Program for alternative funding of employee and retiree benefits
View Patent ↗An investment program for funding benefits by maintaining assets in the investment program that includes an employer owned trust account and at least one life, disability, health or annuity contract (including a terminal annuity) obtained directly or indirectly from a partially or wholly owned or non-owned captive insurance company. The insurance contract is purchased with assets from the trust account and the partially or wholly owned or non-owned captive insurance company is a least partially, wholly or non-owned by the employer. When paying or reimbursing benefits, the employer or the trust may pay the benefit and if the employer pays the benefit, the trust may reimburse the employer.
1. A computer implemented method for funding benefits, said computer implemented method comprising:
electronically accepting, by a computer, inputs related to specific employer information;
electronically determining, by a computer, an amount of funding to provide to an employer owned trust account;
electronically calculating, by a computer, what portion of said funding to use to purchase an annuity contract;
electronically determining, by a computer, whether to purchase said annuity contract from a third party insurance company or a partially or wholly owned or non-owned captive insurance company; and
electronically determining, by a computer, what portion of said annuity contract should be reinsured by said partially or wholly owned or non-owned captive insurance company when said annuity contract is purchased from said third party insurance company.
2. The computer implemented method of claim 1 , wherein said annuity contract is purchased from said third party life insurance company.
3. The computer implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising, estimating benefit amounts to be paid or reimbursed by said employer or said trust or said annuity contracts.
4. The computer implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising, determining what vehicles said at least one of said trust and said partially or wholly owned or non-owned captive insurance company invests assets in to generate additional assets.
5. The computer implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising determining said partially or wholly owned or non-owned captive insurance company invests assets in securities of said employer.
6. The computer implemented method of claim 5 , wherein said securities is short term commercial paper of said employer.
7. The computer implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising, determining whether said partially or wholly owned or non-owned captive insurance company should be partially owned by said employer or wholly owned by said employer.
8. The computer implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising, configuring said annuity contract to maximize a cash value of said annuity contract for a predetermined period of time, or to optimize at least one of a premium or a liability in accordance with an employer's needs.
9. A system for funding benefits, said system comprising:
a benefits provider computer configured to communicate with at least one of an employer owned trust account or employee owned trust account, a third party insurance company, and a captive insurance company;
wherein said benefits provider computer is configured to perform at least the following:
provide funding to said trust account, said amount of funding having been determined by said benefits provider computer or a third party computer;
instruct said trust account as to what portion of said funding to use to purchase an annuity contract, said portion being determined by said benefits provider computer or said third party computer;
instructing said trust account as to whether to purchase said annuity contract from said third party insurance company or said captive insurance company; and
instructing said trust account as to what portion of said annuity contract should be reinsured by said captive insurance company when said at least one life insurance contract or non-cancelable accident and health insurance contract is purchased from said third party insurance company.