2023 District of Columbia Code › Title 31 - Insurance and Securities › Chapter 47 - Provisions Relating to All Life Insurance Companies › § 31–4705.03. Standard nonforfeiture law — Individual deferred annuities

§ 31–4705.03. Standard nonforfeiture law — Individual deferred annuities.
(a) This section shall not apply to any reinsurance, group annuity purchased under a retirement plan or plan of deferred compensation established or maintained by an employer (including a partnership or sole proprietorship) or by an employee organization, or by both, other than a plan providing individual retirement accounts of individual retirement annuities under § 408 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (88 Stat. 959; § 408 of Title 26, United States Code), as now or hereafter amended, premium deposit fund, variable contract, immediate annuity, any deferred annuity contract after annuity payments have commenced, or reversionary annuity, nor to any contract which shall be delivered outside the District of Columbia through an agent or other representative of the company issuing the contract.
(b)(1) In the case of contracts issued on or after the operative date of this section as defined in subsection (k) of this section, no contract of annuity, except as stated in subsection (a) of this section, shall be delivered or issued for delivery in the District of Columbia unless it contains in substance the following provisions, or corresponding provisions which in the opinion of the Commissioner are at least as favorable to the contract holder:
(A) That upon cessation of payment of considerations under a contract, the company will grant a paid-up annuity benefit on a plan stipulated in the contract of such value as is specified in subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), and (i) of this section;
(B) If a contract provides for a lump-sum settlement at maturity, or at any other time, that upon surrender of the contract at or prior to the commencement of any annuity payments, the company will pay in lieu of any paid-up annuity benefit as cash surrender benefit of such amount as is specified in subsections (d), (e), (g), and (i) of this section. The company shall reserve the right to defer the payment of such cash surrender benefit for a period of 6 months after demand therefor with surrender of the contract;
(C) A statement of the mortality table, if any, and interest rates used in calculating any minimum paid-up annuity, cash surrender or death benefits that are guaranteed under the contract, together with sufficient information to determine the amounts of such benefits; and
(D) A brief and general statement of the method to be used in calculating any paid-up annuity, cash surrender or death benefits that may be available under the contract and an explanation of the manner in which such benefits are altered by the existence of any additional amounts credited by the company to the contract, any indebtedness to the company on the contract or any prior withdrawals from or partial surrenders of the contract.
(2) Notwithstanding the requirements of this section, any deferred annuity contract may provide that if no considerations have been received under a contract for a period of 2 full years and the portion of the paid-up annuity benefit at maturity on the plan stipulated in the contract arising from considerations paid prior to such period would be less than $20 monthly, the company may at its option terminate such contract by payment in cash of the then present value of such portion of the paid-up annuity benefit, calculated on the basis of the mortality table, if any, and interest rate specified in the contract for determining the paid-up annuity benefit, and by such payment shall be relieved of any further obligation under such contract.
(c) The minimum values as specified in subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), and (i) of this section of any paid-up annuity, cash surrender or death benefits available under an annuity contract shall be based upon minimum nonforfeiture amounts as defined in this subsection:
(1)(A) With respect to contracts providing for flexible considerations, the minimum nonforfeiture amount at any time at or prior to the commencement of any annuity payments shall be equal to an accumulation up to such time at a rate of interest of 1.5% per year of percentages of the net considerations (as hereinafter defined) paid prior to such time, decreased by the sum of:
(i) Any prior withdrawals from or partial surrender of the contract accumulated at a rate of interest of 1.5% per year; and
(ii) The amount of any indebtedness to the company on the contract, including interest due and accrued; and increased by any existing additional amounts credited by the company to the contract;
(A-i) Notwithstanding the interest rate of 1.5% per year used to calculate the minimum nonforfeiture amount under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the Mayor shall issue regulations which shall set forth the computation of the interest rate used to determine the minimum nonforfeiture amount. The regulations shall apply to any contract issued on or after the effective date of the regulations.
