Ids Life Variable Life Separate Account · 485APOS · On 1/25/99

Filed On 1/25/99   ·   SEC Files 33-11165, 811-04298   ·   Accession Number 820027-99-64

Post-Effective Amendment
Filing Table of Contents

Document/Exhibit                   Description                      Pages   Size 

 1: 485APOS     Ids Life Variable Life Separate Account (Vul)         49    249K 

Document Table of Contents

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 Post-Effective Amendment No. 18
FORM S-6

 File No. 33-11165

FOR REGISTRATION UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 OF    
SECURITIES OF UNIT INVESTMENT TRUSTS REGISTERED ON FORM   
N-8B-2

A. Exact name of trust:             IDS Life Variable Life Separate Account     

B. Name of depositor:               IDS LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY                  

C. Complete address of depositor's principal executive offices:                 

IDS Tower 10, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55440-0010               

D. Name and complete address of agent for service:                              

Mary Ellyn Minenko, Esq.                                      
IDS Life Insurance Company                                    
IDS Tower 10                                                  
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55440-0010                             

It  is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box)  
[ ] immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)                 
[ ] on (date) pursuant to paragraph (b)                               
[ ] 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)                 
[X] on April 12, 1999 pursuant to paragraph (a)(1) of rule (485)      
[ ] this post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for 
a previously filed post effective amendment.                  

E. Title of securities being registered:                                        

Flexible Premium Variable Life Insurance Policy               

F. Approximate date of proposed public offering: not applicable.                

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Prospectus March 31, 1999                                                       

Flexible Premium Variable Life Insurance Policy                                 

IDS Life Variable Life Separate Account                                         

Issued and sold by: IDS Life Insurance Company                                  
IDS Tower 10                                                                    
Minneapolis, MN 55440.                                                          
Telephone: 800-437-0602                                                         

web site address: http://www.americanexpress.com/advisors                       

This prospectus contains information about the insurance policy that you should 
know before investing. You also will receive prospectuses for the underlying    
funds that are investment options under your policy. Please read all            
prospectuses carefully and keep them for future reference.                      

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these    
securities or passed upon the accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to
the contrary is a criminal offense.                                             

An investment in this policy is not a deposit of a bank or financial institution
and is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or
any other government agency. An investment in this policy involves investment   
risk including possible loss of principal.                                      

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Table of contents                                                               

Key terms                                                                       
The policy in brief                                                             
The variable account                                                            
The funds                                                                       
IDS Life Series Fund-Equity Portfolio                         
IDS Life Series Fund-Income Portfolio                         
IDS Life Series Fund-Money Market Portfolio                   
IDS Life Series Fund-Managed Portfolio                        
IDS Life Series Fund-Government Securities Portfolio          
IDS Life Series Fund-International Equity Portfolio           
AIM V.I. Growth and Income Fund                               
Putnam VT New Opportunities Fund - Class IA Shares            
Relationship between funds and subaccounts                    
Rates of return of the funds and subaccounts                                    
The trust                                                                       
Estimated rates of return                                     
Trust maturity                                                
Roles of Smith Barney Inc. and IDS Life                       
The fixed account                                                               
Purchasing your policy                                                          
Application                                                   
Right to examine policy                                       
Premiums                                                      
Keeping the policy in force                                                     
Death benefit guarantee                                       
Grace period                                                  
Reinstatement                                                 
Loads, fees and charges                                                         
Premium expense charge                                        
Monthly deduction                                             
       Note for Massachusetts and Montana residents Surrender charge Partial
         surrender fee Mortality and expense risk charge Transaction charge Fund
expenses                                                      
Policy value                                                                    
Fixed account value                                           
Subaccount values                                             
Death benefits                                                                  
Change in death benefit option                                
Changes in specified amount                                   
Misstatement of age or sex                                    
Suicide                                                       
Beneficiary                                                   
Transfersbetween the fixed account and subaccounts Fixed account transfer       
    policies Minimum transfer amounts Maximum transfer amounts Maximum
      number of transfers per year Two ways to request a transfer, loan or
surrender Automated transfers Automated dollar-cost averaging 
Policy loans                                                                    
Policy surrenders                                                               
Total surrenders                                              
Partial surrenders                                            
Allocations of partial surrenders                             
Effects of partial surrenders                                 
Taxes                                                         

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Optional insurance benefits                                                     
Waiver of monthly deduction                                   
Accidental death benefit                                      
Other insured rider                                           
Children's insurance rider                                    
Automatic increase benefit rider                              
Accelerated benefit rider for terminal illness                
Payment of policy proceeds                                                      
Federal taxes                                                                   
IDS Life's tax status                                         
Taxation of policy proceeds                                   
Modified endowment contracts                                  
Other tax considerations                                      
IDS Life                                                                        
Ownership                                                     
State regulation                                              
Distribution of the policy                                    
Legal proceedings                                             
Year 2000                                                     
Experts                                                       
Management of IDS Life                                                          
Other fund managers                                                             
Other information                                                               
Voting rights                                                 
Reports                                                       
Policy illustrations                                                            

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Key terms                                                                       

These terms can help you understand details about your policy.                  

Accumulation unit: An accounting unit used to calculate the policy value of the 
subaccounts prior to the insured's death.                                       

Attained insurance age: The insured's insurance age plus the number of policy   
anniversaries since the policy date. Attained insurance age changes only on a   
policy anniversary.                                                             

Cash surrender value: Proceeds received if you surrender the policy in full or  
the amount payable if the insured's death occurs on or after the insured's      
attained insurance age 100. The cash surrender value equals the policy value    
minus any indebtedness and any applicable surrender charges.                    

Code: The Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.                            

Close of business: Closing time of the New York Stock Exchange, normally 3 p.m.,
Central time.                                                                   

Death benefit guarantee (DBG): A feature of the policy guaranteeing that the    
policy will not lapse before the insured's attained insurance age 70 (or five   
policy years, if later). The guarantee is in effect if you meet certain premium 
payment requirements.                                                           

Fixed account: The general investment account of IDS Life. The fixed account is 
made up of all of IDS Life's assets other than those held in any separate       
account.                                                                        

Fixed account value: The portion of the policy value that you allocate to the   
fixed account, including indebtedness.                                          

Funds: Mutual funds or portfolios,  each with a different investment  objective.
(See "The funds.") Each of the subaccounts of the variable  account invests in a
specific one of these funds.                                                    

IDS Life: In this prospectus, "we," "us," "our" and "IDS Life" refer to IDS Life
Insurance Company.                                                              

Indebtedness:  All existing  loans on the policy plus  interest  that has either
been accrued or added to the policy loan.                                       

Insurance age: The insured's age, based upon his or her last birthday on the    
date of the application.                                                        

Insured: The person whose life is insured by the policy.                        

Maturity date: The insured's attained insurance age 100, if living.             

Minimum monthly premium: The premium required to keep the DBG in effect. We show
the minimum monthly premium in your policy.                                     

Monthly date: The same day each month as the policy date. If there is no monthly
date in a calendar month, the monthly date is the first day of the next calendar
month.                                                                          

Net amount at risk: A portion of the death benefit, equal to the total current  
death benefit minus the policy value. This is the amount to which we apply cost 
of insurance rates in determining the monthly cost of insurance.                

Net premium: The premium paid minus the premium expense charge.                 

Owner:  The entity(ies) to which, or  individual(s) to whom, we issue the policy
or to whom subsequently  transfer ownership.  In the prospectus "you" and "your"
refer to the owner.                                                             

Policy anniversary: The same day and month as the policy date each year the     
policy remains in force.                                                        

Policy date: The date we issue the policy and from which we determine policy    
anniversaries, policy years and policy months.                                  

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Policy value: The sum of the fixed account value plus the variable account      
value.                                                                          

Proceeds: The amount payable under the policy as follows:                       

o   Upon death of the insured prior to the insured's attained insurance age 
   100, proceeds will be the death benefit in effect as of the date of the
insured's death, minus any indebtedness.                            
o   Upon the death of the insured on or after the insured's attained        
insurance age 100, proceeds will be the cash surrender value.       
  o   On surrender of the policy, the proceeds will be the cash surrender value.

Rate classification: A group of insureds that IDS Life expects will have similar
mortality experience.                                                           

Scheduled premium: A premium, you select at the time of application, of a level 
amount, at a fixed interval of time.                                            

Specified amount: An amount we use to determine the death benefit and the       
proceeds payable upon death of the insured prior to the insured's attained      
insurance age 100. We show the initial specified amount in your policy.         

Subaccount(s):  One or more of the investment divisions of the variable account,
each of which invests in a particular fund or trust.                            

Surrender charge: A charge we assess against the policy value at the time of    
surrender, or if the policy lapses, during the first 10 years of the policy and 
for 10 years after an increase in coverage.                                     

Trust:  A unit  investment  trust,  which is part of Smith Barney Inc.  Stripped
("Zero Coupon") U.S.  Treasury  Securities Fund, Series A. One subaccount of the
variable  account invests in the trust,  which contains certain debt obligations
of the United States.                                                           

Valuation date: A normal business day, Monday through Friday, on which the New  
York Stock Exchange is open. We set the value of each subaccount at the close of
business on each valuation date.                                                

Valuation period: The interval commencing at the close of business on each      
valuation date and ending at the close of business on the next valuation date.  

Variable account: IDS Life Variable Life Separate Account consisting of         
subaccounts, each of which invests in a particular fund or unit investment      
trust. The policy value in each subaccount depends on the performance of the    
particular fund or trust.                                                       

Variable account value: The sum of the values that we allocate to the           
subaccounts of the variable account.                                            

The policy in brief                                                             

Purpose: The purpose of the policy is to provide life insurance protection on   
the life of the insured and to build policy value. The policy provides a death  
benefit that we pay to the beneficiary upon the insured's death. As in the case 
of other life insurance policies, it may not be advantageous to purchase this   
policy as a replacement for, or in addition to an existing life insurance       
policy.                                                                         

The policy allows you, as the owner, to allocate your net premiums, or transfer 
policy value, to:                                                               

        The variable account, consisting of subaccounts, each of which invests
 in a fund or unit investment trust with a particular investment
   objective. You may direct premiums to any or all of nine of these
  subaccounts. Your policy's value may increase or decrease daily,
      depending on the investment return. No minimum amount is guaranteed.
(p.)                                                          

    The fixed account, which earns interest at rates that are adjusted
         periodically by IDS Life. This rate will never be lower than 4.5%. (p.)

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Purchasing your policy: To apply, send a completed application and premium      
payment to IDS Life's home office. You will need to provide medical and other   
evidence that the person you propose to insure (yourself or someone else) is    
insurable according to our underwriting rules before we can accept your         
application. (p.)                                                               

Right to examine policy: You may return your policy for any reason and receive a
full refund of your premiums by mailing us the policy and a written request for 
cancellation within a specified period. (p.)                                    

Premiums: In applying for your policy, you state how much you intend to pay and 
whether you will pay quarterly, semiannually or annually. You may also make     
additional, unscheduled premium payments subject to certain limits. You cannot  
make premium payments on or after the insured's attained insurance age 100. We  
may refuse premiums in order to comply with the Code. (p.)                      

Death benefit guarantee (DBG): A feature of the policy guaranteeing the policy  
will remain in force until the insured's attained insurance age 70 (or 5 policy 
years, if later). The feature is in effect if you meet certain premium          
requirements (p.)                                                               

Grace period: If the cash surrender value of your policy becomes less than the  
amount needed to pay the monthly deduction and the DBG is not in effect, you    
will have 61 days to pay a premium that raises the cash surrender value to an   
amount sufficient to pay the monthly deduction. If you don't, the policy will   
lapse. (p.)                                                                     

Reinstatement:  If your policy lapses,  it can be reinstated  within five years.
The  reinstatement  is subject  to  certain  conditions  including  evidence  of
insurability  satisfactory to IDS Life and the payment of a sufficient  premium.
The DBG cannot be reinstated. (p.)                                              

Loads, fees and charges: You pay the following charges, either directly (such as
deductions from your premium payments or from your policy value), or indirectly 
(as deductions from the underlying funds.) These charges primarily compensate   
IDS Life for administering and distributing the policy as well as paying policy 
benefits and assuming related risks:                                            

     o   Premium expense charge -- 2.5% sales charge and 2.5% premium tax charge
        deducted from each premium payment. This charge pays some distribution
expenses and state and local premium taxes.                   

o   Monthly deduction -- charged against the value of your policy each
    month, covering the cost of insurance, cost of issuing the policy,
       certain administrative expenses, a death benefit guarantee charge and
optional insurance benefits.                                  

   o   Surrender charge -- applies if you surrender your policy for its full
       cash surrender value, or the policy lapses, during the first 10 years
        and for 10 years after requesting an increase in the specified amount.
         We base it based on the initial specified amount and on any increase in
the specified amount.                                         

    o   Partial surrender fee -- applies if you surrender part of the value of
        your policy; equals $25 or 2% of the amount surrendered, whichever, if
less.                                                         

   o   Mortality and expense risk charge -- applies only to the subaccounts;
       equals, on an annual basis, 0.9% of the average daily net asset value
of the subaccounts.                                           

  o   Transaction charge -- applies only to subaccount that invests in the
         trust; equals, on an annual basis, 0.25% of its average daily net asset
value.                                                        

     o    Fund  expenses - apply only to the  underlying  funds and  consists of
          investment   management  fees,   taxes,   brokerage   commissions  and
nonadvisory expenses. (p.)                                  

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Death benefits: Prior to insured's attained insurance age 100, your policy's    
death benefit can never be less than the specified amount in your policy        
application, unless you change that amount or your policy has outstanding       
indebtedness. The relationship between the policy value and the death benefit   
depends on which of two options you choose:                                     

o   Option 1 level amount: The death benefit is the greater of the    
specified amount or a percentage of policy value.             

o   Option 2 variable amount: The death benefit is the greater of the 
         specified amount plus the policy value or a percentage of policy value.

You may change the death benefit option or specified amount within certain      
limits; doing so generally will affect policy charges. On or after the insured's
attained insurance age 100, the proceeds payable upon the death of the insured  
will be the cash surrender value. (p.)                                          

Transfers between the fixed account and subaccounts: You may, at no charge,     
transfer policy value from one subaccount to another or between subaccounts and 
the fixed account. (Certain restrictions apply to transfers involving the fixed 
account.) You can request up to five transfers per year by phone or mail. You   
can also arrange for automated transfers on a monthly, quarterly, semiannual or 
annual basis. (p.)                                                              

Policy loans: You may borrow against your policy's cash surrender value. A      
policy loan, even if repaid, can have a permanent effect on the death benefit   
and policy value. A loan also may have tax consequences if your policy lapses or
you surrender it. (p.)                                                          

Policy surrenders: You may cancel the policy while it is in force and receive   
its cash surrender value. The cash surrender value is the policy value minus    
indebtedness, minus any applicable surrender charges. (p.)                      

