Contracts
(a) Contracts. (1) The contracts under which amounts paid will be subject to the provisions of section 72 include contracts which are considered to be life insurance, endowment, and annuity contracts in accordance with the customary practice of life insurance companies. For the purposes of section 72, however, it is immaterial whether such contracts are entered into with an insurance company. The term endowment contract also includes the face-amount certificates described in section 72(1). (2) If two or more annuity obligations or elements to which section 72 applies are acquired for a single consideration, such as an obligation to pay an annuity to A for his life accompanied by an obligation to pay an annuity to B for his life, there being a single consideration paid for both obligations (whether paid by one or more persons in equal or different amounts, and whether paid in a single sum or otherwise), such annuity elements shall be considered to comprise a single contract for the purpose of the application of section 72 and the regulations thereunder. For rules relating to the allocation of investment in the contract in the case of annuity elements payable to two or more persons, see paragraph (b) of 1.72-6. (3) (i) Sections 402 and 403 provide that certain distributions by employees' trusts and certain payments under employee plans are taxable under section 72. For taxable years beginning before January 1, 1964, section 72(e)(3), as in effect before such date, does not apply to such distributions or payments. For purposes of applying section 72 to such distributions and payments (other than those described in subdivision (iii) of this subparagraph), each separate program of the employer consisting of interrelated contributions and benefits shall be considered a single contract. Therefore, all distributions or payments (other than those described in subdivision (iii) of this subparagraph) which are attributable to a separate program of interrelated contributions and benefits are considered as received under a single contract. A separate program of interrelated contributions and benefits may be financed by the purchase from an insurance company of one or more group contracts or one or more individual contracts, or may be financed partly by the purchase of contracts from an insurance company and partly through an investment fund, or may be financed completely through an investment fund. A program may be considered separate for purposes of section 72 although it is only a part of a plan which qualifies under section 401. There may be several trusts under one separate program, or several separate programs may make use of a single trust. See, however, subdivision (iii) of this subparagraph for rules relating to what constitutes a contract for purposes of applying section 72 to distributions commencing before October 20, 1960. (ii) The following types of benefits, and the contributions used to provide them, are examples of separate programs of interrelated contributions and benefits: