Archive for the ‘Financial Strategy’ Category

Modified Endownment Contracts in Life Insurance

Saturday, May 1st, 2010

contract1 Modified Endownment Contracts in Life InsuranceMEC. The dreaded acronym. When you’re the owner of a tax advantaged whole life insurance policy you’ve probably heard of this acronym. It stands for Modified Endowment Contract. When a life insurance policy becomes a MEC it can have severe tax implications. Properly funding a cash accumulating life insurance policy is pertinent. And knowing the MEC basics is important whether your policy is designed to be used for isnurance protection, retirement, investing, business, estate purposes or a mixture of the above. 

TAMRA & DEFRA are the legal acts that define how life insurance policies can be funded and taxed but they are regulated under section 7702A of the IRC. If a policy does become a MEC then many of the tax benefits are lost. The distributions are treated as income to the extent of the gain and they may incur a 10% penalty.

“Section 7702A defines a modified endowment contract (MEC) as a contract that meets the requirement of § 7702 but fails to meet the 7-pay test of § 7702A(b), or that is received in exchange for a contract that is a MEC. Under § 7702A(b), a contract fails to meet the 7-pay test if the accumulated amount paid under the contract at any time during the first seven contract years exceeds the sum of the net level premiums that would have been paid on or before that time if the contract provided for paid-up future benefits after the payment of seven level annual premiums.” More on this excerpt can be found here.

So what is the 7-pay test and how do we prevent the life insurance policy from becomng a MEC? The 7-pay test requires that the accumulated values do not exceed the sum of the premiums paid over that 7 years…or what would have been paid in premiums over that 7 years had they been paid annually.

Different insurers have come up with different solutions. Some require premiums to be paid every year for the first 7 years. Others use term insurance to boost the death benefit and reduce the number of premiums. The bottom line is that you want to get as close to the MEC limit as possible without exceeding it.  I’ve found this article to be extremely helpful in understanding the nuances of modified endowment contracts. I hope you do too.

Here’s to a MEC-free policy and all the tax benefits that come with it!

Scott Storace (775) 781-5464

Tax-Free Dividends with Participating Whole Life Insurance

Sunday, April 18th, 2010

April 15 150x150 Tax Free Dividends with Participating Whole Life InsuranceWhat is a dividend? The simple answer is that it’s a return of premium. The Internal Revenue Code defines a dividend as the return of that portion of the premium that was not used to guarantee the cash values and death benefit of the policy. Therefore, generally speaking, the higher the policy’s premium the greater the annual dividend. But there are other factors that determine the size of the annual dividend.

1)      Interest Earned – The company invests the pool of funds across a variety of conservative financial products. They mainly invest in a diverse group of bonds. The interest that these investments earn is one factor that determines the performance of the company and the available dividend.

2)      Mortality Experience – The company has obligations to pay when a policyholder passes away. The amount of death benefit that gets paid out in a given year will also affect the performance of the company and the available dividend.

3)      Expense Level – The company has expenses. They have the bricks and mortar, salaries, and all other operating expenses.

Factoring together the total cost and the total performance of the company will dictate the annual dividend that the company declares.

Direct Recognition companies recognize when a policy has a loan and credits a different dividend for all loan values in a policy. Typically this dividend is lower than the dividend that is authorized for a policy without any loans. This can have a significantly negative impact on cash flows and effectively punishes policyholders who need the excess to build up cash values.

Non-direct recognition companies issue the same dividend to policyholders regardless of their outstanding loans. Loan or no loan, the dividend is equal. Therefore it’s important to know which type of company your policy is with and how they will credit your dividends.

Looking for a tax-free dividend? Call or email me. (775) 781-5464 or Scott@TheBankingSecret.com

Scott Storace

0% Financing with Whole Life Insurance

Monday, March 29th, 2010

zero percent 0% Financing with Whole Life InsuranceThese days 0% financing seems to be offered very regularly on vehicles, furniture and electronics. But wouldn’t it be great if you always had access to a pool of funds with no interest expense? When you borrow from specific whole life insurance plans you can. The key is to find a non-direct recognition life insurance company.

