The scene may look acquainted. We’re within the convention room the place Aaron, the enterprise proprietor, presided over a gathering of his chief monetary officer, his new life insurance coverage agent and several other of his skilled advisors. Aaron has already thought-about the attainable upcoming sundown of the present excessive property and reward tax exemptions. (See “Will Your Life Insurance coverage Sundown if the Tax Legal guidelines Don’t.”) This time, nonetheless, the dialog’s not about planning for Aaron. It’s about planning for his govt group.

On the weekly gathering of Aaron’s govt group, one of many 5 members of the group brings up one thing uncommon, life insurance coverage and, extra significantly, the shortage of it of their bundle of advantages on the firm. 

Not a Complete Shock

It’s really no shock to Aaron that one in every of his group, a partner and dad or mum, would increase this subject. Just some months in the past, one in every of their colleagues handed away, leaving a partner and youngsters with far too little life insurance coverage. After a few tough conversations with the partner, Aaron and the CFO put collectively a makeshift bundle of monetary help for the household. The expertise left Aaron a bit shaken. In truth, ever since then, the subject of life insurance coverage for the group has been on his thoughts. However, you recognize, issues received busy.

Aaron seems to be at his group and says, “I hear you. The CFO and I’ll check out this and allow you to know what we are able to do.” He then turns to the CFO and says, “Name our new agent. Inform her what’s on our minds and ask her to cease by.”

The Proper Place to Begin

After they converse, the CFO offers the agent some high-level background on the people who’d take part within the plan. Then the agent asks the CFO:

• “Would you like the demise profit paid to the manager’s beneficiary to be tax-free life insurance coverage and never unusual revenue?” “Completely,” says the CFO, “If we’re responding to a request for a life insurance coverage plan, it ought to be an actual life insurance coverage plan.” That tells the agent to disregard demise profit solely plans, which don’t present a tax-free life insurance coverage profit to the beneficiary.
• “Do you wish to present everlasting, that means lifelong post-retirement protection?” “Sure, completely,” says the CFO. This goal is simpler, cheaper and fewer dangerous to perform with some plans than others, although explaining and illustrating why that’s true generally is a problem.
• “Are you able to ship me a abstract of the executives’ profit bundle?” Past letting her know what they’re speaking about when a given profit plan is talked about, the abstract speaks volumes concerning the firm’s method to compensation, its tolerance for complexity and the way the monetary and tax features of a life insurance coverage plan would spherical out the executives’ bundle.
• “Who might be becoming a member of you and Aaron on the assembly?” The CFO tells her that varied advisors from the corporate’s regulation and accounting corporations might be there.

The agent begins to draft an agenda for the assembly that she’ll ship to the CFO for evaluation. Proper now, the draft’s extra of a piece plan for the presentation than an agenda. She is aware of from expertise that the actual problem in these circumstances is to maintain issues so simple as attainable, keep away from insurance coverage jargon and, most of all, illuminate the corporate’s path to an knowledgeable resolution. Right here’s what she has to this point:

The Plan Choices

• • Govt bonus plan (EBP) – Govt owns the coverage and designates the beneficiary. The corporate pays a deductible premium and contains it within the govt’s revenue.
  • Restricted govt bonus plan (REBA) – Identical as EBP besides the manager’s prohibited from accessing coverage values for a sure time period. The corporate’s tax advisor and my superior gross sales group ought to confer about how the design of this plan might impression its tax implications.
  • Break up-dollar plans

    • Endorsement plan (ESD) – Firm owns the coverage and pays a non-deducible premium and permits the manager to designate a beneficiary of a portion of the demise profit. Firm contains the annual financial profit within the govt’s revenue for so long as the plan is in pressure. Firm recovers its outlay when govt dies.
    • Collateral task plan beneath the mortgage regime (CASD) – Govt owns the coverage; firm lends the premiums and costs curiosity on the loans. The corporate recovers its outlay at earlier of govt’s retirement or demise.

The Presentation Supplies

• • A binder that has a tab for a bit on every sort of plan. Every part will embrace a diagram of the plan and bullet factors on its structural, authorized, monetary, tax and administrative features.
  • A pattern settlement offered by the superior gross sales group.
  • Illustrations depicting each the corporate and the executives’ sides of every plan beneath simply sufficient design variations to allow the corporate to see how the concerns that observe would impression gadgets similar to value and complexity.
  • A pattern, single-page rationalization sheet to be offered to the executives collaborating within the plan.