Exchange right: For two years after the policy is issued, you can exchange it   
for one that provides benefits that do not vary with the investment return of   
the subaccounts. Because the policy itself offers a fixed return option, all you
need do is transfer all of the policy value in the subaccounts to the fixed     
account. (p.)                                                                   

Payment of policy proceeds: We will pay policy proceeds when you surrender the  
policy or the insured dies. You or the beneficiary may choose whether you want  
us to make a lump-sum payment or payments under one or more of certain options. 
(p.)                                                                            

Federal taxes: The death benefit is not considered part of the beneficiary's    
income and thus is not subject to federal income taxes. Part or all of any      
proceeds you receive through full or partial surrender, maturity, lapse, policy 
loan or assignment of policy value may be subject to federal income tax as      
ordinary income. Proceeds other than death benefits from certain policies,      
classified as "modified endowments," are taxed differently from proceeds of     
conventional life insurance contracts and also may be subject to an additional  
10% IRS penalty tax if you are younger than 59 1/2. A policy is considered to be
a modified endowment if it was applied for or materially changed after June 21, 
1988, and premiums paid in the early years exceed certain modified endowment    
limits. (p.)                                                                    

The variable account                                                            

We established the variable account on Oct. 16, 1985, under Minnesota law. It is
registered as a single unit investment trust under the Investment Company Act of
1940. The variable account consists of a number of subaccounts, each of which   
invests in shares of a particular fund, or a trust. This registration does not  
involve any SEC supervision of the account's management or investment practices 
or policies.                                                                    

The variable account meets the definition of a separate account under federal   
securities laws. Income, capital gains or capital losses of each subaccount are 
credited to or charged against the assets of that subaccount alone. State       
insurance law provides that we will not charge a variable subaccount liabilities
of any other subaccount or of any other business conducted by IDS Life. Other   
variable life insurance policies that are not described in this prospectus also 
invest in subaccounts of the variable account. At all times, IDS Life will      
maintain assets in the subaccounts with total market value at least equal to the
reserves and other liabilities required to cover insurance benefits under all   
contracts participating in the subaccount.                                      

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The U.S. Treasury and the IRS indicated they may provide additional guidance on 
investment control. This concerns how many subaccounts an insurance company may 
offer and how many exchanges among subaccounts it may allow before the owner    
would be currently taxed on income earned within subaccount assets. We do not   
know at this time what the additional guidance will be or when action will be   
taken. We reserve the right to modify the policy, as necessary, so that the     
owner will not be subject to current taxation as the owner of the subaccount    
assets.                                                                         

The funds                                                                       

You can direct your premiums to any of all of the subaccounts of the variable   
account that invest in shares of the following funds:                           

IDS Life Series Fund, Inc.                                                      
IDS Life Series Fund, Inc., a Minnesota corporation, is a diversified, open-end 
management investment company incorporated on May 8, 1985. The IDS Life Series  
Fund International Equity Portfolio was added on October 24, 1994. IDS Life acts
as the investment manager and American Express Financial Corporation acts as the
investment advisor of the IDS Life Series Fund, Inc. American Express Trust     
Company acts as custodian of the IDS Life Series Fund, Inc.'s investments.      

o   IDS Life Series Fund - Equity Portfolio                           
        Objective: capital appreciation. Invests primarily in common
      stocks and other securities convertible into common stock.

o   IDS Life Series Fund - Income Portfolio                           
              Objective: to maximize current income while attempting to conserve
         the value of the investment and to continue the high level of
             income for the longest period of time. At least 50% of net assets
           normally will be invested in high-quality, lower-risk corporate
    bonds, unrated corporate bonds believed to have the same
            investment qualities and government bonds. Other investments may
             include lower-rated corporate bonds, bonds and common stocks sold
       together as a unit, preferred stock and foreign securities.

o   IDS Life Series Fund - Money Market Portfolio                     
        Objective: to provide maximum current income consistent with
        liquidity and conservation of capital. Invests in relatively
       short-term money market securities, such as marketable debt
           securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by
          the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities, bank
            certificates of deposit, bankers' acceptances, letters of credit
and high-grade commercial paper.                    

o   IDS Life Series Fund - Managed Portfolio                          
    Objective: to maximize total investment return through a
          combination of capital appreciation and current income. If the
       investment manager believes the stock market will be moving
    higher, it can emphasize stocks that offer potential for
      appreciation. At other times, the manager may increase the
     portfolio's holdings in bonds and money-market securities
providing high current income.                      

o   IDS Life Series Fund - Government Securities Portfolio            
     Objective: to provide a high current return and safety of
      principal. Invests primarily in debt obligations issued or
guaranteed as to principal and interest by          
    the U.S. government, its agencies and instrumentalities.

o   IDS Life Series Fund - International Equity Portfolio             
        Objective: capital appreciation. Invests primarily in common
             stocks of foreign issuers and foreign securities convertible into
             common stock. Other investments may include certain international
     bonds if the portfolio manager believes they have greater
potential for capital appreciation than equities.   

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AIM Variable Insurance Funds, Inc.                                              
AIM Variable Insurance Funds, Inc., a Maryland corporation, is an open-end,     
series, management investment company incorporated on January 22, 1993. AIM     
Advisors, Inc. acts as the investment advisor for AIM Variable Insurance Funds, 
Inc.                                                                            

o   AIM V.I. Growth and Income Fund                                   
            Objective: growth of capital, with current income as a secondary
           objective. The Fund seeks to achieve its objective by generally
           investing at least 65% of its net assets in stocks of companies
          believed by management to have the potential for above average
growth in revenues and earnings.                    

Putnam Variable Trust                                                           
Putnam Variable Trust is a  Massachusetts  business trust organized on September
24, 1987. Putnam Investment  Management,  Inc. ("Putnam Management") acts as the
investment manager for the Putnam Variable Trust.                               

o   Putnam VT New Opportunities Fund - Class IA Shares                
          Objective: long term capital appreciation. Invests principally
         in common stocks of companies in sectors of the economy which
         Putnam Management believes possesses above-average, long-term
growth potential.                                   

The investment managers and advisers cannot guarantee that the funds will meet  
their investment objectives nor is there any guarantee that your policy value   
will equal or exceed the total premiums you paid. You can find detailed         
information about the funds, their investment objectives, policies and risks in 
the accompanying fund prospectuses. Please read these prospectuses carefully and
consider, on a continuing basis, which funds best suit your long-term investment
needs. Some funds involve more risk than others, so please monitor your         
investment.                                                                     

The investment objectives and policies of some of the funds may be similar to   
the investment objectives and policies of other funds that the investment       
advisers or their affiliates manage. Although the objectives and policies may be
similar, the investment results of one funs may be higher or lower than the     
results of the other fund. The investment manager or adviser cannot guarantee,  
and makes no representation, that the investment results of similar funds will  
be comparable even if the funds have the same investment adviser, manager or    
sponsor.                                                                        

Shares of the funds except the IDS Life Series Fund Portfolios are available to 
serve as the underlying investment for variable life insurance policies,        
variable annuities and qualified plans. Currently the shares of the IDS Life    
Series Fund Portfolios are available to serve as the underlying investment for  
variable life insurance only. However, in the future these shares also may be   
available to serve as the underlying investment for variable life insurance     
contracts, variable annuities and qualified plans. It is possible that in the   
future it may not be an advantage for variable life insurance separate accounts,
variable annuity separate accounts, and/or qualified plans to invest in the     
available funds simultaneously. Although IDS Life and the funds do not currently
foresee any such disadvantages, the boards of directors or trustees of the      
appropriate funds will monitor events in order to identify any material         
conflicts between such policy owners, contract owners and qualified plans to    
determine what action, if any, they should take in response to a conflict. If a 
board were to conclude that separate funds should be established for variable   
life insurance, variable annuity and qualified plan separate accounts, the      
variable life insurance policy holders would not bear any expenses associated   
with establishing separate accounts. Please refer to the fund prospectuses for  
risk disclosure regarding mixed and shared funding.                             

Diversification: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued final regulations
relating to the diversification requirements under Section 817(h) of the Code.  
Each fund intends to comply with these requirements.                            

Relationship between funds and subaccounts                                      

Each subaccount buys shares of the appropriate fund at net asset value without a
sales charge. Dividends and capital gain distributions from a fund are          
reinvested at net asset value without a sales charge and held by the subaccount 
as an asset. Each subaccount redeems fund shares without a charge to the extent 
necessary to make death benefit or other payments under the policy.             

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Rates of return of the fund and subaccounts                                     

This section presents rates of return first for the funds, and then for the     
corresponding subaccounts. Rates of return are different in the two cases       
because those of the subaccounts reflect additional charges. All charges and    
expenses mentioned in the section are explained fully under "Loads, fees and    
charges."                                                                       

Rates of return of the funds:                                                   

In the following table are average annual rates of return based on the actual   
investment performance of the funds after deduction of applicable fund charges  
(including the investment management fees and nonadvisory expenses) for the     
periods indicated. These rates do not reflect charges that apply to the         
subaccounts or the policy and therefore do not illustrate how actual investment 
performance will affect policy benefits. Past performance does not guarantee    
future results.                                                                 

                                                        · Enlarge/Download Table

Period ending 12/31/__                                                                               

Fund                                                                               10  years or Since
                                                         1 year  3 years  5 years  commencement      
                                                                                                     

IDS Life Series Fund, Inc.                                                                           
Equity Portfolio (Beta 0.__*) (1/86)**                       %       %        %          %           
Income Portfolio (1/86)                                                                              
Money Market Portfolio (1/86)                                                                        
Managed Portfolio (Beta 0.__*) (1/86)                                                                
Government Securities Portfolio (1/86)                                                               
International Equity Portfolio (10/94)                                         --                    
Equity Income Portfolio (             )                                                              

AIM Variable Insurance Funds, Inc.                                                                   
AIM V.I. Growth and Income Fund (5/94)                                --       --                    

Putnam Variable Trust                                                                                
Putnam VT New Opportunities Fund-Class IA Shares (5/94)               --       --                    

*    Beta is a volatility measure based on calculations of the fund's monthly   
return compared to the S&P 500 Index. A beta less than 1 indicates    
performance that is less volatile than the market; A beta more than 1 
indicates performance that is more volatile than the market.          

**   (Commencement date of the fund.)                                           

Rates of return of subaccounts                                                  

Average annual rates of return in the following table reflect all charges       
incurred by the funds and charges against the subaccounts (including the        
mortality and expense risk charge). The rates do not reflect the premium expense
charge, surrender charge or monthly deduction.                                  

In the table below, you will see the date that the subaccount began operations  
and the date that the subaccount began operations and the date the fund began   
operations. For the subaccounts investing in the IDS Life Series Fund, Inc., the
subaccounts and the funds began operations at the same time, so the performance 
for both is the same. For the subaccounts investing in other funds, the funds   
began operations before the subaccounts, so the subaccount and fund performance 
is different. In those cases, we show both the actual performance of the        
subaccount and also performance from the commencement date of the fund as if the
subaccount had existed at that time.                                            

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Period ending 12/31/__                                                                                                     

                                             Since commencement                         Since commencement                 
                                             of the subaccounts                            of the Funds                    
Subaccount      Investing in:            1 year    3 years   5 years  10 years or   1 year   3 years  5 years  10 years or 
                                                                      Since                                    since       
                                                                      commencement                             commencement
                                                                                                                           
                IDS Life Series Fund,                                                                                      
                Inc.-                                                                                                      
      U         Equity (1/86; 1/86)*                                                                                       
      V         Income (1/86; 1/86)                                                                                        
      W         Money market (1/86;                                                                                        
                1/86)                                                                                                      
      X         Managed (1/86; 1/86)                                                                                       
      Y         Government Securities                                                                                      
                (1/86; 1/86)                                                                                               
     FEI        Equity Income (       ;                                                                                    
                     _)                                                                                                    
      IL        International Equity                                                                                       
                (10/94; 10/94)                                                                                             

                AIM Variable Insurance                                                                                     
                Funds, Inc.                                                                                                
     FGI        Growth and Income Fund                                                                                     
                (11/96; 5/94)                                                                                              

                Putnam Variable Trust                                                                                      
     FNO        New Opportunities                                                                                          
                Fund-Class IA Shares                                                                                       
                (11/96; 5/94)                                                                                              

*    (Commencement date of the subaccount; commencement date of the fund.)      

The trust                                                                       

You can direct your premiums to one subaccount that invests in the Smith Barney 
Inc. Stripped ("Zero Coupon") U.S. Treasury Securities Fund, Series A, a unit   
investment trust. This trust matures in 2004.                                   

Objective:  to provide  safety of capital  and income  through  investment  in a
portfolio consisting primarily of:                                              

o   bearer debt obligations issued by the United States that have been    
stripped of their unmatured interest coupons,                     

o   coupons stripped from debt obligations of the United States, and      

   o   receipts and certificates for such stripped debt obligations and coupons.

The trust also will contain a Treasury note or notes providing interest income  
to pay anticipated expenses of the trust.                                       

U.S. Treasury securities that have been stripped of their unmatured interest    
coupons are essentially bonds or notes that pay no interest. For this reason    
they are purchased at a deep discount from their face value and, if held to     
maturity, return the full face value.                                           

Before maturity, the value of trust units will be more volatile than would the  
value of units of a trust containing unstripped U.S. Treasury securities of     
comparable maturities. The value may affect death benefits and policy value,    
which will fluctuate accordingly.                                               

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Estimated rates of return                                                       

Because amounts invested in stripped U.S. Treasury securities will grow to their
face values if held to maturity, we can estimate the compound rate of growth to 
maturity, based on certain assumptions about trust expenses. We calculate the   
net rate of return to maturity based on the estimated compound rate of growth in
the units and these charges. Since the value of the trust's units will vary     
daily, reflecting the market value of the underlying securities, the compound   
rate of growth to maturity and net rate of return to maturity will also vary    
daily. Estimated net rates of return from [_________, 1999] to maturity for the 
trust, taking account of anticipated expenses are:                              

              Trust maturity date               Net rate of return to maturity
     Nov. 15, 2004                              _____%

Rates of return to owners will be less than rates of return for trust units     
themselves because the units are held in subaccounts of the variable account,   
which are subject to charges not reflected in the above estimates. (See "Loads, 
fees and charges" for a full discussion of applicable charges.)                 

Trust maturity                                                                  

On the maturity date of a particular trust, the policy value allocated to the   
subaccount that invests in the trust will automatically be reallocated to       
Subaccount W, which invests in the IDS Life Series Fund--Money Market Portfolio,
unless you give us other directions in writing at least seven days before the   
maturity date. We will notify you in writing 30 days before the trust matures.  

Roles of Smith Barney Inc. and IDS Life                                         

Smith Barney sponsors the trust and sells units to the subaccounts. Because the 
trust invests in a specified portfolio, there is no investment manager. The     
price of the trust's units includes a transaction charge that IDS Life pays     
directly to Smith Barney out of our general account assets. This charge is      
limited by agreement between IDS Life and Smith Barney and will not be greater  
than that ordinarily paid by a dealer for similar securities. We will seek      
reimbursement for the amounts we pay through a daily asset charge, described    
under "Loads, fees and charges."                                                

IDS Life will sell trust units to the extent necessary for us to provide        
benefits and make reallocation under the policies. We will sell units to Smith  
Barney, which has undertaken to maintain a secondary market in units of the     
trust.                                                                          

IDS Life and Smith Barney reserve the right to discontinue the sale of new units
of a trust and to create additional trusts in the future.                       

You can find more detailed  information in the current  prospectus for the Smith
Barney Inc. Stripped ("Zero Coupon") U.S. Treasury Securities Fund, Series A.   

The fixed account                                                               

You can allocate premiums to the fixed account or transfer policy value from the
subaccounts to the fixed account (with certain restrictions, explained in       
"Transfers between the fixed account and subaccounts").                         

The fixed account is the general investment account of IDS Life. It includes all
assets owned by IDS Life other than those in the variable account and other     
separate accounts. Subject to applicable law, IDS Life has sole discretion to   
decide how assets of the fixed account will be invested.                        

Placing policy value in the fixed account does not entitle you to share in the  
fixed account's investment experience, nor does it expose you to the account's  
investment risk. Instead, IDS Life guarantees that the policy value you place in
the fixed account will accrue interest at an effective annual rate of at least  
4.5%, independent of the actual investment experience of the account. IDS Life  
bears the full investment risk of amounts allocated to the fixed account. IDS   
Life is not obligated to credit interest at any rate higher than 4.5%, although 
we may do so at our sole discretion.                                            

We will not credit interest in excess of 4.0% on any portion of policy value in 
the fixed account against which you have a policy loan outstanding.             

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Because of exemptive and exclusionary provisions, interests in the fixed account
have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933 and the fixed account 
has not been registered as an investment company under the Investment Company   
Act of 1940. Accordingly, neither the fixed account nor any interests in it are 
subject to the provisions of these Acts and the staff of the SEC has not        
reviewed the disclosures in this prospectus relating to the fixed account.      
Disclosures regarding the fixed account may, however, be subject to certain     
generally applicable provisions of the federal securities laws relating to the  
accuracy and completeness of statements made in prospectuses.                   

Purchasing your policy                                                          

Application                                                                     

To apply for coverage, complete an application and send it with your premium    
payment to IDS Life's home office. In your application, you:                    

o   select a specified amount of insurance;                           
o   select a death benefit option;                                    
o   designate a beneficiary; and                                      
   o   state how premiums are to be allocated among the fixed account and/or
the subaccounts.                                              

Insurability: Before issuing your policy, we require satisfactory evidence of   
the insurability of the person whose life you propose to insure (yourself or    
someone else). Our underwriting department will review your application and any 
medical information or other data required to determine whether the proposed    
individual is insurable under our underwriting rules. We may decline your       
application if we determine the individual is not insurable and we will return  
any premium you have paid.                                                      

Age limit: IDS Life generally will not issue a policy to persons over the       
insurance age of 75. We may, however, do so at our sole discretion.             

Rate classification: The rate classification is based on the insured's health,  
occupation or other relevant underwriting standards. This classification will   
affect your monthly deduction and may affect the cost of certain optional       
insurance benefits. (See "Loads, fees and charges" and "Optional insurance      
benefits.")                                                                     

Other conditions: In addition to proving insurability, you and the insured must 
also meet certain conditions, stated in the application form, before coverage   
will become effective and your policy will be delivered to you.                 

Incontestability: IDS Life will have two years from the effective date of your  
policy to contest the truth of statements or representations in your            
application. After the policy has been in force during the insured's lifetime   
for two years from the policy date, we cannot contest the policy.               

