One Policy.
Five Jobs at Once.
Most financial products do one job. A properly structured indexed policy protects your family, grows with a floor under the indexed credit, lets you reach the money without asking permission, moves to your family outside probate, and does it inside a tax-advantaged structure. Same dollar. Five jobs.
Waterfall Wealth Creation Strategy™
Waterfall Wealth Creation Strategy™ is the name of the planning method used exclusively by Wealth Builders Insurance Agency. It is our name for our method, not a description of a category.
Services offered under the Waterfall Wealth Creation Strategy™ method
- Insurance brokerage. We place life insurance coverage with multiple national carriers on behalf of individuals and families.
- Life insurance brokerage. Indexed universal life, term life and final expense coverage, structured to the client's situation.
- Insurance consultancy. We review a household's existing protection, liquidity, transfer, asset diversity and tax position, and advise on the structure that fits, including advising against a purchase where that is the honest answer.
Thirty minutes, at no cost, and no obligation.
Wealth Builders Flagship IUL Solution · 0.75% floor on the indexed credit · Uncapped Balanced Index Account · Conservative Illustrated Rate · Tax-Advantaged Structure · National carriers
Six Things Happening In Your Policy — Simultaneously
0.75% floor, guaranteed
When the index falls, you are credited 0.75% instead of a loss. That is the guaranteed minimum in the contract, so the carrier cannot lower it at renewal. Policy charges still come out, so a floor year is flat rather than free.
113% participation, current
Uncapped, so you capture more than 100% of the index move with no ceiling. This rate is the current one: the carrier sets it and can change it at renewal, unlike the floor, which is guaranteed.
Access Without Permission
Borrow against your own cash value at any age, with no credit check and no early-withdrawal penalty. Loans carry interest and reduce the death benefit until repaid.
Death Benefit From Day One
Generally excluded from your beneficiary's income under IRC §101(a), and it passes outside probate. In force from the first day the policy is.
Index-Linked Growth
Credited on the movement of a blended index at 113% participation with no cap, less the 0.72% index account charge. You are not invested in the market directly.
Income That Can Be Tax-Advantaged
Cash value can be accessed without an income tax bill when the policy is structured and maintained properly, and there are no required minimum distributions. Structured badly, none of that holds.
Neither one wins. They are built for different work.
A 401(k) takes the dollar before tax and gives it back as taxable income in retirement. When your employer matches it, that match is where a 401(k) beats an IUL outright. An indexed policy takes the dollar after tax, puts a death benefit on it from day one, and credits it with a floor under a down year. Most families we work with hold both.
The charges are real and heaviest early: a 4% premium load on each deposit, a $10 monthly policy fee, and the 0.72% index account charge. Surrender charges run off over 15 years, which is why it is a five to seven years decision.
Read the side-by-side, account by accountThe rule that comes before all of it: if your employer matches 401(k) contributions, capture the full match first. That is an immediate, dollar-for-dollar addition to your own money and nothing on this page competes with it. We say this before we say anything else, and we say it to every client.
An IUL Works Best If…
- ✓Ages 25–55; the longest runway for cash value to compound
- ✓Families who want index-linked growth with a floor under the credit
- ✓Business owners seeking tax-advantaged retirement income
- ✓High earners who have already captured their full 401(k) match
- ✓Parents and grandparents building wealth to transfer to the next generation
- ✓Anyone who wants part of their money out of the market’s drawdowns
…but that list is a sweet spot, not a gate
Coverage runs from 15 days old to age 85. Most people who assume they don't qualify actually do. If you're in any of these, you're eligible, and worth a conversation.
- Children; from 15 days oldJuvenile IUL. A parent or grandparent owns and funds it, the child gets decades of compounding and a locked-in insurable rating before any health history exists. Ownership can transfer to them later.
- Ages 56–85Still eligible for an adult IUL. The goal shifts from long accumulation to protected transfer and supplemental income, so the design is built differently; but the door is open.
- You already have coverage through workGroup coverage usually ends when the job does and rarely builds anything. Having it does not disqualify you; it is often the reason to look.
- You have had a health eventUnderwriting is not pass or fail. Ratings, different carriers and different products exist. We will tell you honestly what your situation supports before you spend time on an application.
- You are not a high earnerThere is no income requirement. What matters is whether you can fund it consistently for the long haul; and if you can’t, we will say so rather than sell you one.
See How Crediting Works
Run a free projection in our How an Index Account Works, or book a session and we will build a custom illustration tailored to your exact goals.
