Whole life insurance is generally a bad investment unless you need permanent life insurance coverage. If you want lifelong coverage, whole life insurance might be a worthwhile investment if you've already maxed out your retirement accounts and have a diversified portfolio.
Policygenius reports that whole life insurance can cost six to 10 times more than a comparable term policy. That greatly increases the odds that you won't be able to afford your premiums at some point down the line. If that happens, you may have no choice but to drop your coverage, leaving your loved ones vulnerable.
Disadvantages of whole life insurance
In a whole life insurance policy, you'll pay more than the costs of insurance and administration, and that excess will accumulate in a cash value account. ... Whole life cash accounts grow tax-deferred. That means that the interest you're paid isn't taxed, as long as the money stays in the account.
Whole life insurance has both pros and cons:
If you outlive your term life policy, you usually don't get any money. ... Return of premium (ROP) term life gives you back the premiums. The downside is you'll pay more than a regular term life policy. If ROP interests you, compare policies with and without that rider to see whether the extra cost is worth it.
However, as you age, you'll likely make more money and improve your financial situation. That's a good time to convert to a permanent life policy. Permanent life will cost you more than term life, but it will also provide you with savings for your survivors or to use as an emergency fund or retirement fund.
Generally, you can withdraw a limited amount of cash from your whole life insurance policy. In fact, a cash-value withdrawal up to your policy basis, which is the amount of premiums you've paid into the policy, is typically non-taxable. ... A cash withdrawal shouldn't be taken lightly.
Term coverage only protects you for a limited number of years, while whole life provides lifelong protection—if you can keep up with the premium payments. Whole life premiums can cost five to 15 times more than term policies with the same death benefit, so they may not be an option for budget-conscious consumers.
How long does it take for whole life insurance to build cash value? You should expect at least 10 years to build up enough funds to tap into whole life insurance cash value.
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