IBC - Which is Better? Direct vs. Non-Direct Dividends ("YOU'RE MAJORING IN THE MINORS!")

Let's start by getting a couple things out of the way when it comes to dividends on a participating Whole Life policy:

1.  You have growing cash value (guaranteed interest and non-guaranteed dividends that become guaranteed once declared) when loans are taken.

2.  One option is not necessarily better than the other.  That said, someone trying to sell you a policy might try to persuade you otherwise for their own purpose (they might only work with one type of company).  

3.  Infinite Banking Authorized Practitioners are (or at least should have been trained to be) completely agnostic.  They shouldn't favor one over the other for reasons explained below.

What follows below is a deeper dive into the world of Whole Life dividends to help further your Infinite Banking (aka IBC) knowledge.  

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There are two types of dividends you can get in the Whole Life world. 

1. Direct Recognition Dividend
2. Non-Direct Recognition Dividend

From a marketing point of view, advisors will “sell” non-direct as the best option because dividends are unaffected by loans. 

However, this is a half-truth. 

There is no free lunch which we all know to be true in life.  Same lesson applies here with direct vs non-direct.  If a life insurance is paying the same dividend regardless of whether a person requests a loan, that means there is something else going on. 

Here is the other half for the full picture on non-direct dividends.  Life insurance companies that pay a non-direct dividend pay out lower dividends to everybody to offset the cost of borrowing from the general fund of the life insurance company for those who do take loans.   

Essentially, those who do not take policy loans are subsidizing those that do.

So the question becomes would you rather have the potential for the highest dividend you can get every year?  Or would you be happy with a lower but level dividend for all years?  With a direct recognition dividend, you have the highest potential for dividends without having to subsidize other people who may or may not take policy loans.  You still get declared dividends when loans are outstanding.   They are not taken away from you because you have a loan.  However, you will get a reduced portion of the dividend if a loan is taken.

Back in 2007 I emailed Nelson Nash, author and creator of Becoming Your Own Banker (the pioneer of IBC) and he surprised me by calling me out of the blue.  He was already well into his 70’s at that time.  I wasn’t expecting an email back let alone a phone call.  I had emailed him about direct vs. non-direct because I wanted to know which was better for my own situation before I started recommending a particular choice to my clients.

The first thing he said to me after introducing himself was to thank me for reading his book and for  helping him to spread his message about IBC by being a professional in the industry.  Then in his thick and sage Alabama accent which I recognized as Nelson’s right away even though we’d never spoken before (no introduction needed!), he said something I have never forgotten.

He said in that kind, old man Alabama drawl, “Now son, you’re majoring in the minors!”

What a thing to say!  If he didn't already have my utmost attention, he surely had it then.

Now you have to know Nelson had a certain way of teaching fundamental truths.  If you’ve read Becoming Your Own Banker (it’s worth re-reading from time to time), you know he uses analogies and euphemisms quite a bit to explain important points that should not be taken for granted.  

That's exactly what he did with me over the phone at 7:53am PST while I was packing my little ones into the car for a ride to their pre-school.  It instantly hit me what he was saying and has stuck with me ever since.

Direct vs. Non-direct ultimately doesn’t matter in the big picture of IBC.  

The whole point of Infinite Banking is to own and control a system of money that you are constantly directing your flow of money into so you can eliminate the middle man (traditional banks).  The freedom of control and use of money for any purpose while enjoying all the perks of an ultra-safe and ultra-liquid cashflow management system where you are guaranteed to have uninterrupted (tax-free even!) growth and access for life is the main point.  

Banks become super wealthy because they rob of us this freedom by fooling us into believing we need them.  We don't!  They are the middle man in the money game that seeks to control the flow of your money for their profit.  

He went on to explain to me that all I need to do is have “a good administrator (life insurance company) to handle administration and paperwork.”  The dividends will be there as they have been for 150+ years and counting. 

So to return to the discussion of direct vs non-direction and understanding the difference… while it may be good to know (especially if the only thing learned is a half-truth), it ultimately isn’t the reason why you choose to go with one life insurance company or another. 

Getting back to Nelson’s bigger picture, if a person is really doing IBC correctly, they are going to have multiple policies (with different companies – direct and non-direct dividends) over time which will eventually incorporate their total cashflow.   

It’s not an either/or proposition on which is better because you are going to receive dividends whether you have a loan outstanding or not.  It essentially comes down to: 

Are you okay subsidizing yourself and others who take loans (non-direct) and therefore take a reduced dividend for all years or obtain the highest potential dividend based on your own loan borrowing and repayment schedule… 

But as Nelson reminded me years ago: don’t lose sight of the bigger picture ("don’t major in the minors!").

