Description: A discussion of substantially equal periodic payments, SEPPs, and the penalty tax that is associated with SEPPs, the Recapture Rule. Computation methods are also discussed.

Description: The article summarizes several recent private letter rulings from the IRS addressing the "investor control" doctrine in the context of funds of funds.

Description: This article discusses a new procedure for correcting inadvertent failures to satisfy the diversification requirements applicable to variable annuity and life insurance contracts under section 817h of the Internal Revenue Code.

Description: This article begins with an overview of how the tax treatment of partial exchanges has evolved over the last decade or so, including the concerns that led the Service to resist giving taxpayers carte blanche on such transactions.The new guidance shortens from 12 to six months the window following a partial exchange in which the transaction could be called into question, and simplifies the regime by de-linking it from the exceptions to the section 72q penalty tax.4 Finally, the guidance provides coordination with recent partial annuitization legislation and answers to other open issues. This article then summarizes Rev. Proc. 2011-38 and elaborates on why the features outlined above are important and helpful improvements over prior guidance.

Description: This article discusses tax and accounting issues that arise under a recently-issued Chief Counsel Advice in which the IRS applied a life insurance company tax rule to a nonlife company that issues life insurance products

Description: This article discusses the temporary waiver and how it provides only limited relief from the section 401a9 minimum distribution requirements.

Description: Dialogue between Peter Winslow, a tax attorney, and Edward Robbins and Christian DesRochers, tax actuaries, on selected tax issues related to proposals to change statutory reserving from a formula-based methodology to a principles-based approach.

Description: Tidbits relate to contingent deferred annuities, wellness benefits in qualified long-term care contracts, and reactivating the active financing exception for insurance companies.

Description: The article discusses the practical impact of recently Rev. Rul. 2014-7, which modified and supercedes Rev. Rul. 2007-54 by republishing the position of what variable annuity contract reserves are taken into for tax purposes without addressing the issue of how to calculate required interest for separate accounts; Rev. Rul. 2014-7 also obsoleted Rev. Rul. 2007-61, which had suspended Rev. Rul. 2007-54.