1 fees and other operating expenses for these portfolio shares as a percentage (rounded to two decimal places) of each portfolio's average net assets for 2017, except as indicated in the footnotes appearing at the end of the table. Fees and expenses of the portfolios are not fixed or specified under the terms of the policies and may vary from year to year. These fees and expenses differ for each portfolio and reduce the investment return of each portfolio. Therefore, they also indirectly reduce the return you will earn on any Separate Account investment options you select.
The JHVIT and the PIMCO Trust are so-called “series” type mutual funds and each is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“1940 Act”) as an open-end management investment company. John Hancock Investment Management Services, LLC (“JHIMS”) provides investment advisory services to the Trust and receives investment management fees for doing so. JHIMS pays a portion of its investment management fees to other firms that manage the Trust’s portfolios. We are affiliated with JHIMS and may indirectly benefit from any investment management fees JHIMS retains. The PIMCO VIT All Asset portfolio of the PIMCO Trust receives investment advisory services from Pacific Investment Management Company LLC (“PIMCO”) and pays investment management fees to PIMCO.
Each of the American Asset Allocation, American Global Growth, American Growth, American Growth-Income, and American International portfolios invests in Series 1 shares of the corresponding investment portfolio of the Trust. The American Asset Allocation, American Global Growth, American Growth, American Growth-Income and, American International portfolios (“American Portfolios”) operate as “feeder funds,” which means that the portfolios do not buy investment securities directly. Instead, they invest in a “master fund” which in turn purchases investment securities. Each of the American feeder fund portfolios has the same investment objective and limitations as its master fund. The prospectus for the American Fund master fund is included with the prospectuses for the underlying funds. We pay American Funds Distributors, Inc., the principal underwriter for the American Funds Insurance Series, a percentage of some or all of the amounts allocated to the American Portfolios of the Trust for the marketing support services it provides.
The portfolios pay us or certain of our affiliates compensation for some of the distribution, administrative, shareholder support, marketing and other services we or our affiliates provide to the portfolios. Compensation payments may be made by a portfolio’s investment adviser or its affiliates. The compensation payments are based on a percentage of the assets of the portfolios attributable to the variable insurance products that we and our affiliates issue. These percentages may differ from portfolio to portfolio and among classes of shares within a portfolio. In some cases, the compensation is derived from the Rule 12b-1 fees that are deducted from a portfolio’s assets for the services we or our affiliates provide to that portfolio. These compensation payments do not, however, result in any charge to you in addition to what is shown in the Fee Tables.
The following table provides a general description of the portfolios that underlie the variable investment accounts we make available under the policy. You bear the investment risk of any portfolio you choose as a variable investment account for your policy. You can find a full description of each portfolio, including the investment objectives and strategies, policies, restrictions, and risks, in the prospectus for that portfolio. You should read the portfolio’s prospectus carefully before investing in the corresponding variable investment account.
The variable investment accounts in the Separate Account are not publicly traded mutual funds. The variable investment accounts are only available to you as variable investment accounts in the policies, or in some cases through other variable annuity contracts or variable life insurance policies issued by us or by other life insurance companies. In some cases, the variable investment accounts also may be available through participation in certain qualified pension or retirement plans. The portfolios' investment advisers and managers (i.e. subadvisers) may manage publicly traded mutual funds with similar names and investment objectives. However, the portfolios are not directly related to any publicly traded mutual fund. You should not compare the performance of any variable investment account described in this prospectus with the performance of a publicly traded mutual fund. The performance of any publicly traded mutual fund could differ substantially from that of any of the variable investment accounts of our Separate Account.
The portfolios available under the policies, the investment subadvisers (engaged by JHIMS or PIMCO) and the investment objective for each portfolio are described in the table below. For additional information regarding these portfolios’ investment objectives and strategies, policies and restrictions of and the risks relating to investment in the portfolios, please refer to the prospectus for the underlying portfolio.
Portfolio | Subadviser | Investment Objective |
500 Index | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited | To approximate the aggregate total return of a broad-based U.S. domestic equity market index. |
Active Bond | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC | To seek to provide income and capital appreciation. |
American Asset Allocation | Capital Research and Management Company (Adviser to the American Funds Insurance Series) | To seek to provide high total return (including income and capital gains) consistent with preservation of capital over the long-term. |
American Global Growth | Capital Research and Management Company (Adviser to the American Funds Insurance Series) | To seek to provide long-term growth of capital. |
American Growth | Capital Research and Management Company (Adviser to the American Funds Insurance Series) | To seek to provide growth of capital. |
American Growth–Income | Capital Research and Management Company (Adviser to the American Funds Insurance Series) | To seek to provide growth of capital and income. |
American International | Capital Research and Management Company (Adviser to the American Funds Insurance Series) | To seek to provide long-term growth of capital. |
Blue Chip Growth | T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. | To seek to provide long-term growth of capital. Current income is a secondary objective. |
Capital Appreciation | Jennison Associates LLC | To seek to provide long-term growth of capital. |
Capital Appreciation Value | T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. | To seek to provide long-term capital appreciation. |
Core Bond | Wells Capital Management, Incorporated | To seek to provide total return consisting of income and capital appreciation. |
Emerging Markets Value | Dimensional Fund Advisors LP | To seek to provide long-term capital appreciation. |
Equity Income | T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. | To seek to provide substantial dividend income and also long-term growth of capital. |
Financial Industries | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC | To seek to provide growth of capital. |
Fundamental All Cap Core | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC | To seek to provide long-term growth of capital. |
Fundamental Large Cap Value | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC | To seek to provide long-term capital appreciation. |
Global | Templeton Global Advisors Limited | To seek to provide long-term capital appreciation. |
Global Bond | Pacific Investment Management Company LLC | To seek to provide maximum total return, consistent with preservation of capital and prudent investment management. |
Health Sciences | T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. | To seek to provide long-term capital appreciation. |
High Yield | Western Asset Management Company | To seek to provide an above-average total return over a market cycle of 3 to 5 years, consistent with reasonable risk. |
International Equity Index | SSGA Funds Management, Inc. | To seek to track the performance of a broad-based equity index of foreign companies primarily in developed countries and, to a lesser extent, in emerging markets. |
International Growth Stock | Invesco Advisers, Inc. | To seek to provide long-term growth of capital. |
International Small Company | Dimensional Fund Advisors LP | To seek to provide long-term capital appreciation. |
Portfolio | Subadviser | Investment Objective |
International Value | Templeton Investment Counsel, LLC | To seek to provide long-term growth of capital. |
Investment Quality Bond | Wellington Management Company LLP | To seek to provide a high level of current income consistent with the maintenance of principal and liquidity. |
Lifestyle Balanced | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC; and John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited | To seek to provide a high level of current income and growth of capital, with a greater emphasis on growth of capital. |
Lifestyle Conservative | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC; and John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited | To seek to provide a high level of current income with some consideration given to growth of capital. |
Lifestyle Growth | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC; and John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited | To seek to provide long-term growth of capital. Current income is also a consideration. |
Lifestyle Moderate | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC; and John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited | To seek to provide a balance between a high level of current income and growth of capital, with a greater emphasis on income. |
Managed Volatility Aggressive | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC; and John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited | To seek to provide long-term growth of capital while seeking to both manage the volatility of return and limit the magnitude of portfolio losses. |
Managed Volatility Balanced | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC; and John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited | To seek to provide growth of capital and current income while seeking to both manage the volatility of return and limit the magnitude of portfolio losses. |
Managed Volatility Conservative | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC; and John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited | To seek to provide current income and growth of capital while seeking to both manage the volatility of return and limit the magnitude of portfolio losses. |
Managed Volatility Growth | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC; and John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited | To seek to provide long-term growth of capital while seeking to both manage the volatility of return and limit the magnitude of portfolio losses. |
Portfolio | Subadviser | Investment Objective |
Managed Volatility Moderate | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC; and John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited | To seek to provide current income and growth of capital while seeking to both manage the volatility of return and limit the magnitude of portfolio losses. |
Mid Cap Index | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited | To seek to approximate the aggregate total return of a medium-capitalization U.S. domestic equity market index. |
Mid Cap Stock | Wellington Management Company, LLP | To seek to provide long-term growth of capital. |
Mid Value | T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. | To seek to provide long-term capital appreciation. |
Money Market | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC | To seek to obtain maximum current income consistent with preservation of principal and liquidity. Certain market conditions may cause the return of the portfolio to become low or possibly negative. |
PIMCO VIT All Asset (a series of PIMCO Variable Insurance Trust) (only Class M is available) | Pacific Investment Management Company LLC | To seek to provide maximum real return, consistent with preservation of real capital and prudent investment management. |
Real Estate Securities | Deutsche Investment Management Americas Inc. | To seek to provide a combination of long-term capital appreciation and current income. |
Science & Technology | Allianz Global Investors U.S. LLC; and T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. | To seek to provide long-term growth of capital. Current income is incidental to the portfolio’s objective. |
Select Bond | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC | To seek to provide income and capital appreciation. |
Short Term Government Income | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC | To seek to provide a high level of current income consistent with preservation of capital. Maintaining a stable share price is a secondary goal. |
Small Cap Index | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited | To seek to approximate the aggregate total return of a small-capitalization U.S. domestic equity market index. |
Small Cap Opportunities | Dimensional Fund Advisors LP; and Invesco Advisers, Inc. | To seek to provide long-term capital appreciation. |
Small Cap Stock | Wellington Management Company LLP | To seek to provide long-term capital appreciation. |
Small Cap Value | Wellington Management Company LLP | To seek to provide long-term capital appreciation. |
Small Company Value | T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. | To seek to provide long-term growth of capital. |
Strategic Income Opportunities | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC | To seek to provide a high level of current income. |
Total Bond Market | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC | To seek to track the performance of the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index.* |
Total Stock Market Index | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (North America) Limited | To seek to approximate the aggregate total return of a broad U.S. domestic equity market index. |
Ultra Short Term Bond | John Hancock Asset Management, a division of Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC | To seek to provide a high level of current income consistent with the maintenance of liquidity and the preservation of capital. |
Utilities | Massachusetts Financial Services Company | To seek to provide capital growth and current income (income above that available from the portfolio invested entirely in equity securities). |
* The Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index represents the U.S. investment grade bond market.
If the shares of a portfolio are no longer available for investment or in our judgment investment in a portfolio becomes inappropriate, we may eliminate the shares of a portfolio and substitute shares of another portfolio of the Trust or another open-end registered investment company. Substitution may be made with respect to both existing investments and the investment of future purchase payments. However, we will make no such substitution without first notifying you and obtaining approval of the appropriate insurance regulatory authorities and the SEC (to the extent required by the 1940 Act).
Valuation
We will purchase and redeem series fund shares for the Separate Account at their net asset value without any sales or redemption charges. Shares of a series fund represent an interest in one of the funds of the series fund which corresponds to a subaccount of the Separate Account. Any dividend or capital gains distributions received by the Separate Account will be reinvested in shares of that same fund at their net asset value as of the dates paid.
On each business day, shares of each series fund are purchased or redeemed by us for each subaccount based on, among other things, the amount of net premiums allocated to the subaccount, distributions reinvested, and transfers to, from and among subaccounts, all to be effected as of that date. Such purchases and redemptions are effected at each series fund's net asset value per share determined for that same date. A “business day” is any date on which the New York Stock Exchange is open for trading. We compute policy values for each business day as of the close of that day (usually 4:00 p.m. Eastern time).
Voting interest
We will vote shares of the portfolios held in the Separate Account at the shareholder meetings according to voting instructions timely received from persons having the voting interest under the policies. We will determine the number of portfolio shares for which voting instructions may be given not more than 90 days prior to the meeting. Proxy material will be distributed to each person having the voting interest under the policy together with appropriate forms for giving voting instructions. We will vote all portfolio shares that we hold in the Separate Account for policy owners in proportion to the instructions timely received by us from policy owners from all our Separate Accounts that are registered with the SEC under the 1940 Act. We will vote all portfolio shares that we otherwise are entitled to vote (including our own shares) on any matter in proportion to the instructions timely received by us and any affiliated insurance companies with respect to the matter from policy owners in Separate Accounts of these insurance companies that are registered with the SEC under the 1940 Act. The effect of this proportional voting is that a small number of policy owners can determine the outcome of a vote.
We determine the number of a series fund's shares held in a subaccount attributable to each owner by dividing the amount of a policy's variable investment account value held in the subaccount by the net asset value of one share in the series fund. Fractional votes will be counted. We determine the number of shares as to which the owner may give instructions as of the record date for a series fund's meeting. Owners of policies may give instructions regarding the election of the Board of Trustees or Board of Directors of a series fund, ratification of the selection of independent auditors, approval of series fund investment advisory agreements and other matters requiring a shareholder vote. We will furnish owners with information and forms to enable owners to give voting instructions. However, we may, in certain limited circumstances permitted by the SEC's rules, disregard voting instructions. If we do disregard voting instructions, you will receive a summary of that action and the reasons for it in the next semi-annual report to owners.
The voting privileges described above reflect our understanding of applicable Federal securities law requirements. To the extent that applicable law, regulations or interpretations change to eliminate or restrict the need for such voting privileges, we reserve the right to proceed in accordance with any such revised requirements. We also reserve the right, subject to compliance with applicable law, including approval of owners if so required, (1) to transfer assets determined by John Hancock USA to be associated with the class of policies to which your policy belongs from the Separate Account to another separate account or subaccount, (2) to deregister the Separate Account under the 1940 Act, (3) to substitute for the fund shares held by a subaccount any other investment permitted by law, and (4) to take any action necessary to comply with or obtain any exemptions from the 1940 Act. Any such change will be made only if, in our judgment, the change would best serve the interests of owners of policies in your policy class or would be appropriate in carrying out the purposes of such policies. We would notify owners of any of the foregoing changes and to the extent legally required, obtain approval of affected owners and any regulatory body prior thereto. Such notice and approval, however, may not be legally required in all cases.
