exv10w18





Exhibit
10.18









2009 Incentive Compensation Plan




Senior Vice President, Sales & Distribution




Patrick McCormick




Effective: January 1, 2009




Portions
marked [***] have been omitted pursuant to a Confidential Treatment Request by Symetra Financial Corporation, this information has been filed
separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission.



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INTRODUCTION: This material describes the 2009 Symetra Life Insurance Company
Incentive Compensation Plan for the Participant(s) identified on page 1 of this Plan. The
information is divided into three sections:



	 	 	 	 	 
	1.

	 	General Administration
	 	Plan guidelines for eligibility, payout provisions, prorated
awards, and other administrative practices that are uniform
across the Symetra organization regardless of business unit.
	 
	 	 	 	 
	2.

	 	Business Unit Administration
	 	Business unit specific administrative practices.
	 
	 	 	 	 
	3.

	 	Plan Description
	 	Specific plan provisions, including incentive rates and tiers.





Symetra Financial’s Human Resources Department can help you with questions about this material or your
eligibility for or participation in the Symetra Incentive Compensation Plan.




1. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION




	 	 	 
	Compensation Structure:

	 	A Participant is compensated through a base salary and incentive
compensation, based on production within the Participant’s Distribution Channel
	 
	 	 
	Base Salary:

	 	Base salary is defined as annualized base pay excluding any bonuses,
cash incentives, or other compensation.
	 
	 	 
	Plan Year:

	 	The Plan will run on a calendar year basis.
	 
	 	 
	Eligibility:

	 	A Participant becomes eligible to participate in the incentive compensation
program on the first of the month following date of employment in a qualifying
position.
	 
	 	 
	Partial Plan Year Eligibility:

	 	The information described in this Plan assumes a Participant’s full year
participation. A Participant in the position for a partial Plan year will
be eligible to earn incentive compensation on a prorated basis.
	 
	 	 
	Termination of Employment:

	 	If a Participant leaves his/her position during the Plan year for
any reason, including voluntary resignation, job elimination,
or involuntary termination, he/she will be paid for production
earned through the end of the last full month of employment.
	 
	 	 
	Internal Transfer:

	 	If an employee transfers into an Incentive Compensation
eligible position during the Plan year, the IC plan will become
effective the first of the month following his/her transfer into
the eligible position.
	 
	 	 
	 

	 	If a Participant transfers out of an Incentive Compensation
eligible plan during the Plan year, every attempt will be made
to make the transfer coincide with the end of the month so that
the Participant will be eligible for that month’s earned
production. The employee will then be eligible for an AIB
(Annual Incentive Bonus) on a pro-rated basis at his/her new
award target.
	 
	 	 
	 

	 	Any base pay changes will need to be effective with the start
of a payroll period.






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	 	Symetra Life Insurance Company reserves the right to manage
the transfer process and effective date of eligibility on a case-by-case basis.
	 
	 	 
	Calculations:

	 	The percentage rate at which incentive compensation will be
paid is set forth in the Plan Description. The referenced rate
will be paid for credited sales during the month.
	 
	 	 
	Time Away From Work due to
Sick Leave/Short-Term Disability
and/or FMLA:

	 	Plan participants will be eligible for sick leave, short-term disability
and/or FMLA as defined by the sick leave, short-term disability and/or
FMLA benefit policies and procedures as outlined on Connections.
The plans will be administered in the same manner as for all other
salaried Symetra Financial employees.
	 
	 	 
	 

	 	In the event of time away from work when the duration of leave is less
than 7 consecutive calendar days, there will be no interruption to a
participant’s incentive compensation.
	 
	 	 
	 

	 	In the event of time away from work when the duration of leave is 7
consecutive calendar days or greater, a plan participant will continue to
receive incentive compensation per the plan, as long as the time away is
certified as FMLA time.
	 
	 	 
	 

	 	Once a plan participant’s FMLA entitlement has been exhausted,
his/her incentive compensation eligibility will be suspended until
he/she returns to work. The incentive compensation payment will be
pro-rated if the FMLA leave ends at a time other than the end of the
month. If a plan participant is not eligible for FMLA, then he/she will
not be eligible to continue to receive incentive compensation for the
period of time that he/she is away from work. (The FMLA eligibility
requirement of 50 or more employees within a 75 mile radius will not
disqualify one from continued incentive compensation under this policy.)
	 
	 	 
	 

	 	Please refer to the Leave policy on Connections for additional details.
Incentive compensation will not be adjusted unless as stated under
Product, Commissions and Production Credits.
	 
	 	 
	Realignment of Territory:

	 	A realignment is the reassignment of agent(s) or registered
representative(s) from one channel and/or territory to another, as
approved by the distribution channel(s) involved. The effective date of
the realignment is the date that production stops flowing from the old
territory and begins flowing to the new one. Incentive compensation
will be adjusted upon the realignment and could result in a retroactive
increase or decrease in production and incentive compensation.
	 