(B) The net considerations for a given contract year used to define the minimum nonforfeiture amount shall be an amount not less than 0 and shall be equal to the corresponding gross considerations credited to the contract during that contract year less an annual contract charge of $30 and less a collection charge of $1.25 per consideration credited to the contract during that contract year. The percentages of net considerations shall be 65% of the net consideration for the 1st contract year and 87 1/2% of the net considerations for the 2nd and later contract years. Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding sentence, the percentage shall be 65% of the portion of the total net consideration for any renewal contract year which exceeds by not more than 2 times the sum of those portions of the net considerations in all prior contract years for which the percentage was 65%;
(2) With respect to contracts providing for fixed scheduled considerations, minimum nonforfeiture amounts shall be calculated on the assumption that considerations are paid annually in advance and shall be defined as for contracts with flexible considerations which are paid annually with 2 exceptions:
(A) The portion of the net consideration for the 1st contract year to be accumulated shall be the sum of 65% of the net consideration for the 1st contract year plus 22 1/2% of the excess of the net consideration for the 1st contract year over the lesser of the net considerations for the 2nd and 3rd contract years; and
(B) The annual contract charge shall be the lesser of $30 or 10% of the gross annual consideration;
(3) With respect to contracts providing for a single consideration, minimum nonforfeiture amounts shall be defined as for contracts with flexible considerations except that the percentage of net consideration used to determine the minimum nonforfeiture amount shall be equal to 90% and the net consideration shall be the gross consideration less a contract charge of $75.
(d) Any paid-up annuity benefit available under a contract shall be such that its present value on the date annuity payments are to commence is at least equal to the minimum nonforfeiture amount on that date. Such present value shall be computed using the mortality table, if any, and the interest rate specified in the contract for determining the minimum paid-up annuity benefits guaranteed in the contract.
(e) For contracts which provide cash surrender benefits, such cash surrender benefits available prior to maturity shall not be less than the present value as of the date of surrender of that portion of the maturity value of the paid-up annuity benefit which would be provided under the contract at maturity arising from considerations paid prior to the time of cash surrender reduced by the amount appropriate to reflect any prior withdrawals from or partial surrenders of the contract, such present value being calculated on the basis of an interest rate not more than 1 percent higher than the interest rate specified in the contract for accumulating the net considerations to determine such maturity value, decreased by the amount of any indebtedness to the company on the contract, including interest due and accrued, and increased by any existing additional amounts credited by the company to the contract. In no event shall any cash surrender benefit be less than the minimum nonforfeiture amount at that time. The death benefit under such contracts shall be at least equal to the cash surrender benefit.
(f) For contracts which do not provide cash surrender benefits, the present value of any paid-up annuity benefit available as a nonforfeiture option at any time prior to maturity shall not be less than the present value of that portion of the maturity value of the paid-up annuity benefit provided under the contract arising from considerations paid prior to the time the contract is surrendered in exchange for, or changed to, a deferred paid-up annuity, such present value being calculated for the period prior to the maturity date on the basis of the interest rate specified in the contract for accumulating the net considerations to determine such maturity value, and increased by any existing additional amounts credited by the company to the contract. For contracts which do not provide any death benefits prior to the commencement of any annuity payments, such present values shall be calculated on the basis of such interest rate and the mortality table specified in the contract for determining the maturity value of the paid-up annuity benefit. However, in no event shall the present value of the paid-up annuity benefit be less than the minimum nonforfeiture amount at the time.
(g) For the purpose of determining the benefits calculated under subsections (e) and (f) of this section, in the case of annuity contracts under which an election may be made to have annuity payments commence at optional maturity dates, the maturity date shall be deemed to be the latest date for which election shall be permitted by the contract, but shall not be deemed to be later than the anniversary of the contract next following the annuitant’s 70th birthday or the 10th anniversary of the contract, whichever is later.
