Do You Pay Taxes on Life Insurance Payout?

do you pay taxes on life insurance payout

There are so many questions about what taxes one must pay on life insurance proceeds. But one that we get a lot is, do you pay taxes on life insurance payout?  The subject can be a bit intimidating for a lot of people so we decided to put together a quick reference guide on how life insurance works and what tax liabilities might exist for a life insurance policy.

We'll address several areas of life insurance values as well as several different types of taxes found in the United States to which life insurance could be subject.

Keep Reading

TEFRA DEFRA TAMRA: How Taxes Effect Life Insurance

life insurance policies have tax rules

Life insurance enjoys some unique tax benefits, but it also faces limits imposed by legislation we know as TEFRA DEFRA and TAMRA.  These pieces of legislation established specific guidelines as to what you can and cannot do with life insurance.

Each of these pieces of legislation creates rules that agents, policyholders, and people looking at whole life or indexed universal life insurance (or any UL product) should know.

Keep Reading

Indexed Universal Life Insurance Pros and Cons

There are so many questions floating around the internet that center around indexed universal life insurance pros and cons. Indexed universal life insurance is the hottest thing going in the life insurance industry at the moment, tough to deny that.  Sales continue to lead all other categories, and it's safe to assume this product is now a mainstay in the quiver of most U.S. life insurers.

Given the apparent interest, you're probably wondering if this product is right for you?  To help you drive further at an answer to that question, we prepared a comprehensive pros and cons list for indexed universal life insurance.

Keep Reading

Is Whole Life Insurance Worth It?

With so much conflicting information about whole life insurance, many people wonder if it's worth it?

If you have extra cash, time, and an open mind, whole life insurance is worth it. Over the long term, you can expect to earn returns similar to bonds and secure lifetime death benefit coverage that your beneficiaries will receive tax-free.

On the other hand, if you're young, just getting started in your career, and only have a couple of thousand bucks a year to make premium payments, you should buy term insurance for now while you still have excellent health.

The best life insurance companies will allow you to convert your term insurance policy to whole life later when you have a larger budget without a medical exam. Locking in the premiums for an affordable term life insurance policy is a good move. When you do that, you are also locking in a guarantee that you have some life insurance coverage that can later be converted to permanent coverage.

If you've been doing a lot of research about the different types of life insurance products (universal life insurance policy, term insurance, variable universal life) and whole life insurance policies, in particular, you're wrestling with a lot of conflicting information.

Whether or not whole life is worth it for you, will depend on your circumstances and where it may fit into your portfolio as part of your future financial plans. It depends on what you want to accomplish.

But if you choose to purchase a whole life policy or any type of permanent life insurance, remember that there is a “right way” to set up your policy if your primary goal is to buy a policy that builds cash value.

We help our clients maximize the policy's cash value accumulation with whole life insurance and occasionally an indexed universal life policy as well. We help hundreds of people do this every year and coach life insurance agents, financial advisors, and other financial professionals to do the same.

But at least a few times a week we're faced with questions like, “does it really work?”, “is it worth it?”, or our all-time favorite “can you send m

Keep Reading

BREAKING NEWS: Guardian Life 2018 Dividend

The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America announced its plans to pay participating policyholders a total of $911 million in dividends in 2018.  This will mark the largest total dividend payout in the company's history.  The 2018 dividend is roughly a 7.5% increase in total dividends paid over 2017's $847 million.

Keep Reading