Patent ID: 7080032

Claim:
A method of administering an annuity account comprising: defining a base interest rate, said base interest rate being applied to the value of the account for an initial predefined period; defining a base referenced rate, which is a specified United States Treasury rate as of a specified date; for each subsequent predefined period following the initial predefined period: (A) determining a current referenced rate, which is the specified United States Treasury rate on the date that the current referenced rate is determined; (B) defining a total interest rate that will be applied to the value of the account during that subsequent predefined period, wherein: (i) if the current referenced rate is less than or equal to the base referenced rate, the total interest rate will be equal to the base interest rate; and (ii) if the current referenced rate is greater than the base referenced rate, the total interest rate will be the sum of the base interest rate and an interest enhancement that is determined based on the difference between the current referenced rate and the base referenced rate; and applying the total interest rate for each subsequent predefined period to the value of the account during the predefined period.