📅 Friday Zoom Session – October 17

Meeting Purpose:

To provide an overview of Creative Capital Strategies' (CCS) financial planning approach using specially-designed whole life insurance policies, and to address common client and prospect questions.

✅ Key Takeaways

• Specially-designed whole life insurance is used as a tax-advantaged savings and financing tool, often outperforming traditional investments.

• CCS’s strategy focuses on reducing taxes, increasing financial control, and providing more spendable income in retirement compared to 401(k)s/IRAs.

• Policies can be leveraged to finance major purchases or investments at more favorable rates than conventional lending.

• The CCS team offers a highly educational, ongoing support model to help clients maximize policy benefits.

🧑‍💼 Team Introductions

• Jim Kindred (Founder):

  Former securities advisor; transitioned after discovering the "living benefits" of whole life insurance. Trained under Nelson Nash.

• Kristi Osmond:

  Jim’s daughter; ex-real estate investor. Joined CCS after realizing policy performance exceeded real estate returns.

• Adam Edwards:

  Former tradesman; licensed during COVID. Drawn to CCS’s client-first philosophy.

• Shane Osmond:

  MBA holder with business consulting experience. Sees strong applications for policies in business strategy.

• DJ:

  Firefighter/paramedic; manages CCS tech and operations. Personally uses a policy and advocates to fellow first responders.

💡 Why Whole Life Insurance?

• Living benefits: Access to cash value while alive, in addition to the death benefit.

• Market protection: Guaranteed growth, independent of market performance.

• Tax-free growth and income in retirement.

• Policy loans: Finance purchases/investments at competitive rates.

• Alternative to traditional plans (401(k), IRA, real estate) with better control and tax advantages.

🔧 Policy Design & Benefits

• Designed for maximum cash value, minimum cost.

• No contribution limits, unlike traditional retirement accounts.

• Can supplement or replace other retirement vehicles.

• Provides tax-free income in retirement when properly structured.

• Allows for policy loans to fund real estate, business ventures, or large purchases.

🎓 Client Support & Education

• Weekly Friday calls: Educational sessions and open Q&A.

• 1-on-1 strategy sessions to tailor policy use.

• Investment reviews to coordinate whole life with other assets.

• Ongoing financial mentorship.

📈 Real-World Examples

• Client saved $250k in interest by using policy loan for a home purchase instead of a traditional mortgage.

• Potential to reach a 0% tax bracket in retirement by combining policy income with Social Security.

• Policy-backed real estate investing resulted in 277% returns vs 20% using only personal funds.

🧭 Next Steps

• 📖 Read Becoming Your Own Banker by Nelson Nash for foundational knowledge.

• 📩 Request a PDF of Live Your Life Insurance by Kim Butler (contact Jim).

• 📞 Schedule a discovery call to explore personal policy options.

• 🏘️ Attend next week’s client call on using policies for real estate investing.

Fundamental Friday — October 3

Highlights

• Watch for phishing emails pretending to be the IRS.

• New recurring Friday training cadence announced.

• Framework for comparing asset classes.

• Whole life insurance positioned as a stable savings/cash-value tool.

• Using policy cash value to buffer sequence-of-returns risk.

• Practical retirement-planning guardrails and tax-smart income.

Topics & Takeaways

Suspicious IRS Email

• The “IRS” message was likely phishing.

• Verify sender domains, avoid clicking links/attachments, and go directly to the official site when in doubt.

New Friday Training Schedule

• 1st & 3rd Fridays: Open intro sessions (public).

• 2nd & 4th Fridays: Advanced client training.

• 5th Friday (when applicable): Case studies + open Q&A.

Characteristics of Asset Classes

Evaluate options using:

• Risk & Guarantees

• Penalties & Liquidity

• Creditor Protection & Leverage

• Tax Treatment

• Disability/Death Benefits

  Match choices to personal goals and risk tolerance.

Whole Life Insurance as a Savings Vehicle

• Beyond death benefit: cash value that’s generally non-correlated to markets.

• Offers liquidity, can serve as collateral, and may supplement retirement income.

Mitigating Sequence-of-Returns Risk

• Poor early-retirement returns can derail portfolios.

