Variable annuity - A life insurance policy where the annuity premium (a set amount of dollars) is immediately turned into units of a portfolio of stocks. Upon retirement, the policyholder is paid according to accumulated units, the dollar value of which varies according to the performance of the stock portfolio. Its objective is to preserve, through stock investment, the purchasing value of the annuity which otherwise is subject to erosion through inflation.

Variable Life Insurance - A life insurance policy that allows you to allocate a portion of your premiums to a separate account comprised of various investment funds within the insurance company's portfolio, such stocks, bonds, equity funds, money market funds, and bond funds. The death benefit amount will be determined by the insured person's portfolio market value at the time of death. Purchasers of these policies hope that investment gains will increase their death benefit and cash values more effectively than other types of policies. While most variable life insurance policies guarantee that the death benefit will not fall below a specified minimum, they make no other guarantees.

Vested Benefits - Those benefits that the individual has earned a right to receive and that cannot be forfeited.

Viatical Settlement - A financial arrangement in which someone with a terminal disease sells his or her life insurance policy for a lump sum cash payment, the amount of which is at a discount from the policy's face value. The buyer cashes in the full amount of the policy when the insured person dies.

Volume - The number of shares or contracts traded in a security or an entire market during a given period. Volume is usually considered on a daily basis and a daily average is computed for longer periods.

Voting right - Common stockholders' right to vote their stock in affairs of a company. Preferred stock usually has the right to vote when preferred dividends are in default for a specified period. The right to vote may be delegated by the stockholder to another person.