College & IUL
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Is saving for college a good idea?
It is cheaper to save then to borrow.
Many parents do not save for their child’s college education. Even among the parents who do save, most do not save enough.
Saving for college provides several benefits, such as increased flexibility and less debt. Families who save for college can choose a more expensive college than they otherwise could afford. College savings also can reduce student loan debt, since every dollar you save is about a dollar less you’ll have to borrow.
Financial aid will not cover all costs. Even among those colleges that meet full need, most include student loans in the financial aid package. Only 35 colleges (out of thousands) meet full need entirely with grants, and many of these colleges do so by redefining financial need. Only about 0.6% of students receive enough grants and scholarships to cover all college costs.
Parents who save for college and retirement end up with more money in retirement than parents who only save for retirement. Saving for college avoids the need to borrow high-interest debt to pay for college. The optimal strategy is first to maximize the employer match on contributions to your retirement plan, since that’s free money. Then, take a balanced approach of saving for both college and retirement.
How can an IUL benefit you?
An Indexed Universal Life Insurance Policy (IUL) offers tax free returns on stock investment and lets you take cash out at any time and includes life insurance coverage all in one.
Like any financial product, an IUL has advantages and disadvantages. However, its unique set of features can make it appealing to investors looking for insurance coverage combined with the ability to invest and grow their capital. Rather than growing based on a fixed interest rate an IUL depends on the performance of the market index (S&P 500 etc…).
One of the best features of an IUL is you can to take advantage of stock market returns without the risk of loss. And it does so while building up a death benefit that your beneficiaries will receive tax-free.
An IUL is for anyone who is looking for both the potential for investment growth and insurance coverage. These policies are aimed at investors who want to participate at least to some degree in the expected growth of the stock market while taking less risk than they would by investing directly in the market.
What makes a IUL so appealing
Estate Planning Purposes: an IUL can serve as a dual savings, be it for retirement or another savings goal while also passing on wealth to your heirs when you are gone.
No Contribution Limit: an IUL will enable you to save more money for retirement in a tax-favored account with no limit, a traditional retirement (401(k) / IRA) has a contribution limit.
Early Retirement: an IUL doesn’t have an age restrictions, it can be used as a means of funding early retirement because a typical retirement plans require you to be a certain age before you can begin withdraws.
Insurance Coverage And Investment Growth in one: an IUL can be used as part of a long-term strategy emphasizing insurance coverage initially and retirement savings further down the road.
Tax Free Withdrawals: Funds in the cash account of an IUL can be withdrawn free of taxes up to the amount you have contributed to the policy.
Tax-Deferred Growth: This enables your cash value account to grow faster than it would if you had to pay taxes on the growth each year.