	 	 
	Agency/Producer Assignment:

	 	Assignment of agencies/producers will be established on a geographic
territory and authorized by the manager responsible for the Distribution
Channel. Each Participant will be accountable for those agencies and
producers for the assigned products and product lines.
	 
	 	 
	Product, Commissions and

	 	Symetra Life Insurance Company reserves the right to withdraw






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	Production Credits:

	 	products from distribution, to reassign distribution of specific products,
to realign sales territories and restructure distribution channel
responsibilities as it deems necessary or appropriate to its overall
business needs. In appropriate circumstances, the Company may
modify credits on a case. (For example, in a situation involving
significant Symetra Life Insurance Company assistance on a case, a
Participant may be granted only partial sales credit for the case.)
Any such modification of production credit for a case requires
notification in writing within a reasonable time after the sale with the
approval of the Company’s Senior Vice President of Sales and
Distribution, and the Vice President of Human Resources.
	 
	 	 
	Plan Modification/Reservation of Rights:

	 	Symetra Life Insurance Company reserves the right to modify, amend
or repeal this Plan, or to discontinue (either temporarily or
permanently) the distribution of incentive compensation under the Plan.
However, unless as stated under Product, Commissions and Production
Credits, no such modification, amendment, suspension or termination
may adversely affect incentive compensation awards earned prior to the
date the modification, amendment, suspension or termination takes
effect. Any Plan modification requires written documentation to Plan
Participants with approval of the Senior Vice President of Sales and
Distribution and the Vice President of Human Resources.
	 
	 	 
	Situations Not Covered:

	 	Symetra Life Insurance Company reserves the right to determine or
resolve all situations not expressly covered in this Plan description.
Final determinations regarding these situations will be made jointly by
the Manager of the Distribution Channel, the Senior Vice President of
Sales and Distribution and the Vice President of Human Resources.
	 
	 	 
	Continuation of Employment:

	 	The existence of this Plan does not create any employment contracts,
nor does it confer any right of continuing employment upon any Plan
Participant or any other employee. Employment at Symetra is “at
will”, meaning that both the employee and Symetra are at liberty to end
the employment relationship at any time, with or without cause, with or
without notice.






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2. BUSINESS UNIT ADMINISTRATION




	 	 	 
	Timing of Incentive Payments:

	 	Incentive Compensation earned will be paid quarterly. These
payments will be made within three pay periods after the end of
the quarter in which the incentive compensation was earned, unless
the necessary data to calculate the incentive amount is not available.
In that case, payments will be made within two pay periods following
the date the data becomes available.
	 
	 	 
	Sales Effectiveness Payment:

	 	The sales effectiveness payment
(SEP) is based on a participant’s year-to-date score for each of the components of the payment as outlined in
the attached SEP agreement.
	 
	 	 
	Guaranteed Payment(s):

	 	In certain circumstances management may provide a participant
guaranteed quarterly minimum incentive payment(s). In that situation,
the Participant will be paid the higher of (1) the guaranteed quarterly
minimum, or 2) the quarterly incentive compensation amount the
Participant otherwise earned under the terms of the Plan, based on
qualifying production. Cumulative YTD earned incentive
compensation will be calculated and a reconciliation will be performed.
This guarantee will come under the same guidelines as noted in the
Eligibility and Calculations sections above and will be carried over to
subsequent quarters until completely offset by any incentive
compensation earned through the end of the guarantee.







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2009 INCENTIVE PLAN DESCRIPTION




3. PLAN DESCRIPTION — SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, SALES & DISTRIBUTION




	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 
	 	 	INCENTIVE	 	PRODUCTION	 	NEW INCENTIVE
	PRODUCT	 	COMPENSATION RATE	 	OVER	 	COMPENSATION RATE
	INDIVIDUAL
	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 
	Term Life (Term and Worksite Term)
	 	 	[***]	 	 		[***]	 	 	 	[***]	 
	Annual Permanent Life (Annual
Perm and Worksite Perm)
	 	 	[***]	 	 		[***]	 	 	 	[***]	 
	Single Premium Life
	 	 	[***]	 	 		[***]	 	 	 	[***]	 
	Symetra Complete
	 	 	[***]	 	 		[***]	 	 	 	[***]	 
	 
	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 
	RETIREMENT SERVICES
	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 
	Fixed Total (Other Fixed Annuities,
TSA Fixed and SEPP/SIMPLE Fixed)
Jan Only
	 	 	[***]	 	 		[***]	 	 	 	[***]	 
	Fixed Total (Other Fixed Annuities,
TSA Fixed and SEPP/SIMPLE Fixed)
Feb thru Dec
	 	 	[***]	 	 		[***]	 	 	 	[***]	 
	Group Fixed Annuities (Daily Value)
	 	 	[***]	 	 		[***]	 	 	 	[***]	 
	Individual
Variable Total (Other
..Variable Annuities, TSA Variable
and SEPP/SIMPLE Variable)
	 	 	[***]	 	 		[***]	 	 	 	[***]	 
	Group Variable Total (Other Group
Variable Annuities and TSA Group
Variable)
	 	 	[***]	 	 		[***]	 	 	 	[***]	 
	Bundled Products Total (MF TSA, MF
401 (k), MF 457, MF 403b and MF
Other)
	 	 	[***]	 	 		[***]	 	 	 	[***]	 
	Bundled A Share Products Total (A
Share MF TSA, A Share MF 401 (k), A
Share MF 457, A Share MF 403b and
A Share MF Other)
	 	 	[***]	 	 		[***]	 	 	 	[***]	 
	 