Key Choice Factors

Although not urged by the agenda, she’ll weave a few of these factors into the overview of the plans (and plant seeds for additional consideration) when it is sensible to take action or if the dialog simply drifts that manner.

• • What does the corporate hope to perform by providing the plan? An organization’s reply to this query typically means that one sort of plan is extra appropriate than one other. For instance, the elegant simplicity of a comparatively unconstrained EBP may make it much less appropriate than different plans for a corporation wanting to make use of the plan for long-term govt retention, value restoration and so forth.
  • How a lot life insurance coverage ought to the plan present to the manager for them to contemplate the plan worthwhile?

    • Ought to the demise profit stay degree or enhance by some formulation? Handle value and complexity.

  • What share of the demise profit ought to the coverage assist after retirement and to what age?

    • Below what assumptions will the corporate fund the coverage to assist the post-retirement protection? Handle this upfront in order that it doesn’t turn out to be a problem afterward.

  • Management – Who ought to personal the coverage, the corporate or the manager?

    • If the corporate chooses an ESD, when and on what phrases will it switch the coverage to the manager? Make certain they see the lifelong financial profit if the coverage isn’t transferred and the tax and money movement implications to the events whether it is.
    • If the corporate will lend the premiums beneath a CASD plan, what are the variations on the theme of an exit technique and the tax economics of every variation?

  • Tax – Revisit and get a way of priorities about main tax implications, for instance, deductibility of premiums.
  • What’s the corporate’s tolerance for administration, upkeep and tax compliance?
  • Dangers and tasks of the respective events – Forewarned is forearmed.
  • Life insurance coverage coverage choice and design – A separate dialogue as soon as the plan is chosen.

She sends a extra refined draft of the agenda to the CFO, asking him to share it with Aaron. They provide a suggestion right here and a tweak there, however then log out on it.

Pre-Presentation Feedback

Earlier than the presentation begins, Aaron turns to the CFO and says, “Because you’re one of many individuals we’ll cowl within the plan, you’re going to be my straw man. For every plan we talk about, let me know when you perceive it, when you prefer it and if it meets your wants. If not, inform me why.”

He then turns to the advisors. “Everyone knows that the corporate’s tried some plans that had nice promise however turned out to be so sophisticated, so burdensome for our employees and so exhausting for the group to grasp and admire, that they collapsed from their very own weight. So, I wish to accomplish our goal in the simplest, simple method attainable for each us and the group.

He turns to the agent, although he’s clearly addressing the entire group, “Just a few weeks in the past, the CFO and I sat via a presentation on split-dollar. We heard the phrases ‘assuming’ and ‘relying’ extra typically than my grandkids say, ‘like’ and ‘I imply.’ I don’t desire a plan that includes any extra assumptions or contingencies than completely needed. I don’t desire a plan and even an insurance coverage coverage that requires my individuals to have your background or the background of one in every of my advisors to grasp it. I don’t desire a plan that the CFO and I’ve to resell to the group each time we get collectively. Lastly, I wish to make sure that our obligations beneath the plan are clear in order that after we’ve achieved what we’re presupposed to do, we’re achieved, interval. I don’t need anybody to have the ability to come again at us saying that we didn’t sustain our finish of the deal.”

The Presentation

The agent smiles to herself, pondering that though he doesn’t understand it, Aaron’s already chosen the kind of plan he’d be comfy presenting to his group. He’s additionally precluded sure forms of merchandise from consideration. However she’s been stunned earlier than, so the present should go on.

The agent walks the group via the binder, plan by plan, taking loads of questions as she goes alongside. Then she says, “Please take a look at the final web page of the binder. You’ll see a matrix, which I’m going to duplicate on the white board. You’ll see there’s a column for every of the 4 forms of plans. Alongside the left, you’ll see one row for every of the first resolution factors. Beginning with the primary column, let’s go row by row, assigning a rating worth from one to 4, with one being least favorable and 4 being most.”

The assembly adjourns, with settlement to regroup in every week to conclude deliberations, assist Aaron and the CFO arrive at a call and even tackle a few of the excessive degree design factors of the chosen plan. After that, the agent will stroll the CFO via all of the steps of the implementation course of and the anticipated timeline. In fact, she already has a one-pager for that as nicely.

Use of Coverage in Retirement

Earlier than leaving, the agent suggests to Aaron and the CFO that after they’re able to roll out the plan, they embrace a while for a seminar on monetary and property planning for the group. One subject to incorporate within the seminar ought to be the varied methods they’ll use the coverage in retirement.

“Nice concept, particularly after what we went via final time.” says Aaron