Did you know that a whole life insurance policy can actually help you make money? It’s true—and it’s a strategy often used by those with higher incomes.
For those seeking life insurance coverage, a term life insurance policy is typically the more affordable and simpler choice. Both Sam and I opted for matching 20-year term life insurance policies through Policygenius two years after our daughter was born. If we were younger, we would have considered a whole life policy.
However, if you’re a high-income earner searching for ways to grow your wealth beyond traditional investment accounts, whole life insurance is worth considering. Once you’ve built a solid financial foundation and are already maxing out your 401(k), IRAs, and other tax-advantaged accounts, whole life insurance could be another tax-efficient way to make money and diversify your investments.
Difference Between Whole Life Insurance And Term Life Insurance
Before we dive in, let’s quickly clarify the difference between a whole life insurance policy and a term life insurance policy.
A whole life insurance policy is like owning a home with a mortgage. It often costs more upfront compared to renting, but over time, you build equity—known as “cash value” in the context of whole life insurance.
Term life insurance, on the other hand, is like renting a home. It’s typically less expensive and gets you want you want, namely shelter. But you don’t accumulate any equity. Once the term expires, you’re left without coverage unless you renew, much like moving out when a lease ends.
After 20+ years of owning a home, you’ve built tremendous equity, which can be accessed through a loan or by selling the property. But after 20 years of renting, you’re left with no equity—just the memories of living there.
Critics of whole life insurance argue that people can save and invest the cost difference to achieve higher returns, which is true in theory. However, the reality is that few individuals consistently save and invest the difference over many years. Forced savings is a powerful wealth-builder, and one of the reasons why the median net worth of homeowners is 25-40X greater than the median net worth of renters.
Whole life insurance provides lifelong insurance coverage and the added benefit of growing cash value. The policy holder can borrow against their cash value, withdraw cash (although it may reduce the death benefit), and use it to fund premiums in later years. The holder can’t take the cash value with them when they die nor do their beneficiaries get the cash value. But holders get peace of mind and liquidity while they are living.
Ways to Earn Money with Whole Life Insurance
Let’s dive into seven ways you can actually make money with a whole life insurance policy.
1. Buy Early for Maximum Growth
Whole life insurance works best as a savings and investing vehicle over the long-term. After all, the “whole” in whole life insurance is for your whole life. If you’re already in your mid-40s or older, it may be too expensive and you may not have enough time to build up your cash value.
These policies take time to build significant cash value—often years, if not decades. That means the sooner you buy, the more time your policy has to grow and accumulate value. The younger you are when you purchase a whole life policy, the more opportunity it has to increase in cash value and the cheaper it is. Ideally, the best age to get life insurance is about age 30. It’s still highly affordable then, and after age 30, life tends to get a lot more complicated.
Take a look at this chart to see how both the cash value and death benefit can grow over time.
Example Of How To Make Money From A Whole Life Insurance Policy
Scenario: At age 30, you purchase a $1 million whole life insurance policy with annual premiums of $10,000. The annual premium is likely $9,000 more than a term life insurance premium policy.
Cash Value Growth: After 20 years, you’ve paid $200,000 in premiums. Assuming a 5% annual return (through cash value accumulation and dividends in a mutual company policy), the policy’s cash value grows to approximately $270,000.
Financial Outcome:
- You’ve gained $70,000 in cash value, a 35% increase over premiums paid.
- You can borrow against the $270,000 tax-free for investments or expenses, maintaining the policy and its benefits.
- The death benefit may also increase over time if dividends by the insurance company are paid and rolled in.
2. Choose a Whole Life Policy with Higher Dividends
If you’re looking to accelerate the cash value growth of a whole life insurance policy, opting for one with higher dividends is key.
The best way to achieve this is by choosing a mutually traded insurance company. These companies are structured differently than publicly traded insurers. While stockholder-owned companies prioritize their investors, mutual companies are owned by the policyholders. This means you stand to benefit the most.
