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 The 1982 code decreed that any money withdrawn from an annuity would be considered income first and would therefore be taxable.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
Direct payment to a new custodian for a retirement plan. This payment is not a taxable event since it is not a distribution. The payment must be between like plans; for example, one ...
Same as term Commutation Right: right of a beneficiary of a life insurance policy to exchange the future installments due that beneficiary for a lump sum distribution. ...
Type of flexible spending account. ...
Language in the insurance policy that can be considered unclear or subject to different interpretations. Under these circumstances, the courts have generally ruled in favor of insured ...
Publication stipulating underwriting rules applicable for a given line of insurance, classifications of exposures within that line of insurance, and premium rates per classification. For ...
Plan in which funds are currently allocated to purchase retirement benefits. An employee is thus assured of receiving retirement payments, even if the employer is no longer in business at ...
Sum total of all assets owned by the decedent to include personal property, real property, and trust property. ...
Bulletin issued June, 1993, with disclosure requirements that strongly suggest that insurance companies establish reserves or add to current reserves for asbestos and environmental risks to ...
Insurance company whose corporate charter and bylaws prevent assessment of its policyowners, regardless of how adverse its loss and expense experience may become. ...
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