Life Insurance

If you are exploring ways to protect your family’s financial well-being, you may have come across permanent life insurance as one option. Whole life insurance is a type of life insurance that millions of Americans own, and it has its strengths and downsides, just as other life insurance kinds do.

As a permanent life product, whole life insurance lets you build cash value. It also offers a guaranteed death benefit, predictable premium payments, and the possibility of dividends that can pay your premiums or provide you with cash.

In later times, you can borrow against the cash value or use it eventually to pay premiums and keep your policy in force. Among the best benefits of whole life insurance are the payment of dividends and the fact that any dividends you earn will most likely be tax-free.

Life insurance policies are either participating or non-participating. A participating policy pays dividends to policyholders. These policies are usually sold by mutual insurance companies (which are owned by policyholders). Non-participating policies don’t pay dividends.

In this article, we will go over some basics of dividend paying whole life insurance so you have a foundation about which you can ask your financial professional for more information.

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You may think of life insurance as a way for people to protect assets or provide a windfall for heirs. But it’s also useful for survivorship strategies in retirement. When one spouse passes, the other is left with more than loss of love and support.

The survivor loses income from a second Social Security benefit. If their spouse had a pension or other benefit that paid income while they were alive, chances are it also goes away. Even so, there are steps you can take to protect against these risks.

One example financial plan with such strategies was once presented by Zach Parker, senior vice president of wealth management and product strategy at The Advisor Group. At one industry event, he showed how a combination of term life insurance and universal life insurance can provide income protection for both spouses.

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People have a variety of accounts that they can use to save for retirement. You might have heard of some of them before. IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and 457(b) accounts allow workers to put away money on a pre-tax basis and then take it out in retirement as taxable income.

What if you are worried about taxes? Then you can opt for a Roth account, in which you put away money on which you have already paid income taxes. The benefit is on the backend, where you can draw it out tax-free in retirement.

The good news is there are other ways that you can have even more tax-free income in retirement. These options can be a good supplement to a Roth account. So long as it’s properly structured and used correctly, an indexed universal life insurance policy can be one such vehicle. An IUL policy lets you build cash value by putting in premiums with after-tax money, then later take out money tax-free.

What’s more, policyholders also have a complete package of insurance benefits on top of their retirement income. Many IUL policies today provide living benefits for critical illness, chronic illness, and terminal illness. These benefits let you use proceeds to cover costly expenses in those health situations.

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Many people know about life insurance and how it may give financial protection. What about using life insurance in retirement? Just look online, and you will find all sorts of opinions on the subject.

No question about it, everyone’s retirement will be different. However, health costs may be a substantial expense for many households, as research shows. And while we all hope to get lucky and be like those octogenarians who take up running and finish a marathon, reality (and statistics) suggests we should be ready for the alternatives.

There’s good news. Consumer demands and care needs have evolved. In response, life insurance companies have come out with new-generation life insurance products – “hybrid” policies that have a death benefit, but that also let you accelerate those benefit proceeds for qualifying health situations. Read More

It probably wouldn’t surprise you to learn that the cost of college tuition has gone up since back in the day when you got your degree. But how much college tuition has climbed may surprise you.

According to the College Board’s “Trends in College Pricing 2017” report, students at public four-year institutions paid an average of $3,190 in tuition for the 1987-1988 school year, with prices adjusted to reflect 2017 dollars.

Fast-forward 30 years and that average is $9,970 for the 2017-2018 school year. If you weren’t a math major, don’t worry, we have a calculator. That’s an eye-popping 213% increase. And that is not even taking into consideration the increased cost of room and board, not to mention everything else that causes the college cash register to keep ringing. Read More

People depend on life insurance for many reasons. Some households use it for income protection, as they have children or other dependents for whom they provide. Retired and middle-aged working individuals may use it for legacy or estate planning goals. It could be part of a broader legacy or estate plan, as the tax treatment of life insurance allows for an efficient transfer of wealth to loved ones.

Depending on your goals, life insurance comes in many forms, and one is Single-Premium Indexed Universal Life Insurance. It’s also known as “Single-Premium IUL,” or even just “SPIUL.” Let’s take a closer look at this universal life insurance option and what it might have to offer. Read More

It’s relatively straightforward to know how much insurance you might need for certain valuables, like a car or your home. But many people don’t know the answer to this question: “How much life insurance do I really need?”

If you find yourself in these shoes, you aren’t alone. According to a study by Life Happens and LIMRA, 40% of people haven’t bought life insurance, or more of it, because they are unsure of how much or what type to buy.

Whether you are retired or still working, life insurance can help solve for many issues. For young to middle-aged couples with dependents, it may be a source of financial protection, income replacement, or supplemental liquidity.

And for households of retirement age? Life insurance can let you enjoy tax-advantaged income, pass a legacy to heirs in a tax-efficient manner, mitigate tax burdens upon death, and even provide much-needed liquidity for post-death expenses.

Here are some helpful basics to consider as you research how much life insurance may be right for you. Read More

Millions of Americans depend on life insurance for financial protection, not to mention for many other reasons. But as people get older, insurance coverage may seem out of reach. Many seniors think they don’t have good life insurance options due to age or health.  

Even if you are in your golden years or not quite there, the good news is you do have choices. For example, there are some life insurance policies that may be bought up till age 90. That isn’t the most frequent age to get life insurance for seniors, but it’s helpful to know there are options for just about any life-stage. Some insurance options might also be available for those who may not be in the best health. Read More

Life insurance isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. You have many options to cover your needs, including the ability to purchase additional benefits on a basic life policy. These additional policy benefits are called life insurance riders.  

Some riders are automatically included in a policy at no extra cost. Other riders will require additional premium cost. Life insurance rider benefits are available for many needs, from terminal illness and long-term care costs to term insurance coverage of children or of a spouse. With that said, you must meet the conditions outlined in the rider to enjoy its particular benefit.

In some policies, you may blend different riders together, at additional cost. The riders you choose, whether included in the policy or purchased at additional cost, may be used for current or future insurance needs.

Since many life insurance riders mean additional premium to be paid, it’s prudent to be sure you don’t get too much insurance. Knowing the basics of different riders and what they offer is a good starting point. Let’s go more into that now. Read More

When shopping around for a life insurance policy, you have many choices. From monthly low-cost term insurance, to more expensive but long-term coverage benefits of whole life and universal life insurance, there’s a wide landscape of options.

As you consider different selections, it’s important to understand how these types of insurance differ from another. Among permanent life insurance, two widely-purchased options are whole life insurance and indexed universal life insurance.

While term life insurance is the most straightforward, it covers you only for a short-term period. Conversely, whole life and indexed universal life policies give lifelong coverage, so long as a policy remains active.

But they are more complex, tend to cost more than term coverage, and can be better-suited for long-term objectives. With that said, the cash value component of permanent insurance may be attractive for a number of reasons, including for efficient legacy planning, tax-advantaged wealth building, and tax-deferred retirement saving.

If you’re exploring term life insurance versus whole life insurance and indexed universal life insurance, it’s prudent to be diligent. You will want to research and consider your options carefully, and to help you get started, here’s a quick guide on the differences between these life insurance types. Read More