AXA Annuity IRA - Current Value higher than 'death benefit'

[Bryon Haacke]

If this is in the wrong section, apologies.

My mother passed in Septemeber. She had a trust, which this account was transferred to prior to her passing. 

This is an IRA that is part of an AXA Annuity. This was originally setup with a 'death benefit' - which is now far lower than the current market value of the policy.

My/her lawyers sent a summary of funds to me, showing the death benefit as the amount that would pay out for this policy. That has me worried.

To put some random numbers to this: Say her death benefit was 300,000 and the current market value of the IRA/Annuity is 500,000. The 500,000 is what pays out.... RIGHT? My understanding was that the death benefit is a thing setup in case the market tanks and you lose all of your original investment. Not something that would even come into play if the current value is higher than the benefit.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

PS - The same annuity has a line saying: Protected Living Benefit Base Amount, which is even higher (say 550,000 to continue from the example). What does this mean?