The Retirement Income and Inheritance Conundrum

For those who are concerned with the issue of having enough income in retirement and still being able to leave an inheritance to your children or grandchildren, the following may be a potential solution. Providing you are in good health (can qualify for Standard Non-Smoker rates), a life insurance policy coupled with an annuity may solve the problem.

Here’s how it works:

You purchase a Single Premium Immediate Annuity (SPIA) to provide you a guaranteed lifetime income throughout your retirement. You then purchase a permanent life insurance policy to provide your heirs with a tax-free inheritance, as life insurance proceeds are not impacted by the New Jersey Inheritance Tax. While life insurance can be more costly in the later years, a non-cash value policy (as opposed to a cash value accumulating Whole Life policy) will help keep costs affordable.

The non-cash value version of Guaranteed-No-Lapse Universal Life (GUL) insurance is your ideal choice. These types of permanent policies will cover you for life (typically between ages 90-121), all the while accumulating no cash value. A non-cash GUL makes the most sense as we are looking to provide a permanent and ready death benefit; not something that accumulates cash which will ultimately be lost to the insurance company upon your passing.

In summary you can give yourself a secure income in retirement that you can never outlive, while still providing an inheritance to your heirs. SPIA for lifetime income and a non-cash GUL for the inheritance.

 *This blog is strictly the opinion of Michael A. Malleo and not those of