This document provides a chart showing the historical dividend interest rates from 2002 to 2012 for MassMutual and several of its competitors, including Guardian, MetLife, New York Life, and Northwestern Mutual. It notes that dividend interest rates are not the actual rates of return and differ between companies based on how expenses are calculated. While dividend interest rates alone should not be used to compare insurers, the historical trends can provide insight into how companies have responded to economic conditions over the years.

1. Competitive
Newsletter Insight for Producers
MassMutual and key competitors’
Newsletter Headline
dividend interest rate actions
This chart gives you a sense of competitors’ current and historical dividend interest rates. The dividend
interest rate is not the rate of return on the policy. Dividends are composed of an investment component, a
mortality component and an expense component. The way companies apply dividend interest rates to calculate
dividends varies. Some companies quote gross rates. Others, including MassMutual, quote rates that are
net of investment expenses only, while yet others quote rates that take additional items into consideration.
For these reasons, dividend interest rates should not be the sole basis for comparing insurers or policy
performance. However, historical trends can provide some insight into how other companies have responded
to the economic climate over the past few years.
Historical dividend interest rates
Year MassMutual* Guardian MetLife New York Life Northwestern
2002 8.05 8.00 7.35 7.32 8.60
2003 7.90 7.00 7.10 6.79 8.20
2004 7.50 6.60 6.60 6.79 7.70
2005 7.00 6.75 6.60 6.79 7.50
2006 7.40 6.50 6.25 6.79 7.50
2007 7.50 6.75 6.25 6.79 7.50
2008 7.90 7.25** 6.25 6.79 7.50
2009 7.60 7.30 6.25 6.14 6.50
2010 7.00 7.00 5.75 6.11** 6.15
2011 6.85 6.85 5.50 6.11 6.00
2012 7.00 6.95 5.50 5.80 5.85
* efers to the MM-TBCC block of business, which comprises policies issued after the merger of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company and the
R
former Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company in 1996
** Company adjusted the method of dividend calculation in this year
Sources: 2002-2011 Full-Disclosure/Blease Research, 2011 Company Press Releases
FOR PRODUCER USE ONLY. NOT FOR USE WITH THE PUBLIC.
© 2011 Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, Springfield, MA 01111-0001. All rights reserved. www.massmutual.com. MassMutual Financial Group is a marketing name for
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and its affiliated companies and sales representatives.
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