Description of John Hancock (USA)
We are a stock life insurance company incorporated in Maine on August 20, 1955 by a special act of the Maine legislature and redomesticated under the laws of Michigan. We are a licensed life insurance company in the District of Columbia and all states of the United States except New York. Our ultimate parent is Manulife Financial Corporation (“MFC”), a publicly traded company based in Toronto, Canada. MFC is the holding company of John Hancock USA and its subsidiaries. However, neither John Hancock USA nor any of its affiliated companies guarantees the investment performance of the Separate Account. Our executive office is located at 197 Clarendon St., Boston, MA 02117.
We are ranked and rated by independent financial rating services, which may include Moody's, Standard & Poor's, Fitch and A.M. Best. The purpose of these ratings is to reflect the financial strength or claims-paying ability of the company, but they do not specifically relate to its products, the performance (return) of these products, the value of any investment in these products upon withdrawal or to individual securities held in any portfolio. These ratings do not apply to the safety and performance of the Separate Account.
Description of Separate Account A
The variable investment accounts shown on page 1 are in fact subaccounts of the John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.) Separate Account A (the “Separate Account”), a separate account operated by us under Michigan law. The Separate Account meets the definition of “separate account” under the Federal securities laws and is registered as a unit investment trust under the 1940 Act. Such registration does not involve supervision by the SEC of the management of the Separate Account or of us.
The Separate Account’s assets are our property. Each policy provides that amounts we hold in the Separate Account pursuant to the policies cannot be reached by any other persons who may have claims against us and can’t be used to pay any indebtedness of John Hancock USA other than those arising out of policies that use the Separate Account. Income, gains and losses credited to, or charged against, the Separate Account reflect the Separate Account's own investment experience and not the investment experience of John Hancock USA's other assets. John Hancock USA is obligated to pay all amounts promised to policy owners under the policies.
New variable investment accounts may be added and made available to policy owners from time to time. Existing variable investment accounts may be modified or deleted at any time.
The fixed account
Our obligations under any fixed account are backed by our general account assets. Our general account consists of assets owned by us other than those in the Separate Account and in other separate accounts that we may establish. Subject to applicable law, we have sole discretion over the investment of assets of the general account and policy owners do not share in the investment experience of, or have any preferential claim on, those assets. Instead, we guarantee that the policy value allocated to any fixed account will accrue interest daily at an effective annual rate that we determine without regard to the actual investment experience of the general account. We currently offer only one fixed account—the standard fixed account. The effective annual rate we declare for the fixed account will never be less than 2%. We reserve the right to offer one or more additional fixed accounts with characteristics that differ from those of the current fixed account, but we are under no obligation to do so.
Because of exemptive and exclusionary provisions, interests in our fixed account have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act of 1933 (“1933 Act”) and our general account has not been registered as an investment company under the 1940 Act. Accordingly, neither the general account nor any interests therein are subject to the provisions of these acts, and we have been advised that the staff of the SEC has not reviewed the disclosure in this prospectus relating to any fixed account. Disclosure regarding fixed accounts, however, is subject to certain generally-applicable provisions of the Federal securities laws relating to accuracy and completeness of statements made in prospectuses.
The death benefit
In your application for the policy, you will tell us how much life insurance coverage you want on the life of the insured person. This is called the “Face Amount.”
When the insured person dies, we will pay the death benefit minus any outstanding policy debt and unpaid fees and charges. There are two ways of calculating the death benefit. You must choose which one you want in the application. The two death benefit options are described below.
• | Option 1 - The death benefit will equal the greater of (1) the Face Amount plus any amount payable under a supplementary benefit rider, or (2) the minimum death benefit (as described below). |
• | Option 2 - The death benefit will equal the greater of (1) the Face Amount plus any amount payable under a supplementary benefit rider,plus the policy value on the date of death, or (2) the minimum death benefit. |
For the same premium payments, the death benefit under Option 2 will tend to be higher than the death benefit under Option 1. On the other hand, the cost of insurance charge will be higher under Option 2 to compensate us for the additional insurance risk. Because of that, the policy value will tend to be higher under Option 1 than under Option 2 for the same premium payments.
Limitations on payment of death benefit
If the insured person commits suicide within certain time periods (generally within two years from the Issue Date of the policy), the amount payable will be equal to the premiums paid, less the amount of any policy debt on the date of death, and less any withdrawals.
Also, if an application misstated the age or sex of the insured person, we will adjust, if necessary, the Face Amount and every other benefit to that which would have been purchased at the correct age or sex by the most recent cost of insurance charge.
The minimum death benefit
In order for a policy to qualify as life insurance under Federal tax law, there has to be a minimum amount of insurance in relation to policy value. The Federal tax law test that will be applied at issue to determine whether your policy qualifies for life insurance is the cash value accumulation test (see “Tax Considerations”).
Under the cash value accumulation test, we compute the minimum death benefit each business day by multiplying the policy value on that date by the death benefit factor applicable on that date. The factor decreases as attained age increases. A table showing the factor for each age will appear in the policy.
To the extent that the calculation of the minimum death benefit under the cash value accumulation test causes the death benefit to exceed our limits, we reserve the right to distribute a portion of the policy value so that the resulting amount of insurance is maintained within our limits. Alternatively, should we consider accepting the additional amount of insurance, we may require additional evidence of insurability.
Requesting an increase in coverage
You may not increase your Face Amount under the policy. However, if you request a change in your death benefit option from Option 2 to Option 1, it may result in an increase of the Face Amount (see “Change of death benefit option”).
Requesting a decrease in coverage
After the first policy year, we may approve a reduction in the Face Amount, but only if:
• | the remaining Face Amount will be at least $50,000, and |
• | the remaining Face Amount will at least equal the minimum required by the tax laws to maintain the policy’s life insurance status. |
A pro-rata portion of the Surrender Charge will be deducted from the policy value in instances where your requests for Face Amount reductions cumulatively exceed 10% of your Face Amount at issue. An approved decrease will take effect on the monthly deduction date on or following the date we approve the request. We will impose a Surrender Charge on withdrawals you take that reduce your Face Amount (see “Surrender and withdrawals - Withdrawals”).
Change of death benefit option
Under our current administrative rules, we permit the death benefit option to be changed from Option 2 to Option 1 after the first policy year. If you request in writing, and we approve a change from Option 2 to Option 1, your Face Amount after
the change will equal your Face Amount before the change plus the policy value as of the effective date of the change. If you change from Option 2 to Option 1, your death benefit will change from one that may increase over time due to the investment experience of the underlying variable investment accounts to one that is a level death benefit. Changing from Option 2 to Option 1 may increase or decrease the monthly cost of insurance charges because your Net Amount At Risk may increase or decrease depending on the investment experience of the variable investment accounts; all other charges under the policy would remain the same. We reserve the right to limit a request for a change if the change would cause the policy to fail to qualify as life insurance for tax purposes.
Tax consequences of coverage changes
A change in the death benefit option or a reduction in Face Amount may change the policy’s limits under Federal tax laws. To avoid having the policy cease to qualify as life insurance for tax purposes, we reserve the right to refuse or limit a change in the death benefit option or a reduction in Face Amount. Please read “Tax considerations” to learn about possible tax consequences of changing your insurance coverage under the policy.
Changing a payment option
You can change the payment option at any time before the proceeds are payable. If you haven’t made a choice, the payee of the proceeds has a prescribed period in which he or she can make that choice.
There may be tax consequences to you or your beneficiary depending upon which payment option is chosen. You should consult with a qualified tax adviser before making that choice.
Premiums
Planned premiums
The Policy Specifications page of your policy will show the “Planned Premium” for the policy. You choose this amount in the policy application. You will also choose how often to pay premiums—annually, semi-annually or quarterly. You may also choose to pay premiums by monthly electronic funds transfers. The premium reminder notice we send you is based on the amount and period you choose. However, payment of Planned Premiums is not necessarily required. You need only pay enough premium to keep the policy in force (see “Lapse and reinstatement”).
Minimum initial premium
The Minimum Initial Premium is set forth in the Policy Specifications page of your policy. After the payment of the initial premium, premiums may be paid at any time and in any amount until the insured person's attained age 121, subject to the need to pay enough premium to keep the policy in force and to the limitations on maximum premium amount described below.
Maximum premium payments
If our receipt of any premium payment would cause the policy to be treated as a Modified Endowment Contract under the Federal income tax laws, we will only process the payment on the first Business Day after we have received satisfactory written instructions from you. More discussion of these tax law requirements is provided under “Tax considerations.”
Large premium payments may expose us to unanticipated investment risk. In addition, in order to limit our investment risk exposure under certain market conditions, we may refuse to accept additional premium payments. This may be the case, for example, in an environment of decreasing interest rates, where we may not be able to acquire investments for our general account that will sufficiently match the liabilities we are incurring under our fixed account guarantees. Excessive allocations may also interfere with the effective management of our variable investment accounts, if we are unable to make an orderly investment of the additional premium into the portfolios. Also, we may refuse to accept or limit an amount of premium if the amount of the premium would increase our insurance risk exposure, and the insured person doesn't provide us with adequate evidence that he or she continues to meet our requirements for issuing insurance.
We will notify you in writing of our refusal to accept premium under these provisions within three days following the date that it is received by us, and will promptly thereafter take the necessary steps to return the premium to you. Notwithstanding the foregoing limits on the premium that we will accept, we will not refuse to accept any premium necessary to prevent the policy from terminating.
Processing premium payments
No premiums will be accepted prior to our receipt of a completed application at our Service Office. All premiums received prior to the Issue Date of the policy will be held in the general account and credited with interest from the date of receipt at the rate of return then being earned on amounts allocated to the Money Market variable investment account. After the Issue Date but prior to the Allocation Date, Net Premiums received are allocated to the Money Market variable investment account. The “Allocation Date” of the policy is the tenth day after the Issue Date. The Issue Date is shown on the Policy Specifications page of the policy. On the Allocation Date, the Net Premiums paid plus interest credited, if any, will be allocated among the investment accounts or the fixed account in accordance with the policy owner’s instructions. The “Net Premium” is the premium paid less applicable premium charges we deduct from it.
Any Net Premium received on or after the Allocation Date will be allocated among investment accounts or the Fixed Account as of the Business day on or next following the date the premium is received at the Service Office. Monthly deductions are normally due on the Policy Date and at the beginning of each policy month thereafter. However, if the monthly deductions are due prior to the Contract Completion Date, they will be deducted from policy value on the Contract Completion Date instead of the dates they were due (see “Procedures for issuance of a policy” for the definition of “Contract Completion Date”).
Payment of premiums will not guarantee that the policy will stay in force. Conversely, failure to pay premiums will not necessarily cause the policy to lapse. However, the policy has a Death Benefit Protection feature, which would prevent the policy from lapsing, provided certain criteria are satisfied (see “Death Benefit Protection”).
Ways to pay premiums
If you pay premiums by check or money order, they must be drawn on a U.S. bank in U.S. dollars and made payable to “John Hancock.” We will not accept credit card checks. We will not accept starter or third party checks if they fail to satisfy our administrative requirements. Premiums after the first must be sent to the John Hancock USA Service Office at the appropriate address shown on the back cover of this prospectus.
We will also accept premiums:
• | by wire or by exchange from another insurance company, or |
• | via an electronic funds transfer program (any owner interested in makingmonthly premium payments must use this method). |
Lapse and reinstatement
Lapse
A policy will go into default if on any monthly deduction date the policy's net cash surrender value would be zero or below after deducting the monthly deductions then due and the Death Benefit Protection feature is in default. We will notify you of the default and will allow a 61-day grace period in which you may make a premium payment sufficient to bring the policy out of default (the “Default Payment”). The Default Payment will be the lesser of (a) the amount necessary to bring the net cash surrender value to zero, if it is less than zero on the date of default, plus the amount necessary to keep the net cash surrender value above zero for the next three policy months and (b) the Death Benefit Protection Default Payment (see “Death Benefit Protection”). The Default Payment may be insufficient to continue your policy for the next three policy months due to the investment experience of the variable investment accounts that you have chosen. If the Default Payment is not received by the end of the grace period, the policy will terminate (i.e., “lapse”) with no value. A lapse could have adverse tax consequences as described under “Tax considerations.”
Death Benefit Protection
Your policy is issued with the Death Benefit Protection feature that prevents your policy from going into default in certain circumstances, as described below, even if your net cash surrender value falls to zero or below. The Death Benefit Protection feature does not provide you with any additional death benefit amount or any increase in your policy value, and it does not provide any type of investment performance guarantee.
The Death Benefit Protection feature prevents your policy from going into default as long as the Death Benefit Protection Value less policy debt is greater than zero and the policy debt does not exceed the policy value. The Death Benefit
Protection Value (“DBPV”) is determined in a similar manner to the policy value determination described in this prospectus except that it has a separate set of notional charges and values. On the Issue Date and on each monthly deduction date thereafter, we will calculate your Death Benefit Protection Value (“DBPV”). Your DBPV is the accumulated value of any DBPV net premiums, plus DBPV interest, less the DBPV Administrative Charge, the DBPV Cost of Insurance Charge, and the DBPV Face Amount Charge (the “DBPV Monthly Deductions”). The DBPV Monthly Deductions are shown in your Policy Specifications page. Additionally, each time an amount is deducted from the policy value for any reason other than to take a monthly deduction (e.g., when you take a withdrawal), the DBPV is adjusted. Investment losses or gains, amounts credited to the fixed account, and Persistency Credits will not be applied to the Death Benefit Protection Value.
