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 The 1982 code decreed that any money withdrawn from an annuity would be considered income first and would therefore be taxable.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
Element used to adjust losses to reflect the incurred but not reported claim (IBNR) under the retrospective method of rating. ...
Death caused by a person without legal justification. Wrongful death may be the result of negligence, such as when a drunken driver hits and kills someone; or it may be intentional, as when ...
Insurance company incorporated according to the laws of the state in which a risk is located and the policy issued. The insurance company is domiciled in that state. ...
Circumstances that encourage the organization of pension plans by employers. For example, employer contributions are tax deductible as business expenses and not currently taxable income to ...
Written contract between an insured and an insurance company stating the obligations and responsibilities of each party. ...
Insurance policy that differs from the standard form. ...
Same as term Deviated Rate: rates used by a property and casualty insurance company that are different from that suggested by a rating bureau. An insurance company may use deviated rates ...
Actuary, appointed by the life insurance company, required by the national association of insurance commissioners (naic) under the naic: standard valuation law to provide an opinion as to ...
Type of pension in which benefits may vary depending on the investment performance of the pension plan assets. Contributions are made to fund a target benefit, such as 35% of compensation, ...
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