Death of the insured: If the insured dies before the policy is issued and:      

o   if all conditions stated in the application have not been met, IDS
   Life's sole liability will be to return the premium paid plus any
interest earned.                                              
   o   if all conditions stated in the application have been met, IDS Life's
  liability will be the lesser of the death benefit applied for or
$150,000.                                                     

Right to examine policy                                                         

You may return your policy for any reason and receive a full refund of all      
premiums paid. To do so, you must mail or deliver the policy to IDS Life or your
financial advisor with a written request for cancellation:                      

     o   by the 10th day after you receive it (15th day in Colorado, 20th day in
     North Dakota) after IDS Life mails or personally delivers a written
notice of withdrawal right; or                                

o   the 45th day after you sign your application.                     

On the date your request is postmarked or received, the policy will immediately 
be considered void from the start.                                              

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Premiums                                                                        

Payment of premiums:                                                            

In applying for your policy, you decide how much you intend to pay and how often
you will make payments. During the first several policy years until the policy  
value is sufficient to cover the surrender charge, IDS Life requires that you   
pay premiums sufficient to keep the DBG in effect in order to keep the policy in
force.                                                                          

You may schedule payments annually, semiannually or quarterly. (IDS Life must   
approve payment at any other interval). We show this premium schedule in your   
policy.                                                                         

The scheduled premium serves only as an indication of your intent as to the     
frequency and amount of future premium payments. You may skip scheduled premium 
payments at any time if your cash surrender value is sufficient to pay the      
monthly deduction or if you have paid the sufficient premiums to keep the DBG in
effect.                                                                         

You may also change the amount and frequency of scheduled premium payments by   
written request. IDS Life reserves the right to limit the amount of such        
changes. Any change in the premium amount is subject to applicable tax laws and 
regulations.                                                                    

Although you have flexibility in paying premiums, the amount and frequency of   
your payments will affect the policy value, cash surrender value and length of  
time your policy will remain in force, as well as affect whether the DBG remains
in effect.                                                                      

Premium limitations:                                                            

You may make unscheduled premium payments at any time and in any amount of at   
least $25. IDS Life reserves the right to limit the number and amount of        
unscheduled premium payments. No premium payments, scheduled or unscheduled, are
allowed on or after the insured's attained insurance age 100.                   

Also, in order to receive favorable tax treatment under the Code, premiums you  
pay during the life of the policy must not exceed certain limitations. To comply
with the Code, we can either refuse excess premiums as you pay them or refund   
excess premiums with interest no later than 60 days after the end of the policy 
year in which they were paid.                                                   

Allocation of premiums:                                                         

Until the policy date, we hold all premiums in the fixed account and we credit  
interest on the net premiums (gross premiums minus premium expense charge) at   
the current fixed account rate. As of the policy date, we will allocate the net 
premiums plus accrued interest to the account(s) you have selected in your      
application. At that time, we will begin to assess the various loads, fees,     
charges and expenses.                                                           

We convert any amount that you allocate to a subaccount into accumulation units 
of that subaccount, as explained under "Policy value." Similarly, when you      
transfer value between subaccounts, we convert accumulation units in one        
subaccount into a cash value, which we then convert into accumulation units of  
the second subaccount.                                                          

Your ability to allocate policy value to the trust may be limited by the        
availability of trust units.                                                    

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Keeping the policy in force                                                     

Death benefit guarantee                                                         

The DBG provides that your policy will remain in force until insured's age 70   
(or 5 policy years, if later) even if the cash surrender value is insufficient  
to pay the monthly deduction. The DBG will stay in effect as long as:           

o   the sum of premiums paid; minus                                   

o   partial surrenders; minus                                         

o   any outstanding indebtedness                                      

o   equals or exceeds the minimum monthly premiums; times             

  o   the number of months since policy date (including the current month)

If, on a monthly date, you have not paid enough premiums to keep the DBG in     
effect, we will mail a notice to your last known address, asking you to pay a   
premium sufficient to bring your total up to the required minimum. If you do not
pay this amount within 61 days, your policy will lapse (terminate) if the cash  
surrender value is less than the amount needed to pay the monthly deduction.    
Although the policy can be reinstated as explained below, the DBG cannot be     
reinstated.                                                                     

Grace period                                                                    

If on a monthly date the cash surrender value of your policy is less than the   
amount needed to pay the next monthly deduction and the DBG is not in effect,   
you will have 61 days to pay the required premium amount. If you do not pay the 
required premium, the policy will lapse.                                        

IDS Life will mail a notice to your last known address, requesting payment of a 
premium that will raise the cash surrender value to an amount sufficient to     
cover the next three monthly deductions. If we receive this premium before the  
end of the 61-day grace period, we will use the payment to cover all monthly    
deductions and any other charges then due. We will add any balance to the policy
value and allocated in the same manner as other premium payments.               

If a policy lapses with outstanding indebtedness, any excess of the outstanding 
indebtedness over the premium paid generally will be taxable to the owner. (See 
"Federal taxes.") If the insured dies during the grace period, any overdue      
monthly deductions will be deducted from the death benefit.                     

Reinstatement                                                                   

Your policy may be reinstated within five years after it lapses, unless you     
surrendered it for cash. To reinstate, IDS Life will require:                   

o   a written request;                                                

   o   evidence satisfactory to IDS Life that the insured remains insurable;

  o   payment of a premium that will keep the policy in force for at least
three months;                                               

  o   payment of the monthly deductions that were not collected during the
grace period; and                                           

o   payment or reinstatement of any indebtedness.                     

The effective date of a reinstated policy will be the monthly date on or next   
following the day we accept your application for reinstatement. The suicide     
period (see "Death benefits") will apply from the effective date of             
reinstatement (except in Georgia, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina,       
Tennessee and Virginia). Surrender charges will also be reinstated.             

We will have two years from the effective date of reinstatement to contest the  
truth of statements or representations in the reinstatement application.        

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Loads, fees and charges                                                         

Policy charges compensate IDS Life for:                                         

o    providing the insurance benefits of the policy;                  
o    issuing the policy;                                              
o    administering the policy;                                        
o    assuming certain risks in connection with the policy; and        
o    distributing the policy.                                         

We deduct some of these charges from your premium payments. We deduct others    
periodically from your policy value in the fixed and/or subaccounts. We may also
assess a charge if you surrender your policy or the policy lapses.              

Premium expense charge                                                          

We deduct this charge from each premium payment. We credit the amount remaining 
after the deduction, called the net premium, to the account(s) you have         
selected. The premium expense charge has two parts:                             

Sales charge: 2.5% of each premium payment. It partially compensates IDS Life   
for expenses in distributing the policy, including agents' commissions,         
advertising and printing of prospectuses and sales literature. (The contingent  
deferred sales charge, discussed under "Surrender charge," below also may       
partially compensate these expenses.)                                           

Premium tax charge: 2.5% of each premium payment. Compensates IDS Life for      
paying taxes imposed by certain states and governmental subdivisions on premiums
received by insurance companies. All policies in all states are charged the     
average rate of 2.5% even though state premium taxes vary from 2% to 3.5%. This 
2.5% rate may be different than the actual premium tax IDS Life expects to pay  
in your state.                                                                  

Monthly deduction                                                               

On each monthly date we deduct from the value of your policy in the fixed and/or
subaccounts an amount equal to the sum of:                                      

1.  the cost of insurance for the policy month;                                 
2.  the policy fee shown in your policy;                                        
3.  the death benefit guarantee charge shown in your policy; and                
4.  charges for any optional insurance benefits provided by rider for the       
policy month.                                                           

We explain each of the four components below.                                   

You specify, in your policy application, what percentage of the monthly         
deduction from 0% to 100% you want us to take from the fixed account and from   
each of the subaccounts. You may change these percentages for future monthly    
deductions by writing to us.                                                    

We will take monthly deductions will be taken from the fixed account and the    
subaccounts on a pro rata basis if:                                             

o   you do not specify the accounts from which you want us to take the
monthly deduction;                                          

 o   the value in the fixed account or any subaccount is insufficient to
   pay the portion of the monthly deduction you have specified; or

o   you purchased the policy in Texas.                                

If the cash surrender value of your policy is not enough to cover the monthly   
deduction on a monthly anniversary, the policy may lapse. However, the policy   
will not lapse if the DBG is in effect. (See "Death benefit guarantee," also    
"Grace period" and "Reinstatement.")                                            

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Components of the monthly deduction:                                            

1. Cost of insurance: primarily, the cost of providing the death benefit under  
your policy, which depends on:                                                  

o   the amount of the death benefit;                                  

o   the policy value; and                                             

o   the statistical risk that the insured will die in a given period. 

The cost of insurance for a policy month is calculated as:                      

                   [a x (b - c)] + d

where:                                                                          

(a) is the monthly cost of insurance rate, based on the insured's sex, attained 
insurance age (age at last policy anniversary) and rate classification.         
Generally, the cost of insurance rate will increase as the insured's attained   
insurance age increases.                                                        

We set the rates based on our expectations as to future mortality experience. We
may change the rates from time to time; any change will apply to all individuals
of the same rate classification. However, rates will not exceed the Guaranteed  
Maximum Monthly Cost of Insurance Rates shown in your policy, which are based on
the 1980 Commissioners Standard Ordinary Smoker and Nonsmoker Mortality Tables, 
Age Nearest Birthday.                                                           

If you purchase your policy on or after May 1, 1991 with an initial specified   
amount of $350,000 or greater, your policy qualifies for lower cost of insurance
rates than policies purchased with a specified amount less than $350,000. In    
addition, if you purchase your policy on or after May 1, 1993 (October 1, 1993  
for policies purchased in New Jersey) and before November 20, 1997, it qualifies
for lower cost of insurance rates than policies purchased earlier. IDS Life     
modified cost of insurance rates to reflect IDS Life and industry-wide changes  
in mortality experience for all policies purchased on or after November 20,     
1997. These modified cost of insurance rates effective November 20, 1997, do not
apply to policies purchased in New Jersey.                                      

(b) is the death benefit on the monthly date divided by 1.0036748 (which reduces
IDS Life's net amount at risk, solely for computing the cost of insurance, by   
taking into account assumed monthly earnings at an annual rate of 4.5%);        

(c) is the policy value on the monthly date. At this point, the policy value has
been reduced by the policy fee, death benefit guarantee charge and any charges  
for optional riders;                                                            

(d) is any flat extra insurance charges we assess as a result of special        
underwriting considerations.                                                    

Note for Massachusetts and Montana residents                                    

Please disregard all policy provisions in this prospectus that are based on the 
sex of the insured. The policy will be issued on a unisex basis. Also disregard 
references to mortality tables; the tables will be replaced with an 80% male,   
20% female blend of the 1980 Commissioners Standard Ordinary Smoker and         
Non-Smoker Mortality Tables, Age Nearest Birthday.                              

2. Policy fee: $5 per month. We waive this fee for policies purchased on or     
after May 1, 1991 with an initial specified amount of $350,000 or more. This    
charge reimburses IDS Life for expenses of issuing the policy, such as          
processing the application (primarily underwriting) and setting up computer     
records; and of administering the policy, such as processing claims, maintaining
records, making policy changes and communicating with owners. We reserve the    
right to change the charge in the future, but guarantee that it will never      
exceed $7.50 per month.                                                         

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3. Death benefit guarantee charge: 1 cent per $1,000 of the current specified   
amount and 1 cent per $1,000 of coverage under any other insured rider. This    
charge compensates IDS Life for the risk it assumes in providing the DBG. The   
charge is included in the monthly deduction in the first five policy years or   
until the insured's attained insurance age 70, whichever is later. We will not  
deduct the charge if the DBG is no longer in effect. For any policy month in    
which a waiver of monthly deduction rider pays the monthly deduction, the       
minimum monthly premium will be zero. (See "Death benefit guarantee," for an    
explanation of the minimum monthly premium and "Other insured rider," under     
"Optional insurance benefits.")                                                 

4. Optional insurance benefit charges: charges for any optional benefits added  
to the policy by rider. See "Optional insurance benefits."                      

Surrender charge                                                                

If you surrender your policy or the policy lapses during the first 10 policy    
years and in the 10 years following an increase in specified amount, we will    
assess a surrender charge. The surrender charge is the sum of two parts:        

Contingent deferred issue and administrative expense charge:                    
Reimburses IDS Life for costs of issuing the policy, such as processing the     
application (primarily underwriting) and setting up computer records. For the   
initial specified amount, this charge is $4 per thousand dollars of initial     
specified amount. It remains level during the first five policy years and then  
decreases monthly until it is zero at the end of 10 policy years. If you        
increase the specified amount of the policy, an additional charge will apply.   
The additional charge will be $4 per thousand dollars of increase in specified  
amount. It remains level during the first five years following the effective    
date of the increase and then decreases monthly until it is zero at the end of  
the 10th year following the increase.                                           

Contingent deferred sales charge:                                               
Partially compensates IDS Life for expenses of distributing the policy,         
including financial advisors' commissions, advertising and printing the         
prospectus and sales literature. For the initial specified amount, this charge  
is the sum of 27.5% of premium payments up to a maximum amount shown in the     
policy plus 6.5% of all other premium payments. The maximum amount shown in the 
policy will be based on the insured's insurance age, sex, rate classification   
and initial specified amount. If you increase the specified amount of the       
policy, an additional charge will apply. The additional charge will be 6.5% of  
all premium payments attributable to the increase.                              
Premiums attributable to the increase are calculated as                         

                   a x (b + c)

where:                                                                          

(a) is the amount of the increase in the specified amount divided by the total  
specified amount after the increase; (b) is the policy value on the date of the 
increase; and (c) is all premium payments paid on or after the date of the      
increase.                                                                       

Maximum surrender charge:                                                       
The total surrender charge is subject to an overall upper limit or "maximum     
surrender charge." We will share "maximum surrender charge" for the initial     
specified amount in the policy. It is based on the insured's insurance age, sex,
rate classification and initial specified amount. The "maximum surrender charge"
for the initial specified amount will remain level during the first five policy 
years and then decrease monthly until it is zero at the end of 10 policy years. 
If you increase the specified amount, an "additional maximum surrender charge"  
will apply. We will show the "additional maximum surrender charge" in a revised 
policy. It will be based on the insured's attained insurance age, sex, rate     
classification and the amount of the increase. The "additional maximum surrender
charge" will remain level during the first five years following the effective   
date of the increase and then decrease monthly until it is zero at the end of   
the 10th year following the increase.                                           

If premium payments are equal to or somewhat higher than the premiums needed to 
keep the DBG in effect, for several years the surrender charge generally will be
the charge described in the "Contingent deferred issue and administrative       
expense charge" and "Contingent deferred sales charge" sections above. After    
that, the "Maximum surrender charge" generally will apply. If you pay premium   
payments at a significantly higher level, the "Maximum surrender charge"        
generally will apply in all years.                                              

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Partial surrender fee                                                           

If you surrender part of the value of your policy, we will charge you $25 (or 2%
of the amount surrendered, if less). This fee is guaranteed not to increase for 
the duration of your policy.                                                    

Mortality and expense risk charge                                               

This charge applies only to the subaccounts and not to the fixed account. It is 
equal, on an annual basis, to 0.9% of the daily net asset value of the          
subaccounts -- a level guaranteed for the life of the policy. Computed daily,   
the charge compensates IDS Life for:                                            

  o   Mortality risk -- the risk that the cost of insurance charge will be
insufficient to meet actual claims.                           

o   Expense risk -- the risk that the policy fee and the contingent   
        deferred issue and administrative expense charge (described above) may
be insufficient to cover the cost of administering the policy.

Any profit from the mortality and expense risk charge would be available to IDS 
Life for any proper corporate purpose including, among others, payment of sales 
and distribution expenses, which we do not expect to be covered by the sales and
surrender charges discussed earlier. IDS Life will make us any further deficit  
from its general assets.                                                        

Transaction charge                                                              

IDS Life makes a daily charge against the assets of the subaccount that invests 
in the trust. This charge is intended to reimburse us for the transaction fee we
pay from our general account assets to Smith Barney on the sale of the trust    
units to the subaccounts.                                                       

The asset charge is equivalent to an effective annual rate of 0.25% of the value
of the subaccounts investing in the trust. We can increase this amount in the   
future, but it will not exceed an effective annual rate of 0.5% of the value of 
these subaccounts. The charge will be based on our costs (taking into account   
the interest we lose on the amounts paid to Smith Barney).                      