With a mutual insurance company, the growth of the company itself, along with its competitive dividend rates, helps drive up the cash value of your policy over time. Thanks to the power of compound interest, these high dividends can significantly increase your return, giving you more financial leverage as the years go on. Some examples of mutual companies include Northwestern Mutual, MassMutual, New York Life, Principal Life Insurance, and Guardian Life.
Example Of How To Make Money With A Whole Life Policy: Leveraging Dividends
Scenario: You purchase a $500,000 whole life policy at age 40 from a mutual insurance company with an annual premium of $7,500.
Dividends: The policy pays annual dividends averaging 4%. After 25 years, you’ve paid $187,500 in premiums.
Financial Outcome:
- The policy’s cash value grows to about $250,000, fueled by dividends and compound interest.
- Over 25 years, the dividends alone have added around $62,500 to your policy’s value.
- You can access the cash value through loans or withdrawals, while the death benefit remains intact (less any outstanding loans).
3. Borrow Against Your Policy Instead of Cashing Out
Once a whole life insurance policy has built up significant cash value, it might be tempting to cash out. But think carefully before you make that move. Canceling your policy can trigger taxes on the amount you withdraw, significantly reducing the gains you’ve earned over the years.
Once your cash value has grown enough, you can take a loan against it instead of cashing out if you need funds. This allows you to access cash, without losing the policy or facing tax penalties. Plus, you can replenish the loan later when it’s more convenient for you.
Keep in mind, however, that if you do take out a loan, it will accrue interest. If you decide not to pay it back, the amount you owe, plus any interest, will be deducted from your death benefit when the policy is paid out to your beneficiaries.
Borrowing from your policy can be a smart move if you use the cash in a way that earns more than the loan’s interest rate. For example, you could conceivably invest the money in the stock market or in a private real estate fund that could generate much more than the interest cost overtime. Of course, you could also lose money as well so be careful. It’s important to consider the long-term impact on your policy’s value.
4. Watch Out For Tax Traps
The cash value of a whole life insurance policy grows tax-deferred, but there are tax traps you need to avoid. If your policy is overfunded and fails the 7-pay test (see below), it could become a Modified Endowment Contract (MEC). Once classified as an MEC, any withdrawals will be taxed as ordinary income—and if you’re under 59 ½, you’ll also face a 10% penalty. What’s more, once a policy becomes an MEC, its status can never be reversed.
To avoid these tax pitfalls, don’t rush to overfund your policy in an effort to speed up cash value growth. With whole life insurance, slow and steady is the key to maximizing benefits.
If used properly, a whole life policy can grow cash value without triggering taxes, allowing you to fully take advantage of its living benefits.
What is the 7-pay Test?
The 7-pay test is a key IRS rule used to determine whether a whole life insurance policy has become a Modified Endowment Contract (MEC). It essentially limits how much you can contribute to a policy in the first seven years in order for it to still be considered a “life insurance” policy for tax purposes, rather than a “investment” or “savings” vehicle.
Here’s how it works:
- The IRS sets a maximum amount you can contribute to the policy in the first seven years, based on the death benefit of the policy. This is the 7-pay premium, or the “7-pay limit.”
- If the premiums you pay during this period exceed this limit, the policy fails the 7-pay test and is classified as a Modified Endowment Contract (MEC).
- A policy that fails the test is no longer treated as a life insurance policy for tax purposes. Instead, it’s treated as an investment or savings vehicle, which triggers different tax rules.
What happens if the policy becomes an MEC?
- Taxation of withdrawals: Any withdrawals or loans taken from the policy are taxed as ordinary income (not capital gains).
- Early withdrawal penalties: If you’re under age 59 ½, there’s also a 10% penalty on the taxable amount.
- Permanent status: Once a policy becomes a MEC, it cannot revert back to a regular life insurance policy, no matter how much time passes.
Why is the 7-pay test important?
The 7-pay test ensures that life insurance policies remain primarily focused on providing death benefits and not just as tax-advantaged savings vehicles. If you overfund a policy too quickly to build cash value (especially early on), you risk triggering MEC status, which results in less favorable tax treatment on any policy withdrawals.
So, the main takeaway is: it’s important to manage your premiums carefully, especially in the early years, to avoid surpassing the 7-pay limit and accidentally converting your policy into an MEC.