Direct recognition companies pay dividends on the policy’s available death benefit and cash value. When you take out a policy loan these values drop. Other companies, the non-direct recognition kind, pay dividends on your death benefit and cash values as if no loans have ever been taken. The money is taken from another account, the general fund, and an IOU is essentially placed on your account. Since your policy remains intact the company will pay you the full dividend.

This is very important. Who wouldn’t want to be paid on money that they had taken out of an account? I would venture to say NO ONE! When you withdraw money from a CD, money market or mutual fund do they continue to pay you? Absolutely not!

When you take a policy loan, that loan is subject to interest charges. Why? You must pay the company back in order for them to maintain the guarantees they made in their contract with you. Counteracting the interest charges is the guaranteed interest income that the company is paying you. Typically this is 4-5%. Add your dividends to the guaranteed interest income and if they equal the interest rate charged then you effectively have 0% financing. This is also referred to as a wash loan.

When dividends and interest exceed the interest charged then your cash values will actually grow.

Where can you find 0% financing…even 1% financing…where you get to choose the terms and approve the loan? The answer: A properly placed whole insurance policy. You’re not limited to buying a specific product from a specific retailer. Since you control the funds and get first access to the cash values, you decide what to finance. The key is finding a strong insurance company that is non-direct recognition. I know a few!

Scott Storace

Treasure Found: The Living Benefits of a Death Benefit

Saturday, March 13th, 2010

treasure Treasure Found: The Living Benefits of a Death BenefitHow can you use a life insurance death benefit while you’re still alive? If you’re guaranteed to receive it, you can. It’s like finding buried treasure. The chest that you’ve been filling yet storing away can be opened and used.

The death benefit that is provided by whole life insurance is guaranteed to pay out as long as you maintain the policy. It’s a guaranteed asset the moment the policy is opened, or in-force. Think about that for a minute. You did not save additional money nor did you invest better and receive a higher rate of return. You added no risk yet upon your death your beneficiaries will receive the proceeds of your death benefit…guaranteed. This is not offered by any otehr financial vehicles except annuities and other forms of life insurance. However, it is unlikely that you will receive a death beenfit with term insurance. Since premiums get astronomically expensive during the latter years of life, most are either converted or dropped. In fact, only 1% of term policies ever pay a death benefit. Therefore, this discussion will be centered around whole life insurance.

The death benefit can become an instant legacy or inheritance left to younger generations. Businesses use the guaranteed proceeds to recoup benefit expenses paid to key personnel. Financial planners use the guaranteed death benefit to recover the loss of assets from estate taxes. There are many ways that your life can change if you knew that your family, business or estate would receive funds upon your demise.

Let’s take one example: Let’s assume that you wanted to leave your children with your assets yet you wanted to increase your retirement income. By utilizing a properly funded whole life insurance policy you could tap into the equity of your home via a reverse mortgage. The monthly payments that you receive from a reverse mortgage are tax-free and you are guaranteed to receive payments for life, similar to an annuity. You can spend down your home equity knowing that the death benefit will replace it upon your death, all while increasing your tax-free retirement income.

When you do pass away your beneficiaries have the choice of paying off the home  or selling it and retaining the income tax-free death benefit for other purposes.

These are some examples of the living benefits of a death benefit. Whether for business or personal use, the guaranteed death benefit enhances strategic business, tax, investing and retirment planning.

Scott Storace

Real Estate Investing with the Infinite Banking Concept

Sunday, February 21st, 2010

monopoly 150x150 Real Estate Investing with the Infinite Banking ConceptI thought I would give an actual scenario this week of how the Infinite Banking Concept is being put to use every day. Like the game, it can become a monopoly!

Assumptions: We have established a whole life policy that’s properly designed for the Infinite Banking Concept. Available cash value for policy loans is $60,000.00.