Your DBPV is calculated solely to determine whether your Death Benefit Protection feature is in effect. The DBPV charges and values that determine the DBPV are not charges you pay nor are they values that you receive in your policy value. The Death Benefit Protection Value does not provide any additional death benefit amount or any increase in your policy value.
The Death Benefit Protection feature will go into default at the beginning of any policy month in which the Death Benefit Protection Value less policy debt is less than or equal to zero after we deduct the DBPV Monthly Deductions that are due for that month. If the Death Benefit Protection feature is in default, we will notify you of that fact and allow a 61-day grace period in which you may make a premium payment sufficient to keep the policy from going into default (the “Death Benefit Protection Default Payment”). This required payment, as described in the notification, will be the amount necessary to bring the Death Benefit Protection Value less policy debt to zero, plus the amount necessary to keep the Death Benefit Protection Value less policy debt above zero for the next three policy months. If the Death Benefit Protection Default Payment is not paid by the end of the grace period, then the Death Benefit Protection feature will terminate. This feature cannot be reinstated after it terminates. At least 30 days prior to termination of the feature, we will send a notice to your last known address, specifying the amount you must pay to bring the feature out of default. If we have notice of a policy assignment on file at our Service Office, we will mail a copy of the notice of the amount due to the assignee on record.
The DBPV charge rates and interest rates are set at issue and reflect the age, sex and risk class of the insured person, as well as any additional rating and supplementary benefits, if applicable. The Death Benefit Protection feature may be impacted by certain policy changes because of the effect such policy changes has on the DBPV Monthly Deductions described above. Such changes include, but are not limited to the following: (i) a reduction in Face Amount, (ii) a death benefit option change, (iii) any change in the supplementary benefits added to the policy, (iv) any change in the risk classification of the insured person, or (v) withdrawals. Additionally, withdrawals reduce the DBPV by the amount of the withdrawal. For example, if the DBPV was equal to $2,000 at the time that you take a $3,000 withdrawal, then the DBPV would be reduced by the amount of that withdrawal to an amount that is less than zero, and your Death Benefit Protection Feature would then be in default.
Death during grace period
If the insured person should die during the grace period, the policy value used in the calculation of the death benefit will be the policy value as of the date of default and the death benefit will be reduced by any outstanding monthly deductions due at the time of death.
Reinstatement
By making a written request, you can apply to reinstate a policy that has gone into default and terminated at any time within the three-year period following the date of termination subject to the following conditions:
(a) You must provide to us evidence of the insured person's insurability that is satisfactory to us; and
(b) You must pay the Default Payment.
If the reinstatement is approved, the date of reinstatement will be the later of the date we approve your request or the date the Default Payment is received at our Service Office. In addition, any surrender charges will be reinstated to the amount they were at the date of default. The policy value on the date of reinstatement, prior to the crediting of any Net Premium paid in connection with the reinstatement, will be equal to the policy value on the date the policy terminated. Any policy debt not paid upon termination of a policy will be reinstated if the policy is reinstated.
Generally, the suicide exclusion and incontestability provisions will apply from the effective date of reinstatement. A surrendered policy cannot be reinstated.
The policy value
From each premium payment you make, we deduct the applicable premium charges described under “Deduction from premium payments.” We invest the rest (known as the “Net Premium”) in the variable investment accounts and any fixed account you've elected. Special investment rules apply to premiums processed prior to the Allocation Date (see “Premiums - - Processing premium payments”).
Over time, the amount you’ve invested in any variable investment account will increase or decrease the same as if you had invested the same amount directly in the corresponding underlying portfolio and had reinvested all portfolios' dividends and distributions in additional portfolio shares, except that we will deduct certain additional charges which will reduce your policy value. We describe these charges under “Description of charges at the policy level.”
We calculate the unit values for each variable investment account once every business day as of the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange, usually 4:00 p.m. Eastern time. Sales and redemptions within any variable investment account will be transacted using the unit value next calculated after we receive your request either in writing or other form that we specify. If we receive your request before the close of our business day, we'll use the unit value calculated as of the end of that business day. If we receive your request at or after the close of our business day, we'll use the unit value calculated as of the end of the next business day. If a scheduled transaction falls on a day that is not a business day, we'll process it as of the end of the next business day.
The amount you’ve invested in the fixed account will earn interest at the rates we declare from time to time. For the fixed account, we guarantee that this rate will be at least 2%. If you want to know what the current declared rate is for the fixed account, just call or write to us. The asset-based risk charge only applies to that portion of the policy value held in the variable investment accounts. The charge determined does not apply to the fixed account. Otherwise, the policy level charges applicable to the fixed account are the same as those applicable to the variable investment accounts. We reserve the right to offer one or more additional fixed accounts with characteristics that differ from those of the current fixed account, but we are under no obligation to do so.
Persistency Credit
Beginning in policy year six, we will calculate a Persistency Credit to be applied to your policy value on each monthly deduction date. A Persistency Credit will be allocated automatically to each variable investment account and/or fixed account from which, and in the same proportion as, we are taking your monthly deductions.
The Persistency Credit is calculated on the basis of a notional value referred to as the Persistency Measure. The Persistency Measure is determined in a similar manner to the policy value determination described in this prospectus except that it has a separate set of notional charges and values, which include the Persistency Measure rates and adjustment factors shown in your Policy Specifications page and in the Table of Rates section of your policy, respectively.
On the Issue Date, the Persistency Measure is set equal to zero. Each time a premium is paid, the premium less a Persistency Measure Premium Charge is added to the Persistency Measure. Each time a monthly deduction is taken from the policy value, a Persistency Measure Administrative Charge, a Persistency Measure Face Amount Charge, a Persistency Measure Asset-Based Risk Charge, and a Persistency Measure Cost of Insurance Charge are taken from the Persistency Measure (the “Persistency Measure Monthly Deductions”). The Persistency Measure Monthly Deductions and the Persistency Measure Premium Charge are shown in your Policy Specifications page. Each time an amount is deducted from the policy value for any reason other than to take a monthly deduction (e.g., when you take a withdrawal) the Persistency Measure is reduced by the same ratio as the policy value is reduced. Withdrawals and policy loans will reduce your Persistency Measure, which in turn could reduce the value of the Persistency Credit that is applied to your policy value.
Your Persistency Measure is calculated solely to determine the amount of Persistency Credit to be applied to your policy value. The Persistency Measure charges and values that determine the Persistency Measure are not charges you pay nor are they values that you receive in your policy value.
The value of the Persistency Credit applied to your policy is affected by the amounts and timing of the premiums that you pay into the policy, and how well the investment options you select perform. This means that the value of your Persistency Credit may be smaller - or possibly you will receive no Persistency Credit at all - if you minimally fund your policy and/or if the variable investment accounts you select perform poorly.
Further, the value of the Persistency Credit is affected by how close the current cost of insurance rate being charged is to the maximum cost of insurance rate that the policy permits, and will go to zero if we charge the maximum cost of insurance
rate and you are in the first 24 years of the policy. This means changes to the current cost of insurance rate (subject to the guaranteed maximum rate) can therefore affect how much Persistency Credit, if any, you may receive. No Persistency Credit that we applied to your policy value prior to such a change would be affected.
Another important consideration as to the amount of Persistency Credits, if any, that we will apply to your policy value is the length of time that you own the policy. The Persistency Credits are designed to enhance the long-term performance of your policy value. Subject to the other considerations discussed above, the longer you own the policy, the more Persistency Credits you could receive; and there will not be any Persistency Credits if you own the policy for less than six years.
As explained above, many factors may impact the value of Persistency Credit applied to your policy value. You can see the effect that changes to these factors have on the policy value by requesting an illustration at various assumptions.
Allocation of future premium payments
At any time, you may change the variable investment accounts or any fixed account in which future premium payments will be invested. You make the original allocation in the application for the policy. The percentages you select must be in whole numbers and must total 100%.
Transfers of existing policy value
You may also transfer your existing policy value from one variable investment account or any fixed account to another, subject to the limitations discussed below. To do so, you must tell us how much to transfer, either as a whole number percentage or as a specific dollar amount. A confirmation of each transfer will be sent to you. Without our approval, the maximum amount you may transfer to or from any variable investment account or any fixed account in any policy year is $1,000,000.
Market timing and disruptive trading practices
Variable investment accounts in variable life insurance products can be a prime target for abusive transfer activity because these products value their variable investment accounts on a daily basis and allow transfers among variable investment accounts without immediate tax consequences. As a result, some investors may seek to frequently transfer into and out of variable investment accounts or to make large transfers in reaction to market news or to exploit a perceived pricing inefficiency. Whatever the reason, long-term investors in any variable investment account can be harmed by large or frequent transfer activity. For example, such activity may expose the variable investment account's underlying portfolio to increased portfolio transaction costs and/or disrupt the portfolio manager's ability to effectively manage the portfolio's investments in accordance with the portfolio's investment objectives and policies. This could include causing the portfolio to maintain higher levels of cash than would otherwise be the case, or liquidating investments prematurely. Accordingly, frequent or large transfers may result in dilution with respect to interests held for long-term investment and adversely affect policy owners, beneficiaries and the underlying portfolios.
To discourage market timing and disruptive trading activity, we impose restrictions on transfers and reserve the right to change, suspend or terminate telephone, facsimile and internet transaction privileges (see “How you communicate with us”). We also reserve the right to impose a fee of up to $25 for any transfer beyond an annual limit (which will not be less than twelve). No transfer fee will be imposed on any transfer from a variable investment account into any fixed account if the transfer occurs during the following periods:
• | within 18 months after the policy's Issue Date, or |
• | within 60 days after the later of the effective date of a material change in the investment objectives of any variable investment account or the date you are notified of the change. |
In addition to the actions described above, we also reserve the right to take other actions at any time to restrict trading, including, but not limited to: (i) restricting the number of transfers made during a defined period, (ii) restricting the dollar amount of transfers, (iii) restricting transfers into and out of certain variable investment accounts, (iv) restricting the method used to submit transfers, and (v) deferring a transfer at any time we are unable to purchase or redeem shares of the underlying portfolio.
We may also impose additional administrative conditions upon, or prohibit a transfer request made by a third party giving instructions on behalf of multiple policies, whether owned by the same owner or different owners. If you engage a third party for asset allocation services, then you may be subject to these transfer restrictions because of the actions of that
party in providing those services. We will notify the third party you have engaged if we exercise this right. While we seek to identify and prevent disruptive trading activity, it may not always be possible to do so.Therefore, no assurance can be given that the restrictions we impose will be successful in preventing all disruptive trading and avoiding harm to long-term investors.
Limitations on transfers to or from a variable investment account. Our current practice is to restrict transfers into or out of variable investment accounts to two per calendar month (except with respect to those policies described in the following paragraphs). For purposes of this restriction, and in applying the limitation on the number of free transfers, any transfers made during the period from the opening of a business day (usually 9:00 a.m. Eastern time) to the close of that business day (usually 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) are considered one transfer. You may, however, transfer to the Money Market variable investment account even if the two transfers per month limit has been reached, but only if 100% of the account value in all variable investment accounts is transferred to the Money Market variable investment account. If such a transfer to the Money Market variable investment account is made, then for the 30 calendar day period after such transfer no transfers from the Money Market variable investment account to any other variable investment accounts or any fixed account may be made. If your policy offers a dollar cost averaging or automatic asset allocation rebalancing program, any transfers pursuant to such program are not considered transfers subject to these restrictions on frequent trading. The restrictions described in this paragraph will be applied uniformly to all policy owners subject to the restrictions.
Policies such as yours may be purchased by a corporation or other entity as a means to informally finance the liabilities created by an employee benefit plan, and to this end the entity may aggregately manage the policies purchased to match its liabilities under the plan. Policies sold under these circumstances are subject to special transfer restrictions. In lieu of the two transfers per month restriction, we will allow the policy owner under these circumstances to rebalance the investment options in its policies within the following limits: (i) during the 10 calendar day period after any policy values are transferred from one variable investment account into a second variable investment account, the values can only be transferred out of the second variable investment account if they are transferred into the Money Market variable investment account; and (ii) any policy values that would otherwise not be transferable by application of the 10 day limit described above and that are transferred into the Money Market variable investment account may not be transferred out of the Money Market variable investment account into any other variable investment account or any fixed account for 30 calendar days. The restrictions described in this paragraph will be applied uniformly to all policy owners subject to the restrictions.
Subject to our approval, we may offer policies purchased by a corporation or other entity that has purchased policies to match its liabilities under an employee benefit plan, as described above, the ability to electronically rebalance the variable investment accounts in its policies. Under these circumstances, in lieu of imposing any specific limit upon the number and timing of transfers, we will monitor aggregate trades among the subaccounts for frequency, pattern and size for potentially harmful investment practices. If we detect trading activity that we believe may be harmful to the overall operation of any variable investment account or underlying portfolio, we may impose conditions on policies employing electronic rebalancing to submit trades, including setting limits upon the number and timing of transfers, and revoking privileges to make trades by any means other than written communication submitted via U.S. mail. While we seek to identify and prevent disruptive frequent trading activity, it may not always be possible to do so. Therefore, no assurance can be given that the restrictions we impose will be successful in preventing all disruptive frequent trading and avoiding harm to long-term investors. The restrictions described in these paragraphs will be applied uniformly to all policy holders subject to the restrictions.
