490                                LAWS OF MARYLAND                        [CH. 288

(28A.) (96A.)

(a)  This section applies only to the establishment or operation of
separate investment accounts by domestic life insurers for the fund-
ing of qualified pension, retirement or profit-sharing plans. For
purposes of this section, the term "qualified pension, retirement or
profit-sharing plan" means a plan or agreement which meets the
requirements for qualification under Sections 401 or 403 of the United
States Internal Revenue Code, as now or hereafter amended, or any
corresponding provisions of prior or subsequent United States Reve-
nue Laws.

(b)  Any domestic life insurer may allocate to one or more separate
investment accounts, in accordance with the terms of a written
agreement, any amounts which are paid to the insurer in connection
with a qualified pension, retirement or profit-sharing plan and which
are to be invested by the insurer in accordance with the agreement
and applied to the purchase of guaranteed income benefits under
the insurer's policies or annuity contracts, whether on the individual
or group basis, or to provide other guaranteed benefits incidental
thereto; provided that at least 25 individuals are covered under the
agreement at the time it is entered into.

(c)  The income, if any, and gains and losses, realized or un-
realized, on each such account shall be credited to or charged against
the amounts allocated to the account in accordance with the agree-
ment, without regard to the other income, gains or losses of the
insurer.

(d)  Amounts allocated to separate accounts and accumulations
thereon may be invested and reinvested in any class of investments
authorized by this article as life insurance reserve investments. Pre-
ferred and common stock investments of amounts allocated to sepa-
rate accounts shall not be included in applying the 10% limitations
provided in the first proviso of Section 96, sub-section (6) of this
article. (OR SECTION 28 (F) OF THIS ARTICLE, AS THE CASE
MAY BE). No insurer may invest more than $10,000 or 5% of any
one separate account, whichever is greater, in the stock or shares of
any one corporation, mutual fund or investment company.

(e)  No insurer shall guarantee the value of amounts allocated to
a separate account nor the value of investments of such amounts
nor the income thereon without limiting its liability under any such
guarantee to the interest of the contract-holder in such investments.

(f)  Amounts allocated to a separate account in the exercise of the
power granted by this section shall be owned by the insurer, and the
insurer shall not be, or hold itself out to be, a trustee with respect to
such amounts.

(g)  This section shall not apply to amounts contributed by an
employee or other participant in a pension, retirement or profit-
sharing plan who is entitled to retirement or other incidental benefits
under the plan, nor to amounts which have been applied to purchase
or provide retirement or other incidental benefits under the policies
or contracts of the insurer.

(h) The investments and liabilities of each separate account shall
at all times be clearly identifiable and distinguishable on the books of
the insurer from the other investments and liabilities of the insurer.
No investment in any separate account or in the insurer's general
investment account shall be transferred by sale, exchange, substitu-