• Drawing from policy cash value during down markets can preserve invested assets and improve income durability.

Retirement Planning Considerations

• Save an appropriate % of income; don’t assume expenses drop dramatically in retirement.

• Use tax-advantaged tools (e.g., whole life policies) to maximize net retirement income.

Recap & Next Steps

• Whole life can provide stability, flexibility, and tax advantages alongside other assets.

• Offer: Free consultation to review your situation and outline personalized recommendations.

Quick Action Items

• Security: Review email-security best practices with your team.

• Calendar: Add the new Friday cadence to your invites.

• Planning: Schedule a consultation to map asset mix, income targets, and tax strategy.

💻 Friday Zoom Session – November 7

Topic: Comparing Qualified Retirement Plans vs. Life Insurance Retirement Plans

🎯 Session Objective

To compare the structure, risks, and long-term outcomes of qualified retirement plans (401(k), IRA) with life insurance retirement plans (LIRPs), and explore a hybrid strategy to maximize retirement income and minimize taxes.

🧩 Key Takeaways

• Qualified Plans Have Critical Flaws

  • Taxes are deferred to an unknown future rate.

  • Exposed to sequence of returns risk, which can drastically reduce retirement income.

• LIRPs Offer Superior Control

  • Properly structured Whole Life (WL) policies provide:

    • Tax-free growth and withdrawals

    • Guaranteed returns

    • Immediate liquidity — use as your own “private bank”

• A Hybrid Strategy Maximizes Income

  • Draw from your qualified plan first to stay below the standard deduction (≈ 0% tax rate).

  • Then switch to tax-free LIRP withdrawals after depletion.

• Liquidity Beats Rate of Return

  • Prioritize access to capital over debt elimination.

  • Liquidity enables you to pursue higher-return opportunities, like funding a LIRP.

⚠️ The Problem with Qualified Plans

1. Origin & Purpose

• The 401(k) (created in 1978) shifted retirement risk from employers to employees.

• Its inventor, Ted Benna, later expressed regret, citing high fees and the transfer of risk to workers.

2. Tax Deferral Is a Gamble

• The government favors these plans because it collects taxes later, when rates are likely higher due to national debt.

• This creates a “tax time bomb” — future tax costs are unpredictable.

3. Sequence of Returns Risk

• Market volatility matters more than average returns.

• Example: Two retirees with the same average return can end up with drastically different results:

  • Portfolio A: $211K

  • Portfolio B: $693K

💡 The Solution: A Life Insurance Retirement Plan (LIRP)

Vehicle: A properly structured Whole Life policy from a mutual company.

Why Whole Life (WL)?

• Guaranteed growth and dividends

• No market exposure or volatility

Why Not IUL (Indexed Universal Life)?

• Market-linked returns = more risk

• Example: Recent $8.5M lawsuit against an IUL provider over misleading performance claims

Tax Advantages:

• After-tax contributions

• Tax-free growth and withdrawals (like a Roth IRA — but no contribution limits)

Liquidity & Control:

• Immediate Access: Borrow against up to 95% of your cash value.

• “Money in Two Places” Concept:

  • Continue earning dividends on borrowed funds.

  • Use borrowed capital for other purposes (e.g., debt payoff, investments).

⚖️ The Hybrid Retirement Strategy

Goal:

Maximize spendable income and minimize taxes using both qualified plans and LIRPs.

How It Works:

1. Draw from Qualified Plan First

   • Keep withdrawals below the standard deduction → effective 0% tax rate.

2. Switch to LIRP Withdrawals

   • Once the qualified account is depleted, move to tax-free income from your LIRP.

Example Outcomes:

• $1M in a Qualified Plan → ~$28K/year (after 20% tax)

• $1M in a LIRP → $40K–$70K/year, tax-free

🏠 Q&A: HELOCs & Home Equity

Q: Should I pay off my HELOC early?

A: Not necessarily.

• Paying off debt stops interest but doesn’t grow wealth.

• Prioritize liquidity — funding a LIRP can grow your capital and keep it accessible.

Alternative Strategy:

• At age 62, a reverse mortgage can provide tax-free access to home equity — like a no-payment, tax-free HELOC.