Gift of a Lifetime

A lasting connection to a child they love

“The best gifts always come from the heart, because you know that person is thinking about you and not just running down to the store and picking up what they think is the hottest gift.” – Aileen Avery, author of Gift Rap: The History and Art of Gift Giving

A gift they can’t outgrow

Holiday spending continues to reach record levels. With that in mind, your clients should consider that children outgrow clothes, toys, and other gifts. With life insurance, your clients can give their child or grandchild a gift that provides enduring value.

Gift of a lifetime (PDF)

Blue circle around text: 2023 holiday sales grew to a record $964.4 billion

Help your clients’ children and grandchildren reach for their dreams

The Gift of a Lifetime strategy can help your clients set an example of financial responsibility and emphasize the importance of protecting their loved ones. Watch this video to learn how.

Never too young to start

Life insurance premiums are based on a number of factors including a person’s age and health. Premiums are generally lower for children² when they are young and healthy. As they grow older, or if their health status changes, they may not be able to qualify for or afford life insurance. Purchasing permanent life insurance for a child now will help ensure they have protection for life.

Life insurance can grow with the child

In addition to providing death benefit protection, some permanent life insurance policies have the potential to accumulate cash value, which may be used to supplement income and help weather market downturns.

As adults, your clients’ children could access the cash value³ in their policies. Here’s how it works:

Chart showing the benefits of Life Insurance which grow with a child

Guaranteed insurability rider

The Guaranteed Insurability Rider (GIR)⁴ provides the option to increase the amount of coverage at specific ages and by predetermined amounts, regardless of future health.

Guaranteed insurability rider (PDF)

Waiver of premium rider

The Waiver of Premium Rider (WP)⁴ can help protect your clients’ coverage. If they become totally disabled (as defined in the rider) and are unable to work, their premiums will be waived and the policy cash value will grow at the same rate as if premiums were being paid.

Waiver of premium rider (PDF)

Increase coverage even while totally disabled

If the GIR and WP are added to the policy, premiums for both the base policy and the GIR will be waived in the event of total disability of the insured. If premiums are being waived at the time of an option date, coverage may continue to be increased using the GIR. In this situation, the premium for the additional coverage purchased will also be waived.

Target prospects

Gift of a lifetime can appeal to parents or grandparents in two distinct markets:

The middle market

These prospects have annual household incomes between $75,000 and $150,000. Initial coverage amounts could be in the range of $50,000 to $300,000 per child, which will provide a foundation of life insurance that the child can build on later in life.

The affluent and emerging affluent

These families will also be interested in providing a foundation of life insurance but will more likely choose higher premiums for more coverage. For example, an effective way to transfer wealth to future generations is to gift premium amounts that meet the annual gift tax exclusion, currently $18,000 for 2024.

Help set your clients’ young adult children up for success

The Gift of a Lifetime concept may also be applicable to young adults between ages 18 and 25.

Learn more (PDF)

Gift of a Lifetime - At a glace

Learn more

Additional life sales campaigns:

Taxation
Executive Bonus Arrangements
Term life policy solutions
MassMutual Dividends
Gift of a Lifetime

¹ National Retail Federation, “NRF Says Census Data Shows 2023 Holiday Sales Grew 3.8% to Record $964.4 Billion”, January 17, 2024.

² MassMutual has specific underwriting guidelines for insuring minors, some of which vary by state. Whole life insurance policies on a minor must be owned by parents, grandparents, or a trust. There are multiple factors to consider when deciding which ownership arrangement is most appropriate for your situation. These include the size of the policy, control of policy values, and gift tax implications.

³ Access to cash/account values through borrowing, partial surrenders or withdrawals, will reduce the policy’s cash/account value and death benefit, increase the chance the policy will lapse, and may result in a tax liability if the policy terminates before the death of the insured.

⁴ Riders are available for an additional cost. Certain conditions will apply.

FOR FINANCIAL PROFESSIONALS. NOT FOR USE WITH THE PUBLIC.

MassMutual Whole Life series policies (Policy Forms: MMWL-2018 and ICC18-MMWL in certain states, including North Carolina, and MMWLA-2018 and ICC18-MMWLA in certain states, including North Carolina) are level-premium, participating, permanent life insurance policies issued by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual), Springfield, MA 01111-0001.