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 The 1982 code decreed that any money withdrawn from an annuity would be considered income first and would therefore be taxable.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
Form of deferred annuity; a life insurance policy that usually guarantees from 120 to 180 monthly income payments to the annuitant at retirement. If the annuitant dies during the deferral ...
Financial analysis method established by the national association of insurance commissioners (naic) to detect problems of property and casualty insurance companies and life and health ...
Relationship of gains from investments (including realized capital gains) resulting from insurance operations to earned premiums. ...
Performance of a deed or function. Certain acts are prohibited from coverage in insurance. For example, if the insured commits a felony, the insured's beneficiary cannot collect under the ...
Provision found in current assumption whole life insurance policies under which the insurance company retains the contractual right to recalculate the premium (after a minimum period of ...
Value of an insurance company or other company that consists of capital and surplus and an estimated value for business on the company's books. ...
Bond guaranteeing that a contractor will perform under the contract in accordance with all specifications of the bid submitted. ...
Trust established under the auspices of the Internal Revenue Code that permits the maintenance of a separate account within the employer's defined benefit pension plan from which to pay the ...
Government agency, under the McCarran-Ferguson act (public law 15), that has no authority over insurance matters to the extent the states regulate insurance to the satisfaction of Congress. ...
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