Scenario: You begin investing in real estate by purchasing a $20,000 rental property. Rent is $750/month. After taxes, insurance and property management you net $500/month or $6,000/year. That’s a 33% annual cash on cash return. You send that $500/month back to your policy to repay the policy loan. So, what do you have? A rental property that you own free and clear with a $500 monthly stream of income back to your policy, and $40,000.00 in your policy.

You use the remaining $40,000.00 in your policy to purchase 2 more properties just like the first. Now you have 3 rental properties that you own outright and positive passive cash flow of $1500 each month.

With a traditional mortgage of $20,000, payments of $500/month and an interest rate of 8% it would take the borrower 47 months to repay the loan. Does the borrower have instant access to their equity? No. They would have to refinance the property, adjust the rate and terms and pay the expenses to do so.

However, one of the best features of the Infinite Banking Concept is the ability to get multiple turns of the money. You don’t have to refinance your loans in order to access the money again. Every time you make a payment back to your policy, those funds get credited to the account and are available to be borrowed again. No questions are asked and no fees are charged. Can you do that with a traditional loan? No. There will come a time when your debt-to-income ratios will be too high or the number of financed properties will exceed the maximum allowed by traditonal lenders.

By re-paying $1500/month in our scenario it will take just over a year before your policy values are back to $20,000.00. Instead of letting it sit in the policy, you borrow it again and purchase another rental property. Now you have 4 properties that you own free and clear with $2,000/month in passive cash flowing back to your policies. Now it will take less than a year for you to accumulate another $20,000.00.

Can you see what’s happening here? By turning your money over you’re amplifying the speed with which your policy values can regenerate. The cycle can be repeated quicker, cash flow will grow more robust and you will be able to purchase more properties over and over again.

In time, you will have a hefty stream of passive cash-flow that will be pouring into your policy. You will own all of your properties outright, minimizing the risk from market downturns. However, you will still be able to enjoy a tax write off on the mortgage interest from the policy loans. As with any write off the paper trail must be properly documented and meet with the IRS standards.

And by paying off your loans completely, you will maximize the growth of your policy. Your dividends will increase, the death benefit will grow and your cash values will flourish. It’s the snowball effect. So, when it comes time to retire, not only will you have that passive stream of rental property income, but you will also have a nice annual tax-free dividend that you can take from the policy. And when you do pass away your beneficiaries will receive the death benefit income tax-free. Plus, they’ll receive a step-up in basis on those rental properties when they are sold. What’s that? Essentially, there will be no capital gains tax on the sale. The previous basis, or amount spent on the property, will be bumped up to the current value. Net tax is 0%!

I’ve mentioned the living benefits that the Infinite Banking Concept offers. This is a prime example of that. Many people see life insurance as one thing…protection in the event of premature death. But it can be so much more than that and that’s the point I want to drive home. The uses are truly infinite!

Scott Storace

Business Tax Deductions With Your Whole Life Insurance Plan

Friday, January 29th, 2010

Deduction Business Tax Deductions With Your Whole Life Insurance PlanI was recently asked by a reader of this blog to explain how an S-Corp can get a tax deduction for purchasing a vehicle with funds from a whole life insurance plan.

Let me start by saying that I am not a licensed CPA or tax preparer. As always, for thorough tax information regarding your unique situation it’s best to consult your tax professional. In answering this question I will also eliminate its S-Corp specific nature and instead refer to it as a business. I am not qualified to speak about the tax subtleties regarding the various entity structures. The information that I will share with you below does come from certified public accountants. I have information from 3 separate CPA’s that supports the information below based on today’s Internal Revenue tax code.

First, let’s review what the IRS allows a business to deduct. There are 3 important IRC sections to review.

  1. IRC Section 162 tells us that ordinary and necessary expenses incurred during the taxable year in carrying on trade or business can be deducted.
  2. IRC Section 163(h) tells us that, other than 7 exceptions, no personal interest is tax deductible. Trade or business is one of the exceptions.
  3. IRC Section 264(d)(4) tells us that policy loan interest is deductible for business purposes.

