Secular Trust [402(b)] (nonexempt Trust)
Non qualified plan of deferred compensation whose goal is to compensate key employees without having to provide similar benefits to rank and file employees. The trust is irrevocable, and funds placed in it are protected against claims made by the company's creditors. Even though funds in this trust are not in the employee's possession, they are deemed by the Internal Revenue Service to have been constructively received by the employee. The company is allowed to take an income tax deduction for the funds it contributed to the trust, even though these funds have not been distributed to the employee while he or she has current taxable income. At the time funds from the trust are actually distributed, the employee is taxed only to the extent that these distributions are from earnings of the trust or from current trust income, which will allow the employee to pay taxes owed as the result of the company's contributions to the trust. The employer is not taxed on the trust income: the employee pays all taxes on this income. For example, assume that the company is in the 34% tax bracket and contributed $40,000 to the trust on behalf of John Employee, who is in the 28% tax bracket. The result is that John Employee will have an $11,200 tax liability ($40,000 x 28%) and the company will incur a $13,600 tax deduction ($40,000 x 34%). In order that John Employee will have the necessary funds to pay the taxes owed, the company usually will bonus him the $11,200 required, which of course is tax deductible as a business expense for the company.
Popular Insurance Terms
Endorsement to a property insurance policy providing all risks coverage for insured property. Excluded properties include residences, farms, and manufacturing properties. This endorsement ...
Act that provides new funding for the Bank Insurance Fund and enhances the safety and soundness of the financial system. The FDICIA includes the Foreign Bank Supervision Enhancement Act ...
Coverage of the employer for all employees on a blanket basis, with the maximum limit of coverage applied to any one loss without regard for the number of employees involved. Both ...
Insurance coverage that protects a company's and/or individual's assets against financial loss resulting from acts of confiscation, expropriation, or nationalization by a foreign ...
Annual report to policyholders of certain cash value life insurance products and annuities to inform them of the value of the investment portion of their contracts. Buyers of whole life ...
Contract sold by insurance companies that pays a monthly (quarterly, semiannual, or annual) income benefit for the life of a person (the annuitant). The annuitant can never outlive the ...
Process under which terminally ill people sell their life insurance policy for value thereby excluding the policy from being subject to the transfer for value under the three-year rule. ...
Reduction of private pension benefits to avoid "duplication" of Social Security benefits, according to a formula. Many pension plans "offset," or reduce, monthly pension benefits by a ...
Restriction on the benefit that owners and other highly compensated individuals may receive from a qualified pension or other employee benefits. The U.S. Tax Code requires that benefits ...

Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.