How Kai-Zen Works

Individual Benefits

Are your clients concerned they aren’t saving enough money for retirement? The Kai-Zen strategy provides them a superior and smarter way to fund the retirement they’ve dreamed of. Kai-Zen utilizes financing as a way to supplement the funding your clients have available to buy more of the benefits they need. The ultimate result is a higher level of financial comfort than could be found with savings and traditional life insurance alone.

Death Benefit Protection

A permanent life insurance policy with living benefit riders* that can provide benefits in the case of:

• Critical Illness (Cancer, Heart Attack, Stroke, etc.)
• Critical Injury (Coma, Brain Injury, Paralysis, Burns)
• Chronic Illness (Assistance with Daily Living, Bathing, Eating, Dressing, Transferring, etc.)
• Terminal Illness (Illness Where Death is Expected Within 12-24 Months. Term Varies by State.)

*Net of loan repayment, riders are supplemental vbenefits that can be added to a life insurance policy and are not suoitable unless there is a need for life insurance.

 

Cash Accumulation**

• Upside Crediting Potential (Interest Credited Based On Market Index)
• No Loss of Cash Value, 0% Floor (Due To Declines In An Index)
• Potential Growth Tax-deferred
• Potential Tax-free Withdrawal (Access to cash value using Tax-Free policy loans and withdrawals)

**Policy loans and withdrawals reduce the cash value and death benefit and may result in a taxable event if the policy is surendered or lapses.

 

The Use of Leverage

With Kai-Zen, your clients can leverage to obtain more benefits today and potential cash accumulation for their retirement future.

• Most people use leverage to buy a bigger house today
• Most people use leverage to purchase an investment property to rent or flip
• Most people use a loan to expand a business without tying up your cash value

The decision to use leverage is driven by the idea that the money contributed will grow at a higher rate of return than the cost of borrowing and, at the very least, one would be able to enjoy the benefits of these purchases immediately.

 

 

Company Benefits: To Attract the Best, You Need to Offer the Best

Attract and Retain Employees by Offering Better Benefits

Key employees are the lifeblood of any company and it is always crucial to be more attractive than the competition. Benefits are necessary to recruit and retain the best employees, but most companies offer essentially the same benefits as everyone else. How does one offer more to set themselves apart from the competition?

Kai-Zen is a unique strategy that allows a company to achieve a competitive advantage by offering the best benefits, provide more protection, and potentially save more for its employees’ retirement. Simply put, the Kai-Zen strategy provides the extra funding to set any company apart without having to increase their budget.

 

Business Applications

The departure or premature loss of a key executive can significantly affect a company’s bottom line. The Kai-Zen Strategy helps provide the additional funding required to address the following business situations effectively:

• Executive Bonuses
• Buy/Sell
• Key Man
• Partner Buyout
• Succession Planning
• Highly Compensated Employee Incentives

More Cost Effective than Traditional Plans

The real reason businesses are not offering additional benefits to their key employees is cost. The Kai-Zen Strategy uses leverage to help cover the costs of the additional benefits needed to attract top talent. A unique feature of Kai-Zen is that there are no loan qualifications or loan documents signed by the employer or employee. The contributions made to the strategy act to fully secure the loan. Utilizing Kai-Zen allows companies to spend less on something that would otherwise be a substantial expense. This will ultimately improve their cash flow and decrease costs while offering the differentiation needed to compete for the best employees.

In addition, due to the high cost of benefits, businesses also find it difficult to provide adequate coverage for other business liabilities such as Key Person, Buy-Sell Agreements, Succession Planning, etc. These events can typically be funded at half the cost of traditional options with Kai-Zen.

 

A Better Way to Fund Contingent Business Liabilities (Key Person, Buy-Sell Agreements, Succession Planning, etc.)

Key executives leave for a variety of reasons which can leave a business scrambling to cover their loss. They can become disabled, develop a chronic illness, retire, pass away, or simply leave. Most companies use their cash to grow their business and not to fund contingent business liabilities. Kai-Zen helps provide the funding needed to protect your business in a wider variety of circumstances.

A Better Way to Informally Fund Deferred Compensation

Kai-Zen is a superior way to informally fund Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation. By financing a life insurance policy as opposed to traditional investment alternatives, your client gets the added advantage of additional cash through the use of leverage, potential tax-deferred growth, protection benefits should something happen to the employee all without downside market risk.

 

Disclaimer

*Receipt of benefits depends on rider and meeting certain qualifications and varies by state. The use of one benefit may reduce or eliminate other policy and rider benefits. Payment of living benefits will reduce the cash value and death benefit. Substantial tax ramifications could result upon contract lapse or surrender.

Surrender charges may reduce the policy’s cash value in early years. It is possible that coverage will expire when either no premiums are paid following the initial premium, or subsequent premiums are insufficient to continue coverage. The Tri-Zen Strategy is dependent on the employer making contributions for the first 5 years and not defaulting on the policy, which could result in policy lapse and surrender charges. The employee will not have access to the policy, the cash values, the death benefits or the living benefits until the loan is repaid and the assignment is released. The lender has the right to discontinue funding new premiums, exit the market, or to demand loan repayment based on the terms and conditions signed by the Master Trust. See the Master Trust documents for additional information. Receipt of accelerated benefits may be taxable and may affect eligibility for public assistance programs. This information is not intended as tax advice. Please consult with your tax advisor regarding your own situation. Not all riders are available by all life insurance companies.