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Valuing purchased annuities as plan assets
Summary In reply to a question about plan assets, DOL said annuities purchased by a plan, including reserves held by an insurer for previously purchased annuities, count as plan assets. It said to value them at the present value of future benefits minus present net premiums or payments, as determined by a certified actuary. The answer addresses the described annuities.
Document
Federal opinion letter
Agency
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Document number
P/OPINION 76-17
Date issued
March 12, 1976
Status
Unknown
EBSA's index does not mark withdrawn or superseded opinions; still posted on dol.gov as of 2026-10-26.
Status last verified October 26, 2026
Topics
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About this page: The full text below is the official document from U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). Ezel adds the plain-English summary and tracks the document's status. The official source linked on this page is authoritative for any reliance.
P/OPINION 76-17
3(26)
March 12, 1976
Dear :
This is reply to your letter of October 4, 1974 to the
Internal Revenue Service and confirms a telephone conversation
between you and of the office November 4, 1975.
Relative to your question as to what constitutes plan assets,
it appears clear that annuities purchased by a plan would,
in fact, be included. However, their valuation should be
restricted to the present value of future benefits less
present net premiums (or payments) as determined by a certified
actuary.
Therefore, the reserves held by the insurance company and
consisting of previously purchased annuities constitute
plan assets and should be valued in accordance with the
procedure outlined above.
We trust that this responds to your question.
Sincerely,
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