The primary function of life insurance is to provide financial protection to beneficiaries when the policyholder dies. However, it can also serve other purposes when used properly in your overall financial plan.
Whether you are the family breadwinner, a stay-at-home parent, or a business owner, everyone needs life insurance to protect their loved ones against future financial hardships after their death. Independent Life Insurance Agent can also help with wealth transfer planning.
Protects Your Family
A primary reason to buy life insurance is to provide a financial safety net for your loved ones after you die. It helps to cover the immediate costs of your death, such as debt repayment and funeral expenses, as well as long-term goals, like funding your children’s college education so they don’t need to take out student loans.
The amount of coverage you need varies according to where you are in life and who depends on your income. When you are starting a family, you may want to ensure that your spouse or partner and children will be able to continue living the lifestyle they’ve come to depend on after you pass away. As you near retirement, your needs will shift to focus on final expenses and outstanding debts, as well as estate planning to help equalize inheritance between heirs.
You may also consider buying a life insurance policy to provide for your family’s future should you be diagnosed with a terminal illness, such as cancer. This type of coverage, which is called an accelerated death benefit rider, is available in some life insurance policies and can pay for your funeral and final expenses. However, it is important to keep in mind that this doesn’t replace the need for long-term care insurance or a traditional retirement savings plan.
While it’s never pleasant to think about your mortality, effective life insurance planning can help ease the burden on your loved ones after you die and allow them to continue living the life they love. A financial professional can help you understand the options and determine how much coverage you need to protect your family’s future.
Pays Off Debts
A life insurance policy offers many benefits, including the ability to pay off debt. Debt is a burden that can negatively impact your financial health, and it’s important to find ways to reduce or eliminate it. One option that many people overlook is life insurance. Life insurance can be an effective tool for paying off debt, but it’s important to evaluate the impact on your financial goals and ensure that you’re using it properly.
A death benefit from a life insurance policy can be used to pay off debt, including mortgages, credit card debt, car loans, student loans, and other personal debt. In addition, it can also be used to cover funeral costs and other expenses that might be incurred after an individual’s death.
Some life insurance policies, such as whole or universal life insurance policies, allow you to borrow against your cash value, which can be used to pay off debt. The amount borrowed is deducted from the death benefit, so it’s important to consider the consequences of this decision before borrowing against your life insurance.
It’s also important to remember that tapping into your life insurance is not a good long-term strategy for managing debt. It could result in a lower death benefit for your beneficiaries, and it may not provide the returns that you need to offset the risk of inflation. Instead, it’s best to focus on developing an appropriate investment strategy with the help of a financial professional. This can include a combination of investment and debt repayment strategies that are tailored to your unique situation and goals. To learn more about the impact of life insurance on your financial planning, talk with a financial advisor.
Pays Taxes
Generally, the death benefit your beneficiaries receive from your life insurance isn’t subject to income taxes. However, the taxation of life insurance varies by circumstance and should be reviewed with your financial advisor and tax professional to fully understand how it fits into your situation.
Permanent policies like whole life insurance have a cash value component that grows at a rate set by the insurer on a tax-deferred basis. The amount of cash value that builds up isn’t taxable, even when it’s withdrawn, borrowed, or used to pay premiums (although doing so will reduce the policy’s death benefit). This gives your life insurance a unique asset status that can work in conjunction with other parts of your financial plan such as investments.
On the other hand, some policies have accelerated death benefits, which give the policyholder access to part of the death benefit while they’re still alive. This can be useful for paying medical expenses associated with a terminal illness, for example. The acceleration of the death benefit isn’t taxed if it’s done by specific conditions and laws. However, it’s important to note that such transactions are not considered qualified gifts and could be subject to federal and state inheritance and/or gift taxes, so this should also be discussed with your tax professional.
There are many other ways you can use life insurance to reduce your tax burden, too. For instance, you can make a charitable donation using the proceeds of your life insurance policy, which can reduce your income tax liability in the year you contribute. This is especially helpful for those who are saving for retirement and want to keep their income as low as possible.
Builds Cash Value
Many life insurance policies build a cash value that, if not paid out as a death benefit, can be borrowed or withdrawn from the policy owner. This cash is tax-deferred and tax-exempt (if used for approved reasons, such as to cover retirement expenses). Purchasing a permanent life insurance policy with a savings component is like a “forced” saving plan that provides a safe place to put money.
Term policies offer the option to pay an additional premium to gain access to this cash, but permanent policies that last your entire lifetime and charge relatively affordable premiums typically include this feature. As you age, a portion of your premium payment goes toward paying the death benefit, another portion pays for the insurer’s costs and profits and the remaining amount is added to your cash value account. Over time, the percentage of your premium going to cash diminishes and your rate of return may decline.
The growth of your cash account isn’t guaranteed, however, and will depend on interest rates, investment returns, and market performance. This growth is credited to your cash value account and tax deferred until you withdraw it, but keep in mind that doing so will reduce the death benefit.
While most people don’t realize they need more life insurance until a crisis hits, focusing on the benefits of this important financial tool can help make it more accessible and easier to understand. It also can help you create a more comprehensive financial strategy that includes the right types of insurance and investments. Ideally, these strategies will help you get the peace of mind that comes from knowing your family is financially secure.
Invests
There are many investment vehicles to choose from, including stocks and bonds, real estate, and even life insurance. When properly structured, a policy can be used to grow savings while providing a guaranteed stream of income for the future. A financial professional can help you choose the right strategy for your unique situation and needs.
Depending on your goals, you may need life insurance for specific purposes such as covering end-of-life expenses, providing for children’s education, or planning for retirement. You might also have a goal for building wealth or leaving behind an inheritance. The right strategy for you may include a mix of products to meet your objectives. A financial professional can help you find solutions that are appropriate, affordable and that fit into your overall financial plan.
In addition to the death benefit, whole life insurance policies build cash value on a tax-deferred basis. This money can be borrowed against or withdrawn to pay for a variety of financial needs, such as unexpected expenses, or helping fund your child’s college tuition. This money grows at a guaranteed rate of return, despite market fluctuations.
The premium paid to the life insurance company is typically invested in a combination of fixed-income securities, such as government-backed mortgages and bonds, and equity investments in common stock, preferred shares, or mutual funds. A portion of the premium is used to pay the death benefit and administrative costs. The remainder is allocated to the cash value account and can increase over time.
The cash value in your life insurance policy can be invested in a variable universal life policy, which allows the growth of assets to be more aggressive and may produce higher returns. These changes in the market are often reflected in annual actuarial tables, which adjust the amount of the death benefit and cash value as the markets change.