In claiming a tax deduction you will need to verify that the expense is indeed for a legitimate business use. If you are the lucky recipient of an IRS audit how will you prove this? The answer is: DOCUMENTATION. You will need to establish a paper trail. If you can’t prove it, it did not happen!!! Since every transaction can be different I won’t go into the detail of what documents are required. Your tax professional can assist with that.

Now let’s dive into the details.

  1. We first start with the whole life insurance. Since there has to be an insured life, we will assume that the business owner is the insured as well as the policy owner. The business owner will take out a policy loan and lend it to the business.
  2. The business will use the funds to purchase a vehicle. Again the vehicle must be used in the conduct of business in order to receive the deduction.
  3. The business will make regular payments to the policyowner based on the terms of the promissory note.
  4. The business owner will make regular payments back to his policy based on the terms of the policy loan.
  5. At the end of the year the business willl have paid interest on the loan to the policyowner. The business, in this case an S-Corp, will claim this expense on form 1120S. The policyowner will have received investment income. The business owner will claim this income on Schedule A of his 1040. The interest expense and the interest income ultimately cancel each other out. In the end the net tax deduction comes from the interest that gets paid to the insurance company for the policy loan.

Let me summarize this business banking transaction. The business has purchased a vehicle with financing from the owner’s life insurance company. The principal and interest for this loan go back to the business owners whole life insurance policy. He has become his own banker and financed the car for his business. The owner receives the interest income and the tax advantaged growth of his policy. The business gets a vehicle and a tax deduction for the interest expense paid to the life insurance company.

This scenario can play out in a number of ways. That’s why it really is the Infinite Banking Concept. Whether for personal or business, policy loans can be used to serve an infinite number of needs. Go to my website and see some of the ideas we’ve posted under Banking for Businesses.

Keep the questions and scenarios coming!! If there is ever a question that I don’t have the answer to you can be sure that I will do my best to find it.

Scott Storace

I am blessed to receive an abundance of referrals from satisfied clients but I will always welcome more! So send your friends and family my way. I’ll be sure to treat them right. You have my word on that.

Bob the Baker or Bob the Banker? -The Infinite Banking Concept In Action

Sunday, January 17th, 2010
 
Baker 150x150 Bob the Baker or Bob the Banker?  The Infinite Banking Concept In Action
“Bob the Baker” or “Bob the Banker?”

I want to illustrate the power of the banking concept as compared to traditional financing. Let’s assume Bob The Baker wants a $25,000 loan to buy a new oven. His local bank offers him the $25,000 at a rate of 10% for 7 years. Bob agrees to this and the following month begins making payments of $415.03. He makes these principal and interest payments monthly for the next 7 years. When the term of his loan is completed, what is he left with? Well he now owns the oven outright. But he has transferred every penny to the bank. This is money he can’t get back. For the opportunity of borrowing, he has paid interest to the bank of $9,862.47 in addition to his principal loan of $25,000. Therefore, he has shelled out a grand total of $34,862.47.

How would this change if Bob had properly funded a whole life insurance policy for use as his own banking system? Let’s look. To start we need to know a little more about Bob. He is 45 years old, in good health and living in California. He is considered a standard/non-smoker when being rated by the insurance company. These assumptions allow us to determine the characteristics of his policy. Now that we have done so, let’s make the same assumption that Bob will borrow $25,000 from his policy, or personal banking system, and pay himself back at the rate of 10% over the next 7 years. What happens? The payments are still the same amount of $415.03, but instead of taking 84 months to pay back the loan it only takes 68 months. That shaves off 16 monthly payments, saving Bob $6,640!

Now what is Bob left with and who has Bob’s money? He does! He paid himself back the $25,000 in principal along with $3,252 in interest. He has all the money that he would have spent but rather than transferring it to the local bank he has put it back into his pocket. He has effectively earned a 26.56%+ rat eof return for himself without taking any additional risk.

Where can you find a 26.56% rate of return today with minimal risk? In addition, every payment that he makes back to himself is available to be used immediately. He can get multiple turns of the same money…just like a bank does.

There are many variables which will make each scenario different from the next. As you can see though, by changing HOW you finance instead of WHAT you finance you can reap significant financial benefits.