Rule 22c-2 under the 1940 Act requires us to provide tax identification numbers and other policy owner transaction information to the Trust or to other investment companies in which the Separate Account invests, at their request. An investment company will use this information to identify any pattern or frequency of variable investment account transfers that may violate their frequent trading policy. An investment company may require us to impose trading restrictions in addition to those described above if violations of their frequent trading policy are discovered.
Limitations on transfers out of the fixed account. Transfers out of the fixed account option in any one policy year are limited to the greater of (i) the fixed account maximum transfer amount of $2,000, (ii) the fixed account maximum transfer percentage of 15% multiplied by the amount of the fixed account on the immediately preceding policy anniversary, or (iii) the amount transferred out of the fixed account during the previous policy year. Any transfer out of the fixed account may not involve a transfer to the Money Market variable investment account.
We reserve the right to impose a minimum amount limit on transfers out of any fixed account. We also reserve the right to impose different restrictions on any additional fixed account that we may offer in the future.
We may waive the transfer restrictions on the fixed account. Please contact us or your John Hancock USA representative to find out if a waiver is currently in effect.
Dollar cost averaging. We may offer policy owners a dollar cost averaging (“DCA”) program. Under the DCA program, you will designate an amount that will be transferred monthly from one variable investment account into any other variable investment account or a fixed account. If insufficient funds exist to effect a DCA transfer, the transfer will not be effected and you will be so notified. No fee is charged for this program. This program may be used in conjunction with the asset allocation balancer transfer program detailed below.
We reserve the right to cease to offer this program as of 90 days after written notice is sent to you.
Asset allocation balancer transfers. Under the asset allocation balancer program, you will designate an allocation of policy value among the variable investment accounts. We will move amounts among the variable investment accounts at specified intervals you select - annually, semi-annually, quarterly or monthly. A change to your premium allocation instructions will automatically result in a change in asset allocation balancer instructions so that the two are identical unless you either instruct us otherwise or have elected the dollar cost averaging program. No fee is charged for this program. This program may be used in conjunction with the DCA program detailed above.
We reserve the right to cease to offer this program as of 90 days after written notice is sent to you.
Surrender and withdrawals
Surrender
You may surrender your policy in full at any time. If you do, we will pay you the policy value less any policy debt and surrender charge that then applies. This is called your “net cash surrender value.” You must return your policy when you request a surrender. We will process surrenders on the day we receive the surrender request (unless such day is not a business day, in which case we will process surrenders as of the business day next following the date of the receipt).
Withdrawals
After the first policy year, you may make a withdrawal of part of your net cash surrender value once in each policy month. Generally, each withdrawal must be at least $500. If the withdrawal results in a reduction in Face Amount, a charge equal to a pro-rata portion of any surrender charge will be applied during the surrender charge period. We will automatically reduce the policy value of your policy by the amount of the withdrawal. Unless otherwise specified by you, each variable investment account and any fixed account will be reduced in the same proportion as the policy value that is then allocated among them. We will not permit a withdrawal if it would cause your surrender value to fall below three months’ worth of monthly deductions (see “Deductions from policy value”). We reserve the right to refuse any withdrawal that would cause the policy’s Face Amount to fall below $50,000. We also reserve the right to approve reductions in the Face Amount.
Withdrawals will reduce your death benefit under Option 1 or Option 2 (see “The death benefit”). If Option 1 is in effect, withdrawals will reduce the death benefit by reducing the Face Amount. If Option 2 is in effect, withdrawals will reduce the death benefit by reducing the policy value.
If a reduction in Face Amount would cause the policy to fail the Internal Revenue Code’s definition of life insurance, we will not permit the withdrawal. If the withdrawal results in a reduction in Face Amount, a pro-rata portion of the applicable surrender charge will be deducted from the policy value. For example, assume a policy owner that has elected death benefit Option 1 requests a withdrawal of $25,000 on a policy with a Face Amount of $200,000 and a current surrender charge of $10,000. The $25,000 withdrawal would reduce the Face Amount from $200,000 to $175,000. The reduction in Face Amount would trigger a partial surrender charge equal to the surrender charge times the proportionate reduction in Face Amount, in this case equal to $10,000 X (25,000/200,000) or $1,250. The surrender charge after the withdrawal would be equal to $10,000 - $1,250 or $8,750.
Withdrawals will reduce your Persistency Measure; this means a withdrawal may reduce the amount of Persistency Credit you receive over the long term (see “Persistency Credit”). Withdrawals will also reduce the Death Benefit Protection Value; this means the Death Benefit Protection feature would be more likely to go into default (see “Death Benefit Protection”).
Policy loans
You may borrow from your policy at any time by completing a form satisfactory to us. The maximum amount you can borrow is the Available Loan Value. The Available Loan Value is equal to the net cash surrender value on the date you apply for a loan, minus any monthly deductions or applicable loan interest due from the date you apply for the loan until the end of the policy year, plus any interest payable on your cash surrender value at the Minimum Fixed Account Annual Rate through the end of the year. The Minimum Fixed Account Annual Rate is the minimum annual rate of interest applied to the fixed account as shown in your Policy Specifications page.
In no event, however, will the Available Loan Value be less than 90% of the net cash surrender value. Values will be determined in accordance with Section 28 of your policy and as of the end of the business day on which the loan application is received at our Service Office.
The minimum amount of each loan is $500. The interest charged on any loan is an effective annual rate of 3.25% in the first 10 policy years and 2.00% thereafter. However, we reserve the right to increase the percentage after the tenth policy year to as much as 2.25%. Accrued interest will be added to the loan daily and will bear interest at the same rate as the original loan amount. Unless otherwise specified by you, the amount of the loan is deducted from the variable investment accounts and any fixed account in the same proportion as the policy value is then allocated among them. The amount of the loan is then placed in a special loan account. This special loan account will earn interest at an effective annual rate of 2.00%. The tax consequences of a loan interest credited differential of 0% are unclear. You should consult a tax adviser before effecting a loan to evaluate possible tax consequences. If we determine that a loan will be treated as a taxable distribution because of the differential between the loan interest rate and the rate being credited on the special loan account, we reserve the right to increase the rate charged on the loan to a rate that would, in our reasonable judgment, result in the transaction being treated as a loan under Federal tax law. The right to increase the rate charged on the loan is restricted in some states. Please see your John Hancock USA representative for details. We process policy loans as of the business day on or next following the day we receive the loan request.
Repayment of policy loans
You can repay all or part of a loan at any time. Each repayment will be allocated among the variable investment accounts and any fixed account as set out below.
• | The same proportionate part of the loan as was borrowed from the fixed account will be repaid to that fixed account. |
• | The remainder of the repayment will be allocated among the variable investment accounts and any fixed account in the same way a new premium payment would be allocated (unless otherwise specified by you). |
If you want a payment to be used as a loan repayment, you must include instructions to that effect. Otherwise, all payments will be assumed to be premium payments. We process loan repayments as of the day we receive the repayment.
Loan repayments received prior to the close of the New York Stock Exchange will be applied on the same day it was received. Loan repayments received after the close of the New York Stock Exchange will be applied as of the next business day.
Effects of policy loans
The policy value, the net cash surrender value, and any death benefit are permanently affected by any loan, whether or not it is repaid in whole or in part. This is because the amount of the loan is deducted from the variable investment accounts or any fixed account and placed in a special loan account. The variable investment accounts, any fixed account, and the special loan account will generally have different rates of investment return.
The amount of the outstanding loan (which includes accrued and unpaid interest) is subtracted from the amount otherwise payable when the policy proceeds become payable.
Taking out a loan on the policy increases the risk that the policy may lapse because of the difference between the interest rate charged on the loan and the interest rate credited to the special loan account. When a loan is outstanding, the amount in the loan account is not available to help pay for any policy charges. If, after deducting your policy loan, there is not enough policy value to cover the policy charges, your policy could lapse. Also, whenever the outstanding loan equals or exceeds your policy value after the insured person reaches age 121, the policy will terminate 31 days after we have mailed notice of termination to you (and to any assignee of record at such assignee’s last known address) specifying the amount that must be paid to avoid termination, unless a repayment of at least the amount specified is made within that period.Policy loans may also result in adverse tax consequences under certain circumstances (see “Tax considerations”).
As described above, the amount of the loan is deducted from the variable investment accounts and any fixed account and placed in a special loan account. The special loan account will generally have different rates of investment return than the variable investment accounts and fixed account. This means policy loans may affect the overall investment performance and/or interest you earn that may result in a lower Persistency Measure and resulting Persistency Credit (see “Persistency Credit”). Policy loans will also reduce the Death Benefit Protection Value, which could cause the Death Benefit Protection feature to default (see “Death Benefit Protection”).
Description of charges at the policy level
Deduction from premium payments
• | Premium charge - A charge to help defray our sales costs and related taxes. The charge is 18% of each premium payment. We will stop accepting premium payments at and after the life insured’s age 121 (see “Coverage at and after age 121”). |
Deductions from policy value
• | Administrative charge - A monthly charge to help cover our administrative costs. This is a flat dollar charge of $20 per month. |
• | Face Amount charge - A monthly charge to primarily help cover sales costs. To determine the charge, we multiply the amount of Face Amount at issue by a rate which varies by policy year, the insured person's sex, age, and risk classification at issue. |
• | Cost of insurance charge - A monthly charge for the cost of insurance. To determine the charge, we multiply the net amount of insurance for which we are then at risk by a cost of insurance rate. The rate is derived from an actuarial table. The table in your policy will show the maximum cost of insurance rates. The cost of insurance rates that we currently apply are generally less than the maximum rates and the current rates will never be more than the maximum rates shown in the policy. Cost of insurance charges will cease at and after the insured person reaches age 121. The cost of insurance rates we use will depend on the age at issue, the insurance risk characteristics and (usually) sex of the insured person, and the length of time the policy has been in effect. Regardless of the table used, cost of insurance rates generally increase each year that you own your policy, as the insured person's age increases. (The insured person's “age” on any date is his or her age on the birthday nearest that date.) For death benefit Option 1, the net amount at risk is equal to the greater of zero, or the result of (a) minus (b) where: |
(a) is the death benefit as of the first day of the Policy Month, divided by 1.0016516; and
(b) is the policy value as of the first day of the Policy Month after the deduction of all other monthly deductions.
Since the net amount at risk for death benefit Option 1 is based on a formula that includes as factors the death benefit and the policy value, the net amount at risk is affected by the investment performance of the variable investment accounts chosen, payment of premiums and charges assessed.
If the minimum death benefit is greater than the Face Amount, the cost of insurance charge will reflect the amount of that additional benefit.
For death benefit Option 2, the net amount at risk is equal to the Face Amount of insurance divided by 1.0016516.
• | Asset-based risk charge - A monthly charge to help cover sales, administrative and other costs. The charge is a percentage of that portion of your policy value allocated to variable investment accounts. This asset-based risk charge does not apply to the fixed account. We do not currently impose this charge, but we reserve the right to do so in the policy. Any charge would cease at and after the insured person reaches age 121. |
• | Supplementary benefit rider charges - A charge for any supplementary insurance benefit added to the policy by means of a rider. |
• | Loan interest rate - We will charge interest on any amount you borrow from your policy. The interest charged on any loan is an effective annual rate of 3.25% in the first ten policy years and 2.00% thereafter. However, we reserve the right to increase the percentage after the tenth policy year to as much as 2.25% (see “Policy loans”). |
• | Transfer fee - We currently do not impose a fee upon transfers of policy value among thevariableinvestment accounts, but reserve the right to impose a fee of up to $25 for any transfer beyond an annual limit (which will not be less than 12) to compensate us for the costs of processing these transfers (see “Market timing and disruptive trading practices”). |
• | Surrender charge – During the first ten policy years, we will deduct a surrender charge if you surrender the policy, make a withdrawal that reduces the Face Amount, request Face Amount reductions cumulatively exceeding 10% of your Face Amount at issue, or your policy lapses. We deduct this charge to compensate us for sales expenses that we would otherwise not recover in the event of early lapse, surrender or certain Face Amount reductions. The surrender charge is equal to the Maximum Percentage of Surrender Charge shown in your Policy Specifications page multiplied by the lesser of (a) and (b) where: |
(a) is the dollar amount shown in your Policy Specifications page in part (a) of the surrender charge formula, which is the maximum amount of surrender charge that could be applied to your policy and varies by Face Amount, age, gender and underwriting risk, and
(b) is the dollar amount indicated in the Policy Specifications page in part (b) of the surrender charge formula, which varies by Face Amount, age, gender and underwriting risk, plus 20% of premiums paid to date over the Surrender Charge Limit Premium, shown in your Policy Specifications page.
For example, for a policy issued to a male age 55 preferred non-smoker with a $1,000,000 death benefit and no optional riders that is surrendered in month 1 of policy year 1, the applicable Maximum Percentage of Surrender Charge is 100%, the Surrender Charge Limit Premium is $20,010.00, part (a) is $33,494.27, and part (b) is $31,271.14 plus 20% of premiums paid to date in excess of the Surrender Charge Limit Premium. If the total premiums paid to date as of the surrender date are $15,000, such premiums would not exceed the Surrender Charge Limit Premium, which means that part (b) would be equal to $31,271.14. Since part (b) would be less than part (a) the final surrender charge would be equal to $31,271.14.
