Floyd H. Harris
A personal insured retirement strategy is used to maximize retirement income for individuals who are concerned about taxes reducing their income. Upon retirement, an individual can access the policy’s cash value to supplement their retirement income. The insured annuity strategy provides a low-risk, tax-efficient solution if individuals are concerned about low fixed income returns. This strategy is a combination of an annuity and permanent life insurance. The annuity provides tax-efficient cash flow for life. The life insurance policy returns the original invested capital tax-free to beneficiaries. This strategy is ideal for individuals between the ages of 65 and 80 who want to maximize their retirement income and preserve capital. An Immediate Finance Arrangement (IFA) is an arrangement in which an individual or corporation purchases an exempt life insurance policy and deposits money into the policy in excess of what is needed to fund the insurance and policy charges. The policy is then used as collateral to secure a loan for alternative investment purposes. Professional advice from your tax professional is required to determine the best way to structure this arrangement. A corporate estate preservation strategy provides business owners with a cost-effective way of preserving capital and enhancing the value of their estate. By using a portion of your business’ passive corporate assets to fund a life insurance policy, you can take advantage of tax-deferred growth within the life insurance policy. This strategy is best used for shareholders of a private corporation with surplus capital not required to operate the business. The corporation is looking to grow their corporate surplus in a tax-efficient environment, as well as seeking a cost-effective strategy to distribute the corporation’s locked-in surplus to shareholders. A corporate insured retirement strategy allows a key person or shareholder in a business to utilize a life insurance policy as collateral. A buy-sell agreement is part of a shareholders’ agreement between business partners. The agreement sets out how each partner`s shares will be purchased or redeemed upon their death or disability. This purchase is typically funded by life and disability insurance on the partners. It ensures a smooth transition and ready market for the shares without jeopardizing the business’s financial health, the disabled partner, or a deceased’s dependents. Key person insurance is a corporate policy used to protect businesses from decreased profits or additional costs associated with a key employee`s death or illness. This life insurance strategy is typically used to compensate a corporation for expenses, lost sales or other cash flow changes that arise on the loss of an important employee.