How an Index Account Works Book the IUL Wealth Strategy SessionWhen an indexed policy is the wrong answer
A policy that lapses in year four helps nobody. If any of these describe you, the step on the right comes first, and we help you build it.
An indexed policy fits when
- You already have three to six months of expenses somewhere you can reach
- You are capturing your full employer match, every year, without fail
- You can fund it consistently for at least five to seven years, not two
- You want the same dollar doing protection and accumulation together
- You have a reason to want money reachable before 59½
- You are between roughly 25 and 55, so compounding has runway
Something else serves you better if
- You have no emergency fund yet.Build that first, in a high-yield savings account. The policy comes after, when the cash is in place.
- You are not capturing your full employer match.Go and get it. It is an immediate return on your own money and nothing here competes with it. See the match arithmetic.
- You need the largest death benefit for the smallest premium.That is term, and it is not a lesser product, it is the right product for a mortgage and young children. Read about term.
- You mainly want the funeral covered.Final expense does that job for a fraction of the cost, and most people qualify with health questions and no exam. Read about final expense.
- Your income is unstable right now.Wait twelve months. A policy funded inconsistently is worse than no policy, you pay the acquisition costs and then lose the structure. Come back when the income is steady; we will still be here.
- You want the highest possible return and nothing else.Then you want market exposure, not a floor. A low-cost index fund at a brokerage will very likely beat this over thirty years, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling.
The IUL Is Step 7 of 10
in the Waterfall Wealth Creation Strategy™
Most people who discover the IUL stop there. It is one piece of something larger. It sits at 7 on purpose, and six steps come before it. One of them is taking your full employer match, and we would rather you did that first. The Blueprint walks all 10 in order, because the order is the strategy.
No cost · No obligationIt can pay you while you are still alive.
Most people think life insurance pays when you die. It can also pay you while you are alive, when you need care and the income has stopped.
- Terminal illness
- A doctor gives you a limited time to live.You can take a large part of the death benefit now, while you are here to decide what it is spent on. Some people clear the mortgage so nobody has to sell the house. Some take the trip. Some just want the bills quiet.The catch: What you take now is subtracted from what your family gets later, usually with an interest adjustment. On our flagship policy it pays up to the whole death benefit, to a $1.5 million ceiling when a doctor gives you twelve months or less, and a fee is taken at claim.
- Chronic illness
- You cannot do two of the six everyday activities on your own: bathing, dressing, eating, getting in and out of a bed or chair, using the bathroom, staying continent. Or you need supervision because of a memory condition.You can draw on the death benefit to pay for the help you need, at home or in a facility. This is the one almost nobody knows is in there, and it is the one most likely to get used.The catch: A licensed professional has to certify the condition, and usually that it is expected to last at least ninety days. On our flagship policy it pays up to 24% of the death benefit a year and 90% over your lifetime, to a $1.5 million ceiling, as a yearly lump sum. The condition does not have to be permanent. The lump sum is discounted for life expectancy, so the cash paid is less than the amount accelerated. It costs nothing until it is used; a fee per claim. Not every policy includes it.
- Critical illness
- A heart attack, a stroke, cancer, kidney failure, a major organ transplant.A lump sum while you are recovering, when income has usually stopped and the bills have not. You decide what it pays for. Nobody asks for receipts.The catch: The contract lists exactly which conditions qualify and how severe they have to be. Read that list. It is shorter than people assume. On our flagship policy it pays up to 90% of the death benefit, to a $1.5 million ceiling, with up to three claims, and costs nothing until it is used; a fee per claim.
- Long term care needs
- You need ongoing help, at home or in a nursing home.A portion of the death benefit goes toward the care instead, at home or in a facility. If the care is never needed, the money still goes to your family. With the long-term care rider on our flagship policy it pays up to 2% of the face amount a month, at full value, as often as needed, up to the whole face amount; coverage from $100,000 to $2 million. Family care at home counts. The policy cannot lapse while a claim is being paid. It is chosen instead of the chronic illness rider, never beside it.
- Funeral planning support
- Help arranging things, at the time nobody can think straight.On some plans a concierge service is included at no extra premium: comparing funeral homes, understanding costs, handling arrangements. Your family calls one number instead of making six decisions in two days.The catch: Included on the instant final expense product, and the flagship permanent policy at $250,000 of coverage and up. Not offered in Michigan, Oregon or Virginia. Ask which plan carries it.
Money taken early comes out of the death benefit, so there is less left for your family. Which of these are available, what they are called and what qualifies all vary by carrier and by state, and every one has conditions in the contract. We go through them with you before you apply, not after.