The table below shows the Surrender Charge Limit Premium and the applicable Maximum Percentage of Surrender Charge for each policy year during the surrender charge period. The Maximum Percentage of Surrender Charge is proportionately reduced each month of the policy year. This table applies only if the insured is a male age 55 preferred non-smoker. These factors may vary depending on your insurance risk characteristics.
Surrender Charge Period (Policy Year) | | Surrender Charge Limit Premium | | Maximum Percentage of Surrender Charge |
1
| | $20,010.00 | | 100.00% |
2
| | $40,020.00 | | 96.30% |
3
| | $60,030.00 | | 92.81% |
4
| | $80,040.00 | | 89.16% |
5
| | $100,050.00 | | 85.36% |
6
| | $120,060.00 | | 81.43% |
7
| | $140,070.00 | | 77.34% |
8
| | $160,080.00 | | 64.00% |
9
| | $180,090.00 | | 51.00% |
10
| | $200,100.00 | | 33.00% |
11+
| | $0 | | 0% |
A pro-rata portion of the surrender charge will be deducted from the policy value in instances where your requests for Face Amount reductions cumulatively exceed 10% of your Face Amount at issue. An approved decrease will take effect on the monthly deduction date on or following the date we approve the request. We will impose a surrender charge on withdrawals you take that reduce your Face Amount (see “Surrender and withdrawals - Withdrawals”).
Sales expenses and related charges
The premium and Face Amount charges help to compensate us for the cost of selling our policies (see “Description of charges at the policy level”). The amount of the charges in any policy year does not specifically correspond to sales expenses for that year. We expect to recover our total sales expenses over the life of the policies. To the extent that the premium and Face Amount charges do not cover total sales expenses, the sales expenses may be recovered from other sources, including the asset-based risk charge and other charges with respect to the policies, or from our general assets. Similarly, administrative expenses not fully recovered by the administrative charge may also be recovered from such other sources.
Method of deduction
Unless we agree otherwise or you do not have sufficient funds in any fixed account or variable investment accounts, we deduct the monthly deductions described in the Fee Tables section from your policy’s fixed account and variable investment accounts in the same proportion to the amount of policy value you have in each of the variable investment accounts and any fixed account.
Special purchase programs for eligible classes
With respect to policies issued to a class of associated individuals or to a trustee, employer or similar entity where we anticipate that the sales to the members of the class will result in lower than normal sales or administrative expenses, lower taxes or lower risks to us, we may offer the policies with reduced charges or with additional or enhanced features or benefits. We will make these programs available in accordance with our established administrative procedures in effect at the time of the application for a policy. The factors we consider in determining the eligibility of a particular group for such a program are: (i) the nature of the association and its organizational framework; (ii) the method by which sales will be made to the members of the class; (iii) the facility with which premiums will be collected from the associated individuals and the association's capabilities with respect to administrative tasks; (iv) the anticipated lapse and surrender rates of the policies; (v) the size of the class of associated individuals and the number of years it has been in existence; (vi) the aggregate amount of premiums paid; and (vii) any other such circumstances which result in a reduction in sales or administrative expenses, lower taxes or lower risks. Any reduction in charges or feature or benefit enhancement will be reasonable and will apply uniformly to all prospective policy purchasers in the class and will not unfairly discriminate against any owner.
The Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”) contains additional information about any special purchase program we currently make available. For information as to how you may obtain a copy of the SAI, please see the last page of this prospectus.
Other charges we could impose in the future
Except for a portion of the premium charge, we currently make no charge for our Federal income taxes. However, if we incur, or expect to incur, income taxes attributable to any subaccount of the Separate Account or this class of policies in future years, we reserve the right to make a charge for such taxes. Any such charge would reduce what you earn on any affected accounts. However, we expect that no such charge will be necessary.
A portion of the premium charge is used to cover premium taxes. Premium taxes vary by jurisdiction and are subject to change. Currently, premium tax levels range from 0% to 5%.
Under current laws, we may incur state and local taxes (in addition to premium taxes)in several states. At present, these taxes are not significant. If there is a material change in applicable state or local tax laws, we may make charges for such taxes.
Description of charges at the portfolio level
The portfolios must pay investment management fees and other operating expenses. These fees and expenses (shown in the tables of portfolio annual expenses under “Fee Tables”) are different for each portfolio and reduce the investment return of each portfolio. Therefore, they also indirectly reduce the return you will earn on any variable investment accounts you select. Expenses of the portfolios are not fixed or specified under the terms of the policy, and those expenses may vary from year to year.
When the insured person reaches 121
If the policy is still in effect on the policy anniversary nearest the 121st birthday of the insured person, the following things will happen (whether or not there is any net cash surrender value):
• | We will stop any monthly deduction charges |
• | We will stop accepting any premium payments |
• | We will no longer process withdrawals |
• | We will continue to credit interest to a fixed account |
• | We will continue to charge loan interest on outstanding loans and accept loan repayments. |
• | The Death Benefit Protection feature will be terminated. |
• | We will no longer calculate and apply a Persistency Credit to your policy value |
Other policy benefits, rights and limitations
Optional supplementary benefit riders you can add
When you apply for a policy, you can request any of the optional supplementary benefit riders that we then make available. Availability of any rider, the benefits it provides and the charges for it may vary by state. Our rules and procedures will govern eligibility for any rider and, in some cases, the configuration of the actual rider benefits. Each rider contains specific details that you should review before you decide to choose the rider. Charges for most riders will be deducted from the policy value. We may change these charges (or the rates that determine them), but not above any applicable maximum amount stated in the Policy Specifications page of your policy. We may add to, delete from or modify the list of optional supplementary benefit riders.
• | Healthy Engagement Rider - Our Healthy Engagement Rider provides you with the opportunity to add credits (as described below) to your policy value based upon the insured’s ongoing participation in activities that promote a healthy lifestyle. If you elect this rider, the insured person will qualify for one of four healthy engagement status (“Status”) categories each year. The Status categories are based on the longevity benefits of certain healthy activities in which the insured person engages (such as regular checkups, biometric screenings, exercising regularly, participating in health educational programs, and periodically considering and answering certain health-related questions) and other health-related information about the insured person. The insured person’s Status category may change from year to year. (Current information relating to the insured person’s Status and/or the standards for determining Status are available through our Service Office at 1-800-387-2747.) |
Beginning in the second policy year, if the insured person has qualified for one of the three highest Status categories, we will contribute a percentage of your policy’s monthly cost of insurance charge in the form of a credit (a “Rider Credit”) to your policy value, subject to the conditions mentioned below. Any Rider Credits will be allocated automatically to each variable investment account and/or any fixed account from which, and in the same proportion as, we are taking your monthly deductions. The Healthy Engagement Rider also provides the insured person with the possibility of other benefits, including discounted wearable devices, gear used to engage in healthy activities, biometric screenings, access to health and fitness information, and other discounts and offers that depend on the insured person having a certain Status. These and any other benefits available pursuant to the rider, are designed to encourage a high level of engagement by the insured person in activities that are correlated with improved longevity.
Under the Healthy Engagement Rider, several considerations are relevant to the percentage, if any, of any month’s cost of insurance charge that we will contribute as a Rider Credit to your policy. One important consideration is the insured person’s Status category for the current year and for prior years. If the insured person has always been in the lowest Status category, no Rider Credits will be paid. The higher the insured person’s Status category, and the more years the insured person qualifies for higher Status categories, the larger your Rider Credits are likely to be.
Also, the Rider Credit that is contributed to your policy in any month will not be more than the difference between the maximum amount of cost of insurance charge that your policy permits us to deduct for that month and the amount of cost of insurance charge that we actually deduct for that month. This means that the amount of any Rider Credit will be less the closer we are to charging the maximum cost of insurance rate that the policy permits; and there will not be any Rider Credit if and when we are charging the maximum cost of insurance rate.We will continue to deduct the Healthy Engagement Rider charge in instances where no Rider Credits are being earned and we are charging the maximum cost of insurance rate under the policy.Although our ability to change the cost of insurance rate (subject to the maximum rate) can therefore affect whether and how much Rider Credit you may receive, no Rider Credits that we contributed to your policy value prior to such a change would be affected.
The amount of the Rider Credits that are contributed to your policy value in any month also will be reduced if the death benefit under your policy then exceeds $20,000,000. In such cases, the reduction in any Rider Credit will be larger as the death benefit at the time of such credit exceeds $20,000,000.
The amount of any Rider Credit for a month in which the policy is in default (as described under “Lapse and reinstatement”) will be applied first to pay any monthly deductions that are then due and unpaid and next to reduce the
Default Payment, with any remaining amount then being contributed to your policy value in accordance with the allocation instructions then in effect for premium payments. The same procedure also will apply for any month in which the policy is being continued in force under the Death Benefit Protection feature, except that no amount will be applied to reduce a Default Payment.
We have the right to change at any time the qualification standards for Status categories. Such changes will be based on our expectations of the impact of those standards on future mortality, policy persistency, our expenses, our capital and reserve requirements, and our taxes relating to the policies. Any such changes, however, will be determined prospectively on a basis that does not discriminate unfairly within any class of insured persons. If we change the qualification standards for a Status level, it has an effect on the amount of Rider Credits you may earn for future months, but it will not affect the Rider Credits you have already earned. Also, we may change or terminate any other incentives (such as access to health and fitness information, offers, discounts, tools, or other services designed to encourage the insured to participate in activities that promote a healthy lifestyle) that we may make available from time to time to insured persons under the Healthy Engagement Rider.
If the Healthy Engagement Rider is still in effect on the later of the policy anniversary nearest the insured person’s 80th birthday or the 10th policy anniversary, the rider charge will cease to be deducted, no new Rider Credits will be earned, all previously earned Rider Credits will continue to apply as provided in the rider, and the availability to the insured person of certain benefits under the rider may cease.
You may elect to discontinue the rider at any time by written notice to us. In that case, the rider charge will cease to be deducted, no new Rider Credits will be earned, all previously earned Rider Credits will continue to apply as provided in the rider, and the availability to the insured person of certain benefits under the rider may cease.
If your policy terminates for any reason, the Healthy Engagement Rider also will terminate.
Although the standards for determining a Status category may be administered directly by us or through an affiliated or unaffiliated provider that we designate, any termination or change in such third-party provider will not terminate or modify the Healthy Engagement Rider or our obligations thereunder.
There may be costs associated with meeting the standards to qualify for a given Status level that will not be reimbursed by the Company. Examples of such costs include, but are not limited to, health coverage co-pays, health club fees, athletic events, health equipment, health monitoring devices, and athletic attire.
• | Critical Illness Benefit Rider - Our Critical Illness Benefit Rider is designed to pay the policy owner a one-time, lump sum benefit amountif the insured person isdiagnosed for the first time with one of seven critical illnesses (as defined in the rider) (“Critical Illness”) while this rider is in force and after the waiting period has been satisfied, subject to all policy and rider provisions. However, if the Insured receives a first time diagnosis for one of the Critical Illnesses before the rider is in force or during the rider's waiting period, then the policy owner will not receive benefits under this rider for that Critical Illness. Benefits under this rider will not begin until we receive proof of the insured person's initial diagnosis of a Critical Illness. Once the Critical Illness Benefit Amount has been paid, this rider will terminate. The Critical Illness Benefit Amount is an amount that is separate from the death benefit and may be used for any purpose. The charge for this rider is deducted each month from the Policy Value. Deductions for the rider charge will impact your cash surrender value under the policy.We will treat the monthly charges for the Critical Illness Rider as distributions from your life insurance policy for Federal tax purposes. In addition, please note that there is a risk that benefits received by certain third-party owners under this rider may have adverse tax consequences (see “Tax considerations”). |
The Critical Illness Benefit Amount is determined at issue, shown in the Policy Specifications, and equal to your election of either 10% or 25% of the Face Amount, subject to a $250,000 maximum. Once issued, you cannot change your Critical Illness Benefit Amount. However, any policy change that results in a reduction in the Face Amount will reduce your Critical Illness Benefit Amount proportionally.
If there is a reduction in the Face Amount, the new Critical Illness Benefit Amount will be equal to the lesser of (a) and (b), where:
(a) is the Critical Illness Benefit Percent, shown in the Policy Specifications, multiplied by the Face Amount immediately after reduction of the Face Amount; and
(b) is the Critical Illness Benefit Amount immediately before the reduction in Face Amount.
Any increases to the Face Amount will not result in a recalculation of the Critical Illness Benefit Amount.
Benefits under this rider do not reduce the Maximum Monthly Benefit Amount that is calculated under the Long-Term Care Benefit Rider.
Benefits paid under this rider do not provide or pay for the cost of medical care and are meant to be supplemental to health insurance that does pay for such costs. This rider is not a substitute for health insurance coverage, nor does it provide for supplemental coverage to Medicare. The benefits provided by this rider may not be coordinated with benefits provided by other coverage. Please review the benefits provided by this rider carefully to avoid possible duplication of coverage.
When this rider terminates, no further Rider Charge will be due and no Critical Illness Benefit Amount will be available.