Nelson instructed everyone to do 4 things to achieve Becoming Your Own Banker:

1. Think long-term.
2. Don’t be afraid to capitalize (open a policy and max-fund a properly designed Whole Life policy).
3. Don’t steal the peas (repay your loans at a “higher interest rate” – another euphemism meaning re-capitalize quickly so have capital for your next opportunity).
4. Stop working with the middle man (i.e. traditional banks).

If you have more questions you'd like answered about Infinite Banking, let me know!  You can find me at www.IBC.guru.

Thank you,

John A. Montoya

JLM Wealth Strategies, Inc.

Bank On Yourself® Authorized Advisor

IBC® Authorized Practitioner

CA Life#0C42222

Calendar: Schedule Now

Buy Term and Invest The Difference?

There are consumers and financial planners who believe that buying term and investing the difference is the best way to buy insurance. For this particular crowd, I have a few more recommendations that fit with this strategy. Here are some other ways to save money and invest the difference. A Honda Civic instead of an Acura, Top Ramen instead of a sirloin steak, a bus ticket instead of airfare, an economical minivan instead of a luxury SUV, reading at the library instead of purchasing new books, and don't forget about brewing your own coffee instead of a trip to Starbucks.

As you can see, there are many ways to save money. However, when it comes purchasing life insurance I suggest you stick to the old adage: cheaper isn't always better. In fact, when it comes to buying term insurance, you'll be surprised to learn it's actually the most expensive option when looked at from a long-term perspective as the cost to renew coverage rises to unaffordable levels as you get older. Most people will assume that you don't need life insurance as you grow older and especially if you've "invested the difference". This is a common fallacy though. Don't forget that when it comes to buying term and investing the difference, human behavior will often get in the way. Rather than investing the difference, the greater amount of cash at hand will most likely go towards a new car payment, a dishwasher, vacation, or more dinners out. If the difference does happen to be invested, it can be prone to stock market loss, capital gains, and/or income taxes which drastically reduces the rate of return. For a real life example, check your 401k statements from the past year. Now imagine Uncle Sam taking an additional 25%-33% if you had to withdraw money for income! OUCH!!! And if you live in the great state of California like I do, don't forget about your state income tax of 9.3% of any income over $44,000! (Are you starting to understand why more than half the money you earn goes toward paying taxes and interest? Learn more at www.cashvaluebanking.com)

When you're analyzing the right type of insurance, it is important to buy the type of insurance that is appropriate for your future needs. If income from life insurance for survivors is truly a long-term (i.e., lifetime) need, the lowest net cost insurance, and the most stable investment, is permanent cash-value life insurance. Cash-value that builds in a permanent policy grows tax-deferred and withdrawals to the basis of premium dollars paid into the policy as well as policy loans are tax-free. This makes permanent life insurance a safe and alternative way to build a tax-free, long-term savings vehicle that plays a vital role in developing a successful financial plan.

Most people think of life insurance solely for it's death benefit. You may also be surprised to learn that a permanent cash-value policy provides living benefits in the form of tax-free withdrawals and tax-free policy loans at any age. This type of flexibility cannot be duplicated with any other financial product other than a Roth IRA (which allows for tax-free withdrawals after age 59.5). However, with a Roth IRA, you are limited in the annual amount you can contribute and as your income increases, you may become ineligible to contribute. Furthermore, most investments within a Roth IRA tend to be speculative (stocks, mutual funds, bonds) which have no protection against stock market loss. In comparison, cash-value policies except for variable universal policies, bear no market risk and is secured by the legal reserves of the life insurance company. To be fair, there are no home runs like with the stock market. However, slow and steady combined with tax-favored treatment can provide similar returns when adjusted for taxes and inflation compared to a diversified portfolio of securities, but with none of the stock market risk. I bet you can sleep safer at night knowing your money is protected, right?

Finally, the vast majority of death claims paid are those where the policy was permanent and the insured was older than 65. Since a term policy is designed to protect for a specific period of time of life, there is no guarantee a death benefit will be paid. In fact, the likelihood of a term policy paying a death benefit is minuscule. The percentage of term policies that pay a death benefit range from 3-7% whereas permanent life insurance pays a death benefit 100% of the time when kept to maturity. For my family, I like those odds.

If it is your goal to build long-term wealth that you can enjoy while still living and guarantee to leave a legacy to your loved ones, it is recommended you compare the true costs of term vs. permanent insurance and decide what is best for you. It is my opinion term life insurance is best utilized to protect a family on a tight budget and/or to satisfy a short-term need for protection of 15 years or less.

For more information on the type of coverage that best suits your needs or for an audit of your existing life insurance policy, email john@jlmws.com or call (800)208-6141.