How to Use Life Insurance to Build Wealth
When you have money, you might be interested in using life insurance and other products to efficiently maximize the distribution of assets to spouses or partners, younger generations, and favorite charities. A will and/or a trust can assign assets to beneficiaries; however, these estate-planning tools are not designed to create wealth so much as they are to preserve it. If you don’t have a lot of wealth built up or are looking for a plan to build wealth for your family, then a wealth transfer strategy using life insurance products may be one of the few ways to instantly create wealth and increase the amount passed on to a recipient or beneficiary. People of all ages use life insurance for different needs. Learn more about different types of life insurance products with examples of how you can use life insurance at different life stages here.
Strategies Used to Create Wealth With Life Insurance
A financial planner and life insurance agent can help you review what options will work for you, however here are three examples of how some use life insurance to create wealth:
Single Premium Life Insurance and How It Works
Single premium life insurance is a valuable investment when it comes to wealth creation and transfer. With this type of life insurance, a single premium is deposited, creating an immediate death benefit that is guaranteed until the owner passes away. The death benefit will depend on the amount deposited, gender, age, and health of the insured. In many cases, the single deposit will be multiplied by a factor of two or more when the death benefit is calculated. Typically the younger the insured, the higher the benefit received. For instance, a 65-year-old healthy, non-smoking woman who deposits $100,000 into a single premium life policy could pass $200,000 or more in death benefit to her beneficiaries. Moreover, the benefit is income tax-free to her recipients.
Building Financial Security With Single Premium Life Insurance
Single premium life insurance can also benefit the insured or the purchaser during his or her lifetime. The cash value in a fully funded policy will grow quickly and can provide income to the purchaser if needed. In turn, the purchaser can also surrender the policy for its cash value at any time. A few policies guarantee the cash value to be no less than the one-time deposit. This way, if the insured needs to surrender the policy due to unforeseen circumstances, he or she is guaranteed to get the investment back. The insured also has the option of taking a loan against the policy instead of surrendering the contract if desired.
Options for Life Insurance Cash-Outs
Other policies have the option of an accelerated death benefit that can be drawn on to pay for long-term care coverage. By invoking this rider, the woman in the example above would have $200,000 available to her for long-term care expenses in her home or a nursing home facility- and these benefits could be received income tax-free. In this example, she avoids premium payments into a traditional long-term care policy and still rests assured that she has significant nursing home protection if necessary. The insurance policy improves the estate in two ways. The life insurance policy will pass increased wealth to the beneficiary or protect an estate from the considerable costs associated with long-term care. There are various investment options in single premium life policies. The most common policy, traditional whole life, has a guaranteed interest rate which makes it very dependable. Other policies such as universal life have different interest rate structures and can use an equity-index or variable engine to increase the policy value.
Choices for the Elderly
Many elderly consumers feel that they are not healthy enough to purchase life insurance in their golden years. This is simply not true. Simplified underwriting allows many seniors to qualify for life insurance. With simplified underwriting, there is no physical or blood work needed. Underwriting can be done using the answers on the application and a quick telephone interview. The fact is single premium life insurance is not difficult to purchase. Those who feel they are in extraordinary health can choose to go through advanced underwriting and may qualify for increased insurance benefits.
Tax Advantages
One advantage of life insurance over an annuity, a savings bond, a certificate of deposit, or other investment is the favorable tax treatment of a life policy. The entire death benefit is passed income tax-free to the beneficiary. However, the death benefit can count toward the gross value of an estate for estate tax purposes. To avoid estate taxes, some policies are owned by the beneficiaries or an irrevocable life insurance trust. It is crucial to work with a knowledgeable agent, financial planner, and attorney if estate taxes are a concern. Often single premium life is considered a modified endowment contract, or MEC, by the IRS. The policy can be taxable to the owner if gains are withdrawn—just like an annuity or savings bond can be taxable to the owner. It is important to choose a well-rated company and an informed advisor to select the best possible policy for your future. Life insurance can be one of the most dependable investments for many families and is well worth considering if you are looking for ways to build wealth.