• | Disability Payment of Specified Premium Rider - This rider will deposit the Specified Premium into the policy value of your policy each month during the total disability (as defined in the rider) of the insured person. There is a six month “waiting period” of total disability before deposits begin. Deposits continue until cessation of total disability, but will cease at the insured person’s 65th birthday if total disability begins on or after the policy anniversary nearest the insured person’s 60th birthday. The “Specified Premium” is chosen at issue and will be stated in the Policy Specifications page of your policy. |
• | Long-Term Care Rider - This rider provides for periodic advance payments to you of a portion of the death benefit if the insured person becomes “chronically ill” so that such person: (1) is unable to perform at least two activities of daily living without substantial human assistance or has a severe cognitive impairment; and (2) is receiving certain qualified services described in the rider. The decision to add this rider must be made at issuance of the policy. If you elect this rider, you will also have an option to apply to have a portion of the policy's death benefit advanced to you in the event of terminal illness.Please note that there is a significant risk that ownership of a policy with this rider by anyone other than the insured will cause adverse tax consequences (see “Tax considerations”). |
Benefits under the Long-Term Care Rider will not begin until we receive proof that the insured person qualifies and has received “qualified long-term care service,” while the policy was in force. You must continue to submit evidence during the insured person's lifetime of the insured person's eligibility for rider benefits.
There is a maximum amount of death benefit that we will advance for each month of qualification. This amount, called the “Maximum Monthly Benefit Amount,” is equal to the amount of the death benefit that may be accelerated under the rider (as of the day the insured qualifies for benefits) multiplied by the Monthly Acceleration Percentage, which is the percentage of the death benefit you can accelerate each month. The Monthly Acceleration Percentage must be elected when you apply for the policy. The actual amount of any advance is based on the expense incurred by the insured person, up to the Maximum Monthly Benefit Amount, for each day of qualified long-term care service in a calendar month, as described in the rider. We will recalculate the Maximum Monthly Benefit Amount if you make a withdrawal of policy value, and for other events described in the rider. Each advance reduces the remaining death benefit under your policy, and causes a proportionate reduction in your policy value. If you have a policy loan, we will use a pro-rata portion of each death benefit advance to repay indebtedness. For example, if current indebtedness is $10,000, the death benefit is $100,000, and the gross advance is $2,000, then the net advance would be $1,800 = $2,000 X (1 - ($10,000/ $100,000)). As a result of the advance, the indebtedness will be reduced by $200.
We restrict your policy value's exposure to market risk when benefits are paid under the Long-Term Care Rider. We do this in several ways. First, before we begin paying any Monthly Benefit, we will transfer all policy value from the variable investment accounts to the fixed account. (The amount to be transferred will be determined on the business day immediately following the date we approve a request for benefits under the rider.) In addition, you will not be permitted to transfer policy value or allocate any additional premium payment to a variable investment account while rider benefits are paid. Your participation in any of the automatic investment plans will also be suspended during this period.
If the insured person no longer qualifies for rider benefits and your policy remains in force, you will be permitted to invest new premium payments or transfer existing policy value in the variable investment accounts. (The restriction on transfers from the fixed account will continue to apply.)Accelerated benefits under this rider reduce the Death Benefit Protection Value by the same proportion as the Face Amount.
Finally, please note that there is a significant risk that ownership of a policy with this rider by anyone other than the insured person will cause adverse tax consequences. If the owner of the policy is not the insured person, benefit payments may be included in the owner's income, and the death benefit may be part of the estate of the insured person for purposes of Federal estate tax (see “Tax considerations”).
• | Accelerated Benefit Rider - This rider provides for acceleration of payment of a portion of the death benefit should the insured person become terminally ill and have a life expectancy of one year or less. You must meet the following conditions before we pay the benefit. |
You must provide written evidence satisfactory to us that the life insured is terminally ill and has a life expectancy of one year or less.
We must have a signed consent of any irrevocable beneficiary and any assignee.
If you satisfy the above conditions, we will pay you 50% of the eligible death benefit, up to a maximum of $1,000,000. We will not make a payment if it would be less than $10,000. Payment of the benefit will reduce your death benefit and any cash value or loan value under your policy. You should consult your tax adviser and social service agencies before you decide to receive the benefit under this rider. This rider is only available with policies that are individually owned.
• | Return of Premium Death Benefit Rider - You may elect to have your policy issued with an optional Return of Premium Death Benefit (“ROP”) Rider. The ROP rider provides an additional death benefit payable upon the death of the insured person. The initial value of your ROP is equal to the Percentage of Premium times your initial premium payment. The Percentage of Premium is selected by you at the time of issue, ranges between 1% to 100%, and is shown in your ROP Policy Specifications page. |
We will multiply the Percentage of Premium by each subsequent premium and increase the ROP coverage at the time of the subsequent premium payment by that amount, up to the maximum benefit amount. The amount of ROP coverage cannot exceed the maximum benefit amount, which is determined at issue and is stated in the ROP Rider.This rider is only available at issue with Death Benefit Option 1. It may not be used in conjunction with Disability Payment of Specified Premium or the Long-Term Care Rider.
Variations in policy terms
Insurance laws and regulations apply to us in every state in which our policies are sold. As a result, terms and conditions of your insurance coverage may vary depending on where you purchase a policy. We disclose all material variations in this prospectus.
We may vary the charges and other terms of our policies where special circumstances result in sales or administrative expenses, mortality risks or other risks that are different from those normally associated with the policies. These include the type of variations discussed under “Special purchase programs for eligible classes.” No variation in any charge will exceed any maximum stated in this prospectus with respect to that charge.
Any variation discussed above will be made only in accordance with uniform rules that we adopt and that we apply fairly to our customers.
Procedures for issuance of a policy
Generally, the policy is available with a minimum Face Amount at issue of $50,000. At the time of issue, the insured person must have an attained age of no more than 90. The insured person must meet certain health and other insurance risk criteria called “underwriting standards.”
Policies issued in Montana or in connection with certain employee plans will not directly reflect the sex of the insured person in either the premium rates or the charges or values under the policy.
Commencement of insurance coverage
After you apply for a policy, it can sometimes take up to several weeks for us to gather and evaluate all the information we need to decide whether to issue a policy to you and, if so, what the insured person's risk classification should be. After we approve an application for a policy and assign an appropriate insurance risk classification, we will prepare the policy for delivery. We will not pay a death benefit under a policy unless the policy is in effect when the insured person dies (except for the circumstances described under “Temporary coverage prior to policy delivery” below).
The policy will take effect only if all of the following conditions are satisfied:
• | The policy is delivered to and received by the applicant. |
• | The Minimum Initial Premium is received by us. |
• | The insured person is living and there has been no deterioration in the insurability of the insured person since the date of the application. |
The date all of the above conditions are satisfied is referred to in this prospectus as the “Contract Completion Date.” If all of the above conditions are satisfied, the policy will take effect on the date shown in the policy as the “Policy Date.” That is the date on which we begin to take monthly deductions. Policy months, policy years and policy anniversaries are all measured from the Policy Date.
Backdating
Under limited circumstances, we may backdate a policy, upon request, by assigning a Policy Date earlier than the date the application is signed. However, in no event will a policy be backdated earlier than the earliest date allowed by state law, which is generally three months to one year prior to the date of application for the policy. The most common reasons for backdating are to preserve a younger age at issue for the insured person or to retain a common monthly deduction date in certain corporate-owned life insurance cases involving multiple policies issued over time. If used to preserve age, backdating will result in lower insurance charges. However, monthly deductions will begin earlier than would otherwise be the case. Monthly deductions for the period the Policy Date is backdated will actually be deducted from policy value on the Contract Completion Date.
Temporary coverage prior to policy delivery
If a specified amount of premium is paid with the application for a policy and other conditions are met, we will provide temporary term life insurance coverage on the insured person for a period prior to the time coverage under the policy takes effect. Such temporary term coverage will be subject to the terms and conditions described in the Temporary Life Insurance Agreement and Receipt attached to the application for the policy, including conditions to coverage and limits on amount and duration of coverage.
Monthly deduction dates
Each charge that we deduct monthly is assessed against your policy value at the close of business on the Policy Date and at the close of the first day in each subsequent policy month.
Changes that we can make as to your policy
We reserve the right to make any changes in the policy necessary to ensure the policy is within the definition of life insurance under the Federal tax laws and is in compliance with any changes in Federal or state tax laws.
In our policies, we reserve the right to make certain changes if they would serve the best interests of policy owners or would be appropriate in carrying out the purposes of the policies. These changes include the following:
• | Changes necessary to comply with or obtain or continue exemptions under the Federal securities laws |
• | Combining or removing fixed accounts or variable investment accounts |
• | Changes in the form of organization of any separate account |
Any such changes will be made only to the extent permitted by applicable laws and only in the manner permitted by such laws. When required by law, we will obtain your approval of the changes and the approval of any appropriate regulatory authority.
The owner of the policy
Who owns the policy? That's up to the person who applies for the policy. The owner of the policy is the person who can exercise most of the rights under the policy, such as the right to choose the accounts in which to invest or the right to surrender the policy. In many cases, the person buying the policy is also the person who will be the owner. However, the application for a policy can name another person or entity (such as a trust) as owner. Whenever we've used the term “you” in this prospectus, we've assumed that the reader is the person who has whatever right or privilege is being discussed. There may be tax consequences if the owner and the insured person are different, so you should discuss this issue with your tax adviser.
While the insured person is alive, you will have a number of options under the policy. These options include those listed below:
• | Determine when and how much you invest in the variable investment accounts and any fixed account |
• | Borrow or withdraw amounts you have in the variable investment account and any fixed account |
• | Change the beneficiary who will receive the death benefit |
• | Change the amount of insurance |
• | Turn in (i.e., “surrender”) the policy for the full amount of its net cash surrender value |
• | Choose the form in which we will pay out the death benefit or other proceeds |
It is possible to name so-called “joint owners” of the policy. If more than one person owns a policy, all owners must join in most requests to exercise rights under the policy.
Your beneficiary
You name your beneficiary when you apply for the policy. The beneficiary is entitled to the proceeds we pay following the insured person's death. Until the death of the insured person you can change your beneficiary by written request. Such a change requires the consent of any named irrevocable beneficiary. A new beneficiary designation will not affect any payments we make before we receive it. If no beneficiary is living when the insured person dies, we will pay the insurance proceeds to the owners or the owner's estate.
Policy cancellation right
You have the right to cancel your policy within ten days after you receive it (the period may be longer in some states). This is often referred to as the “free look” period. During this period, your premiums will be allocated as described under “Processing premium payments” in this prospectus. To cancel your policy, simply deliver or mail the policy to:
• | John Hancock USA at either of the addresses shown on the back cover of this prospectus, or |
• | the John Hancock USA representative who delivered the policy to you. |
The date of cancellation will be the date of such mailing or delivery. In most states, you will receive a refund of any premiums you’ve paid. In some states, the refund will be your policy value on the date of cancellation.
Delay to challenge coverage
We may challenge the validity of your insurance policy based on any material misstatements made to us in the application for the policy. We cannot make such a challenge, however, beyond certain time limits that are specified by the laws of the state in which your policy was issued. The longest limit is two years, except in cases of fraud. The longest limit is two years, except in cases of fraud.
Reports that you will receive
At least annually, we will send you a statement setting forth at least the following information as of the end of the most recent reporting period: the amount of the death benefit, the portion of the policy value in the fixed account and in each variable investment account, premiums received and charges deducted from premiums since the last report, any outstanding policy loan (and interest charged for the preceding policy year), and any further information required by law. Moreover, you also will receive confirmations of premium payments, transfers among accounts, policy loans, partial withdrawals and certain other policy transactions.
Semi-annually we will send you a report containing the financial statements of the portfolios, including a list of securities held in each portfolio.
Assigning your policy
You may assign your rights in the policy to someone else as collateral for a loan or for some other reason. Assignments do not require the consent of any revocable beneficiary. A copy of the assignment must be forwarded to us. We are not responsible for any payment we make or any action we take before we receive a copy of the assignment at our Service Office.
Nor are we responsible for the validity of the assignment or its efficacy in meeting your objectives. An absolute assignment is a change of ownership. All collateral assignees of record must usually consent to any surrender, withdrawal or loan from the policy.
When we pay policy proceeds
General
We will ordinarily pay any death benefit, withdrawal, surrender value or loan within seven days after we receive the last required form or request (and, with respect to the death benefit, any other documentation that may be required). You may choose to receive proceeds from the policy as a single sum. If we do not have information about the desired manner of payment within seven days after the date we receive documentation of the insured person's death, we will pay the proceeds as a single sum. As permitted by state law and our current administrative procedures, death claim proceeds may be placed into an interest-bearing John Hancock retained asset account in the beneficiary's name. The interest earned in a John Hancock retained asset account is normally subject to income tax. You should consult with your tax advisor if you have any questions regarding taxation of the interest earned. We will provide the beneficiary with a checkbook, so checks may be written for all or a part of the proceeds. The retained asset account is part of our general account and is subject to the claims of our creditors. It is not a bank account and it is not insured by the FDIC. We may receive a benefit from managing proceeds held in a retained asset account. Alternatively, you can elect to have proceeds of $1,000 or more applied to any of the other payment options we may offer at the time. You cannot choose an option if the monthly payments under the option would be less than $50. We will issue a supplementary agreement when the proceeds are applied to any alternative payment option. That agreement will spell out terms of the option in full. Please contact our Service Office for more information.
Delay for check clearance
We reserve the right to defer payment of that portion of your policy value that is attributable to a premium payment made by check for a reasonable period of time (not to exceed fifteen days) to allow the check to clear the banking system. We will not delay payment longer than necessary for us to verify a check has cleared the banking system.
