Life insurance vs. Roth IRA for retirement saving

A Roth IRA or any other traditional retirement account is your best option to maximize savings for retirement. However, a permanent life insurance policy with a cash value component can be a good supplement for some high-net-worth individuals.

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Tory CrowleyAssociate Editor & Licensed Life Insurance AgentTory Crowley is an associate life insurance and annuities editor and a licensed insurance agent at Policygenius. Previously, she worked directly with clients at Policygenius, advising nearly 3,000 of them on life insurance options. She has also worked at the Daily News and various nonprofit organizations.&Katherine MurbachEditor & Licensed Life Insurance AgentKatherine Murbach is a life insurance and annuities editor, licensed life insurance agent, and former sales associate at Policygenius. Previously, she wrote about life and disability insurance for 1752 Financial, and advised over 1,500 clients on their life insurance policies as a sales associate.

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Antonio Ruiz-CamachoAntonio Ruiz-CamachoAssociate Content DirectorAntonio is a former associate content director who helped lead our life insurance and annuities editorial team at Policygenius. Previously, he was a senior director of content at Bankrate and CreditCards.com, as well as a principal writer covering personal finance at CNET.
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Maria FilindrasMaria FilindrasFinancial AdvisorMaria Filindras is a financial advisor, a licensed Life & Health insurance agent in California, and a member of the Financial Review Council at Policygenius.

Updated|3 min read

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Traditional retirement accounts like Roth IRAs are usually the best vehicles to save for retirement. Using a life insurance policy as an investment tool isn’t as effective as an IRA because it’s expensive and comes with more risk. 

But if you’re a high-net-worth individual who has maximized your contributions to traditional retirement accounts, and have income to spare, a permanent life insurance policy with a cash value account could be a good way to supplement your retirement plan.

Key takeaways

  • If an employer-sponsored retirement plan like a 401(k) is available to you, take it. 

  • You can supplement an employer-sponsored plan with a Roth IRA and/or permanent life policy, though getting a Roth IRA is a better choice. 

  • Roth IRAs have lower costs and a higher expected growth than permanent life insurance.

  • Including a permanent life insurance policy as part of your retirement planning is usually only beneficial for income earners who have maximized use of traditional retirement accounts. 

  • The main benefit of getting a permanent life insurance policy for retirement is utilizing any cash value that accumulates.

Life insurance vs. Roth IRA

Many people save for retirement using employer-sponsored plans, like 401(k)s. But if you don’t have an employer-sponsored plan or want to supplement one, you can get life insurance or a Roth IRA, though an IRA will be a better fit for most people. 

  • Using life insurance to save for retirement is known as having a life insurance retirement plan (LIRP). This type of plan uses a permanent life insurance policy’s cash value component to help fund retirement. 

  • An IRA is a retirement savings plan that you open and fund on your own. It’s one of the simplest ways to save for retirement.

Both LIRPs and IRAs are individually funded (with no involvement from your employer), so deciding between the two makes sense. But in most cases, an IRA is the best first choice between the two.

A LIRP will benefit you if you already have an IRA and have been consistently reaching your annual contribution limit.

How is a 401(k) different from an IRA? 

The main difference between an IRA and a 401(k) plan is whether your employer is involved. An IRA is only available to individuals, similar to permanent life insurance, while 401(k)s are employer-sponsored and often offer some sort of employer matching. 

401(k)s allow higher yearly pre-tax contributions than IRAs, but have fewer investment options. If your employer offers a 401(k), you should utilize this benefit. But you should also consider supplementing your 401(k) with an IRA and possibly a permanent life insurance policy. 

See how life insurance compares with a 401(k) and Roth IRA below:

Tax comparison: LIRPs vs. traditional 401(k)s vs. Roth IRAs

Policy details

LIRP (cash value life insurance)

Traditional 401(k)

Roth IRA

Contribution limits

Varies by insurer

$22,500 (+$7,500 if older than 50)

$6,500 ($7,500 if older than 50)

How you contribute

Premiums (after-tax dollars)

Pre-tax income

After-tax dollars with no tax deductions

How your money grows

Tax-deferred

Tax-deferred

Tax-free

(Penalty-free) withdrawal qualifications

In most cases, none*

59½ years old and up

59½ years old and up, and an account at least five years old

Withdrawal taxes

Only if your withdrawal exceeds cash value base amount

Taxed as regular income

No income taxes

Required minimum distributions

Varies by policy premiums

73 years old and up

None

Income tax

Yes

Yes

No

Collapse table

*A LIRP that has been overfunded, or exceeded federal tax law limits, will become a modified endowment contract (MEC), at which point you’ll pay taxes on withdrawals unless you’re 59 ½ years old and up, and your account is at least 15 years old.

How can permanent life insurance be used for retirement?

A cash value life insurance policy can supplement other retirement savings accounts, but we don’t recommend using life insurance as your main savings vehicle.

However, if you’ve reached the contribution limits for your 401(k) and IRA, here’s how putting money into your permanent policy’s cash value can be beneficial: 

1. Pay extra premiums to fund your cash value

Overpaying your permanent life policy’s premiums means the extra money paid goes into the cash value and grows tax-deferred.

But there are some caveats: you’ll be penalized on withdrawals before age 59 ½ and if you exceed the annual premium limit (set by the IRS) your policy converts into a modified endowment contract (MEC) (which means extra taxes and penalties for withdrawals).

2. Use the cash value to supplement retirement

As a cash value life insurance policy owner, you can access the cash value in addition to your retirement accounts, allowing you to spread out retirement spending across multiple accounts.

For example, after a down year in the stock market, you can withdraw money from your policy’s cash value instead of drawing down from your IRA, which will replenish your IRA savings.

3. Long-term care support

Most life insurance policies allow for add-ons called riders, including a long-term care rider, which provides an accelerated death benefit.

These features cost more, but can be used as you age to pay for a nursing home or other medical costs related to long-term care. 

Should you use life insurance as an investment?

If you’re trying to decide between opening an IRA (Roth or traditional) or opening a life insurance policy for the purpose of retirement savings, IRAs are almost always a better choice. 

A Roth IRA offers higher returns on your contributions than what you would get from a life insurance cash value account. It’s much more straightforward than permanent life insurance, which can come with costly policy surrender charges, high premiums, and savings that aren’t guaranteed. 

A Roth IRA also offers flexibility — if you fully fund it one year, but the next year you face unexpected financial hardship, you can choose not to fund it, and your existing contributions will still gain interest.

With a permanent life insurance policy, you must keep paying premiums, which are often several hundred dollars per month, or you risk your policy lapsing.

If you’re unsure if cash value life insurance fits into your financial goals and plans for retirement, speaking with a financial planner or Policygenius advisor can help.

More about life insurance and financial planning

Authors

Tory Crowley is an associate life insurance and annuities editor and a licensed insurance agent at Policygenius. Previously, she worked directly with clients at Policygenius, advising nearly 3,000 of them on life insurance options. She has also worked at the Daily News and various nonprofit organizations.

Katherine Murbach is a life insurance and annuities editor, licensed life insurance agent, and former sales associate at Policygenius. Previously, she wrote about life and disability insurance for 1752 Financial, and advised over 1,500 clients on their life insurance policies as a sales associate.

Editor

Antonio is a former associate content director who helped lead our life insurance and annuities editorial team at Policygenius. Previously, he was a senior director of content at Bankrate and CreditCards.com, as well as a principal writer covering personal finance at CNET.

Expert reviewer

Maria Filindras is a financial advisor, a licensed Life & Health insurance agent in California, and a member of the Financial Review Council at Policygenius.

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