Whole Life, Term, Or Universal Life Insurance - How to Determine What's Best For You

A whole life insurance policy covers you for your entire life. Your death benefit and premium in most cases remain the same. Whole life also builds cash value, which is a return on a portion of your premiums that the insurance company invests. Your cash value is tax-deferred until you withdraw it and you can borrow against it.

A whole life insurance policy may be used as a part of your estate planning. Consequently, whole life insurance is a good choice for you if you want to ensure that you have a life insurance policy in place for your entire lifetime and can comfortably afford the premiums, of if it fits within the framework of your estate or retirement plan.

Whole Life Insurance
While whole life insurance is designed to provide coverage on the insured for the insured's entire life as long as the premiums are paid and the policy has not been surrendered, term life insurance provides coverage only for a fixed period that is stated in the policy. It can be for one year or up to thirty years. Term insurance premiums are extremely affordable for a person in good health up the age of fifty. After that age, the premiums start to get progressively more expensive. Term should be purchased if you only need insurance for a specific period of time, such as if you want an outstanding fifteen or thirty year mortgage balance paid off in the event of an untimely death.

Universal Life
Universal life is a type of flexible permanent life insurance offering the low-cost protection of term life insurance as well as a savings element, like whole life insurance, which is invested to provide a cash value buildup. The death benefit, savings element and premiums can be reviewed and altered as a policyholder's circumstances change. In addition, unlike whole life insurance, universal life insurance allows the policyholder to use the interest from his or her accumulated savings to help pay premiums.

Universal life insurance was created to provide more flexibility than whole life insurance by allowing the policy owner to shift money between the insurance and savings components of the policy. Premiums, which are variable, are broken down by the insurance company into insurance and savings, allowing the policy owner to make adjustments based on their individual circumstances. For example, if the savings portion is earning a low return, it can be used instead of external funds to pay the premiums.

Unlike whole life insurance, universal life allows the cash value of investments to grow at a variable rate that is adjusted monthly. As an example, the Indexed Universal Life may base the performance of its cash values on one of several indices, including the S & P 500 or the Dow Jones Industrial Averages. Moreover while it provides an opportunity for growth, it has guaranteed returns and provides considerable stability. In that it provides both growth potential and a safety net, it is excellent for college planning or retirement supplemental planning.

Two Excellent Choices For Financial Safety and Security During This Era of Uncertainty

Although 401(k) s are beginning to rebound a bit, financial safety and security continues to be sought in America. In this context, traditional whole life insurance and annuities must be considered as an safe and secure options for acquiring sufficient money to have a satisfying retirement.

The long standing traditional whole life insurance lasts for your whole life and the premium remains the same as long as the policy is in existence. Traditional whole life insurance contains the basic essentials of term insurance, with an investment element added.

You pay a premium amount larger than the premium which would be paid for term insurance and that part of the payment is invested over the life of the policy. The growth of that investment is nontaxable to you. This favorable treatment of return on investment is exclusive to life insurance and offers a significant wealth buildup vehicle.

In a nutshell, here's what traditional whole life insurance have to offer:

o tax-favored cash values

o death benefits

o competitive interest rate

o guaranteed return

Next, an annuity is an investment contract between you and the insurance company. You receive a return on your investment that supplements your contribution. In the future, you can choose to "annuitize" the investment to provide income for a specified period of time in your lifetime.

The earnings on an annuity can grow without being lessened by taxes. These earnings are not taxable until you withdraw them, and then they are spread out over a number of years. When you begin receiving income from an annuity, only part of your income is taxable because you receive both interest and a partial return of the invested principal.

To make the best use of the positive tax advantages of an annuity, you also must be aware of the potential tax problems. The IRS imposes a penalty of 10 percent along with the tax owed on withdrawals unless you are over age 59 1/2 when withdrawing money from the annuity or cashing it in. These charges are in addition to any insurance company fees that might be imposed upon the withdrawal.

 
It is advisable to approach the purchase of an annuity with the expectation that you will not draw on it until you are older than age 59 1/2. To fully make the most of the tax advantages you

Managing Stress as a Classroom Teacher

Realize that you can make a difference.

You may not be able to change the stressful conditions that your children must deal with at home but you can offer them a safe, comfortable and accepting place to be while they are in your care.

Be emotionally and physically available for children in your classroom.

Put aside your own frustrations about the past and worries about the future. There is very little you can do to solve your life problems while you are working. Being there for your children means that you will be an active, in-control teacher rather than a reactive, out -of -control, babysitter.

Greet each child warmly every day. That transition from parent to teacher is an important one. Often mornings are extremely stressful for families. Children are often yelled at, hurried, and maybe given breakfast in the car or either walked or took public transportation to school with no breakfast at all. A warm smile or hug as a child walks in the door can go a long way to helping a child feel accepted and wanted.

Spend time with each child every day. Even if it is just for one or two minutes, get down on the child's level, make eye contact, listen and watch. Learn to value each child for their own special self.

Remember that children learn to value themselves through the eyes (and words) of others. What you say (or don't say) to a child has tremendous impact. Make sure that you don't contribute to the stress.

Take a good look at your classroom and your routine. Try to eliminate stressful situations. Ask yourself the following questions:

Is my room arrangement simple and easy to move through?
 
Are activity areas dearly defined (e.g. art area, block area, reading/quiet area)?
 
Do I have a balance of center areas that are noisy /activity areas (e.g. blocks, dramatic play) and quiet areas (books, manipulatives)?
 
Is there a quiet place in the classroom that is available to children when they need to escape for a while?
 
Have I planned my day so that it alternates between active and quiet activities, organized projects