Delay of separate account proceeds
We reserve the right to defer payment of any death benefit, loan or other distribution that is derived from a variable investment account if (1) the New York Stock Exchange is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings) or trading on the New York Stock Exchange is restricted; (2) an emergency exists, as determined by the SEC, as a result of which disposal of securities is not reasonably practicable or it is not reasonably practicable to fairly determine the policy value; or (3) the SEC by order permits the delay for the protection of owners. Transfers and allocations of policy value among the variable investment accounts may also be postponed under these circumstances. If we need to defer calculation of separate account values for any of the foregoing reasons, all delayed transactions will be processed at the next values that we do compute.
Delay of general account surrender proceeds
State laws allow us to defer payment of any portion of the net cash surrender value derived from the fixed account for up to six months. These laws were enacted many years ago to help insurance companies in the event of a liquidity crisis.
How you communicate with us
General rules
You should mail or express all checks and money orders for premium payments and loan repayments to the John Hancock USA Service Office at the appropriate address shown on the back cover.
Under our current rules, certain requests must be made in writing and be signed and dated by you. Those requests include the following.
• | loans |
• | surrenders or withdrawals |
• | change of death benefit option |
• | increase or decrease in Face Amount |
• | change of beneficiary |
• | election of payment option for policy proceeds |
• | tax withholding elections |
• | election of telephone/internet transaction privilege |
The following requests may be made either in writing (signed and dated by you) or by telephone or fax or through the Company's secured website, if a special form is completed (see “Telephone, facsimile and internet transactions” below).
• | transfers of policy value among the variable investment accounts and any fixed account |
• | change of allocation among the variable investment accounts and any fixed account for new premium payments |
You should mail or express all written requests to our Service Office at the appropriate address shown on the back cover. You should also send notice of the insured person's death and related documentation to our Service Office. We do not consider that we’ve “received” any communication until such time as it has arrived at the proper place and in the proper and complete form.
We have special forms that should be used for a number of the requests mentioned above. You can obtain these forms from our Service Office or your John Hancock USA representative. Each communication to us must include your name, your policy number and the name of the insured person. We cannot process any request that doesn’t include this required information. Any communication that arrives after the close of our business day, or on a day that is not a business day, will be considered “received” by us on the next following business day. Our business day currently closes at 4:00 p.m. Eastern time, but special circumstances (such as suspension of trading on a major exchange) may dictate an earlier closing time.
Telephone, facsimile and internet transactions
If you complete a special authorization form, you can request transfers among the variable investment accounts and any fixed account and changes of allocation among the variable investment accounts and any fixed account simply by telephoning us at 1-800-827-4546 or by faxing us at 1-617-572-1571 or through the Company's secured website. Any fax or internet request should include your name, daytime telephone number, policy number and, in the case of transfers and changes of allocation, the names of the variable investment accounts and any fixed account involved. We will honor telephone and internet instructions from anyone who provides the correct identifying information, so there is a risk of loss to you if this service is used by an unauthorized person. However, you will receive written confirmation of all telephone/internet transactions. There is also a risk that you will be unable to place your request due to equipment malfunction or heavy phone line or internet usage. If this occurs, you should submit your request in writing.
If you authorize telephone or internet transactions, you will be liable for any loss, expense or cost arising out of any unauthorized or fraudulent telephone or internet instructions which we reasonably believe to be genuine, unless such loss, expense or cost is the result of our mistake or negligence. We employ procedures which provide safeguards against the execution of unauthorized transactions which are reasonably designed to confirm that instructions received by telephone or internet are genuine. These procedures include requiring personal identification, the use of a unique password for internet authorization, recording of telephone calls, and providing written confirmation to the owner. If we do not employ reasonable procedures to confirm that instructions communicated by telephone or internet are genuine, we may be liable for any loss due to unauthorized or fraudulent instructions.
As stated earlier in this prospectus, the policies are not designed for professional market timing organizations or other persons or entities that use programmed, large or frequent transfers among investment options. To discourage disruptive trading, we have imposed certain transfer restrictions (see “Transfers of existing policy value”). In addition, we also reserve the right to change our telephone, facsimile and internet transaction privileges outlined in this section at any time, and to suspend or terminate any or all of those privileges with respect to any owners who we feel are abusing the privileges to the detriment of other owners.
Distribution of policies
John Hancock Distributors LLC (“JH Distributors”), a Delaware limited liability company affiliated with us, is the principal distributor and underwriter of the securities offered through this prospectus and of other annuity and life insurance products we and our affiliates offer. JH Distributors also acts as the principal underwriter of the Trust, whose securities are used to fund certain variable investment accounts under the policies and under other annuity and life insurance products we offer.
JH Distributors' principal address is 601 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02210 and it also maintains offices with us at 197 Clarendon Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116. JH Distributors is a broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “1934 Act”) and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”).
We offer the policies for sale through individuals who are licensed as insurance agents and who are registered representatives of broker-dealers that have entered into selling agreements with JH Distributors. Our affiliate, Signator Investors, Inc., is one such broker-dealer. In addition, we, either directly or through JH Distributors, have entered into agreements with other financial intermediaries that provide marketing, sales support and certain administrative services to help promote the policies (“financial intermediaries”). In a limited number of cases, we have entered into loans, leases or other financial agreements with these broker-dealers or financial intermediaries or their affiliates.
Compensation
The broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries that distribute or support the marketing of our policies may be compensated by means of various compensation and revenue sharing arrangements. A general description of these arrangements is set out below under “Standard compensation” and “Additional compensation and revenue sharing.” These arrangements may differ between firms, and not all broker-dealers or financial intermediaries will receive the same compensation and revenue sharing benefits for distributing our policies. Also, a broker-dealer may receive more or less compensation or other benefits for the promotion and sale of our policy than it would expect to receive from another issuer.
Under their own arrangements, broker-dealers determine how much of any amounts received from us is to be paid to their registered representatives. Our affiliated broker-dealer, Signator Investors, Inc., may pay its registered representatives additional compensation and benefits, such as bonus payments, expense payments, health and retirement benefits or the waiver of overhead costs or expenses in connection with the sale of the policies that they would not receive in connection with the sale of policies issued by unaffiliated companies.
Policy owners do not pay any compensation or revenue sharing benefits directly. These payments are made from JH Distributors’ and our own revenues, profits or retained earnings, which may be derived from a number of sources, such as fees received from an underlying fund’s distribution plan (“12b-1 fees”), the fees and charges imposed under the policy and other sources.
You should contact your registered representative for more information on compensation arrangements in connection with your purchase of a policy. We provide additional information on special compensation or reimbursement arrangements involving broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries in the SAI, which is available upon request.
Standard compensation.JH Distributors pays compensation to broker-dealers for the promotion and sale of the policies, and for providing ongoing service in relation to policies that have already been purchased. We may also pay a limited number of broker-dealers commissions or overrides to “wholesale” the policies; that is, to provide marketing support and training services to the broker-dealer firms that do the actual selling.
The compensation JH Distributors pays to broker-dealers may vary depending on the selling agreement. The compensation paid is not expected to exceed 145% of target premium paid in the first policy year, and 8% of target premium paid in years 2-10. Compensation paid on any premium in excess of target will not exceed 10% in any year. This compensation schedule is exclusive of additional compensation and revenue sharing and inclusive of overrides and expense allowances paid to broker-dealers for sale of the policies (not including riders).
Additional compensation and revenue sharing.To the extent permitted by SEC and FINRA rules and other applicable laws and regulations, we may enter into special compensation or reimbursement arrangements (“revenue sharing”), either directly or through JH Distributors, with selected broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries. In consideration of these arrangements, a firm may feature our policy in its sales system, give us preferential access to sales staff, or allow JH Distributors or its affiliates to participate in conferences, seminars or other programs attended by the firm’s sales force. We hope to benefit from these revenue sharing and other arrangements through increased sales of our policies.
Selling broker-dealers and other financial intermediaries may receive, directly or indirectly, additional payments in the form of cash, other compensation or reimbursement. These additional compensation or reimbursement arrangements may include, for example, payments in connection with the firm's “due diligence” examination of the policies, payments for providing conferences or seminars, sales or training programs for invited registered representatives and other employees, payment for travel expenses, including lodging, incurred by registered representatives and other employees for such seminars or training programs, seminars for the public or client seminars, advertising and sales campaigns regarding the policies, payments to assist a firm in connection with its systems, operations and marketing expenses and/or other events or activities
sponsored by the firms. We may contribute to, as well as sponsor, various educational programs, sales promotions, and/or other contests in which participating firms and their sales persons may receive gifts and prizes such as merchandise, cash or other rewards as may be permitted under FINRA rules and other applicable laws and regulations.
Tax considerations
This description of Federal income tax consequences is only a brief summary and is neither exhaustive nor authoritative. It was written to support the promotion of our products. It does not constitute legal or tax advice, and it is not intended to be used and cannot be used to avoid any penalties that may be imposed on you. Tax consequences will vary based on your own particular circumstances, and for further information you should consult a qualified tax adviser. Federal, state and local tax laws, regulations and interpretations can change from time to time. As a result, the tax consequences to you and the beneficiary may be altered, in some cases retroactively. The policy may be used in various arrangements, including non-qualified deferred compensation or salary continuation plans, split dollar insurance plans, executive bonus plans, retiree medical benefit plans and others. The tax consequences of such plans may vary depending on the particular facts and circumstances of each individual arrangement. Therefore, if the value of using the policy in any such arrangement depends in part on the tax consequences, a qualified tax adviser should be consulted for advice.
General
We are taxed as a life insurance company. Under current tax law rules, we include the investment income (exclusive of capital gains) of the Separate Account in our taxable income and take deductions for investment income credited to our policy holder reserves. We are also required to capitalize and amortize certain costs instead of deducting those costs when they are incurred. We do not currently charge the Separate Account for any resulting income tax costs, other than a charge we may impose against the Separate Account to compensate us for the cost of a delay in the deductibility of deferred acquisition costs (the “DAC tax” adjustment) pursuant to section 848 of the Internal Revenue Code. We also claim certain tax credits or deductions relating to foreign taxes paid and dividends received by the series funds. These benefits can be material. We do not pass these benefits through to the Separate Account, principally because: (i) the deductions and credits are allowed to us and not the policy owners under applicable tax law; and (ii) the deductions and credits do not represent investment return on the Separate Account assets that is passed through to policy owners.
The policies permit us to deduct a charge for any taxes we incur that are attributable to the operation or existence of the policies or the Separate Account. Currently, we do not anticipate making any specific charge for such taxes other than any DAC tax charge and premium taxes where applicable. If the level of the current taxes increases, however, or is expected to increase in the future, we reserve the right to make a charge in the future.
Death benefit proceeds and other policy distributions
Generally, death benefits paid under policies such as yours are not subject to income tax unless policy ownership has been transferred in exchange for payment. Earnings on your policy value are ordinarily not subject to income tax as long as we don’t pay them out to you. If we do pay out any amount of your policy value upon surrender or partial withdrawal, all or part of that distribution would generally be treated as a return of the premiums you’ve paid and not subjected to income tax. Any portion not treated as a return of your premiums would be includible in your income.
Please note that certain distributions associated with a reduction in death benefit or other policy benefits within the first fifteen years after issuance of the policy are ordinarily taxable in whole or in part. Amounts you borrow are generally not taxable to you.
However, some of the tax rules change if your policy becomes a modified endowment contract. This can happen if you’ve paid premiums in excess of limits prescribed by the tax laws. In that case, additional taxes and penalties may be payable for policy distributions of any kind, including loans. (See “7-pay premium limit and modified endowment contract status” below.)
We expect the policy to receive the same Federal income and estate tax treatment as fixed benefit life insurance policies. Section 7702 of the Internal Revenue Code defines a life insurance contract for Federal tax purposes. For a policy to be treated as a life insurance contract, it must satisfy either the cash value accumulation test or the guideline premium test. These tests limit the amount of premium that you may pay into the policy. We will monitor compliance with these standards. If we determine that a policy does not satisfy section 7702, we may take whatever steps are appropriate and reasonable to bring it into compliance with section 7702.
If the policy complies with section 7702, the death benefit proceeds under the policy ordinarily should be excludable from the beneficiary’s gross income under section 101 of the Internal Revenue Code. (As noted above, a transfer of the policy for valuable consideration may limit the exclusion of death benefits from the beneficiary's income.) In addition, if you have elected a Long-Term Care Rider, the rider's benefits generally will be excludable from gross income under the Internal Revenue Code. The tax-free nature of these accelerated benefits is contingent on the rider meeting specific requirements under section 101 and/or section 7702B of the Internal Revenue Code. The riders are intended to meet these standards.
If you have elected a Long-Term Care Rider, we caution you that there is a significant risk that ownership by anyone other than the person insured by the policy will cause adverse tax consequences. If the owner of the policy is not the insured person, benefit payments may be included in the owner's income, and the death benefit may be part of the insured person's estate for purposes of the Federal estate tax. A policy with a Long-Term Care Rider should not be purchased by or transferred to a person other than the insured person unless you have carefully reviewed the tax implications with your tax adviser.
Increases in policy value as a result of interest or investment experience will not be subject to Federal income tax unless and until values are received through actual or deemed distributions. In general, unless the policy is a modified endowment contract, the owner will be taxed only on the amount of distributions that exceed the premiums paid under the policy. An exception to this general rule occurs in the case of a decrease in the policy's death benefit or any other change that reduces benefits under the policy in the first fifteen years after the policy is issued and that results in a cash distribution to the policy owner. Changes that reduce benefits include partial withdrawals, death benefit option changes, and distributions required to keep the policy in compliance with section 7702. For purposes of this rule any distribution within the two years immediately before a reduction in benefits will also be treated as if it were a result of the reduction. A cash distribution that reduces policy benefits will be taxed in whole or in part (to the extent of any gain in the policy) under rules prescribed in section 7702. The taxable amount is subject to limits prescribed in section 7702(f)(7). Any taxable distribution will be ordinary income to the owner (rather than capital gain).