Fund expenses                                                                   

The investment managers and advisers receive fees for their services to the     
funds. The funds also pay taxes, brokerage commissions and nonadvisory expenses,
such as custodian and trustee fees, registration fees for shares, postage,      
fidelity and security bond costs, legal fees and other miscellaneous fees and   
charges. The table below will help you understand the expenses that the funds   
pay.                                                                            

                                                        · Enlarge/Download Table

Annual operating expenses of the funds at                                                                                        
(management fees, and other expenses deducted as a percentage of average net assets as follows:)                                 

                                                                                 IDS Life                      IDS Life Series   
                                                                                 Series          IDS Life      Fund-International
                                                                                 Fund-Government Series        Equity            
                                                   IDS Life        IDS Life      Securities      Fund-Equity   (after expense    
                    IDS Life       IDS Life        Series          Series        (after          Income        limitation)*      
                    Series         Series          Fund-Money      Fund-Managed* expense         (after                          
                    Fund-Equity*   Fund-Income*    Market*                       limitation)*    expense                         
                                                                                                 limitation)*                    
                                                                                                                                 
Management fees        0.70%           0.70%        0.50%              0.70%         0.70%          0.70%%         0.95%         

Other expenses         0.02            0.04         0.10               0.02          0.10*          0.10*          0.10*         

Total                  0.72%**         0.74%**      0.60%**            0.72%**       0.80%**        0.80%**        1.05%**       

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                     AIM V.I.                                                                                                    
                     Growth and     Putnam VT New                                                                                
                     Income Fund*** Opportunities                                                                                
                                    -Class IA                                                                                    

Management fees          0.63%       0.58%                                                                                       

Other expenses           0.06        0.05                                                                                        

Total                    0.69%+      0.63%                                                                                       

*    IDS Life has agreed to a voluntary  limit of 0.1%, on an annual  basis,  of
     the average daily net assets of each of the IDS Life Series Fund Portfolios
     for other expenses like taxes and brokerage commissions and for nonadvisory
     expenses.  If the  0.1%  limitation  had not  been in  place,  these  other
     expenses  would  have  been  0.19%  for  IDS  Life  Series  Fund-Government
     Securities  Portfolio  and  0.11%  for IDS Life  Series  Fund-International
     Equity Portfolio.  IDS Life Series Fund-Equity Income Portfolio is new. IDS
     Life plans to limit these  expenses to 0.1%. IDS Life reserves the right to
     discontinue  limiting  these other expenses at 0.1%.  However,  its present
     intention is to continue the limit until the time that actual  expenses are
     less than the limit.  Annualized  operating expenses of underlying funds at
--------------                                                        

**   Operating expenses of the underlying funds at Dec. 31, 1997. A I M         
  Advisers, Inc. ("AIM") may from time to time voluntarily waive or reduce
   its respective fees. Effective May 1, 1998, the Funds reimburse AIM in an
amount up to 0.25% of the average net asset value of each Fund, for   
  expenses incurred in providing, or assuring that participating insurance
     companies provide, certain administrative services. Currently, the fee only
  applies to the average net asset value of each Fund in excess of the net
asset value of each Fund as calculated on April 30, 1998.             

+    Operating expenses of the funds at Dec. 31, 1997.                          

IDS Life has entered into certain arrangements under which it is compensated by 
the funds' advisors and/or distributors for the administrative services it      
provides to these funds.                                                        

Other information on charges                                                    

IDS Life may reduce or eliminate various fees and charges when we incur lower   
sales costs and/or perform fewer administrative services than usual.            

Policy value                                                                    

The value of your policy is the sum of values in the fixed account and each     
subaccount of the variable account.                                             

Fixed account value                                                             

The value in the fixed account on the policy date (when the policy is issued)   
equals:                                                                         

o the portion of your initial net premium allocated to the fixed account; plus  
o interest accrued before the policy date; minus                                
o the portion of the monthly deduction for the first policy month allocated to  
the fixed account.                                                    

On any later date, the value in the fixed account equals:                       

o    the value on the previous monthly date; plus                     
 o    net premiums allocated to the fixed account since the last monthly
date; plus                                                  
 o    any transfers to the fixed account from the subaccounts, including
loan transfers, since the last monthly date; plus           
o    accrued interest on all of the above; minus                      
 o    any transfers from the fixed account to the subaccounts, including
loan repayment transfers, since the last monthly date; minus
o    any partial surrenders or partial surrender fees allocated to the
fixed account since the last monthly date; minus            

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     o    interest on any transfers or partial surrenders,  from the date of the
transfer or surrender to the date of calculation;  minus    
     o    any  portion of the  monthly  deduction  for the coming  month that is
          allocated to the fixed account if the date of calculation is a monthly
date.                                                       

Subaccount values                                                               

The value in each subaccount changes daily, depending on the investment         
performance of the fund or trust in which that subaccount invests and on other  
factors detailed below. There is no guaranteed minimum subaccount value. You as 
owner bear the entire investment risk.                                          

Calculation of subaccount value: The value of each subaccount on the policy date
equals:                                                                         

   o the portion of your initial net premium allocated to the subaccount; plus
o interest accrued before the policy date; minus o the portion of the   
      monthly deduction for the first policy month allocated to that subaccount.

The value of each subaccount on each valuation date equals:                     

     o   the value of the subaccount on the preceding valuation date, multiplied
by the net investment factor for the current valuation period 
(explained below); plus                                       
o   net premiums received and allocated to the subaccount during the  
current valuation period; plus                                
o   any transfers to the subaccount (from the fixed account or other  
     subaccounts, including loan repayment transfers) during the period;
minus                                                         
   o   any transfers from the subaccount including loan transfers during the
current valuation period; minus                               
o   any partial surrenders and partial surrender fees allocated to the
subaccount during the period; minus                           
o   any portion of the monthly deduction allocated to the subaccount  
during the period.                                            

The net investment factor measures the investment performance of a subaccount   
from one valuation period to the next. Because performance may fluctuate, the   
value of a subaccount may increase or decrease from day to day.                 

Accumulation units: We convert the policy value allocated to each subaccount    
into accumulation units. Each time you direct a premium payment or transfer     
policy value into one of the subaccounts, we credit a certain number of         
accumulation units to your policy for that subaccount. Conversely, each time you
take a partial surrender or transfer value out of a subaccount, we subtract a   
certain number of accumulation units.                                           

Accumulation units are the true measure of investment value in each subaccount. 
For subaccounts investing in the funds, they're related to, but not the same as,
the net asset value of the corresponding fund. The dollar value of each         
accumulation unit can rise or fall daily, depending on the investment           
performance of the underlying fund, on any change in the value of trust units   
and on certain charges. Here is how unit values are calculated:                 

Number of units: To calculate the number of units for a particular subaccount,  
we divide your investment (net premium or transfer amount) by the current       
accumulation unit value.                                                        

Accumulation unit value: The current value for each subaccount equals the last  
value times the current net investment factor.                                  

Net investment factor: We determine the net investment factor at the end of     
each valuation period. This factor equals                                       

                  (a divided by b) - c

where:                                                                          

(a) equals:                                                                     

o   net asset value per share of the fund or value of a unit of the   
trust; plus                                                   

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     o    per-share amount of any dividend or capital gain  distribution made by
the relevant fund to the subaccount; plus                   

    o   any credit or minus any charge for reserves to cover any tax liability
resulting from the investment operations of the subaccount.   

(b) equals:                                                                     

     o    net asset  value per share of the fund or value of a unit of the trust
at the end of the preceding valuation period; plus          

    o   any credit or minus any charge for reserves to cover any tax liability
in the preceding valuation period.                            

(c) is a percentage factor representing the mortality and expense risk charge   
  and, for the subaccount investing in the trust, the transaction charge, as
described in "Loads, fees and charges," above.                          

Factors that affect subaccount accumulation units:                              

Accumulation units may change in two ways; in number and in value. Here are the 
factors that influence those changes:                                           

The number of accumulation units you own may fluctuate due to:                  

o   additional purchase payments allocated to the subaccounts;        

o   transfers into or out of the subaccount(s);                       

o   partial surrenders and partial surrender fees;                    

o   surrender charges; and/or                                         

o   pro rata portions of the monthly deductions                       

Accumulation unit values will fluctuate due to:                                 

    o   changes in underlying fund(s) net asset value or the value of the trust;

o   dividends distributed to the subaccount(s);                         

o   capital gains or losses of underlying funds;                        

o   fund operating expenses;                                            

o   mortality and expense risk charges; and/or                          

o   the transaction charge for the subaccount investing in the trust.   

Death benefits                                                                  

When you purchase your policy, you decide on the minimum amount of protection   
you want for the beneficiary if the insured dies. This amount is called the     
specified amount. Your policy's death benefit can never be less than this amount
unless you change it or unless your policy has an outstanding indebtedness.     

You also choose one of two death benefit options, which determines how the      
policy's value will affect the amount paid to the beneficiary if the insured    
dies while the policy is in force:                                              

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Option 1 (level amount): Under this option, the policy's value is part of the   
specified amount. The Option 1 death benefit is the greater of:                 

o   the specified amount on the date of the insured's death; or       

    o   the applicable percentage of the policy value on the date of death, if
 death occurs on a valuation date, or on the next valuation date
following the date of death. (See table below.)               

                                                        · Enlarge/Download Table

                           Applicable percentage table                                        

Insured's attained  Applicable percentage of      Insured's attained  Applicable percentage of
   insurance age          policy value               insurance age          policy value      
                                                                                              
   40 or younger               250%                       61                     128%         
        41                     243                        62                     126          
        42                     236                        63                     124          
        43                     229                        64                     122          
        44                     222                        65                     120          
        45                     215                        66                     119          
        46                     209                        67                     118          
        47                     203                        68                     117          
        48                     197                        69                     116          
        49                     191                        70                     115          
        50                     185                        71                     113          
        51                     178                        72                     111          
        52                     171                        73                     109          
        53                     164                        74                     107          
        54                     157                      75 - 95                  105          
        55                     150                        96                     104          
        56                     146                        97                     103          
        57                     142                        98                     102          
        58                     138                        99                     101          
        59                     134                        100                    100          
        60                     130                                                            

The percentage is designed to ensure that the policy meets the provisions of    
federal tax law which requires a minimum death benefit in relation to policy    
value for your policy to qualify as life insurance.                             

Option 2 (variable amount): Under this option, the policy value is added to the 
specified amount. The Option 2 death benefit is the greater of:                 

o   the policy value plus the specified amount; or                    

     o   the applicable percentage of policy value (from the preceding table) on
        the date of death, if death occurs on a valuation date, or on the next
valuation date following the date of death.                   

Examples:                                   Option 1                    Option 2
---------                                   --------                    --------

specified amount                             $100,000                   $100,000
policy value                                   $5,000                     $5,000
death benefit                                $100,000                   $105,000
policy value increases to                      $8,000                     $8,000
death benefit                                $100,000                   $108,000
policy value decreases to                      $3,000                     $3,000
death benefit                                $100,000                   $103,000

If you want to have premium payments and favorable investment performance       
reflected partly in the form of an increasing death benefit, you should consider
Option 2. If you are satisfied with the specified amount of insurance protection
and prefer to have premium payments and favorable investment performance        
reflected to the maximum extent in the policy value, you should consider Option 
1. Under Option 1, the cost of insurance is lower because IDS Life's net amount 
at risk is generally lower; for this reason the monthly deduction is less and a 
larger portion of your premiums and investment returns is retained in the policy
value.                                                                          

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Change in death benefit option                                                  

You may make a written request to change the death benefit option once per      
policy year. A change in the death benefit option also will change the specified
amount. You do not need to provide additional evidence of insurability.         

If you change from Option 1 to Option 2: The specified amount will decrease by  
an amount equal to the policy value on the effective date of the change. You    
cannot change from Option 1 to Option 2 if the resulting specified amount would 
fall below the minimum amount shown in the policy.                              

The minimum specified amount for policies purchased on or after May 1, 1991 with
an initial specified amount of $350,000 or more is:                             

o    $350,000 in the first policy year;                               
o    $325,000 in years two to five;                                   
o    $300,000 in years six to 10; and                                 
o    $275,000 thereafter.                                             

If you change from Option 2 to Option 1: The specified amount will increase by  
an amount equal to the policy value on the effective date of the change.        

An increase or decrease in specified amount resulting from a change in the death
benefit option will affect the following policy costs:                          

o    Monthly deduction because the cost of insurance depends upon the           
specified amount.                                                     
o    Minimum monthly premium.                                                   
o    Charges for certain optional insurance benefits.                           

The surrender charge will not be affected.                                      

Changes in specified amount                                                     

Subject to certain limitations, you may make a written request to increase or   
decrease the specified amount at any time. Changes in specified amount may have 
tax implications, discussed in the section "Modified endowment contracts" under 
"Federal taxes."                                                                

Increases: If you increase the specified amount, we may require additional      
evidence of insurability that is satisfactory to us. The effective date of the  
increase will be the monthly anniversary on or next following our approval of   
the increase. The increase may not be less than $10,000, and we will not permit 
an increase after the insured's attained insurance age 75.                      

An increase in the specified amount will have the following effects on policy   
charges:                                                                        

    o   Your monthly deduction will increase because the cost of insurance and
   the death benefit guarantee charge both depend upon the specified
amount.                                                       

o   Charges for certain optional insurance benefits will increase.    

o   The minimum monthly premium will increase if the DBG is in effect.

o   The surrender charge will increase.                               

At the time of the increase in specified amount, the cash surrender value of    
your policy must be sufficient to pay the monthly deduction on the next monthly 
anniversary. The increased surrender charge will reduce the cash surrender      
value. If the remaining cash surrender value is not sufficient to cover the     
monthly deduction, we will require you to pay additional premiums within the    
61-day grace period. If you do not, the policy will lapse unless the DBG is in  
effect. Because the minimum monthly premium will increase, you may also have to 
pay additional premiums to keep the DBG in effect.                              

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Decreases: Any decrease in specified amount will take effect on the monthly     
anniversary on or next following our receipt of your written request. The       
specified amount remaining after the decrease may not be less than the minimum  
specified amount (currently $50,000 for the first two policy years, $40,000 in  
years three through 10, and $25,000 thereafter). If, following a decrease in    
specified amount, the policy would no longer qualify as life insurance under    
federal tax law, the decrease may be limited to the extent necessary to meet    
these requirements.                                                             

The minimum specified amount for policies purchased on or after May 1, 1991 with
an initial specified amount of $350,000 or more is:                             

o    $350,000 in the first policy year;                                         
o    $325,000 in years two to five;                                             
o    $300,000 in years six to 10; and                                           
o    $275,000 thereafter.                                                       

A decrease in specified amount will affect your costs as follows:               

    o   Your monthly deduction will decrease because the cost of insurance and
the DBG charge both depend upon the specified amount.         

o   Charges for certain optional insurance benefits will decrease.    

o   The minimum monthly premium will decrease if the DBG is in effect.

o   The surrender charge will not change.                             

No surrender charge is imposed when you request a decrease in the specified     
amount.                                                                         

We will deduct decreases in the specified amount from the current specified     
amount in this order:                                                           

o   First from the portion due to the most recent increase;           

o   Next from portions due to the next most recent increases          
successively; and                                             

o   Then from the initial specified amount when the policy was issued.

This procedure may affect the cost of insurance if we have applied different    
rate classifications to the current specified amount. We will eliminate the rate
classification applicable to the most recent increase in the specified amount   
first, then the rate classification applicable to the next most recent increase,
and so on.                                                                      

Misstatement of age or sex                                                      

If the insured's age or sex has been misstated, the proceeds payable upon death 
will be:                                                                        

o   the policy value on the date of death; plus                       

   o   the amount of insurance that would have been purchased by the cost of
         insurance deducted for the policy month during which death occurred, if
        that cost had been calculated using rates for the correct age and sex;
minus                                                         

o   the amount of any outstanding indebtedness on the date of death.  

Suicide                                                                         

Suicide by the insured, whether sane or insane, within two years from policy    
date is not covered by the policy. If suicide occurs, the only amount payable to
the beneficiary will be the premiums paid, minus the amount of any outstanding  
indebtedness.                                                                   

In Colorado and North Dakota, the suicide period is shortened to one year. In   
Missouri, IDS Life must prove that the insured intended to commit suicide at the
time he or she applied for coverage.                                            

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Beneficiary                                                                     

Initially, the beneficiary will be the person you designate in your application 
for the policy. You may change the beneficiary by giving written notice to IDS  
Life, subject to requirements and restrictions stated in the policy. If you do  
not designate a beneficiary, or if the designated beneficiary dies before the   
insured, the beneficiary will be you or your estate.                            

Transfers between the fixed account and subaccounts                             

You may transfer policy values from one subaccount to another or between        
subaccounts and the fixed account. For most transfers, we will process your     
transfer request at the end of the valuation period during which we receive your
request. There is no charge for transfers. Before transferring policy value, you
should consider the risks involved in switching investments.                    

We may suspend or modify the transfer privilege at any time. Transfers involving
the fixed account are subject to the restrictions below.                        

