Co-Founder, Coastal Financial Partners Group, California
Cash value life insurance products are frequently used as a retirement planning vehicle. Most nonqualified retirement plans, from the largest to the smallest companies in America, use life insurance to informally fund the retirement payments companies make to their retiring executives.
So, it would stand to reason that what works for those arrangements can work for individuals, too! With the right products, an experienced life insurance professional can design a supplemental retirement plan using life insurance to provide income in retirement, tax free (through policy loans). Whole life is not always the best choice in terms of efficiency and flexibility. Universal life based products are better, in my experience.
Business Development Officer, T.D. McNeil Insurance Services, Fresno, California
A whole life insurance policy is a very flexible product. It is often used in retirement to provide income tax free funds for special needs or occasions. If a retiree no longer requires the amount of life insurance they have they can borrow the cash value down and spend it to meet their current needs. Many life insurance policies provide that a portion of the death benefit itself can be used to pay medical expenses in the final period of life.
That is a great question! I believe that life insurance is a must, and while it can be used as part of a retirement plan, I'm not real big on advising so. Here's why - The general purpose for a life insurance policy is so that you can transfer wealth, and pay final expenses. Your beneficiary receives the tax free benefits, and your final expenses are not passed onto them. If your main goal is to gut your policy and live off the cash value in it, that defeats the purpose of the wealth transfer. If the idea is to garnish tax free income in retirement, a Roth IRA would be a far better investment vehicle, and its balance can be left to a beneficiary. A smarter way to use your money, though lesser commission for an agent. I hope that helps, thanks for asking!
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So, it would stand to reason that what works for those arrangements can work for individuals, too! With the right products, an experienced life insurance professional can design a supplemental retirement plan using life insurance to provide income in retirement, tax free (through policy loans). Whole life is not always the best choice in terms of efficiency and flexibility. Universal life based products are better, in my experience.