Buy-sell agreements are frequently funded with life insurance, assuring that if an owner dies, the surviving family has a buyer with the cash to pay a fair price. Whether it's as stock redemption or cross-purchase agreement, it will help remaining owners retain control of the business.

When corporate tax rates are lower than individual income tax rates, owners seek to retain capital in their businesses. Many keep a large part of their working capital in conservative, liquid assets but should consider maximum funding corporate-owned cash value life insurance.

A product-based bonus plan allows an employer to pay for an insurance product on an employee's life. The employee owns the policy, but the employer may restrict access to cash value through a special policy endorsement, commonly referred to as “golden handcuffs.”

Business partners often own term life insurance policies on each other to fund a buy-sell agreement. They figure the buy-sell need is temporary and will go away once either partner retires, but there are problems that can be avoided by each partner owning their own policy.

Clients often hate debt. But not all loans are bad. Super low interest rates and very favorable tax advantages have changed the game. See how fixed-rate loans, withdrawals from fixed loans, and participating loans can provide great sources of retirement income as needs arise.

Employer-provided long-term disability coverage is a start. But, there’s a cap on monthly benefits, and highly paid employees take a big pay cut if they go on claim. An individual DI policy can supplement group coverage and replace more income when clients need it most.

In years when the S&P 500® Index is negative, fixed indexed annuities (FIAs) can be a client's hardest-working asset. Supported by a minimum guarantee, FIAs provide an opportunity to accumulate value on the appreciation of the S&P, without losing premium when the S&P was negative.

Like all high-income earners, highly paid employees of non-profits reach a point where they'd prefer to defer some of their current taxable income. In the summer of 2016, football coach Jim Harbaugh struck a split-dollar plan with the University of Michigan that's become legendary.

Your client is ready to grow their business. Maybe start an expansion, or bring on a new partner. You can help provide them with a safety net in case they get disabled along the way. With a business loan protection (BLP) rider, a disability insurance policy can keep the doors open.

Here's a funding solution for clients who seek the protection of permanent life insurance, with the added benefits of an indexed universal life. Using a SPIA to fund the IUL, they can potentially increase death benefits while maximizing cash value for withdrawal opportunities.

If you have middle-aged clients looking for term life, a guaranteed universal life policy with a return of premium rider could be a better option. They could surrender the GUL at year 25 for 100% of premiums paid, with the same death benefit coverage as the 25-year term.

Many advisors assume that once a client reaches 70 years old, long-term care insurance becomes too restrictive and hard to sell. Higher pricing. Stricter underwriting. But now you can turn tax-deferred dollars into tax-free coverage with a linked-benefit LTC annuity.