Fixed account transfer policies                                                 

o    You must make  transfers  from the  fixed  account  during a 30-day  period
     starting on a policy anniversary, except for automated transfers, which can
be set up for monthly, quarterly or semiannual transfer periods.      

o    If we receive your request to transfer amounts from the fixed account      
within 30 days before the policy anniversary, the transfer will become
effective on the anniversary.                                         

o    If we receive your request on or within 30 days after the policy           
anniversary, the transfer will be effective on the day we receive it. 

o    We will not accept  requests for  transfers  from the fixed  account at any
other time.                                                           

o    If you made a transfer from the fixed account to one or more subaccounts,  
   you may not make a transfer from any subaccount back to the fixed account
until the next policy anniversary. We will waive this limitation once 
 during the first two policy years if you exercise the policy's right to
exchange provision. (See "Exchange right.")                           

Minimum transfer amounts                                                        

From a subaccount to another subaccount or the fixed account:                   

     o    For mail and phone transfers -- $250 or the entire subaccount balance,
whichever is less.                                          

o   For automated transfers -- $50.                                   

From the fixed account to a subaccount:                                         

o   $250 or the entire fixed account balance minus any outstanding    
indebtedness, whichever is less.                              

o   For automated transfers -- $50.                                   

Maximum transfer amounts                                                        

From a subaccount to another subaccount or the fixed account:                   

o   None.                                                             

From the fixed account to a subaccount:                                         

o   Entire fixed account balance minus any outstanding indebtedness.  

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Maximum number of transfers per year                                            

We reserve the right to limit mail and telephone transfers to five per policy   
year. Twelve automated transfers per policy are allowed.                        

Two ways to request a transfer, loan or surrender                               

Provide your name, policy number, Social Security Number or Taxpayer            
Identification Number when you request a transfer.                              

1  By letter                                                                    

Regular mail:                                                                   

IDS Life Insurance Company                                                      
P.O. Box 499                                                                    
Minneapolis, MN  55440                                                          

Express mail:                                                                   

IDS Life Insurance Company                                                      
733 Marquette Ave.                                                              
Minneapolis, MN  55402                                                          

2 By phone                                                                      

Call between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. Central Time:                                    
1-800-437-0602 (toll free) or                                                   
(612) 671-4738 (Minneapolis)                                                    

TTY service for the hearing impaired:                                           
1-800-285-8846 (toll free)                                                      

   o   We answer phone requests promptly, but you may experience delays when
      call volume is unusually high. If you are unable to get through, use
mail procedure as an alternative.                             

     o   We will honor any telephone transfer or surrender request we believe is
        authentic and we will use reasonable procedures to confirm that it is.
These procedures include asking identifying questions and tape
      recording calls. As long as we follow these procedures, IDS Life and
its affiliates will not be liable for any loss resulting from 
fraudulent requests.                                          

     o   We make telephone transfers available automatically. If you do not want
       telephone transfers to be made from your account, please write to IDS
Life and tell us.                                             

Automated transfers                                                             

In addition to written and phone requests, you can arrange to have policy value 
transferred from one account to another automatically. Your financial advisor   
can help you set up an automated transfer.                                      

Automated transfer policies:                                                    

o   Minimum automated transfer: $50                                   

   o   Only one automated transfer arrangement can be in effect at any time.
         You can transfer policy values to one or more subaccounts and the fixed
account, but you can transfer from only one account.          

   o   You can start or stop this service by written request. You must allow
    seven days for us to change any instructions that currently are in
place.                                                        

     o   You cannot make automated transfers from the fixed account in an amount
       that, if continued, would deplete the fixed account within 12 months.

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o   If you made a transfer from the fixed account to one or more      
      subaccounts, you may not make a transfer from any subaccount back to
the fixed account until the next policy anniversary.          

     o   If you submit your automated transfer request with an application for a
      policy, automated transfers will not take effect until the policy is
issued.                                                       

o   If the value of the account from which you are transferring policy
value is less than the $50 minimum, we will stop the transfer 
arrangement automatically.                                    

o   Automated transfers are subject to all other policy provisions and
      terms including provisions relating to the transfer of money between
the fixed account and the subaccounts.                        

Automated dollar-cost averaging                                                 

You can use automated transfers to take advantage of dollar-cost averaging --   
investing a fixed amount at regular intervals. For example, you might have a set
amount transferred monthly from a relatively conservative subaccount to a more  
aggressive one, or to several others.                                           

This systematic approach can help you benefit from fluctuations in accumulation 
unit value, caused by fluctuations in the market value of the underlying fund.  
Since you invest the same amount each period, you automatically acquire more    
units when the market value falls, fewer units when it rises. The potential     
effect is to lower your average cost per unit. There is no charge for           
dollar-cost averaging.                                                          

How dollar-cost averaging works                                                 

               Amount            Accumulation              Number of units
Month             invested          unit value                purchased         

Jan                  $100                $20                       5.00         
Feb                   100                 16                       6.25         
Mar                   100                  9                      11.11         
Apr                   100                  5                      20.00         
May                   100                  7                      14.29         
June                  100                 10                      10.00         
July                  100                 15                       6.67         
Aug                   100                 20                       5.00         
Sept                  100                 17                       5.88         
Oct                   100                 12                       8.33         

(footnotes to table) By investing an equal number of dollars each month...      

(arrow in table pointing to April) you automatically buy more units when the per
unit market price is low.                                                       

(arrow in table pointing to August) and fewer units when the per unit market    
price is high.                                                                  

You have paid an average price of only $10.81 per unit over the 10 months, while
the average market price actually was $13.10.                                   

Dollar-cost averaging does not guarantee that any variable subaccount will gain 
in value, nor will it protect against a decline in value if market prices fall. 
Because this strategy involves continuous investing, your success with          
dollar-cost averaging will depend upon your willingness to continue to invest   
regularly through periods of low price levels. Dollar-cost averaging can be an  
effective way to help meet your long-term goals.                                

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Policy loans                                                                    

You may borrow against your policy by written or telephone request. (See chart  
under "Transfers between the fixed account and subaccounts" for address and     
phone numbers for your requests.) We will process your loan request at the end  
of valuation period during which we receive your request. (Loans by telephone   
are limited by $50,000.)                                                        

Interest rate: The interest rate for policy loans is 6.1% payable in advance,   
which is equivalent to a 6.5% effective rate. For policies purchased on or after
May 1, 1993 (October 1, 1993 for New Jersey), we expect to reduce the loan      
interest rate after a policy's 10th anniversary to 4.3% payable in advance,     
equivalent to a 4.5% effective rate.                                            

Minimum loan: $500 ($200 for Connecticut residents) or the remaining loan value,
whichever is less.                                                              

Maximum loan:                                                                   

  o   In Texas, 100% of the policy value in the fixed account, minus a pro
rata portion of surrender charges.                            
o   In Virginia, 90% of the policy value minus surrender charges.     
   o   In all other states, 85% of the policy value minus surrender charges.

We will compute the maximum loan value as of the end of the valuation period    
during which we receive your loan request. The amount available at any time for 
a new loan is the maximum loan value less any existing indebtedness. When we    
compute the amount available, we reserve the right to deduct from the loan value
interest for the period until the next policy anniversary and monthly deductions
that we will take until the next policy anniversary.                            

Payment of loaned funds: Generally, we will pay loans within seven days after we
receive your request (with certain exceptions - see "Deferral of payments,"     
under "Payment of policy proceeds").                                            

Allocation of loans to accounts: If you do not specify whether the loan is to   
come from the fixed account or the subaccounts, we will take it from the        
subaccounts and the fixed account in proportion to their values, minus          
indebtedness. When we make a loan from a subaccount, we redeem accumulation     
units and transfer the proceeds into the fixed account. We will credit the      
loaned amount with 4.5% annual interest.                                        

Repayments: We will allocate loan repayments to subaccounts and/or the fixed    
account using the premium allocation percentages in effect unless you tell us   
otherwise. Repayments must be in amounts of at least $25.                       

Overdue interest: If you do not pay accrued interest when it is due, we will    
increase the amount of indebtedness in the fixed account to cover the amount    
due. Interest added to a policy loan will be charged the same interest rate as  
the loan itself. We will take such interest from the fixed account and/or       
subaccounts, using the monthly deduction allocation percentages. If the value in
the fixed account or any subaccount is not enough to pay the allocated interest,
we will take all of the interest from all of the accounts in proportion to their
value, minus indebtedness.                                                      

Effects of policy loans: If you do not repay your loan, it will reduce the death
benefit and policy value. Even if you do repay it, your loan can have a         
permanent effect on death benefits and policy values, because money you borrow  
against the subaccounts will not share in the investment results of the relevant
fund(s) or trust(s).                                                            

A loan may terminate the DBG. We deduct the loan amount from the total premiums 
you pay, which may reduce the total below the level required to keep the DBG in 
effect.                                                                         

Taxes:   If  your  policy  lapses  or  you  surrender  it  with  an  outstanding
indebtedness, and the amount of outstanding indebtedness plus the cash surrender
value is more than the sum of premiums you paid,  you  generally  will be liable
for taxes on the excess. (See "Federal taxes.")                                 

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Policy surrenders                                                               

You may surrender your policy in full or in part by written or telephone        
request. (See chart under "Transfers between the fixed account and              
subaccounts.") We will process your surrender request at the end of the         
valuation period during which we receive your request. We may require that you  
return your policy.                                                             

We normally will process your payment within seven days; however, we reserve the
right to defer payment. (See "Deferral of payments," under "Payment of policy   
proceeds.")                                                                     

Total surrenders: If you totally surrender your policy, you receive its cash    
surrender value -- the policy value minus outstanding indebtedness and          
applicable surrender charges. (See "Loads, fees and charges.") We will compute  
the value of each subaccount as of the end of the valuation period during which 
we receive your request.                                                        

Partial surrenders: After the first policy year, you may surrender any amount   
from $500 up to 85% of the policy's cash surrender value. (Partial surrenders by
telephone are limited to $50,000.) We will charge you a partial surrender fee,  
described under "Loads, fees and charges."                                      

Allocation of partial surrenders: Unless you specify otherwise, IDS Life will   
make partial surrenders from the fixed account and subaccounts in proportion to 
their values at the end of the valuation period during which we receive your    
request. In determining these proportions, we first subtract the amount of any  
outstanding indebtedness from the fixed account value.                          

Effects of partial surrenders:                                                  

A partial surrender will reduce the policy value by the amount of the partial   
surrender and fee.                                                              

A partial surrender will reduce the death benefit by the amount of the partial  
surrender and fee, or, if the death benefit is based on the applicable          
percentage of policy value, by an amount equal to the applicable percentage     
times the amount of the partial surrender.                                      

A partial surrender may terminate the DBG. We deduct the surrender amount from  
total premiums you paid, which may reduce the total below the level required to 
keep the DBG in effect.                                                         

If Option 1 is in effect, a partial surrender will reduce the specified amount  
by the amount of the partial surrender and fee. IDS Life will deduct this       
decrease from the current specified amount in this order:                       

    o    First from the specified amount provided by the most recent increase;
o    Next from the next most recent increases successively;           
 o    Then from the initial specified amount when the policy was issued.

Because they reduce the specified amount, partial surrenders may affect the cost
of insurance. IDS Life will not allow a partial surrender if it would reduce the
specified amount below the required minimum. (See "Decreases" under "Death      
benefits.")                                                                     

o    If Option 2 is in effect, a partial surrender does not affect the
specified amount.                                           

Taxes:                                                                          
Upon surrender, you generally will be liable for taxes on any excess of the cash
surrender value plus outstanding indebtedness over the premium paid. (See       
"Federal taxes.")                                                               

Exchange right                                                                  

For two years after the policy is issued, you can exchange it for one that      
provides benefits that do not vary with the investment return of the            
subaccounts. Because the policy itself offers a fixed return option, all you    
need to do is transfer all of the policy value in the subaccounts to the fixed  
account. We automatically will credit all future premium payments to the fixed  
account unless you request a different allocation.                              

A transfer for this purpose will not count against the five-transfers-per-year  
limit. Also, we will waive any restrictions on transfers into the fixed account 
for this type of transfer.                                                      

There is be no effect on the policy's death benefit, specified amount, net      
amount at risk, rate classification or issue age. Only the method of funding the
policy value will be affected.                                                  

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Paid-up insurance option                                                        

You may request that we use the cash surrender value of the policy to purchase  
an amount of paid-up insurance. You may make your request in writing during the 
30 days before any policy anniversary. The paid-up insurance policy will take   
effect as of the policy anniversary and will mature on the original policy's    
maturity date. You will forfeit all rights to make future premium payments and  
all riders will terminate.                                                      

The amount and cash surrender value of the paid-up insurance will be based on   
the cost of insurance rates guaranteed in the policy and on the fixed account   
guaranteed interest rate. The paid-up policy's death benefit amount, minus its  
cash surrender value, cannot be greater than your current policy's death        
benefit, minus its policy value (both as of the date of the paid-up policy's    
purchase). The amount of paid-up insurance will remain level and will not be    
less than required by law.                                                      

Any cash surrender value that is not used to purchase the paid-up insurance     
amount will be paid to you. At any time before the insured's death, you may     
surrender the paid-up insurance for its cash surrender value.                   

Optional insurance benefits                                                     

You may choose to add the following benefits to your policy, in the form of     
riders (if you meet certain requirements). More detailed information on these   
benefits is in your policy.                                                     

Waiver of monthly deduction (WMD): Under WMD, we will waive the monthly         
deduction if the insured becomes totally disabled.                              

Accidental death benefit (ADB): ADB provides an additional death benefit if the 
insured's death is caused by accidental injury.                                 

Other insured rider (OIR): OIR provides a level, adjustable death benefit on the
life of each other insured covered.                                             

Children's insurance rider (CIR): CIR provides level term care on each eligible 
child.                                                                          

Automatic Increase Benefit Rider (AIB): AIB provides an increase in the         
specified amount at a designated percentage on each policy anniversary until    
insured's attained age 65. This rider is not available in New Jersey.           

Accelerated Benefit Rider for Terminal Illness (ABRTI): If the insured is       
terminally ill and death is expected to occur within 6 months, the rider        
provides that you can withdraw a portion of the death benefit prior to death.   
This rider is not available in all states.                                      

Payment of policy proceeds                                                      

Proceeds will be paid when:                                                     

o   you surrender the policy;                                         
o   the insured dies; or                                              
o   the policy maturity date is reached, which occurs when the insured
reaches attained insurance age 100.                           

We pay all proceeds by check. We will compute the amount of the death benefit   
proceeds and pay it in a single sum unless you select one of the payment options
below. We will pay interest at a rate not less than 4% per year (8% in Arkansas 
and Colorado) on single sum death proceeds, from the date of the insured's death
to the settlement date (the date on which we pay proceeds in a lump sum or first
place them under a payment option).                                             

Payment options:                                                                

During the insured's lifetime, you may request in writing that we pay policy    
proceeds under one or more of the three payment options below. (The beneficiary 
may also select a payment option, unless you say that he or she cannot.) You    
decide how much of the proceeds will be placed under each option (minimum:      
$5,000). We will transfer any such amount to IDS Life's general account. Unless 
we agree otherwise, we must make payments under all options to a natural person.

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You also may make a written request to us to change a prior choice of payment   
option or, if we agree, to elect a payment option other than the three below.   

If you elect a payment option for pre-death proceeds, payments under this option
may be subject to federal income tax as ordinary income. If you elect Option A, 
the full pre-death proceeds will be taxed as a full surrender or maturity as    
described in "Taxation of policy proceeds" and also may be subject to an        
additional 10% penalty tax if the policy is a modified endowment. The interest  
paid under Option A will be ordinary income subject to income tax in the year   
earned. The interest payments will not be subject to the 10% penalty tax.       

