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 The 1982 code decreed that any money withdrawn from an annuity would be considered income first and would therefore be taxable.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
Presence of other contract (s) covering the same conditions. When more than one policy covers the exposure, each policy will pay an equal share of the loss. ...
Process of forming a large group of homogeneous lives that in order to allow the law of large numbers to operate, thereby projecting a probable rate of mortality or morbidity whose ...
Feature in a life insurance policy allowing a policyowner to freely assign (give, sell) a policy to another or institution. For example, in order to secure a loan, a bank asks to be ...
Employee's full entitlement, with no waiting period, to benefits under a pension or retirement plan. In the case of a contributory plan, there is immediate vesting of the employee's own ...
Assurance by the agent that the recommended insurance plan for the client is suitable for that client's specific needs. This assurance is derived from a careful analysis by the agent of the ...
Average earned monthly income (AEMI) for the tax year in which the insured wage earner has income interrupted or terminated because of illness, sickness, or accident. This AEMI is important ...
Type of term life insurance policy that has a face amount that increases to a predetermined sum and then decreases to zero at the termination point of the policy, while at the same time ...
Insurance coverage for pitfalls associated with travel. The coverage can be classified as follows: Trip Cancellation the travelers) must cancel the trip because of unforeseen circumstances ...
Employee of the insurance company who has the authority to appoint brokers on behalf of the insurance company. This supervisor has the objective and responsibility to sell the insurance ...
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