Tax Equity And Financial Responsibility Acts Of 1982 And 1983 (TEFRA)
Legislation that redefined life insurance and raised taxes on life insurance companies. Among the provisions were new rules for some life insurance products, including a definition of flexible premium life insurance, and an increase in life insurance company taxes. Congress was concerned that a policyholder could take a substantial amount, say $1 million, and, after putting a few dollars toward a life insurance premium, put the remainder into a tax-free investment vehicle. One of two tests had to be satisfied for a policy to qualify as life insurance: the cash surrender value policy could not exceed a net single premium, and the death benefit had to represent a certain percentage of the cash value, which declined as the policy-holder got older. For example, at age 40, the death benefit must be 140% of cash value. The second rule closed a loophole on tax-free withdrawals from annuities. Prior to 1982 annuity holders could withdraw their initial premium tax free at any time. The 1982 code decreed that any money withdrawn from an annuity would be considered income first and would therefore be taxable. The older 1959 tax code devised a shorthand formula for determining taxes paid by insurers. The formula worked when interest rates were low, but as they soared, insurers found ways to reduce the increased tax bite. The 1982 code introduced a stopgap measure designed to raise taxes on life insurers by $3 billion.
Popular Insurance Terms
Income payable to a surviving spouse or other beneficiary upon the death of the primary wage earner to bridge the gap until the beneficiary is self-sufficient. For example, income can be ...
Coverage that is purchased to provide protection for a loss that has already occurred. The severity of the loss, however, is uncertain. ...
Same as term Deposit Term Life Insurance: policy in which a premium (the deposit) is paid in the first policy year, in addition to the regular term insurance premiums required. The deposit ...
Under a general liability policy, a claim by an employer arising when an employee terminated by a supervisor without authority or just cause brings suit against the employer. Such a claim ...
Special policy blank issued by an insured for individual shipments or other purposes under an open policy. The open policy allows an insured to buy protection for all marine business for an ...
Unfunded trust that acts as the owner of a life insurance policy. The trust receives a donor's cash payments on a periodic basis, from which the beneficiary of the trust has a specified ...
Same as term Cost-Of-Living Adjustment: automatic adjustment applied to Social Security retirement payments when the consumer price index increases at a rate of at least 3%, the first ...
An amount usually expressed as 50% of the monthly indemnity for the total disability benefit provided by a disability income insurance policy. This amount becomes payable when the insured ...
Option clause in a disability income policy that the insured can exercise that would permit the insured the right to purchase additional limits of coverage regardless of the insured's ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.