Accumulation unit

Accumulation units are the shares you own in the separate account funds of a variable annuity during the period you're putting money into your annuity.

If you own the annuity in a 401(k) plan, each time you make a contribution, that amount is added to one or more of the separate account funds to buy additional accumulation units.

The value of your annuity is figured by multiplying the number of units you own by the dollar value of each unit. During the accumulation phase, that value changes to reflect the changing performance of the underlying investments in the separate account funds.