5. Use the Benefit for Estate Taxes
One of the major advantages of whole life insurance is that it’s a permanent policy—meaning it never expires. Unlike term life insurance, which only lasts for a set period, a whole life policy guarantees a death benefit no matter when you pass, whether it’s in 20, 50, or 80 years.
For high income earners, this can be especially valuable if you anticipate your heirs may face federal estate taxes. Currently, estates valued above $13.99 million (2025 estate tax limit for individuals) are subject to federal estate taxes. For married couples, that threshold rises to $27.98 million. However, these lofty estate tax exemption levels are set to expire at the end of 2025 to roughly $6.8 million, adjusted for inflation, unless Congress takes action. There are also state specific estate tax exemptions to consider as well.
If your estate exceeds these thresholds at the time of your passing, your life insurance payout can be used to cover the estate taxes. This will spare your heirs from having to pay out of pocket or depleting your estate. But to ensure this process goes smoothly, please create a death file and be sure to leave clear instructions with your attorney so your beneficiaries understand the purpose of the funds.
6. Reduce Your Taxable Estate with a Life Insurance Trust
A large life insurance payout can increase the value of your estate, potentially pushing it over federal limits and subjecting it to estate taxes.
To avoid this, you can reduce the taxable value of your estate by placing your life insurance policy in an irrevocable life insurance trust. This strategy allows the policy’s death benefit to be excluded from your estate’s valuation, ensuring that the money you leave to your family doesn’t inadvertently increase your taxable estate.
Keep in mind that transferring wealth through a trust comes with its own set of tax implications. It’s essential to work with an experienced estate planning attorney to set up the trust properly and avoid any unintended tax consequences.
7. Work with a Certified Financial Planner
Making money from your whole life insurance policy can be complicated. One wrong move and you could be liable for taxes or impede on your financial goals. That’s why you should talk to someone who can help you map out how to best utilize your policy. A well-executed policy leads to high returns and more money in the bank.
A certified financial planner can make sure you’re maximizing your policy’s cash value. And they can do so without jeopardizing the reason you probably got a policy in the first place—to pay out to your family when you die.
An estate planning attorney can also handle the intricacies of properly mapping out your estate plan. They can ensure that your life insurance policy complements it. Estate planning attorneys are specialized in transferring your assets after you pass. They will guide you through the end-of-life planning process.
Whole Life Insurance Can Help You Build Wealth
After reading this post, I hope you can now understand how a whole life insurance can make you money and protect your family. Term life insurance, although simpler and less expensive, doesn’t doesn’t help the policy holder build wealth directly.
In retrospect, Sam and I probably should have considered whole life insurance policies in our late 20s or early 30s, especially given how the economy has grown. By now, we could have built significant cash value with permanent life insurance coverage at a fixed premium. We wouldn’t have had to stress about getting medical exams and hunting for new policies at higher rates.
The challenge, however, is the higher monthly premiums for a whole life policy. They are significantly more expensive than a term life policy that offers the same coverage for a much lower cost. When we’re younger, it’s hard enough to just make ends meet, let alone thinking about how to protect our loved ones.
So, if you’re just starting out in your career and feel optimistic about your future and America’s economic prospects, it’s worth looking into a whole life insurance policy in addition to a term life insurance policy. There’s no downside to comparing quotes and planning out what your financial future might look like.
Readers, do you have a whole life insurance policy? At what age did you decide to purchase one? Have you taken the above seven steps to make money from your whole life insurance policy?
Shop Around For The Best Life Insurance Rates
Want to search for life insurance rates with the best carriers? Check out Policygenius, the leading insurance marketplace. With their free platform, you can get customized insurance quotes in minutes. Compare different policies across the nation’s top insurance companies to make a well informed decision and save money.
During the pandemic, I was able to secure double the amount of life insurance coverage for 30% less money through Policygenius. Sam was also able to get a matching term life insurance policy with the same duration and benefit. Having our life insurance needs squared away has brought us tremendous peace of mind, knowing that if anything were to happen to us, our two young children would be financially protected.
