How Payments Get Split
A qualified plan, pension, or annuity contract often names a trust as the beneficiary. When those payments arrive, the trustee needs clear rules for dividing them. The income tax treatment of each payment drives the allocation between principal and income.
To the extent that a payment is characterized as interest or a dividend, or a payment made in lieu of interest or a dividend, a trustee shall allocate it to income. The trustee shall allocate to principal the balance of the payment and any other payment received in the same accounting period that is not characterized as interest, a dividend or an equivalent payment.
A.R.S. § 14-7418(A)If a payment clearly identifies an interest or dividend portion, that part goes to income. The rest goes to principal. When no portion is labeled as interest or dividends but the payment is required, ten percent goes to income and the balance to principal. If the payment is entirely discretionary, it all goes to principal.
Special Rules for Marital Deduction Trusts
Trusts that qualify for the federal estate tax marital deduction face additional requirements. If the standard allocation would not give the surviving spouse enough income to satisfy the deduction, the trustee must allocate more to income.
For these qualifying trusts, the statute requires the trustee to determine the "internal income" of each separate fund. If that calculation is not possible, the law provides a default rate of four percent of the fund's value. This ensures the surviving spouse receives adequate income while preserving the marital deduction.
The definition of "payment" under this section is broad. It covers money received from a commercial annuity, an individual retirement account, and a pension, profit-sharing, stock bonus, or stock ownership plan. Whether payments come from the payer's general assets or a dedicated fund, these rules apply.
For families with a trust that holds retirement assets, the tax treatment of each payment matters. The trustee must track which portion counts as income for the current beneficiary. Getting this allocation right affects how much the income beneficiary receives each year.
When a marital deduction trust is involved, the trustee may need to determine the present value of the separate fund and distribute the internal income to the trust. This ensures the surviving spouse receives enough to satisfy the deduction requirements.