401K versus Indexed Universal Life

In the past few decades, people have fallen prey to the myth that risking everything is far more valuable than safety, steady long-term growth and predictable income. Wall Street firms had much to gain by supporting this contrarian belief. Since the advent of the 401K, the stock market has almost quadrupled in total assets. This was a huge payday for Wall Street firms, but was just as much a loss for working class Americans. Prior to this, it is estimated that as much as 50% of people's savings went into High Cash Value Life Insurance.


The possible losses from market risk has to be taken into consideration. The larger this investment grows, the more you have to lose in a down market. In 2008 alone, the average employee lost 14% of their account's value. That may not seem like much to a young person just entering the workforce, but people that were near retirement and had more money invested, suffered a a disproportionate loss. Accounts for these individuals saw a 25% loss. This certainly affected some people's retirement and some either had to continue to work or accept less money during their retirement years.


In addition to market risk, tax risk could be even worse. With our National Debt on the rise, government spending, Social Security and Health Care costs, raising taxes is the only way for our government to to pay for pay for these costs. In addition to higher taxes, you will have less writeoffs and deductions. You will not have your mortgage interest, 401 tax deduction, or child credit/exemptions - inflation alone could bump you into a higher tax bracket. In coming years, taxes could consume as much as 50% of your income, or more.


It doesn't have to be this way...


America's large banks, corporations and super wealthy don't put their money where everyone else does. They use a wealth concept that has been able to stand the test of time, even during our country's most darkest hours. High Cash Value Life insurance is used for it's Tax-Free cash accumulation, liquidity and the Tax-Free, probate free death benefit.


An Indexed Universal Life (IUL) allows withdrawls of your money at anytime with no penalty, there are no losses in a down market and there are no RMD's (Required Minimum Distributions)  to consider at age 70 1/2. Also, there is no maximum limit on the amount that can be contributed.


Only a professional should be trusted to assist you with properly structuring an Indexed Universal Life policy for Tax-Free Retirement. There are many ill-informed and untrained agents when it comes to this product. Selecting the appropriate death benefit, payment amount, indexing strategy are what make this the most powerful tool to build retirement income as well as leave a legacy for your family for generations to come.


Our agents at Family First Life are trained directly by our Annuity and Retirement Division and are skilled in this concept. Contact us today to meet with a professional that can show you how much money you can retire with, TAX-FREE!



Michael Pfeil
Licensed Agent
Family First Life
mpfeil@familyfirstlifemd.com

Smoking Will Cost You 6+ Million Dollars!

Last week I took my daughter to the mall. While walking in, she saw someone she knew from school and he was smoking. My daughter said, "Dad, that's gross!". I then replied, "That will probably cost him over a million dollars, too!". Today I wanted to run an Indexed Universal Life (IUL) Illustration just to see what this seemingly small amount of money each day would really cost a person in lost potential income gains.


The boy we saw was 16 years of age. If you use a cost per pack of cigarettes of $7.50 and assume a pack-a-day habit, you will spend $2,737.50 in one year or $228.12 per month on your habit.   If you were to invest $228.12 per month into an IUL from age 16 to age 65, you would be able to draw $183,766 per year, TAX-FREE, from age 65 to age 100! All of this without your money being at risk, like a 401K or IRA and then having to pay the IRS tax on your money. This investment also provides your loved ones with a TAX-FREE death benefit!


The assumptions used in this Illustration, are as follows:

• 20 Year Backcast of the S&P 500 with an average rate of return of 8.10%.
• Top 5 of the 7 Indexing Strategies used to provide diversification.
• Increasing Death Benefit Option used to Age 65 and Level from 65 to 100.
• Minimum Death benefit selected to increase cash accumulation.
• Premiums stop at age 65, as account will be fully funded.
• Withdrawls taken from age 65 to 100.

Illustration

This is a perfect example of how small, consistent actions can compound into something huge over time! Insurance companies don't advertise anything flashy, but what they offer are risk averse products that consistently perform, year after year.



Michael Pfeil

Family First Life
mpfeil@FamilyFirstLifeMD.com

Do You Want To Pay Taxes On The Seed or The Harvest

Uncle Sam loves Qualified plans.  He basically has your retirement money mortgaged and holds a lien against it with a tax liability.

Here is the main issue with Qualified Retirement Plans that no one talks about:

With a Traditional IRA or 401K, you are simply deferring taxes to an unknown amount on the entire growth of your account.

If you are at a 33% tax rate and put $6,000 (the seed) into an IRA/401K, you would have received a $2,000 deduction.  However, if that account were to grow to $100,000 (the harvest), you will now have a $33,000 tax liability.

You have basically traded a $2,000 deduction, today, and converted it to a $33,000 tax liability, tomorrow.

Contact Family First Life of Maryland to meet with an advisor to discuss a Tax-Free Retirement option!

Michael E. Pfeil

Family First Life of Maryland

www.FamilyFirstLifeMD.com

mpfeil@familyfirstlifemd.com

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