Today, we're answering a listener question on maximizing financial windfalls:

Can you do a future episode on what to do with a windfall? Specifically, the use of a premium deposit fund over many years and dumping it into a 7-pay or 10-pay policy. I would love to hear how this could be an option for inheritance or selling a business or property.

https://www.youtube.com/live/cRRw5Hi_B90

What should you do when a financial windfall lands in your lap? Whether it's from selling a business, a property, or receiving an inheritance, knowing how to manage and maximize a large influx of cash can be daunting. On this episode of the Money Advantage podcast, we tackle this critical question by breaking down strategic approaches tailored to individual financial goals and circumstances. Using the analogy of a sailboat, we explore how to incorporate additional funds into a well-balanced policy without risking instability or running afoul of modified endowment contract laws.

Our discussion touches on the considerations for managing windfalls through life insurance policies. We look at the sustainability of funding new policies beyond the initial windfall and the implications of different funding durations, like 10-pay versus 30-pay options. The potential benefits of convertible term life insurance and practical steps for integrating significant windfalls into your policy are highlighted. You’ll gain insights into cash flow strategies and premium deposit funds, all aligned with long-term financial goals.

Finally, we examine the benefits and pitfalls of various policy designs. From the "skinny base policy" with large Paid-Up Additions (PUAs) to the risks of prematurely hitting human life value limits, we cover it all. Our conversation also dives into the actuarial decisions that impact policy performance, emphasizing the importance of flexible policy designs to adapt to future changes.

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Can You Design a Policy to Store a Windfall?

One of the most common questions we get pertaining to windfalls—i.e. Unpredictable sums of money like an inheritance—is can you design a life insurance policy to plunk that money into? It’s a smart question, especially if you are currently implementing an Infinite Banking strategy. After all, if you already know that life insurance is your preferred asset for warehousing wealth, why wouldn’t you do so? 

So what’s the answer? Well, you certainly can design a whole life insurance policy to house a windfall, but you might not want to. At least, you might not want to put that money in via a lump sum. Otherwise, you run the risk of your policy turning into a MEC, or modified endowment contract. A whole life insurance policy can become a MEC by over-funding it and doing so means that it loses its designation as an insurance asset in the eyes of the IRS and it loses its tax advantages. 

Think of your life insurance premiums as a sailboat. The base premium is the boat itself, the hull. To put additional funds into the policy, you would add term riders, which would be like the mast of the sailboat. Then, the PUAs are like the sails. If the mast or the sails get too big relative to the base of the boat, it’s going to tip over. It won’t be efficient—becoming a MEC. If you're trying to design a policy now for a potential windfall later, you would be designing a policy with a "skinny base" in order to have room for PUAs later. But doing this creates an unstable policy.

All of this is to say, you definitely want to add sufficient term insurance riders and PUAs in a policy, but be careful to keep it balanced for your personal goals. Some people may want to have a MEC, but it’s better to do so when you’re choosing to, rather than by accident or carelessness. 

Policy Design for Maximizing Financial Windfalls