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 The 1982 code decreed that any money withdrawn from an annuity would be considered income first and would therefore be taxable.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
Bonds that are less than investment grade plus the bonds that are in or approaching default, which comprise part of the insurance company's investment bond portfolio. ...
Difference in the amount of losses between the beginning and end of a time period. ...
Action by the owner of a cash value policy to relinquish it for its cash surrender value. Since the depression of the 1930s, companies have reserved the right to delay payment of a cash ...
Person insured under a blue CROSS hospitalization or blue shield medical health insurance plan. ...
Report that an insurance company must file annually with the State Insurance Commissioner in each state in which it does business. The statement shows the current status of reserves, ...
Fixed or stated amount of interest paid by a security expressed as a percent of the par value of the security. The longer the length of time until maturity, the higher the coupon rate to ...
Retirement plan under which a discrete increment of periodic retirement income is credited to an employee for each year of service with an employer. This increment is either a flat dollar ...
Specific powers that a prospective insured believes the insurance company has granted to its agent. For example, if the insurance company has furnished the agent a rate book, application ...
Type of guaranteed investments contract in which the interest credited is adjusted on a periodic basis to reflect the investment earnings of the underlying assets of the contract. ...
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