Federal Tax Considerations for Life Insurance and Annuities

When must an IRA be completely distributed when a beneficiary is not named?

December 31 of the year that contains the fifth anniversary of the owner's death. If the owner dies before distributions have begun, the entire interest must be distributed in full on or before December 31 of the calendar year that contains the fifth anniversary of the owner's death, unless the owner named a beneficiary.

When a beneficiary receives payments consisting of both principal and interest portions, which parts are taxable as income?

Interest only If a beneficiary receives payments that contain both principal and interest portions, only the interest is taxable as income.

An employee quits her job where she has a balance of $10,000 in her qualified plan. If she decides to do a direct transfer from her plan to a Traditional IRA, how much will be transferred from one plan administrator to another and what is the tax consequence of a direct transfer?

$10,000, no tax consequence During an IRA direct transfer (or direct rollover), the full amount gets reinvested from one plan to the other.

An insured decides to surrender his $100,000 Whole Life policy. The premiums paid into the policy added up to $15,000. At policy surrender, the cash surrender value was $18,000. What part of the surrender value would be income taxable?

$3,000 The difference between the premiums paid and the cash value would be taxable. In this example, the difference between the premiums paid ($15,000) and the cash value ($18,000) is $3,000.

Which concept is associated with "exclusion ratio"

Annuities payments Some parts of an annuities payment are taxable, while others are not. The return of the principal paid in is nontaxable. The portion that is taxable is the actual amount of payment, less the expected return of the principal paid in. This relationship is called the "exclusion ratio".

Which of the following is true regarding taxation of dividends in participating policies?

Dividends are not taxable. Dividends are not considered to be income for tax purposes, since they are the return of unused premiums. The interest earned on the dividends, however, is subject to taxation as ordinary income.

An insured has a Modified Endowment Contract. He wants to withdraw some money in order to pay medical bills. Which of the following is true?

He will have to pay a penalty if he is younger than 59 1/2. Any cash value life insurance policy that develops cash value faster than a seven-pay whole life contract is called a Modified Endowment Contract. It loses the benefits of a standard life contract. All withdrawals are subject to taxation on a LIFO basis, and if withdrawals are made earlier than the age of 59½, a 10% penalty is imposed.

A 60-year-old participant in a 401(k) plan takes a distribution and rolls it over to an IRA within 60 days. Which of the following is true?

The amount of the distribution is reduced by the amount of a 20% withholding tax.

An IRA uses immediate annuities to pay out benefits; the IRA owner is nearly 75 years old when he decides to collect distributions. What kind of penalty would the IRA owner pay?

50% tax on the amount not distributed as required When immediate annuities are used to pay IRA benefits, distributions must begin no later than age 70½ in order for the annuitant to avoid penalties. The penalty is 50% of the shortfall from the required annual amount.

Which of the following is NOT an allowable 1035 exchange?

A whole life insurance policy is exchanged for a term insurance policy. The key is that the exchange may not be from a less tax-advantaged contract to a more tax-advantaged contract. "Same to same" is acceptable.

If an annuitant dies during the accumulation period, what benefit (if any) will be included in the annuitant's estate?

Accumulated cash value If the annuitant died during the accumulation period, the insurer is obligated to return all or a portion of the annuity cash value (values accumulated in the annuity in accordance with contract terms), which will be included in the deceased annuitant's estate.

If taken as a lump sum, life insurance proceeds to beneficiaries are passed

Free of federal income taxation. Life insurance proceeds to beneficiaries are passed free of federal income taxation if taken as a lump sum distribution. If the proceeds are taken as other than lump sum, part of the proceeds will be tax-free and part will be taxable. When paid in installments, part of the proceeds contains principal and some interest, so the interest portion is subject to federal income taxation.

What is the tax consequence of amounts received from a Traditional IRA after the money was left in the tax-deferred account by the beneficiary?

Income tax on distributions and no penalty. If the beneficiary chooses to leave the money in the tax-deferred account until the calendar year in which the owner would have attained age 70½, the distributions would be subject to income taxation at the rate at the time of withdrawal.

What method is used to determine the taxable portion of each annuity payment?

The exclusion ration The ratio of the total investment in that contract to the expected return is developed to determine the portion of the annuity payment that will be taxable and nontaxable.

In a direct rollover, how is the money transferred from one plan to the new one?

From trustee to trustee In a direct rollover, the distribution is made directly from the trustee of the first plan to the trustee or administrator/custodian of the new IRA plan.

During the accumulation period in a nonqualified annuity, what are the tax consequences of a withdrawal?

Taxable interest will be withdrawn first and the 10% penalty will be imposed if under age 59 1/2. When money is withdrawn from the annuity during the accumulation phase, the amounts are taxed on a last in first out basis (LIFO). Therefore, all withdrawals will be taxable until the owner's cost basis is reached.

J transferred his life insurance policy to his son two years before his death. Which of the following is true?

The entire face value of the policy will be included in J's taxable estate. If a policyowner transfers or gives away a life insurance policy within 3 years prior to his/her death, the entire face amount of the policy will be included in his or her taxable estate.

When would life insurance policy proceeds be included in the insured's taxable estate?

When there are any incidents of ownership at the time of death If the insured were the owner of the policy at the time of death or possessed any incidents of ownership at the time of death, the value of the policy will be included in the insured's taxable estate. If the insured, as policyowner, assigns or transfers ownership of the policy or makes a gift of the policy within 3 years prior to his or her death, the entire face amount of the policy will be included in his or her taxable estate.

Which of the following describes the taxation of an annuity when money is withdrawn during the accumulation phase?

Withdrawn amounts are taxed on a last in, first out basis. When money is withdrawn from the annuity during the accumulation phase the amounts are taxed on a last in first out basis (LIFO). Therefore, all withdrawals will be taxable until the owner's cost basis is reached. After all of the interest is received and taxed the principal will be received with no additional tax consequences.