Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) This
section describes the Texas Health and Human Services Commission's (HHSC's)
treatment of nonemployment-related annuities purchased or having a transaction
date before February 8, 2006. In this section, a nonemployment-related annuity
means a revocable or irrevocable annuity a person may purchase to provide
income.
(b) A nonemployment-related
annuity is not a countable resource if the annuity:
(1) is irrevocable;
(2) pays out principal in equal monthly
installments and pays out interest in either equal monthly installments or in
amounts that result in increases of the monthly installments at least
annually;
(3) is guaranteed to
return within the person's life expectancy at least the person's principal
investment plus a reasonable amount of interest (based on prevailing market
interest rates at the time of the annuity purchase, as determined by
HHSC);
(4) names the state of Texas
or HHSC as the residual beneficiary of amounts payable under the annuity
contract, not to exceed any Medicaid funds expended on the person during the
person's lifetime, except as described in subsection (c) of this section;
and
(5) is issued by an insurance
company licensed and approved to do business in the state of Texas.
(c) If a person in an
institutional setting is married and the spousal impoverishment provisions of
§
RSA
358.413 of this subchapter (relating to
Spousal Impoverishment Treatment of Income and Resources) apply, the
requirement in subsection (b)(4) of this section does not apply to a
nonemployment-related annuity purchased by or for a community spouse.
(d) A nonemployment-related annuity that does
not meet the requirements of subsection (b) or (c) of this section is a
countable resource.
(1) HHSC applies
transfer-of-assets provisions in Division 4 of this subchapter (relating to
Transfer of Assets) to an annuity that is a countable resource and does not
meet the criterion in subsection (b)(3) of this section. The date of the
transfer of assets is the date of the annuity purchase or, if applicable, the
date the annuity contract was last amended in exchange for consideration. HHSC
determines the amount of the transfer by assessing the difference between the
life expectancy of the person and the number of years remaining until the
annuity is paid out. The amount payable during that period is the amount of the
transfer of assets.
(2) If the
annuity is a countable resource and is revocable, HHSC:
(A) counts the amount refundable upon
revocation of the annuity as the value of the resource; and
(B) applies transfer-of-assets provisions in
Division 4 of this subchapter if the person sells the annuity for less than the
amount refundable upon revocation.
(3) If the annuity is a countable resource
and is irrevocable, HHSC:
(A) counts fair
market value as the value of the resource and presumes fair market value is 80%
of the annuity's total remaining payout;
(B) applies transfer-of-assets provisions in
Division 4 of this subchapter if the annuity is sold for less than the purchase
price minus the amount of principal already paid; and
(C) if the terms of the annuity contract are
non-negotiable, applies transfer-of-assets provisions in Division 4 of this
subchapter to the total remaining payout.
(e) Income from a nonemployment-related
annuity that is not a countable resource under subsection (c) of this section
is treated in accordance with
RSA
416.1120 -
RSA
416.1124.