Scott Storace

3-Legged Stools: The Pitfalls of UL & VUL Policies

Sunday, January 10th, 2010

stool 1 sm 3 Legged Stools: The Pitfalls of UL & VUL PoliciesA 3-legged stool is great unless one of the legs is not aligned with the others. If they are not in perfect harmony then you’ll be severely off balance and tip over. This analogy describes some of the features of Universal Life(UL) and Variable Universal Life(VUL) policies.

These policies offer flexibility: flexible premiums, death benefits that can change, some control in how your funds are invested and more. Sounds great on the surface but the long-term question should be, can the stool stay balanced? To see we need to know what each leg of the stool is.

  1. Input of Premiums – The first leg is your input of premiums. UL & VUL policies do not require an annual premium to be made. In order to guarantee that the policy will not lapse you must continue to input premiums.
  2. Interest EarnedThe interest earned on UL and VUL policies can vary widely. Life insurance companies tend to invest conservatively in order to ascertain the benefits they have guaranteed. Variable Universal Life Policies allow the policyholder to exercise some direction over the investing of the funds within the securities markets. Performance risk is then transferred to the policyholder where traditionally that risk was retained by the insurance company.
  3. Internal Costs - The insurance company has costs that get passed through to the policyholder in UL & VUL policies. The largest of these is typically the cost of insurance. As the cost of the internal term life insurance rises, that cost gets transferred to the policyholder. Again, traditionally this risk was retained by the insurance provider. Other costs include monthly administration fees, sales charges and monthly premium expenses. These expenses vary widely from policy to policy.

These are the legs but how can they get mis-aligned?

  1. Market Fluctuations – A typical illustration will show a rate of interest that must be earned every year the policy is in existence. But the market is not perfect. Underperforming years require greater performance in future years to breakeven. For example a 25% loss on $1000 leaves a balance of $750. In order for that $750 to grow back to $1,000 requires 33% rate of return. Market fluctuations reduce the interest earned and reduce the cash values within the policy. To prevent a lapse in the policy, additional premiums will have to be deposited. With a whole life policy a reduction in interest earned effects the cash values but with a UL policy it can also reduce the length of coverage.
  2. Policy Loans or Cash WithdrawalsReducing the cash within the policy reduces the pool of funds that are used to pay the internal costs. Couple a need for cash with a period of reduced interest earnings, like we have seen in the past few years, and it can spell disaster for the policy. When the well runs dry it requires additional infusion of premiums.

Once these policies are in the hole, it gets pretty tough to dig them out.

So if you’re looking to buy a stool, look real hard and get some help. Many of the benefits also come with additional risk. And be sure to look into participating whole life policies. You’ll find all the traditional benefits, with added amounts of safety and peace of mind! After all how much flexibility should a stool have anyway?

Scott Storace

Retirement & Business Planning for Professionals

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

images Retirement & Business Planning for ProfessionalsIf you are married and make a combined income of $176,000 or more you can’t contribute to a Roth IRA. So where do the doctors, attorneys, dentists and business owners get tax breaks on their hard earned income when planning for retirement?

One option that the IRS offers is the SEP-IRA. This is for self-employed business owners only, which eliminates those professionals who are employees of a larger firm. The SEP-IRA allows a business owner to defer the tax on up to 25% of their income with a max of $49,000/year in 2009. The income tax is deferred until the time of withdrawal. So, not only do you defer the tax but you also defer the tax payment.

             The Benefit: Tax deferred growth of your money.

            The Cost: Tax deferred liability on your growth!

Do you know what tax bracket you’ll be in when you retire? Do you know the government tax rates that will be imposed at that time? No? Well that might cost you! Imagine paying 35%-40% income tax in the future when you could have paid 25%-30% today. Sound like a benefit to you? Tax rates and brackets are variables that we don’t control and the possibility of this scenario is very real for high income professionals and business owners.

