In the case of contracts issued on or after the operative date of this article as defined in Section 10168.10, no contract of annuity, except as stated in Section 10168, shall be delivered or issued for delivery in this state unless it contains in substance the following provisions, or corresponding provisions which in the opinion of the commissioner are at least as favorable to the contractholder, upon cessation of payment of considerations under the contract.

(a) That upon cessation of payment of considerations under a contract, or upon the written request of the contract owner, the company shall grant a paid-up annuity benefit on a plan stipulated in the contract of the value specified in Sections 10168.3, 10168.4, 10168.5, 10168.6, and 10168.8.

(b) If a contract provides for a lump-sum settlement at maturity, or at any other time, that upon surrender of the contract at or prior to the commencement of any annuity payments, the company shall pay in lieu of any paid-up annuity benefit a cash surrender benefit in the amount specified in Sections 10168.3, 10168.4, 10168.6, and 10168.8. The company may, after making written request and receiving the written approval of the commissioner, reserve the right to defer the payment of the cash surrender benefit for a period not to exceed six months after demand therefor with surrender of the contract. The request shall address the necessity and equitability to all policyholders of the deferral.

(c) A statement of the mortality table, if any, and interest rates used in calculating any minimum paid-up annuity, cash surrender, or death benefits that are guaranteed under the contract, together with sufficient information to determine the amounts of those benefits.

(d) A statement that any paid-up annuity, cash surrender, or death benefits that may be available under the contract are not less than the minimum benefits required by any statute of the state in which the contract is delivered, and an explanation of the manner in which the benefits are altered by the existence of any additional amounts credited by the company to the contract, any indebtedness to the company on the contract, or any prior withdrawals from or partial surrenders of the contract.

Notwithstanding the requirements of this section, any deferred annuity contract may provide that if no considerations have been received under a contract for a period of two full years and the portion of the paid-up annuity benefit at maturity on the plan stipulated in the contract arising from considerations paid prior to that period would be less than twenty dollars ($20) monthly, the company may at its option terminate the contract by payment in cash of the then present value of that portion of the paid-up annuity benefit, calculated on the basis of the mortality table, if any, and the interest rate specified in the contract for determining the paid-up annuity benefit, and by that payment shall be relieved of any further obligation under the contract.

(Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 381, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2004.)