Medicare does not pay for the help most people end up needing.
Most people assume Medicare covers a nursing home. What it does not cover is custodial care, which is help with everyday activities: getting in and out of bed, eating, bathing, dressing and using the bathroom. That is the help most people need, and it is the help you pay for yourself.
Medicare pays for skilled nursing, and only for a while. A stay in a skilled nursing facility is limited to 100 days in a benefit period, and from day 101 you pay all of it. It has to be daily skilled care that a provider says you need, not help getting dressed.
Medicaid does pay for long-term care, after you have spent down to qualify. Eligibility comes after your assets are spent down to your state's limit. Giving money away first does not work. A transfer for less than fair market value in the five years before you apply creates a penalty. The penalty is measured in months of care you have to fund yourself.
What that care costs
- Care at home
- $35 an hour$80,080 a yearA non-medical caregiver helping at home.
- Assisted living
- $6,200 a month$74,400 a yearA one-bedroom in an assisted living community.
- Nursing home, shared room
- $315 a day$114,975 a yearA semi-private room.
- Nursing home, private room
- $355 a day$129,575 a yearA room of your own.
National medians, CareScout Cost of Care Survey, 2025, published 2 March 2026. The home care figure assumes 44 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, which is not round-the-clock care.
Long-term care rider
An add-on to a permanent policy that puts part of the death benefit toward care, at home or in a facility, while you are alive. It is a portion of what you already own, brought forward.
It is not free. A long-term care rider is priced as an add-on, unlike the chronic illness rider, which is usually included at no extra premium.
Long-term care is a separate license above life and health. We hold it in the states we are licensed in.
Availability and terms vary by carrier and by state.
Written and reviewed by Chaka A. I. Ali, Licensed Managing Financial Strategist, Wealth Builders Insurance Agency. NPN 11126989. Reviewed September 2026.
What an indexed policy does not do
An IUL is a real product with real limits. These are the ones that decide whether it fits, and they are written the same size as everything above.
Getting money out early has a costTaking money out or cancelling in the early years brings a surrender charge, separate from any tax.
Permanent policies carry a surrender charge in the early years. It applies if you cancel the policy, or take out more than the contract allows. It typically runs ten to fifteen years, shrinking each year until it reaches zero. It is a charge from the insurance company and it is completely separate from anything the IRS does. So when we say there is no early-withdrawal penalty at any age, that is true, and it is a statement about tax law. It is not a claim that early access is free. Your illustration shows the surrender charge schedule year by year, and it is worth reading before you decide how much to put in.
Loans are not free moneyPolicy loans charge interest, and an unpaid loan can eventually lapse the policy.
A policy loan is untaxed while the policy stays in force, which is the whole reason the strategy works. It is still a loan. Interest is charged, and any interest you do not pay gets added to what you owe. The loan and its interest reduce the death benefit until they are repaid. If the loan plus interest ever grows larger than the cash value, the policy can lapse. A policy that lapses with a loan on it can create a taxable gain. That tax bill arrives in a year when no money is coming in to pay it. This is the failure mode of the strategy, and it is why the funding and the borrowing have to be planned together rather than decided separately.
There is a limit on how fast you can fund itOverfund past the federal limit and the tax treatment of withdrawals changes permanently.
Federal law limits how much premium can go into a policy relative to its death benefit. Cross that line and the policy becomes a Modified Endowment Contract. A MEC keeps its death benefit, still free of income tax. But withdrawals and loans are then taxed on the gain first, and can carry a ten percent penalty before age 59 and a half. The change is permanent and it cannot be undone. A properly designed policy is built to stay under the line on purpose, and the illustration shows the maximum.
The policy has to be kept aliveIf the charges are not covered, the policy can lapse and the coverage ends.
An indexed universal life policy pays its costs out of the cash value every month. The cash value has to cover them. If it cannot, the policy lapses and the coverage ends. That happens when funding stops, when too much has been borrowed, or when the credited interest comes in low for a long stretch. It is not a product that runs itself once it is opened. This is why the funding period matters more than the illustrated rate.
Who stands behind the guaranteeAll guarantees depend on the claims-paying ability of the insurance company that issues the policy.
Every guarantee in a life insurance policy, including the floor, the death benefit and any guaranteed values, is backed by the insurance company that issued it and by nothing else. It is not insured by the FDIC, not guaranteed by a bank, and not guaranteed by any government agency. This is why the financial strength of the carrier matters and why we look at it before we look at the illustration.
That is not everything a policy does and does not do. The complete list is here, in plain English.