Charitable Gift Annuity Permit Application

This application is for charitable, religious, missionary, educational or philanthropic corporations or associations seeking to apply to the Superintendent for a special permit to issue gift annuity agreements in New York under section 1110 New York Insurance Law.

The following Application must be filed in original form with both the Department’s Life Bureau and our Office of General Counsel.

The Application must be fully completed including the Summary of Financial Report and the Certificate of Valuation.

The Application and Certificate of Valuation must contain original signatures and be properly notarized. The Application should also be stamped with the corporate seal.

  1. For Foreign Charitables, a signed Commitment if home state does not regulate charitable annuities.
  2. Copies of all policy forms intended for use.
  3. Copies of the by-laws, charter, constitution, certificate of incorporation and/or articles of incorporation of the applicant.
  4. A Statement from the Internal Revenue Service indicating tax-exempt status.
  5. A Certified Board Resolution, either a resolution for a permit or exemption, whichever is applicable (a Sample Resolution is included in the Charitable Annuity Permit Application. 
    • The Board adopted resolution must contain original signatures and be properly certified with the corporate seal. 
    • The Resolution must contain the full and complete name of the segregated trust.
  6. A detailed listing of investments, including: 
    • The name and address of the institution where the investments are held. 
    • The account must be in the name of the charitable annuity.
  7. A statement indicating whether the institution is a bank or trust company.
  8. Annuity rates to be used (reference materials provided for the calculation of Annuity Reserves).
  9. Reserve information.
  10. A listing of contracts that includes the name and/or contract number, sex, date of birth, issue date, gift amount, annual income paid, mode of payment, for deferred annuities, the annuity commencement date. 
    • For joint and survivor contracts include all of the information above on both lives. 
    • Contracts must be identifiable as to which valuation basis and interest rate was used to value each contract.

Annual Statements

Once your Society receives a permit, you are required to file an Annual Statement with DFS by March 1 of each year relating to the financial condition of the annuity fund.

Failure to comply with the statutory filing requirements of Sections 307 and 308 of the New York Insurance Law can result in the imposition of penalties of up to $250 per day.

Reserves and Exemptions

If the reserves on outstanding annuity agreements do not exceed $1,000,000 the Society has the option of:

  1. applying for a permit; or
  2. requesting an exemption from obtaining a permit.

If the Society elects option (a) and is granted a permit, it is required to file an Annual Statement, relating to the financial condition of the segregated gift annuity fund, with this Department by March 1 of each year and may be subject to on-site examination by this Department.

The Society will be required to maintain assets at least equal to the greater of (i) $100,000, or (ii) 115% of the minimum reserve required to be held by the Society on its outstanding annuities computed as follows: 115% of the reserve calculated using the method required by Section 4217 of the Insurance Law and 11 NYCRR 99 (Regulation 151) per Section 95.11(b) of Regulation 126.

If the Society elects option (b) and is granted an exemption from obtaining a permit, it is not required to file an Annual Statement and is not subject to on-site examination by DFS. The Society will be required to maintain assets at least equal to the greater of (i) $100,000, or (ii) 125% of the minimum reserve required to be held by the Society on its outstanding annuities computed as follows: 115% of the reserve calculated using the method required by Section 4217 of the Insurance Law and 11 NYCRR 99 (Regulation 151) per Section 95.11(b) of Regulation 126. When the statutory reserves reach $1,000,000 the Society is required to apply for and secure a permit.

Application Submission

The completed application and all requested material should be submitted to:

Bradley Rice at [email protected] and JoAnn Loeber at [email protected]