This works well with the Life Insurance Needs Calculator, which is a separate program

New Financial Planner Starter Kit

Professional Investment Portfolio Building Kit

We did two buy term life insurance and invest the rest into mutual funds versus buying whole insurance comparisons (VUL) here. The first one uses an "average VUL" policy. The second one uses the same life insurance company we recommend on the variable annuity page. This makes the comparison as close s possible because one can't get a better VUL because of the no-load and minimal expense features. The bottom line is that even with the most efficient VUL policy on the planet, just buying a level term life insurance policy and investing the difference into no-load mutual funds (not even our recommended mutual funds) creams it (with over three times the money left at age 100).

This is only life insurance software you can buy that performs all of the following functions:

First, it estimates the actual balance one would have accumulated in an investment, such as a mutual fund, given certain Real World input parameters such as:

º Amount of initial contribution.

º Amount of annual contributions. These can be different every year.

º Growth, or inflation, rate of annual contributions. This can be different every year.

º Rate of return. This can be different every year.

º Annual dividend yield.

º Annual realized capital gains rate (the amount of capital gains that are distributed to the shareholder, like in a mutual fund).

º Amount of unrealized capital gains that remain in the investment to grow and compound into the future.

º Ordinary income tax rate.

º Capital gains tax rate.

º Dividend tax rate.

º Front-end and/or back-end loads or sales charges on investments.

º Management, 12b-1 fees, and other ongoing annual fees/expenses.

º Amount of withdrawals. These can be different every year.

º Years of withdrawals.

º Tax basis of withdrawals.

º Annual inflation rate of withdrawals.

Next it has an input section where the user inputs cash value life insurance information (such as VUL).

The user then inputs the comparable term insurance costs, which are deducted from the investment described above.

This information is then used to compare end-of-year market values of the regular (alternative) investment (less annual term costs) vs. the cash value in the life insurance policy.

The purpose of all this is to estimate as closely as possible, how much money one will have accumulated in an investment such as a mutual fund after taking all of the Real World factors into account, such as taxes and expenses. Then it properly compares it to the insurance contract.

If you're trying to decide whether to buy a cash value life insurance contract, or "buy term life insurance and invest the difference," this investment software will estimate the amount of money you will have left after a certain time horizon.

If you don't die, and you end up with $500,000 more in the alternative investment compared to the cash value life insurance contract, then you should have bought term life and invested the difference rather than buying the cash value whole life  contract.

Not only is this the only financial spreadsheet on the market that does this function, no personal finance software even comes close if you want a Real World scenario that takes everything into account in such great detail.

This is not only the best cash value insurance comparison calculator, but it's also the best way to compare any number of alternative investment vehicles, such as mutual funds that have different characteristics (loads, commissions, taxes, 12b-1 fees, and different dividend and capital gains distributions).

You just input 5-10 numbers on the "investment," the ending year's market values on the cash value life policy from an insurance contract "ledger" provided from an insurance salesperson. Then input the annual terms costs provided from a term insurance ledger, and it shows the investment balance at the end of every year for both the cash value policy and alternative investment (and then it makes a graph).

This life insurance calculator is unique because it accurately determines the true balance of investment vehicles by considering taxes on the annual realized capital gains, original basis, and the accumulated unrealized capital gains.