If you elect Option B or Option C for payment of pre-death proceeds, any        
indebtedness at the time of election will be taxed as a partial surrender as    
described in "Taxation of policy proceeds" and may also be subject to an        
additional 10% penalty tax if the policy is a modified endowment. We will use   
the remainder of the proceeds to make payments under the option elected. A      
portion of each payment will be taxed as ordinary income and a portion of each  
payment will be considered a return of the investment in the policy and will not
be taxed. We describe an owner's investment in the policy in "Taxation of policy
proceeds". All payments we make after the investment in the policy is fully     
recovered will be subject to tax. Amounts we pay under Option B or Option C that
are subject to tax may also be subject to an additional 10% penalty tax. (See   
"Penalty tax.")                                                                 

Death benefit proceeds applied to any payment option are not considered part of 
the beneficiary's income and therefore are not subject to federal income tax.   
Payments of interest under Option A will be ordinary income subject to tax.     
Under Option B or Option C, a portion of each payment will be ordinary income,  
subject to tax and a portion of each payment will be considered a return of the 
beneficiary's investment in the policy. The beneficiary's investment in the     
policy is the death benefit proceeds applied to the payment option. All payments
we make after the investment in the policy is fully recovered will be subject to
tax.                                                                            

Option A -- Interest payments: We will pay interest on any proceeds placed under
this option at a rate of 4% per year compounded annually, at regular intervals  
and for a period that is agreeable to both you and us. At the end of any payment
interval, you may withdraw proceeds in amounts of at least $100. At any time,   
you may withdraw all of the proceeds that remain or you may place them under a  
different payment option approved by us.                                        

Option B -- Payments for a specified period: We will make fixed monthly payments
for any number of years you specify. Here are examples of monthly payments for  
each $1,000 placed under this option:                                           

Payment period                Monthly payment per $1,000                        
(years)                       placed under Option B                             

5                                 $18.32                        
10                                  10.06                         
15                                   7.34                         
20                                   6.00                         
25                                   5.22                         
30                                   4.72                         

We will furnish monthly amounts for other payment periods at your request,      
without charge.                                                                 

Option C -- Lifetime income: We will make monthly payments for the life of the  
person (payee) who is to receive the income. Payment will be guaranteed for 10, 
15 or 20 years.                                                                 

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We will base the amount of each monthly payment per $1,000 placed under this    
option on the table of settlement rates in effect at the time of the first      
payment. The amount depends on the sex and adjusted age of the payee on that    
date. Adjusted age means the age of the payee (on the payee's nearest birthday) 
minus an adjustment as follows:                                                 

                                                                · Download Table

Calendar year of payee's  Adjustment  Calendar year of payee's  Adjustment
birth                                 birth                               
                                                                          
Before 1920               0           1945 - 1949               6         
1920 - 1924               1           1950 - 1959               7         
1925 - 1929               2           1960 - 1969               8         
1930 - 1934               3           1970 - 1979               9         
1935 - 1939               4           1980 - 1989               10        
1940 - 1944               5           After 1989                11        

The amount of each monthly payment per $1,000 placed under this option will not 
be less than amounts shown in the next table.                                   

We will furnish monthly amounts for any adjusted age not shown at your request, 
without charge.                                                                 

                                                        · Enlarge/Download Table


    Adjusted age payee                     Life income per $1,000 with payments guaranteed for               
---------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                     10 years                   15 years                   20 years          
                                 Male        Female         Male        Female         Male        Female    
---------------------------- ------------- ------------ ------------- ------------ ------------- ------------
                                                                                                             
            50                  $4.81         $4.47        $4.74         $4.45        $4.65         $4.40    
            55                   5.20          4.80         5.09          4.74         4.94          4.87    
            60                   5.70          5.22         5.51          5.12         5.25          4.98    
            65                   6.35          5.77         5.98          5.58         5.54          5.32    
            70                   7.14          6.50         6.47          6.12         5.77          5.63    
            75                   8.00          7.40         6.87          6.64         5.91          5.85    

Deferral of payments:                                                           

We reserve the right to defer payments of cash surrender value, policy loans or 
variable death benefits in excess of the specified amount if:                   

     o   the payments derive from a premium payment made by a check that has not
  cleared the banking system (we have not collected good payment);

     o   the NYSE is closed (other than customary weekend and holiday closings);

 o   in accordance with SEC rules, trading on the NYSE is restricted or,
       because of an emergency, it is not practical to dispose of securities
       held in the subaccount or determine the value of the subaccount's net
assets.                                                       

We may delay the payment of any loans or surrenders from the fixed account up to
six months from the date we receive the request. If we postpone the payment of  
surrender proceeds more than 30 days, we will pay you interest on the amount    
surrendered at an annual rate of 3% for the period of postponement.             

Federal taxes                                                                   

The following is a general discussion of the policy's federal income tax        
implications. It is not intended as tax advice. Because the effect of taxes on  
the value and benefits of your policy depends on your individual situation as   
well as IDS Life's tax status, YOU SHOULD CONSULT A TAX ADVISOR TO FIND OUT HOW 
THESE GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS APPLY TO YOU. The discussion is based on our       
understanding of federal income tax laws as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)  
currently interprets them; both the laws and their interpretation may change.   

We intend the policy to qualify as a life insurance policy for federal income   
tax purposes. To that end, the provisions of the policy are to be interpreted to
ensure or maintain this tax qualification. IDS Life reserves the right to change
the policy in order to ensure that it will continue to qualify as life insurance
for tax purposes. We will send you a copy of any changes.                       

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IDS Life's tax status                                                           

The IRS taxes IDS Life as a life insurance company under the Code. For federal  
income tax purposes, we consider the subaccounts a part of IDS Life, although we
treat their operations separately in accounting and financial statements. We    
reinvest the investment income from the subaccounts and it becomes part of the  
subaccounts' value. The IRS does not tax IDS Life on this investment income,    
including realized capital gains. Therefore, IDS Life does not charge the       
subaccounts for our federal income taxes. IDS Life reserves the right to make   
such a charge in the future if there is a change in the tax treatment of        
variable life insurance contracts or in IDS Life's tax status as we currently   
understand it.                                                                  

Taxation of policy proceeds                                                     

The IRS does not consider the death benefit to be part of the beneficiary's     
income and therefore it is not subject to federal income taxes.                 

The IRS may tax part or all of any pre-death proceeds that you receive through  
full surrender or maturity, lapse, partial surrender, policy loan or assignment 
of policy value or payment options as ordinary income. (See the following       
table.) In some cases, the tax liability depends on whether the policy is a     
modified endowment (explained following the table). The taxable amount also may 
be subject to an additional 10% penalty tax if the policy is a modified         
endowment.                                                                      

                                                        · Enlarge/Download Table

Source of proceeds            Taxable portion of pre-death proceeds                            
                                                                                               
Full surrender:               Amount you receive plus any indebtedness, minus your             
                              investment in the policy.*                                       

Lapse:                        Any outstanding indebtedness minus your investment in the        
                              policy.*                                                         

Partial surrenders            Lesser of:                                                       
(modified endowments):        the amount you receive or policy value minus your                
                              investment in the policy.*                                       

Policy loans and assignments  Lesser of:                                                       
(modified endowments):        the amount of the loan / assignment or policy value minus        
                              your investment in the policy.*                                  

Partial surrenders            Generally, if the amount you receive is greater than your        
(other policies):             investment in the policy,* the amount in excess of your          
                              investment is taxable. However, during the first 15 policy       
                              years, a different amount may be taxable if the partial surrender
                              results in or is caused by a reduction in benefits.              

Policy loans and assignments  None                                                             
(other policies)                                                                               

Payment                       options: If we pay proceeds of the policy under one of the       
                              payment options, see the "Payment option" section for tax        
                              information.                                                     

* The owner's investment is equal to premiums paid, minus the nontaxable portion
of any previous partial surrenders, plus the taxable portion of any previous    
policy loans.                                                                   

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Modified endowment contracts                                                    

In 1988, Congress created a new class of life insurance policies called         
"Modified Endowment Contracts." The IRS taxes these policies differently from   
conventional life insurance contracts.                                          

Your policy is a modified endowment contract if:                                

     o    you apply for it or materially change it on or after June 21, 1988 and
  o    the premiums you pay in the first seven years of the policy, or the
         first seven years following a material change, exceed certain limits.

Also, any life insurance policy you receive in exchange for a modified endowment
is itself a modified endowment.                                                 

We have procedures for monitoring whether your policy may become a modified     
endowment contract. We calculate modified endowment limits when we issue the    
policy. We base these limits on the benefits we provide under the policy and on 
the risk classification of the insured. We recalculate these limits later if    
certain increases or reductions in benefits occur.                              

Increases in benefits: We recalculate limits when an increase is a "material    
change." Almost any increase you request, such as an increase in specified      
amount, the addition of a rider benefit or an increase in an existing rider     
benefit, is a material change. An automatic increase under the terms of you     
policy, such as an increase in death benefit due to operation of the applicable 
percentage table described in the "Death benefits" section or an increase in    
policy value growth under Option 2, generally is not a material change. A policy
becomes a modified endowment if premiums you pay in the early years following a 
material change exceed the recalculated limits.                                 

Reductions in benefits: When you reduce benefits within seven years after issue 
or after the most recent material change, we recalculate the limits as if the   
reduced level of benefits had always been in effect. In most cases, this        
recalculation will further restrict the amount of premium you can pay without   
exceeding modified endowment limits. If the premiums you have already paid      
exceed the recalculated limits, the policy becomes a modified endowment even if 
you do not pay any further premiums.                                            

Distributions affected: Modified endowment rules apply to distributions in the  
year the policy becomes a modified endowment and in all subsequent years. In    
addition, the rules apply to distributions taken two years before the policy    
becomes a modified endowment, which are presumed to be taken in anticipation of 
that event.                                                                     

Serial purchase of modified endowments: The IRS treats all modified endowments  
issued by the same insurer (or affiliated companies of the insurer) to the same 
owner during any calendar year as one policy for purposes of determining the    
amount of any loan or distribution that is taxable.                             

Penalty tax: If a policy is a modified endowment, the taxable portion of        
pre-death proceeds from a full surrender, maturity, lapse, partial surrender,   
policy loan or assignment of policy value or certain payment options may be     
subject to a 10% penalty tax unless:                                            

o   the distribution occurs after the owner attains age 59-1/2;       
o   the distribution is attributable to the owner becoming            
disabled (within the meaning of Code Section 72(m)(7); or     
  o   the distribution is part of a series of substantially equal periodic
       payments made at least once a year over the life (or life expectancy)
    of the owner or over the joint lives (or life expectancies) of the
owner and the owner's beneficiary.                            

Other tax considerations                                                        

Interest paid on policy loans: If you use a loan for personal purposes, interest
paid on the loan is not tax-deductible. Other rules apply if you use the loan   
for trade or business or investment purposes or if a business or corporation    
owns the policy from which the loan is taken.                                   

Policy changes: Changing ownership, exchanging or assigning the policy may have 
tax consequences, depending on the circumstances.                               

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Other taxes: Federal estate tax, state and local estate tax, inheritance tax,   
gift tax and other tax consequences of ownership or receipt of policy proceeds  
will also depend on the circumstances.                                          

Qualified retirement plans: The policy may be used in conjunction with certain  
qualified plans. Since the rules governing such use are complex, a purchaser    
should consult a competent pension consultant.                                  

On July 6, 1983, the Supreme Court held in Arizona Governing Committee v. Norris
that optional annuity benefits provided under an employee's deferred            
compensation plan could not, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,   
vary between men and women on the basis of sex. Since the policy's cost of      
insurance rates and purchase rates for certain settlement options distinguish   
between men and women, employers and employee organizations should consult with 
legal counsel before purchasing the policy for any employment-related insurance 
or benefit program. Rates that do not distinguish between men and women are     
available when required for employment-related programs in all states except    
Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, South Carolina and Texas.                       

IDS Life                                                                        

IDS Life is a stock life insurance company organized under the laws of the State
of Minnesota in 1957. Our address is IDS Tower 10, Minneapolis, MN 55440.       

IDS Life conducts a conventional life insurance business in the District of     
Columbia and all states except New York. A wholly owned subsidiary of IDS Life, 
IDS Life Insurance Company of New York, conducts a substantially identical      
business in New York.                                                           

IDS Life has been in the variable annuity business since 1968 and has sold a    
number of different variable annuity contracts and variable life insurance      
policies, utilizing other separate accounts, unit investment trusts and mutual  
funds.                                                                          

Ownership                                                                       

IDS Life is a wholly owned subsidiary of American Express Financial Corporation 
(AEFC). AEFC, a Delaware corporation, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of American  
Express Company.                                                                

The AEFC family of companies offers not only insurance and annuities, but also  
mutual funds, investment certificates and a broad range of financial management 
services.                                                                       

Besides managing investments for all funds in the IDS MUTUAL FUND GROUP, AEFC   
also manages investments for itself and its subsidiaries, IDS Certificate       
Company and IDS Life Insurance Company. Total assets under management on        
______________ were more than $__________ billion.                              

State regulation                                                                

IDS Life is subject to the laws of Minnesota governing insurance companies and  
to regulation by the Minnesota Department of Commerce. In addition, IDS Life is 
subject to regulation under the insurance laws of other jurisdictions in which  
it operates. IDS Life files an annual statement in a prescribed form with       
Minnesota's Department of Commerce and in each state in which IDS Life does     
business. IDS Life's books and accounts are subject to review by the Minnesota  
Department of Commerce at all times and a full examination of its operations is 
conducted periodically. Such regulation does not, however, involve any          
supervision of management or investment practices or policies.                  

Distribution of the policy                                                      

IDS Life is the sole distributor of the policy. IDS Life is registered as a     
broker-dealer under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and is a member of the  
National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (NASD). Representatives of IDS 
Life are licensed insurance and annuity agents and are registered with the NASD 
as representatives of IDS Life.                                                 

IDS Life pays its representatives a commission of up to 50% of the initial      
minimum monthly premium (annualized) when they sell the policy, plus 3% of all  
premiums in excess of 12 times the minimum monthly premium. At the end of policy
years one through 10, IDS Life pays a service fee not greater than 0.3% of the  
policy value, net of indebtedness. IDS Life pays additional commissions if an   
increase in coverage occurs. IDS Life also pays approximately 27% of the total  
representative's commission to the field vice presidents and district sales     
managers of the selling representative.                                         

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Legal proceedings                                                               

A number of lawsuits have been filed against life and health insurers in        
jurisdictions in which IDS Life and do business involving insurers' sales       
practices, alleged agent misconduct, failure to properly supervise agents, and  
other matters. IDS Life and AEFC, life other life and health insurers, from time
to time are involved in such litigation. In December 1996, an action of this    
type was brought against IDS Life and its parent, AEFC. A second action was     
filed in March, 1997. The plaintiffs purport to represent a class consisting of 
all persons who replaced existing IDS Life policies with new IDS Life policies  
from and after January 1, 1985. The complaint puts at issue various alleged     
sales practices and misrepresentations, alleged breaches of fiduciary duties and
alleged violations of consumer fraud statutes. Plaintiffs seek damages in an    
unspecified amount and also seek to establish a claims resolution facility for  
the determination of individual issues.                                         

On October 13, 1998, an action entitled Richard W. And Elizabeth J. Thoresen vs.
American Express Financial Corporation, American Centurion Life Assurance       
Company, American Enterprise Life Insurance Company, American Partners Life     
Insurance Company, IDS Life Insurance Company and IDS Life Insurance Company of 
New York was commenced in Minnesota State Court. The action was brought by      
individuals who purchased an annuity in a qualified plan. They allege that the  
sale of annuities in tax-deferred contributory retirement plans (e.g., IRAs) is 
never appropriate. The plaintiffs purport to represent a class consisting of all
persons who made similar purchases. The plaintiffs seek damages in an           
unspecified amount.                                                             

IDS Life believes it has meritorious defenses to these and other actions arising
in connection with the conduct of its business activities and intends to defend 
them vigorously. IDS Life is a defendant in various other lawsuits, none of     
which, in IDS Life's opinion will result in a material liability.               

Year 2000                                                                       

The Year 2000 issue is the result of computer programs having been written using
two digits rather than four to define a year. Any programs that have            
time-sensitive software may recognize a date using "00" as the year 1900 rather 
than 2000. This could result in the failure of major systems or miscalculations,
which could have a material impact on the operations of the variable account.   
The variable account has no computer systems of its own but is dependent upon   
the systems maintained by AEFC and certain other third parties.                 

AEFC has conducted a comprehensive review of its computer systems and business  
processes to identify the major systems that could be affected by the Year 200  
issue. AEFC is taking steps to resolve any potential problems including         
modification to existing software and the purchase of new software. There       
measures are scheduled to be completed and tested on a timely basis. AEFC's goal
is to complete internal remediation and testing of each system by the end of    
1998 and to continue compliance efforts through 1999. AEFC also is evaluating   
the Year 2000 readiness of unaffiliated investment managers and other third     
parties whose system failures could have an impact on the variable account's    
operations. AEFC does not know the potential materiality of any such impact at  
this time.                                                                      

Experts                                                                         

[to be filed by amendment]                                                      

Management of IDS Life                                                          

Directors                                                                       

David R. Hubers                                                                 
Director since September 1989; president and chief executive officer, AEFC,     
since August 1993, and director, AEFC, since January 1984; senior vice          
president, Finance and chief financial officer, AEFC, from January 1984 to      
August 1993.                                                                    

Richard W. Kling                                                                
Director since February 1984; president since March 1994. Executive vice        
president, Marketing and Products from January 1988 to March 1994; senior vice  
president, AEFC, since May 1994; director of IDS Life Series Fund, Inc. and     
chairman of the board of managers of IDS Life Variable Annuity Funds A and B.   

