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 The 1982 code decreed that any money withdrawn from an annuity would be considered income first and would therefore be taxable.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
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 ...
method of determining the worth of property to be insured, or of property that has been lost or damaged; method of setting insurance company reserves to pay future claims ...
Rules of conduct and commissions paid to agents. For example, under the rules of conduct agents may be required to submit all of their business to only that agency. The contract also lists ...
Method of comparing the costs of a set of cash value life insurance policies that takes into account the time value of money. The true costs of alternative cash value policies with the same ...
Term describing illness, sickness, or disability incurred by the insured such that the insured is restricted to his or her home, a hospital, or a nursing home. Many health insurance ...
Detail showing distribution of property coverages written by an insurance company. Illustrates a potential danger of concentration of insured risks. ...
Period of time of insurance coverage. If a loss occurs during this time, insurance benefits are paid. If a loss occurs after this time period has expired, no insurance benefits are paid. ...
Statistical procedure applied to the data that comprises a mortality table. It is designed to smooth out the irregularities in that data believed to not be truly indicative of the ...
Act that requires the Department of Labor (DOL) to have a formal program to educate the public about the importance of saving for retirement. The DOL is also required to educate the public ...
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