When planning for retirement many people are told that they should expect to be in a lower tax bracket because they will be earning less. Don’t count on this. It’s a poor mentality and terrible financial approach. It’s like striving to lose! In addition it gives people a false sense of security that their income will be sufficient. But retirement should be the time to live out some dreams and travel the world. In addition, it will also be the time when health care and long-term care costs begin to mount and tax deductions are minimal. The dependents are long gone and the home has been paid for.  

Instead of hoping we’ll be in a lower tax bracket we need to plan our finances so that there is no tax bracket. At a minimum we want to reduce the tax burden we face. The good news is that we can control where we place our money. Ideally, professionals and business owners want:

  1. Tax Deferred Growth
  2. Tax Free Distributions
  3. No Limits on Contributions
  4. No Adjusted Gross Income Limitations
  5. Full Access, Use and Control of Their Money
  6. Competitive Internal Rates of Return
  7. Safety/Guarantees
  8. Unlimited Investment Options

What vehicle provides all of these and more? Participating Whole Life Insurance. In addition to the benefits listed above, there are numerous estate and business planning uses for life insurance. Partnerships use life insurance to fund buy-sell agreements. Corporations use life insurance to pay benefits and attract top personnel to their companies. It’s not just for protecting your loved ones in the event of a sudden death.

When planning for retirement, planning for your business or planning your estate it’s important to remember the benefits of participating whole life insurance. It’s so much more than death protection.

Scott Storace

Investing & Whole Life Insurance: The Speed Limit of Success!

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

tortoise and hare 208x300 Investing & Whole Life Insurance: The Speed Limit of Success!Remember the parable of the tortoise and the hare? Slow and steady wins the race! Surely you’ve heard the expression that “It’s not  a sprint but a marathon!”. Both effectively portray the discipline required to get ahead in a long endeavor. Financial security and independence is a long endeavor. But who wants to wait? Whatever happened to slow and steady?

Over the past few decades we’ve been indoctrinated to believe that it’s now or never. Get it while you can. Live for the day! Get rich quick schemes bombard the television. Reality TV shows with like “Platinum Babies”, “MTV Cribs” and “The Real Housewives of (pick a city)” depict opulent lifestyles as if they were the norm. This is what most strive for as they endeavor to keep up with the Jones’.

Most recently I was reading about the country of Dubai who, on a massive scale of debt leveraging, has built entire islands designed as Palm Trees and one series of islands that (when viewed from space) looks like the planet Earth. They are also building the world’s largest skyscraper. Sounds great…if you can afford them! It is now estimated that there is a 35% chance that Dubai will default on these debts causing a massive economic wave that will impact economies worldwide. What a shame. It’s a crashing house of cards!

Whether as individuals, corporations or countries it’s important that we change our view from instant gratification and fast money to one of slow and steady incremental success. The stories we hear of instant and overwhelming success are few as compared to the relative population. And I would argue that this success is not instant, as portrayed. We did not see the hours of hard work and dedication that Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods spent honing their skills. What about the patience and sound financial practices of Warren Buffett. His financial philosophies and subsequent wealth were developed over decades…not days.

That’s one of the reasons I love participating whole life insurance as a long lasting, predictable financial tool.  It’s safe and guaranteed, yet offers many benefits that can’t be found anywhere else. The fallacy of whole life insurance is that it’s only to protect against financial losses in the event of death. This could not be further from the truth. By utilizing tax-free policy loans we can act as our own bankers and self-finance our personal lives. By borrowing from ourselves and paying ourselves back with interest (just like we would had we borrowed from a bank) then we keep the money that we would have sent to another financial institution. We grow our own bank slowly and steadily by cutting out the middleman. We can start small with home repairs, build it up to financing a car and maybe even a house one day. And when we are done we can have a tax-free stream of income at retirement and still leave a nice inheritance to our loved ones when we pass.

It might not be as sexy as building the world’s largest skyscraper or having the latest handbag that the reality stars are carrying. That’s for sure. But life is rarely as we see it on TV. Slow and steady is the way to go when it comes to your financial freedom and participating whole life insurance is a valuable tool that you should have on the journey. After all, Rome was not built in a day!

Scott Storace