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Paul F. Kolkman                                                                 
Director since May 1984; executive vice president since March 1994; vice        
president, Finance from May 1984 to March 1994; vice president, AEFC, since     
January 1987.                                                                   

James A. Mitchell                                                               
Chairman of the board since March 1994; director since July 1984; chief         
executive officer since November 1986; president from July 1984 to March 1994;  
executive vice president, AEFC, since March 1994; director, AEFC, since July    
1984; senior vice president, AEFC, from July 1984 to March 1994.                

Barry J. Murphy                                                                 
Director and executive vice president, Client Service, since March 1994; senior 
vice president, Operations, Travel Related Services (TRS), a subsidiary of      
American Express Company, since July 1992; vice president, TRS, from November   
1989 to July 1992; chief operating officer, TRS, from March 1988 to November    
1989.                                                                           

Stuart A. Sedlacek                                                              
Director, senior vice president and chief financial officer of AEFC since       
January 1998; vice president, Assured Assets, AEFC from 1994 to 1997.           

Officers other than directors                                                   

Jeffrey S. Horton                                                               
Vice president and treasurer since December 1997; vice president and corporate  
treasurer, AEFC, since December 1997; controller, American Express Technologies 
- Financial Services, AEFC, from July 1997 to December 1997; controller, Risk   
Management Products, AEFC, from May 1994 to July 1997; director of finance and  
analysis, Corporate Treasury, AEFC, from June 1990 to May 1994.                 

William A. Stoltzmann                                                           
Vice president, general counsel and secretary since 1985; vice president and    
assistant general counsel, AEFC, since November 1985.                           

The address for all of the directors and principal officers is: IDS Tower 10,   
Minneapolis, MN 55440-0010.                                                     

The officers, employees and sales force of IDS Life are bonded, in the amount of
$100 million, by virtue of a blanket fidelity bond issued to American Express   
Company by Saint Paul Fire and Marine, the lead underwriter.                    

Other fund managers                                                             

A I M Advisors, Inc.                                                            

A I M Advisors, Inc. ("A I M") was organized in 1976 and is headquartered in    
Houston, Texas. A I M is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AIM Management Group Inc.,
a holding company engaged in the financial services business and an indirect    
wholly-owned subsidiary of AMVESCAP PLC.                                        

Putnam Investment Management, Inc.                                              

Putnam Management has been managing mutual funds since 1937. Today, the firm    
serves as the investment manager for the funds in the Putnam Family, with nearly
$182 billion in assets under management in over 9 million shareholder accounts  
at December 31, 1997.                                                           

Smith Barney Inc.                                                               

Smith Barney, sponsor of the trust, a Delaware corporation and a subsidiary of  
The Travelers Inc., is engaged in the underwriting, securities and commodities  
brokerage business, and is a member of the NYSE, other major securities         
exchanges and commodity exchanges and the National Association of Securities    
Dealers, Inc. The sponsor sponsors seven open-end investment companies and three
closed-end investment companies as well as a variety of unit investment trusts. 
The sponsor has acted as principal underwriter and managing underwriter of other
investment companies. The sponsor, in addition to participating as a member of  
various selling groups or as an agent of other investment companies, executes   
orders on behalf of investment companies for the purchase and sale of securities
of such companies and sells securities to such companies in its capacity as a   
broker or dealer in securities.                                                 

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Other information                                                               

The variable account has filed a registration statement with the SEC. For       
further information concerning the policy, the variable account and IDS Life,   
please refer to the registration statement. You can find the registration       
statement on the SEC's web site at http://www.sec.gov.                          

Voting rights                                                                   

As a policy owner with investments in any subaccount, you may vote on important 
fund matters. Each share of a fund has one vote. On some issues, such as        
election of directors of IDS Life Series Fund, all shares of the IDS Life Series
Fund Portfolios vote together as one series. When electing directors, all shares
of IDS Life Series Fund Portfolios have cumulative voting rights. Cumulative    
voting means that shareholders are entitled to a number of votes equal to the   
number of shares they hold multiplied by the number of directors to be elected  
and they have the right to divide votes among candidates.                       

On an issue affecting only one fund -- for example, a fundamental investment    
restriction pertaining only to that fund -- its shares vote as a separate       
series. If shareholders of a particular fund vote approval of an agreement, the 
agreement becomes effective with respect to that fund, whether or not it is     
approved by shareholders of the other funds.                                    

IDS Life is the owner of all fund shares and therefore holds all voting rights. 
However, IDS Life will vote the shares of each fund according to instructions we
receive from owners. If we do not receive timely instructions from you, we will 
vote your shares in the same proportion as the shares for which we do receive   
instructions. IDS Life also will vote fund shares that are not otherwise        
attributable to owners the same proportion as those shares in that subaccount   
for which we receive instructions.                                              

We determine the number of fund shares in each subaccount for which you may give
instructions by applying your percentage interest in the subaccount to the total
number of votes attributable to the subaccount. We will determine that number as
of a date we choose that is 60 days or less before the meeting of the fund. We  
will send you notice of each shareholder meeting, together with any proxy       
solicitation materials and a statement of the number of votes for which you are 
entitled to give instructions.                                                  

Under certain conditions, IDS Life may disregard voting instructions that would 
change the goals of one or more of the funds or would result in approval or     
disapproval of an investment advisory contract. If IDS Life does disregard      
voting instructions, we will advise you of that action and the reasons for in   
our next report to owners.                                                      

Generally, ownership of units of a unit investment trust does not involve the   
exercise of voting rights. However, unit holders in the trust may vote for      
removal of the trustee or for amendment or termination of the trust indenture.  
In the event of such a vote, IDS Life, as the owner of the units, would solicit 
voting instructions from owners under the same procedures used for votes        
affecting the fund.                                                             

Reports                                                                         

At least once a year IDS Life will mail to you, at your last known address of   
record, a report containing all information required by law or regulation,      
including a statement showing the current policy value.                         

Policy illustrations                                                            

The following tables illustrate how policy values, cash surrender values and    
death benefits may change with the investment experience of the subaccount. The 
tables show how these amounts might vary, for a 35-year-old male nonsmoker,     
under Death Benefit Option 1, if:                                               

o   the annual rate of return of the Fund is 0%, 6% or 12%            
    o   the cost of insurance rates and policy fees are current rates and fees
for policies purchased:                                       
- on or after November 20, 1997                   
        - on or after May 1, 1993 (October 1, 1993 for New Jersey)
and before November 20, 1997; and       
        - before May 1, 1993 (October 1, 1993 for New Jersey); and
o    the cost of insurance rates and policy fees are guaranteed rates 
and fees.                                                   

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This type of illustration involves a number of detailed assumptions. (See chart,
"Understanding the illustrations.") To the extent that your own circumstances   
differ from those assumed in the illustrations, your expected results would also
differ.                                                                         

Upon request, we will furnish you with comparable tables illustrating death     
benefits, policy values and cash surrender values based on the actual age of the
person you propose to insure and on an initial specified amount and premium     
payment schedule. In addition, after you have purchased a policy, you may       
request illustrations based on policy values at the time of request.            

Understanding the illustrations:                                                

Rates of return: assumes to be uniform, gross, after-tax, annual rates of 0%, 6%
or 12% for the fund. Results would differ depending on allocations among the    
subaccounts, if returns averaged 0%, 6% and 12% for the funds as a whole but    
differed across individual funds.                                               

Insured:   assumes  to  be  a  male   insurance  age  35,  in  a  standard  rate
classification, qualifying for the nonsmoker rate. Results would be lower if the
insured were in a  substandard  rate  classification  or did not qualify for the
non-smoker rate.                                                                

Premiums: assumes a $900 premium is paid in full at the beginning of each policy
year. Results would differ if premiums were paid on a different schedule.       

Policy loans and partial withdrawals: assumes that none have been made. (Since  
we assume indebtedness is zero, the cash surrender value in all cases equals the
policy value minus the surrender charge.)                                       

Effect of expenses and charges: The net investment return of the subaccounts,   
shown in the tables, is lower than the gross, after-tax return of the fund      
because we deducted the expenses paid by the fund and charges made against the  
subaccounts. These include:                                                     

  o   the daily investment management fee paid by the funds, assumed to be
      equivalent to an annual rate of 0.7% of the fund's average daily net
assets;                                                       
    o   the daily mortality and expense risk charge, equivalent to 0.9% of the
daily net asset value of the subaccounts annually; and        
   o   a nonadvisory expense charge of 0.1% of each fund's average daily net
assets for direct expenses incurred by the fund.              

After deduction of the expenses and charges described above, the illustrated    
gross annual investment rates of return correspond to the following approximate 
net annual rates of return:                                                     

                                                        · Enlarge/Download Table

                                                                           Net annual rate of    
                         Net annual rate of      Net annual rate of        return for "Current   
Gross annual investment  return for "Guaranteed  return for "Current       costs assumed"        
rate                     costs assumed"          costs assumed"            illustration, years 11
of return                illustration            illustration, years 1-10  and after             
                                                                                                 
        0%                      -1.69%                  -1.69%                    -1.24%         

        6                        4.21                    4.21                      4.68          

       12                       10.11                   10.11                     10.61          

Taxes: Results shown in the tables reflect the fact that IDS Life does not      
currently charge the subaccounts for federal income tax. If we take such a      
charge in the future, the portfolios will have to earn more than they do now in 
order to produce the death benefits and policy values illustrated.              

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Illustration                                                                    Policies purchased on or after November 20, 1997    
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------

Initial specified amount $100,000                         Male - age 35                             Current costs assumed           
Death benefit Option 1                                      nonsmoker                               annual premium $900             
---------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------

           Premium         Death benefit (1)(2)                 Policy value (1)(2)                 Cash surrender value (1)(2)     
           accumulated     assuming hypothetical gross          assuming hypothetical gross         assuming hypothetical gross     
End of     with annual     annual investment return of          annual investment return of         annual investment return of     
policy     interest                                                                                                                 
year       at 5%           0%          6%          12%          0%          6%         12%          0%          6%          12%     
---------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ------------ ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ------------ -----------
                                                                                                                                    
      1    $      945  $  100,000  $  100,000  $  100,000   $      608  $      657  $      694  $        0  $        0   $       46 
      2         1,937     100,000     100,000     100,000        1,206       1,330       1,459         479         602          732 
      3         2,979     100,000     100,000     100,000        1,783       2,026       2,290         998       1,241        1,505 
      4         4,073     100,000     100,000     100,000        2,341       2,742       3,195       1,496       1,898        2,351 
      5         5,222     100,000     100,000     100,000        2,878       3,478       4,182       1,977       2,577        3,281 

      6         6,428     100,000     100,000     100,000        3,396       4,234       5,258       2,675       3,513        4,537 
      7         7,694     100,000     100,000     100,000        3,895       5,012       6,434       3,354       4,471        5,893 
      8         9,024     100,000     100,000     100,000        4,373       5,810       7,717       4,012       5,450        7,356 
      9        10,420     100,000     100,000     100,000        4,829       6,630       9,119       4,649       6,450        8,938 
     10        11,886     100,000     100,000     100,000        5,259       7,467      10,646       5,259       7,467       10,646 

     11        13,425     100,000     100,000     100,000        5,664       8,321      12,314       5,664       8,321       12,314 
     12        15,042     100,000     100,000     100,000        6,044       9,195      14,136       6,004       9,195       14,136 
     13        16,739     100,000     100,000     100,000        6,396      10,087      16,128       6,396      10,087       16,128 
     14        18,521     100,000     100,000     100,000        6,719      10,994      18,305       6,719      10,994       18,305 
     15        20,392     100,000     100,000     100,000        7,013      11,919      20,689       7,013      11,919       20,684 

     16        22,356     100,000     100,000     100,000        7,272      12,858      23,297       7,272      12,858       23,297 
     17        24,419     100,000     100,000     100,000        7,496      13,809      25,153       7,496      13,809       25,153 
     18        26,585     100,000     100,000     100,000        7,679      14,768      29,281       7,679      14,768       29,281 
     19        28,859     100,000     100,000     100,000        7,816      15,731      32,707       7,816      15,731       32,707 
     20        31,247     100,000     100,000     100,000        7,905      16,697      36,467       7,905      16,697       36,467 

   age 60      45,102     100,000     100,000     100,000        7,422      21,390      61,691       7,422      21,390       61,691 
   age 65      62,785     100,000     100,000     125,819        4,830      25,402     103,130       4,830      25,402      103,130 

(1) Assumes no policy loans or partial withdrawals have been made.              

(2)  Assumes a $900 premium is paid at the beginning of each policy year. Values
will be different if premiums are paid in different amounts or with a 
different frequency.                                                  

The above hypothetical investment results are illustrative only and you should  
not consider them to be a representation of past or future investment results.  
Actual investment results may be more or less than those shown. The death       
benefit, policy value and cash surrender value would be different from those    
shown if returns averaged 0%, 6% and 12% over a period of years, but fluctuated 
above and below those averages for individual policy years. We do not represent 
that these hypothetical rates of return can be achieved for any one year or     
sustained over any period of time.                                              

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Illustration                                             Policies purchased on or after May 1, 1993 and before November 20, 1997    
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------

Initial specified amount $100,000                         Male - age 35                             Current costs assumed           
Death benefit Option 1                                      nonsmoker                               annual premium $900             
---------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------

           Premium         Death benefit (1)(2)                 Policy value (1)(2)                 Cash surrender value (1)(2)     
           accumulated     assuming hypothetical gross          assuming hypothetical gross         assuming hypothetical gross     
End of     with annual     annual investment return of          annual investment return of         annual investment return of     
policy     interest                                                                                                                 
year       at 5%           0%          6%          12%          0%          6%         12%          0%          6%          12%     
---------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ------------ ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ------------ -----------
                                                                                                                                    
      1    $      945  $  100,000  $  100,000  $  100,000   $      605  $      648  $      691  $        0  $        0   $       43 
      2         1,937     100,000     100,000     100,000        1,200       1,323       1,452         473         596          725 
      3         2,979     100,000     100,000     100,000        1,775       2,017       2,280         989       1,231        1,494 
      4         4,073     100,000     100,000     100,000        2,329       2,729       3,181       1,485       1,885        2,337 
      5         5,222     100,000     100,000     100,000        2,864       3,461       4,163       1,963       2,560        3,262 

      6         6,428     100,000     100,000     100,000        3,379       4,214       5,234       2,659       3,493        4,513 
      7         7,694     100,000     100,000     100,000        3,876       4,988       6,404       3,335       4,447        5,864 
      8         9,024     100,000     100,000     100,000        4,351       5,782       7,681       3,990       5,422        8,894 
      9        10,420     100,000     100,000     100,000        4,802       6,595       9,074       4,622       6,415        9,591 
     10        11,886     100,000     100,000     100,000        5,227       7,425      10,591       5,227       7,425       10,591 

     11        13,425     100,000     100,000     100,000        5,627       8,272      12,247       5,627       8,272       12,247 
     12        15,042     100,000     100,000     100,000        6,001       9,138      14,057       6,001       9,138       14,057 
     13        16,739     100,000     100,000     100,000        6,349      10,021      16,036       6,349      10,021       16,036 
     14        18,521     100,000     100,000     100,000        6,666      10,920      18,198       6,666      10,920       18,198 
     15        20,392     100,000     100,000     100,000        6,953      11,834      21,563       6,953      11,834       20,563 

     16        22,356     100,000     100,000     100,000        7,205      12,761      23,150       7,205      12,761       23,150 
     17        24,419     100,000     100,000     100,000        7,421      13,699      25,983       7,421      13,699       25,983 
     18        26,585     100,000     100,000     100,000        7,597      14,645      29,086       7,597      14,645       29,086 
     19        28,859     100,000     100,000     100,000        7,726      15,594      33,485       7,726      15,594       32,485 
     20        31,247     100,000     100,000     100,000        7,806      16,543      36,213       7,806      16,543       36,213 

   age 60      45,102     100,000     100,000     100,000        7,274      21,139      61,221       7,274      21,139       61,221 
   age 65      62,785     100,000     100,000     124,847        4,629      25,020     102,334       4,629      25,020      102,334 

(1) Assumes no policy loans or partial withdrawals have been made.              