	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 
	INCOME ANNUITIES
	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 
	SPIA
	 	 	[***]	 	 		[***]	 	 	 	[***]	 
	Annuitizations
	 	 	[***]	 	 		[***]	 	 	 	[***]	 
	 
	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 
	WELL PLAN
	 	 	[***]	 	 		[***]	 	 	 	[***]	 





Incentive
for Individual: Based on net Annualized First Year Premium (AFYP)



Incentive
for Retirement Services: Based on net bundled mutual fund deposits, single sum
annuity premiums and net first year continuing annuity premiums and increases.



Incentive
for Income Annuities: Based on net single sum annuity premiums, net first year
continuing annuity premiums, net first year continuing premiums and increases, single sum
deposit resulting from the annuitization of eligible fixed or variable products that result
in commission to the agent.



Incentive
for WELL Plans: Based on quarterly asset growth for new plans first four
quarters. Payment will be made within the subsequent incentive compensation cycle following
quarter end.



**Symetra Life Insurance Company reserves the right to modify, amend or repeal this Plan, or to
discontinue (either temporarily or permanently) the distribution of incentive compensation
under the Plan.



Portions
marked [***] have been omitted pursuant to a Confidential Treatment Request by Symetra Financial Corporation, this information has been filed
separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission.





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Senior Vice President, Sales & Distribution




Acknowledgement Form:



I acknowledge receipt of this 2009 Incentive Compensation Plan and acknowledge that I am
familiar with its terms and conditions.




	 	 	 	 	 
	 
	 	 	 	 
	Patrick McCormick
 

Participant’s Printed Name

	 	Randall H. Talbot
 

Manager’s Printed Name
	 	  
	 
	 	 	 	 
	/s/
Patrick McCormick 3/20/09
 

Participant’s Signature/Date

	 	/s/ Randall H. Talbot
 

Manager’s Signature/Date
	 	  
	 
	 	 	 	 
	Christine A. Katzmar
 

HR Vice President’s Printed Name

	 	  
	 	  
	 
	 	 	 	 
	/s/ Christine A. Katzmar 3-20-09
 

HR Vice President’s Signature/Date

	 	  
	 	  






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March 18th, 2009




Patrick McCormick




Dear Pat:



This letter will serve as notification of your Sales Effectiveness Payment component of your
incentive compensation. Your maximum per quarter is:




	 	 	 	 	 
	Q1
	 	$	10,507	 
	Q2
	 	$	12,203	 
	Q3
	 	$	13,288	 
	Q4
	 	$	14,002	 





The quarterly payment is based on your year to date score for each of the components of the
payment. The criteria components of the payment are as follows:




	 	 	 
	76%	 	Sales goal attainment
	24%	 	Expense management





The score rating for the sales goal’ component and corresponding payment will be:




	 	 	 	 	 
	Component Score	 	Payment Percentage
	3	 	 	100	%
	2	 	 	75	%
	1	 	 	0	%





The score rating for the expense management component and corresponding payment will be:




	 	 	 	 	 
	Component Score	 	Payment Percentage
	4	 	 	100	%
	3	 	 	75	%
	2	 	 	37.5	%
	1	 	 	0	%





The sales effectiveness payment will use Point in Time Cognos as its book of record. From time to
time the production numbers when compared to the incentive
compensation production reports from D3
may vary due to a timing difference. Note also that the assigned goals against which you will be
measured are subject to change based on market conditions and management discretion. Any changes
will be documented and communicated to you in writing.



Symetra
Life Insurance Company - 777 108th Avenue NE, Suite 1200 - Bellevue, WA
98004-5135 - www.symetra.com

Mailing Address: PO Box 34690 - Seattle, WA 98124-1690 - Phone 1-800-796-3872 - TTY/TDD 1-800-833-6388




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This sales
effectiveness payment component will commence on January
1st, 2009 and expire on
December 31st, 2009. Please refer to your 2009 Sales Effectiveness Payment report and your 2009
Incentive Compensation plan document for more detail.



There is
no intent in this letter to establish or imply a contract of employment. Symetra
Financial’s policy is that no representative of the company or employee has the authority to make
any pre-employment agreements or employment contracts which would imply guarantees of minimum
length of employment.



Please
sign and return the original copy to me by April 3rd , 2009.




Sincerely,




	 	 	 	 	 
	/s/ LaDonna Modlin
 

LaDonna Modlin

Payroll Incentive Compensation Manager
Symetra Life Insurance Company

	 	/s/ Patrick McCormick
 

Patrick McCormick
	 	  







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