(h) Any contract which does not provide cash surrender benefits or does not provide death benefits at least equal to the minimum nonforfeiture amount prior to the commencement of any annuity payments shall include a statement in a prominent place in the contract that such benefits are not provided.
(i) Any paid-up annuity, cash surrender or death benefits available at any time, other than on the contract anniversary under any contract with fixed scheduled considerations, shall be calculated with allowance for the lapse of time and the payment of any scheduled considerations beyond the beginning of the contract year in which cessation of payment of considerations under the contract occurs.
(j) For any contract which provides, within the same contract by rider or supplemental contract provision, both annuity benefits and life insurance benefits that are in excess of the greater of cash surrender benefits or a return of the gross considerations with interest, the minimum nonforfeiture benefits shall be equal to the sum of the minimum nonforfeiture benefits for the annuity portion and the minimum nonforfeiture benefits, if any, for the life insurance portion computed as if each portion were a separate contract. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), and (i) of this section, additional benefits payable: (1) in the event of total and permanent disability; (2) as reversionary annuity or deferred reversionary annuity benefits; or (3) as other policy benefits additional to life insurance, endowment and annuity benefits; and considerations for all such additional benefits, shall be disregarded in ascertaining the minimum nonforfeiture amounts, paid-up annuity, cash surrender and death benefits that may be required by this section. The inclusion of such additional benefits shall not be required in any paid-up benefits, unless such additional benefits separately would require minimum nonforfeiture amounts, paid-up annuity, cash surrender and death benefits.
(k) After October 13, 1978, any company may file with the Commissioner a written notice of its election to comply with the provisions of this section after a specified date which is no more than 2 years after such effective date. After the filing of such notice, then upon such specified date, which shall be the operative date of this section for such company, this section shall become operative with respect to annuity contracts thereafter issued by such company. If a company makes no such election, the operative date of this section for such company shall be 2 years after October 13, 1978.
(June 19, 1934, ch. 672, ch. V, § 5c; as added Oct. 13, 1978, D.C. Law 2-120,§ 9(b), 25 DCR 1519; May 21, 1997, D.C. Law 11-268, § 10, 44 DCR 1730; Mar. 24, 1998, D.C. Law 12-81, § 23(b), 45 DCR 745; Feb. 6, 2004, D.C. Law 15-63, § 2, 50 DCR 9301; Apr. 13, 2005, D.C. Law 15-354, § 48, 52 DCR 2638; Mar. 2, 2007, D.C. Law 16-191, § 48(c), 53 DCR 6794.)
Prior Codifications
1981 Ed., § 35-508.
1973 Ed., § 35-705c.
Section References
This section is referenced in § 31-4705.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 15-63, in subsec. (c)(1), substituted “1.5% per year” for “3% per annum” throughout subpar. (A), and added subpar. (A-1).
D.C. Law 15-354, in subsec. (c)(1)(A)(A-i), substituted “(A-I) Notwithstanding” for “(A-1) Notwithstanding”.
D.C. Law 16-191, in subsec. (c)(1)(A-i), validated a previously made technical correction.
Emergency Legislation
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Standard Valuation and Nonforfeiture Emergency Amendment Act of 2002 (D.C. Act 14-565, December 23, 2002, 50 DCR 287).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Standard Valuation and Nonforfeiture Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2003 (D.C. Act 15-37, March 24, 2003, 50 DCR 2772).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Standard Valuation and Nonforfeiture Emergency Amendment Act of 2003 (D.C. Act 15-204, October 24, 2003, 50 DCR 9842).
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Standard Valuation Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2004 (D.C. Act 15-355, February 19, 2004, 51 DCR 2322).
Temporary Legislation
For temporary (225 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Standard Valuation and Nonforfeiture Temporary Amendment Act of 2002 (D.C. Law 14-278, April 2, 2003, law notification 50 DCR 3377).
References in Text
Section 408 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, referred to in subsection (a) has been retained under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.