(2)  Assumes a $900 premium is paid at the beginning of each policy year. Values
will be different if premiums are paid in different amounts or with a 
different frequency.                                                  

The above hypothetical investment results are illustrative only and you should  
not consider them to be a representation of past or future investment results.  
Actual investment results may be more or less than those shown. The death       
benefit, policy value and cash surrender value would be different from those    
shown if returns averaged 0%, 6% and 12% over a period of years, but fluctuated 
above and below those averages for individual policy years. We do not represent 
that these hypothetical rates of return can be achieved for any one year or     
sustained over any period of time.                                              

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Illustration                                                                                                                        
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------

Initial specified amount $100,000                         Male - age 35                             Guaranteed costs assumed        
Death benefit Option 1                                      nonsmoker                               annual premium $900             
---------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------

           Premium         Death benefit (1)(2)                 Policy value (1)(2)                 Cash surrender value (1)(2)     
           accumulated     assuming hypothetical gross          assuming hypothetical gross         assuming hypothetical gross     
End of     with annual     annual investment return of          annual investment return of         annual investment return of     
policy     interest                                                                                                                 
year       at 5%           0%          6%          12%          0%          6%         12%          0%          6%          12%     
---------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ------------ ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ------------ -----------
                                                                                                                                    
      1    $      945  $  100,000  $  100,000  $  100,000   $      575  $      617  $      659  $        0  $        0   $       11 
      2         1,937     100,000     100,000     100,000        1,141       1,261       1,386         414         533          658 
      3         2,979     100,000     100,000     100,000        1,687       1,921       2,175         901       1,135        1,389 
      4         4,073     100,000     100,000     100,000        2,213       2,598       3,033       1,369       1,754        2,189 
      5         5,222     100,000     100,000     100,000        2,720       3,293       3,968       1,819       2,392        3,067 

      6         6,428     100,000     100,000     100,000        3,196       3,996       4,976       2,475       3,275        4,255 
      7         7,694     100,000     100,000     100,000        3,654       4,718       6,076       3,113       4,178        5,535 
      8         9,024     100,000     100,000     100,000        4,082       5,450       7,267       3,722       5,089        6,906 
      9        10,420     100,000     100,000     100,000        4,493       6,203       8,570       4,313       6,022        8,390 
     10        11,886     100,000     100,000     100,000        4,876       6,966       9,986       4,876       6,966        9,986 

     11        13,425     100,000     100,000     100,000        5,231       7,742      11,527       5,231       7,742       11,527 
     12        15,042     100,000     100,000     100,000        5,559       8,531      13,208       5,559       8,531       13,208 
     13        16,739     100,000     100,000     100,000        5,849       9,323      15,034       5,849       9,323       15,034 
     14        18,521     100,000     100,000     100,000        6,114      10,129      17,030       6,114      10,129       17,030 
     15        20,392     100,000     100,000     100,000        6,341      10,940      19,206       6,341      10,940       19,206 

     16        22,356     100,000     100,000     100,000        6,521      11,745      21,573       6,521      11,745       21,573 
     17        24,419     100,000     100,000     100,000        6,667      12,557      24,163       6,667      12,557       24,163 
     18        26,585     100,000     100,000     100,000        6,766      13,364      26,993       6,766      13,364       26,993 
     19        28,859     100,000     100,000     100,000        6,809      14,158      30,082       6,809      14,158       30,082 
     20        31,247     100,000     100,000     100,000        6,786      14,929      33,454       6,786      14,929       33,454 

   age 60      45,102     100,000     100,000     100,000        5,533      18,272      55,886       5,533      18,272       55,863 
   age 65      62,785     100,000     100,000     113,155        1,437      19,813      92,750       1,437      19,813       92,750 

(1) Assumes no policy loans or partial withdrawals have been made.              

(2)  Assumes a $900 premium is paid at the beginning of each policy year. Values
will be different if premiums are paid in different amounts or with a 
different frequency.                                                  

The above hypothetical investment results are illustrative only and you should  
not consider them to be a representation of past or future investment results.  
Actual investment results may be more or less than those shown. The death       
benefit, policy value and cash surrender value would be different from those    
shown if returns averaged 0%, 6% and 12% over a period of years, but fluctuated 
above and below those averages for individual policy years. We do not represent 
that these hypothetical rates of return can be achieved for any one year or     
sustained over any period of time.                                              

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Illustration                                                                               Policies purchased before May 1, 1993    
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------

Initial specified amount $100,000                         Male - age 35                             Current costs assumed           
Death benefit Option 1                                      nonsmoker                               annual premium $900             
---------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------

           Premium         Death benefit (1)(2)                 Policy value (1)(2)                 Cash surrender value (1)(2)     
           accumulated     assuming hypothetical gross          assuming hypothetical gross         assuming hypothetical gross     
End of     with annual     annual investment return of          annual investment return of         annual investment return of     
policy     interest                                                                                                                 
year       at 5%           0%          6%          12%          0%          6%         12%          0%          6%          12%     
---------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ------------ ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ------------ -----------
                                                                                                                                    
      1    $      945  $  100,000  $  100,000  $  100,000   $      605  $      648  $      691  $        0  $        0   $       43 
      2         1,937     100,000     100,000     100,000        1,200       1,323       1,452         473         596          725 
      3         2,979     100,000     100,000     100,000        1,775       2,017       2,280         989       1,231        1,494 
      4         4,073     100,000     100,000     100,000        2,329       2,729       3,181       1,485       1,885        2,337 
      5         5,222     100,000     100,000     100,000        2,864       3,461       4,163       1,963       2,560        3,262 

      6         6,428     100,000     100,000     100,000        3,368       4,202       5,222       2,647       3,481        4,501 
      7         7,694     100,000     100,000     100,000        3,853       4,964       6,379       3,312       4,424        5,839 
      8         9,024     100,000     100,000     100,000        4,309       5,737       7,633       3,948       5,377        7,273 
      9        10,420     100,000     100,000     100,000        4,746       6,534       9,006       4,566       6,354        8,826 
     10        11,886     100,000     100,000     100,000        5,155       7,343      10,500       5,155       7,343       10,500 

     11        13,425     100,000     100,000     100,000        5,536       8,167      12,127       5,536       8,167       12,127 
     12        15,042     100,000     100,000     100,000        5,890       9,006      13,902       5,890       9,006       13,902 
     13        16,739     100,000     100,000     100,000        6,206       9,850      15,932       6,206       9,850       15,832 
     14        18,521     100,000     100,000     100,000        6,495      10,712      17,945       6,495      10,712       17,945 
     15        20,392     100,000     100,000     100,000        6,747      11,581      20,250       6,747      11,581       20,250 

     16        22,356     100,000     100,000     100,000        6,964      12,458      22,769       6,964      12,458       22,769 
     17        24,419     100,000     100,000     100,000        7,134      13,334      25,519       7,134      13,334       25,519 
     18        26,585     100,000     100,000     100,000        7,258      14,210      28,526       7,258      14,210       28,526 
     19        28,859     100,000     100,000     100,000        7,325      15,076      31,813       7,325      15,076       31,813 
     20        31,247     100,000     100,000     100,000        7,327      15,923      35,405       7,327      15,923       35,405 

   age 60      45,102     100,000     100,000     100,000        6,474      19,997      58,664       6,474      19,997       58,664 
   age 65      62,785     100,000     100,000     110,666        3,077      22,796      90,710       3,077      22,796       90,710 

(1) Assumes no policy loans or partial withdrawals have been made.              

(2)  Assumes a $900 premium is paid at the beginning of each policy year. Values
will be different if premiums are paid in different amounts or with a 
different frequency.                                                  

The above hypothetical investment results are illustrative only and you should  
not consider them to be a representation of past or future investment results.  
Actual investment results may be more or less than those shown. The death       
benefit, policy value and cash surrender value would be different from those    
shown if returns averaged 0%, 6% and 12% over a period of years, but fluctuated 
above and below those averages for individual policy years. We do not represent 
that these hypothetical rates of return can be achieved for any one year or     
sustained over any period of time.                                              

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(REG2)                                                                          

 PART II

UNDERTAKINGS TO FILE REPORTS

Subject to the terms and conditions of Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange 
Act of 1934, the undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to file with the      
Securities and Exchange Commission such supplementary and periodic information, 
documents, and reports as may be prescribed by any rule or regulation of the    
Commission hereto or hereafter duly adopted pursuant to authority conferred in  
2that section.                                                                  

RULE 484 UNDERTAKING

The By-Laws of IDS Life Insurance Company provide that:                         

The Corporation shall indemnify any person who was or is a party or is          
threatened to be made a party, by reason of the fact that he is or was a Manager
of Variable Annuity Funds A and B, director, officer, employee or agent of this 
Corporation, or is or was serving at the direction of the Corporation as a      
Manager of Variable Annuity Funds A and B, director, officer, employee or agent 
of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise,  
to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, wherever    
brought, to the fullest extent permitted by the laws of the State of Minnesota, 
as now existing or hereafter amended, provided that this Article shall not      
indemnify or protect any such Manager of Variable Annuity Funds A and B,        
director, officer, employee or agent against any liability to the Corporation or
its security holders to which he would otherwise be subject by reason of willful
misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence, in the performance of his duties or
by reason of his reckless disregard of his obligations and duties.              

Insofar as indemnification for liability arising under the Securities Act of    
1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the     
registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant   
has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission  
such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is,   
therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against 
such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred 
or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the   
successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such       
director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being 
registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter
has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate     
jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public  
policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of
such issue.                                                                     

REPRESENTATION PURSUANT TO SECTION 26(e) OF THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940  

The sponsoring insurance company represents that the fees and charges deducted  
under the contract, in the aggregate, are reasonable in relation to the services
rendered, the expenses expected to be incurred, and the risks assumed by the    
insurance company.                                                              

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CONTENTS OF POST-EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT NO. 18 TO
 REGISTRATION STATEMENT NO. 33-11165

This Post-Effective Amendment No. 18 comprises the following papers and         
documents:                                                                      

The facing sheet.                                             

The prospectus consisting of 44 pages.                        

The undertakings to file reports.                             

The signatures.                                               

The following exhibits:                                       

1.   A.   Copies of all exhibits  required by paragraph A of instructions for   
Exhibits in Form N-8B-2 to the Registration Statement.      

          (1)  (a)  Resolution  of Board  of  Directors  of IDS  Life  Insurance
               Company  establishing  the  Trust,  adopted  May 9,  1985,  filed
               electronically  as Exhibit 1(a) to  Post-Effective  Amendment No.
        12, File No. 33-11165 is incorporated herein by reference.

               (b)  Resolution  of Board  of  Directors  of IDS  Life  Insurance
                    Company  reconstituting the Trust, adopted October 16, 1985,
                    filed  electronically  as  Exhibit  1(b)  to  Post-Effective
                    Amendment No. 12, File No. 33-11165 is  incorporated  herein
by reference.                           

(2)  Not applicable.                                        

(3)  (a) Not applicable.                                    

          (b)  (1)  Form  of  Division  Vice  President's   Employment
                         Agreement dated November 1991, filed  electronically as
                         Exhibit 3(b)1 to Post Effective  Amendment No. 13, File
                   No. 33-11165 is incorporated herein by reference.

                    (2)  Form of District  Manager's Rider to IDS Life Insurance
                         Company,  Personal Financial  Planner's Agreement dated
                         November 1986, filed electronically as Exhibit 3(b)2 to
                         Post Effective  Amendment No. 13, File No.  33-11165 is
   incorporated herein by reference.

                    (3)  Form of Personal  Financial  Planner's  Agreement dated
                         November 1986, filed electronically as Exhibit 3(b)3 to
                         Post Effective  Amendment No. 13, File No.  33-11165 is
   incorporated herein by reference.

               (c)  Schedules of Sales Commissions  incorporated by reference to
                    Registrant's   original   Registration   Statement  for  the
                    Variable Account on Form N-8B-2 (File No. 811-4298;  May 10,
1985).                                  

(4)  Not applicable.                                        

          (5)  Flexible  Premium  Variable Life Insurance  Policy filed with the
               Original  Registration  Statement (File No. 33-11165) on December
31, 1986 and incorporated herein by reference.    

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     (6)  (a)  Certificate  of  Incorporation  of IDS  Life  Insurance
                    Company,  dated  July  23,  1957,  filed  electronically  as
                    Exhibit 1.A.(6)(a) to Post-Effective  Amendment No. 12, File
         No. 33-11165 is incorporated herein by reference.

               (b)  Amended  By-Laws  of  IDS  Life  Insurance  Company,   filed
                    electronically to Post-Effective  Amendment No. 12, File No.
     33-11165 is incorporated herein by reference.

(7)  Not applicable.                                        

      (8)  (a)  Form of  Investment  Management  and Services  Agreement
                    dated December 17, 1985 between IDS Life and IDS Life Series
                    Fund,  Inc.,  filed   electronically   as  Exhibit  8(a)  to
                    Post-Effective  Amendment  No.  13,  File  No.  33-11165  is
incorporated herein by reference.       

               (b)  Form of Investment  Advisory  Agreement  dated July 11, 1984
                    between IDS Life and IDS Financial Services Inc. relating to
                    the Variable Accounts,  filed electronically as Exhibit 8(a)
                    to  Post-Effective  Amendment  No. 13, File No.  33-11165 is
incorporated herein by reference.       

(9)  None.                                                  

          (10) Application form for the Flexible Premium Variable Life Insurance
               Policy filed  electronically  as Exhibit 1.A.(10) to Registrant's
               Form  N-8B-2  with  Post-Effective  Amendment  No.  11,  File No.
33-11165 is incorporated herein by reference.     

          (11) IDS  Life  Insurance   Company's   Description  of  Transfer  and
               Redemption  Procedures  and Method of Conversion to Fixed Benefit
               Policies filed electronically as Exhibit 1.A.(11) to Registrant's
               Form  N-8B-2  with  Post-Effective  Amendment  No.  11,  File No.
33-11165 is incorporated herein by reference.     

B.   (1)  Not applicable.                                             

(2)  Not applicable.                                        

C.   Not applicable.                                                  

2. Opinion of counsel to be filed by amendment.                                 

3. Financial Statement Schedules to be filed by amendment.                      

4. Not applicable.                                                              

5. Financial Data Schedules to be filed by amendment.                           

6. Actuarial opinion of James M. Jensen to be filed by amendment.               

7.   (a)  Written actuarial consent of James M. Jensen to be filed by amendment.

     (b)  Written auditor consent of Ernst & Young LLP to be filed by amendment.

     (c)  Power of Attorney to sign  amendments to this  Registration  Statement
          dated  March  12,  1997,  filed  as  Exhibit  7(d)  to  Post-Effective
          Amendment  No.  15,  File  No.  33-11165  is  incorporated  herein  by
reference.                                                  

     (d)  Power of Attorney to sign  amendments to this  Registration  Statement
          date  April  8,  1998,  is filed  electronically  as  Exhibit  7(d) to
          Post-Effective  Amendment  No. 15; File No.  33-11165 is  incorporated
herein by reference.                                        

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment   
Company Act of 1940 IDS Life Insurance Company on behalf of the Registrant has  
duly caused this Amendment to its Registration Statement to be signed on behalf 
of the Registrant by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of 
Minneapolis, and State of Minnesota on the 22nd day of January, 1999.           

                     IDS Life Variable Life Separate Account
                              (Registrant)

           By IDS Life Insurance Company
                           (Sponsor)

        By /s/   Richard W. Kling*
                           Richard W. Kling, President

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Amendment to   
the Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the      
capacities indicated on the 22nd day of January, 1999.                          

Signature                                Title                                  

/s/  James A. Mitchell*                  Chairman of the Board                  
James A. Mitchell                   and Chief Executive Officer       

/s/  Richard W. Kling*                   Director, President and                
Richard W. Kling                    Chief Executive Officer           

/s/  David R. Hubers*                    Director                               
David R. Hubers                                                       

/s/  Paul F. Kolkman*                    Director and Executive Vice            
Paul F. Kolkman                     President                         

/s/  Barry J. Murphy*                    Director and Executive Vice            
Barry J. Murphy                     President, Client Service         

/s/  Stuart A. Sedlacek*                 Chief Financial Officer and            
Stuart A. Sedlacek                  President, Assured Assets         

/s/  Philip C. Wentzel**                 Director, Vice President and Controller
Philip C. Wentzel                                                     

/s/  Jeffrey S. Horton**                 Vice President and Treasurer           
Jeffrey S. Horton                                                     

*Signed  pursuant to Power of Attorney dated March 12, 1997 filed as Exhibit No.
7(d) to  Post-Effective  Amendment  No. 15, File No.  33-11165  is  incorporated
herein by reference.                                                            

**Signed pursuant to Power of Attorney dated April 8, 1998, filed electronically
as an Exhibit to Post-Effective Amendment No. 17, File No. 33-11165.            

By:                                                                             

/s/ Mary Ellyn Minenko                                                          
Mary Ellyn Minenko                                                              

Dates Referenced Herein   and   Documents Incorporated By Reference

				Referenced-On Page
This 485APOS Filing		Date		First		Last			Other Filings
		1/22/93		10
		5/1/93		18		45
		10/1/93		18		40
		10/24/94		9
		3/12/97		48		49
		11/20/97		18		43			497
		12/31/97		21		39			24F-2NT, NSAR-U, N-30B-2
		4/8/98		48		49
		4/30/98		21					N-30B-2
		5/1/98		21
		10/13/98		38
Filed On / Filed As Of		1/25/99
		3/31/99		2
		4/12/99		1
		11/15/4		13
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