Distributions for tax purposes include amounts received upon surrender or partial withdrawals. You may also be deemed to have received a distribution for tax purposes if you assign all or part of your policy rights or change your policy’s ownership. If you have elected a Long-Term Care Rider, as described in “Optional supplementary benefit riders you can add,” deductions from policy value to pay the rider charges will reduce your investment in the contract but will not be included in income even if you have recovered all of your investment in the contract.
If you have elected the Critical Illness Benefit Rider, as described in “Optional supplementary benefit riders you can add,” we will treat the monthly charges for the Critical Illness Rider as distributions from your life insurance policy for federal income tax purposes. Therefore, such charges may be includable in your taxable income if your policy is a modified endowment contract or if your investment in the contract has been reduced to zero. We anticipate that benefits paid under the Critical Illness Rider will generally be excludible from gross income under Internal Revenue Code section 104(a)(3). However, the benefits may not qualify for this exclusion with certain third-party ownership arrangements. Nevertheless, you should consult your tax adviser as to the income tax consequences to you.
It is possible that, despite our monitoring, a policy might fail to qualify as a life insurance contract under the Internal Revenue Code. This could happen, for example, if we inadvertently failed to return to you any premium payments that were in excess of amounts permitted under section 7702, or if any of the funds failed to meet certain investment diversification or other requirements of the Internal Revenue Code. If this were to occur, you would be subject to income tax on the income credited to the policy from the date of issue to the date of the disqualification and for subsequent periods.
Tax consequences of ownership or receipt of policy proceeds under Federal, state and local estate, inheritance, gift and other tax laws will depend on the circumstances of each owner or beneficiary. If the person insured by the policy is also its owner, either directly or indirectly through an entity such as a revocable trust, the death benefit will be includible in his or her estate for purposes of the Federal estate tax. If the owner is not the person insured, the value of the policy will be includible in the owner's estate upon his or her death. Even if ownership has been transferred, the death proceeds or the policy value may be includible in the former owner's estate if the transfer occurred less than three years before the former owner's death or if the former owner retained certain kinds of control over the policy. You should consult your tax adviser regarding these possible tax consequences.
Because there may be unfavorable tax consequences (including recognition of taxable income and the loss of income tax-free treatment for any death benefit payable to the beneficiary), you should consult a qualified tax adviser prior to changing the policy’s ownership or making any assignment of ownership interests.
Policy loans
We expect that, except as noted below (see “7-pay premium limit and modified endowment contract status”), loans received under the policy will be treated as indebtedness of an owner and that no part of any loan will constitute income to the owner. However, if the policy terminates for any reason other than the payment of the death benefit, an amount equal to any outstanding loan that was not previously considered income will be treated as if it had been distributed to the owner upon such termination. This could result in a considerable tax bill. Under certain circumstances involving large amounts of outstanding loans, you might find yourself having to choose between high premiums required to keep your policy from lapsing and a significant tax burden if you allow the lapse to occur.
Diversification rules and ownership of the Separate Account
Your policy will not qualify for the tax benefits of a life insurance contract unless the Separate Account follows certain rules requiring diversification of investments underlying the policy. In addition, the rules require that the policy owner not have “investor control” over the underlying assets.
In certain circumstances, the owner of a variable life insurance policy may be considered the owner, for Federal income tax purposes, of the assets of the Separate Account used to support the policy. In those circumstances, income and gains from the Separate Account assets would be includible in the policy owner's gross income. The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) has stated in published rulings that a variable policy owner will be considered the owner of Separate Account assets if the policy owner possesses incidents of ownership in those assets, such as the ability to exercise investment control over the assets. A Treasury Decision issued in 1986 (T.D. 8101) stated that guidance would be issued in the form of regulations or rulings on “the extent to which policyholders may direct their investments to particular sub-accounts of a Separate Account without being treated as owners of the underlying assets.” As of the date of this prospectus, no comprehensive guidance on this point has been issued. In Rev. Rul. 2003-91, however, the IRS ruled that a contract holder would not be treated as the owner of assets underlying a variable life insurance or annuity contract despite the owner’s ability to allocate funds among as many as twenty subaccounts.
The ownership rights under your policy are similar to, but different in certain respects from, those described in IRS rulings in which it was determined that policyholders were not owners of Separate Account assets. Since you have greater flexibility in allocating premiums and policy values than was the case in those rulings, it ispossible that you would be treated as the owner of your policy’s proportionate share of the assets of the Separate Account.
We do not know what future Treasury Department regulations or other guidance may require. We cannot guarantee that the funds will be able to operate as currently described in the series funds' prospectuses, or that a series fund will not have to change any fund's investment objectives or policies. We have reserved the right to modify your policy if we believe doing so will prevent you from being considered the owner of your policy's proportionate share of the assets of the Separate Account, but we are under no obligation to do so.
7-pay premium limit and modified endowment contract status
At the time of policy issuance, we will determine whether the Planned Premium schedule will exceed the 7-pay limit discussed below. If so, our standard procedures prohibit issuance of the policy unless you sign a form acknowledging that fact.
The 7-pay limit at any time during the first seven contract years is the total of net level premiums that would have been payable at or before that time under a comparable fixed policy that would be fully “paid-up” after the payment of seven equal annual premiums. “Paid-up” means that no further premiums would be required to continue the coverage in force until maturity, based on certain prescribed assumptions. If the total premiums paid at any time during the first seven policy years exceed the 7-pay limit, the policy will be treated as a modified endowment contract, which can have adverse tax consequences.
Policies classified as modified endowment contracts are subject to the following tax rules:
• | First, all withdrawals from such a policy are treated as ordinary income subject to tax up to the amount equal to the excess (if any) of the policy value immediately before the withdrawal over the investment in the policy at such time. If you own any other modified endowment contracts issued to you in the same calendar year by the same insurance company or its affiliates, their values will be combined with the value of the policy from which you take the withdrawal for purposes of determining how much of the withdrawal is taxable as ordinary income. |
• | Second, loans taken from or secured by such a policy and assignments or pledges of any part of its value are treated as partial withdrawals from the policy and taxed accordingly. Past-due loan interest that is added to the loan amount is treated as an additional loan. |
• | Third, a 10% additional penalty tax is imposed on the portion of any distribution (including distributions on surrender) from, or loan taken from or secured by, such a policy that is included in income except where the distribution or loan: |
• | is made on or after the date on which the policy owner attains age 59½; |
• | is attributable to the policy owner becoming disabled; or |
• | is part of a series of substantially equal periodic payments for the life (or life expectancy) of the policy owner or the joint lives (or joint life expectancies) of the policy owner and the policy owner’s beneficiary. |
These exceptions to the 10% additional tax do not apply in situations where the policy is not owned by an individual.
Furthermore, any time there is a “material change” in a policy, the policy will begin a new 7-pay testing period as if it were a newly-issued policy. The material change rules for determining whether a policy is a modified endowment contract are complex. In general, however, the determination of whether a policy will be a modified endowment contract after a material change depends upon the relationship among the death benefit of the policy at the time of such change, the policy value at the time of the change, and the additional premiums paid into the policy during the seven years starting with the date on which the material change occurs.
Moreover, under a policy insuring a single life, if there is a reduction in benefits (such as a reduction in the death benefit or the reduction or cancellation of certain rider benefits) during a 7-pay testing period, the 7-pay limit will generally be recalculated based on the reduced benefits and the policy will be re-tested from the beginning of the 7-pay testing period using the lower limit. If the premiums paid to date at any point during the 7-pay testing period are greater than the recalculated 7-pay limit, the policy will become a modified endowment contract. If your policy is a survivorship policy, a reduction in benefits under the policy at any time will require re-testing. For such a policy the 7-pay limit will generally be recalculated based on the reduced benefits and the policy will be re-tested, using the lower limit, from the date it was issued. You should consult your tax adviser if you have questions regarding the possible impact of the 7-pay limit on your policy.
If your policy is issued as a result of an exchange subject to section 1035 of the Internal Revenue Code, it may be considered to be a modified endowment contract if the death benefit under the new policy is smaller than the death benefit under the exchanged policy, or if you reduce coverage in your new policy after it is issued. Therefore, if you desire to reduce the face amount as part of a 1035 exchange, a qualified tax adviser should be consulted for advice. A new policy issued in exchange for a modified endowment contract will also be a modified endowment contract regardless of any change in the death benefit.
All modified endowment contracts issued by the same insurer (or its affiliates) to the same owner during any calendar year generally are required to be treated as one contract for the purpose of applying the rules on taxation of withdrawals from modified endowment contracts. You should consult your tax adviser if you have questions regarding the possible impact of the 7-pay limit on your policy.
Corporate and H.R. 10 retirement plans
The policy may be acquired in connection with the funding of retirement plans satisfying the qualification requirements of section 401 of the Internal Revenue Code. If so, the Internal Revenue Code provisions relating to such plans and life insurance benefits thereunder should be carefully scrutinized. We are not responsible for compliance with the terms of any such plan or with the requirements of applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code.
Withholding
To the extent that policy distributions to you are taxable, they are generally subject to withholding for your Federal income tax liability. However if you reside in the United States, you can generally choose not to have tax withheld from distributions. Electing to have no withholding will not reduce your tax liability and may expose you to penalties under the rules governing payment of estimated taxes.
Life insurance purchases by residents of Puerto Rico
In Rev. Rul. 2004-75, 2004-31 I.R.B. 109, the Internal Revenue Service ruled that income received by residents of Puerto Rico under a life insurance policy issued by a United States company is U.S.-source income that is subject to United States Federal income tax.
Life insurance purchases by non-resident aliens
If you are not a U.S. citizen, U.S. resident alien or other U.S. person, you will generally be subject to U.S. Federal withholding tax on taxable distributions from life insurance policies at a 30% rate, unless a lower treaty rate applies. In addition, you may be subject to state and/or municipal taxes and taxes imposed by your country of citizenship or residence. You should consult with a qualified tax adviser before purchasing a policy.
Life insurance owned by citizens or residents living abroad
If you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident living outside the United States, you are still subject to income taxation by the United States. Since many countries tax on the basis of domicile, you may also be subject to tax in the country or territory in which you are living. The tax-deferred accumulation of gain that a life insurance policy provides under United States tax law may not be available under the tax laws of the country in which you are living. If you are living outside the United States or planning to do so, you should consult with a qualified tax adviser before purchasing or retaining ownership of a policy. If your policy is issued as a result of an exchange of a policy owned or issued outside the United States, the country or territory in which you reside may still tax you on the surrender of the policy replaced through the exchange. You should consult with a qualified tax adviser before exchanging your policy issued outside of the United States for one issued within the United States.
Financial statements reference
The financial statements of John Hancock USA and the Separate Account can be found in the SAI. The financial statements of John Hancock USA should be distinguished from the financial statements of the Separate Account and should be considered only as bearing upon the ability of John Hancock USA to meet its obligations under the policies. Our general account is comprised of securities and other investments, the value of which may decline during periods of adverse market conditions.
Registration statement filed with the SEC
This prospectus omits certain information contained in the Registration Statement which has been filed with the SEC. More details may be obtained from the SEC upon payment of the prescribed fee.
Legal and Regulatory Matters
There are no legal proceedings to which the Depositor, the Separate Account or the principal underwriter is a party or to which the assets of the Separate Account are subject that are likely to have a material adverse effect on the Separate Account or the ability of the principal underwriter to perform its contract with the Separate Account or of the Depositor to meet its obligations under the policy.
Independent registered public accounting firm
The statutory-basis financial statements of John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.) at December 31, 2017 and 2016, and for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2017, and the financial statements of John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.) Separate Account A at December 31, 2017, and for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2017, appearing in this Prospectus and Registration Statement have been audited by Ernst &Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their reports thereon appearing elsewhere herein, and are included in reliance upon such reports given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
In addition to this prospectus, John Hancock USA has filed with the SEC an SAI that contains additional information about John Hancock USA and the Separate Account, including information on our history, services provided to the Separate Account, and the audited financial statements for John Hancock USA and the Separate Account. The SAI and personalized illustrations of death benefits, policy values and surrender values are available, without charge, upon request. You may obtain the personalized illustrations from your John Hancock USA representative. The SAI may be obtained by contacting the John Hancock USA Service Office. You should also contact the John Hancock USA Service Office to request any other information about your policy or to make any inquiries about its operation.
JOHN HANCOCK USA SERVICE OFFICE |
Overnight Express Delivery | Mail Delivery |
Life Post Issue John Hancock Insurance Company 30 Dan Road, Suite #55979 Canton, MA 02021 | Life Post Issue John Hancock Life Insurance Company PO Box 55979 Boston, MA 02205 |
Phone: | Fax: |
1-800-827-4546 | 1-617-572-1571 |
Information about the Separate Account (including the SAI) can be reviewed and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Branch, 100 F Street, NE, Room 1580, Washington, DC, 20549. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 202-551-8090. Reports and other information about the Account are available on the SEC’s Internet website athttp://www.sec.gov. Copies of such information may be obtained, upon payment of a duplicating fee, by writing the Public Reference Section of the SEC at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549-0102.
1940 Act File No. 811-4834—1933 Act File No. 333-217721