2012 South Carolina Code of Laws
Title 38 - Insurance
Chapter 69 - INDIVIDUAL ANNUITIES
Section 38-69-240 - Minimum forfeiture amounts for contracts issued before July 1, 2005.

(A) This section applies to a contract issued before July 1, 2005, and may be applied by an insurer, on a contract-form-by-contract-form basis, to a contract issued after June 30, 2005, and before July 1, 2007. This section does not apply to a contract issued after June 30, 2007.

(B) The minimum values as specified in Sections 38-69-250, 38-69-260, 38-69-270, 38-69-280, and 38-69-300 of any paid-up annuity, cash surrender, or death benefits available under an annuity contract must be based upon minimum nonforfeiture amounts as defined in this section.

(C) With respect to a contract providing for flexible considerations, the minimum nonforfeiture amount at any time at or before the commencement of an annuity payment is equal to an accumulation up to that time at a rate of interest of three percent a year of percentages of the net considerations paid before that time, decreased by the sum of:

(1) any previous withdrawals from or partial surrenders of the contract accumulated at a rate of interest of three percent a year; and

(2) the amount of any indebtedness to the insurer on the contract, including interest due and accrued, and increased by any existing additional amounts credited by the insurer to the contract.

(D) The net considerations for a given contract year used to define the minimum nonforfeiture amount must be an amount not less than zero and are equal to the corresponding gross considerations credited to the contract during that contract year less an annual contract charge of thirty dollars and less a collection charge of one dollar and twenty-five cents for each consideration credited to the contract during that contract year. The percentages of net considerations are sixty-five percent of the net consideration for the first contract year and eighty-seven and one-half percent of the net considerations for the second and later contract years. Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding sentence, the percentage is sixty-five percent of the portion of the total net consideration for any renewal contract year which exceeds by not more than two times the sum of those portions of the net considerations in all previous contract years for which the percentage was sixty-five percent.

(E) With respect to a contract providing for fixed scheduled considerations, minimum nonforfeiture amounts are calculated on the assumption that considerations are paid annually in advance and are defined as for contracts with flexible considerations which are paid annually with two exceptions:

(1) the portion of the net consideration for the first contract year to be accumulated is the sum of sixty-five percent of the net consideration for the first contract year plus twenty-two and one-half percent of the excess of the net consideration for the first contract year over the lesser of the net considerations for the second and third contract years;

(2) the annual contract charge is the lesser of:

(a) thirty dollars; or

(b) ten percent of the gross annual considerations.

(F) With respect to a contract providing for a single consideration, minimum nonforfeiture amounts are defined as for contracts with flexible considerations except that the percentage of net consideration used to determine the minimum nonforfeiture amount is equal to ninety percent and the net consideration is the gross consideration less a contract charge of seventy-five dollars.

HISTORY: Former 1976 Code Section 38-8-40 [1978 Act No. 517 Section 4] recodified as Section 38-69-240 by 1987 Act No. 155, Section 1; 2005 Act No. 43, Section 2, eff May 3, 2005.