When you decide to make whole life insurance part of your overall financial strategy, you are helping to protect your family’s long-term financial security at your death. That’s because the death benefit your beneficiaries receive can help pay expenses at an extremely difficult time.
Whole life insurance also allows you to borrow* against the cash value of the policy while you are alive – often referred to as “living benefits.” A whole life insurance policy’s cash value, which accumulates on a tax-deferred basis, can provide an important financial safety net should you need it. Cash can be borrowed from the policy for any purpose, such as supplemental retirement income, education funding, business expenses or emergencies.
Whole life is the only life insurance that offers a guaranteed death benefit, guaranteed cash value and guaranteed premiums that will never increase as long as the premiums are paid. It’s a versatile product that can meet a variety of protection needs.
Loans reduce the death benefit of your policy and loan interest should be repaid in order to prevent lapse.
*Distributions under your policy (including cash dividends and partial/full surrenders) are not subject to taxation up to the amount paid into the policy (your cost basis). If the policy is a Modified Endowment Contract, policy loans and/or distributions are taxable to the extent of gain and are subject to a 10% tax penalty. Access to cash values through borrowing or partial surrenders can reduce the policy’s cash value and death benefit, increase the chance the policy will lapse, and may result in a tax liability if the policy terminates before the death of the insured.
