§ 3223 — Group annuity contracts; standard provisions as to contractual rights and responsibilities of contract holders, certificate holders and a...

§ 3223. Group annuity contracts; standard provisions as to contractual\nrights and responsibilities of contract holders, certificate holders and\nannuitants, and insurers. Except as otherwise provided in section four\nthousand two hundred forty of this chapter, every group annuity contract\ndelivered or issued for delivery in this state and every certificate\nused in connection therewith, other than a certificate to which\nsubsection (a) of section three thousand two hundred nineteen of this\narticle applies, shall contain in substance the following provisions to\nthe extent that such provisions are applicable or provisions which the\nsuperintendent deems to be more favorable to annuitants, or not less\nfavorable to annuitants and more favorable to the contract holders:\n (a) in any such contract requiring payments to be made to the insurer,\nthat, after the first payment, there shall be a grace period of\nthirty-one days following the due date of any subsequent payment within\nwhich the payment to be remitted to the insurer may be made. During\nsuch grace period, the contract shall continue in full force;\n (b) specifying the document or documents, which shall include the\ncontract and, if a copy is attached thereto, the application of the\ncontract holder, constituting the entire contract between the parties;\n (c) that if the age or sex of any person, or any other fact affecting\nthe amount or date of any payment by or to the insurer, has been\nmisstated, there will be an equitable adjustment, as provided in the\ncontract, of the benefits payable thereunder or of the payments to be\nmade to the insurer. Each certificate issued under the contract shall\ncontain an appropriate reference to such provision for equitable\nadjustment;\n (d) in any such contract providing for the maintenance by the insurer\nof one or more accounts for each annuitant and providing that\nwithdrawals may be made from such accounts only with the annuitant's\nconsent or upon termination of the annuitant's employment, that the\ninsurer shall issue a certificate for delivery to each annuitant who\ncontributes to the contract, specifying the nature and basis of\nascertainment of benefits, which are deemed by the superintendent to be\nequitable to the annuitant and the contract holder, in the event of\neither the termination of the annuitant's employment, except by death,\nor the discontinuance of payments under the contract. The contract and\ncertificate shall provide that if the annuitant dies before the\ncommencement date of the annuity, the insurer shall pay a death benefit\nat least equal to the accumulated amount in the annuitant's accounts\narising from the annuitant's contributions. Nothing herein shall be\nconstrued to require that the contract or certificate contain the same\nprovisions required for contracts or certificates subject to section\nfour thousand two hundred twenty-three of this chapter;\n (e) that the insurer shall issue for delivery to each person to whom\nannuity benefits are being paid thereunder a certificate setting forth a\nstatement in substance of the benefits to which such person is entitled\nunder such contract.\n