How LifeNotes Can Help Rescue a Deferred Compensation Plan
Credit unions commonly use life insurance-based executive benefits, such as collateral assignment split dollar plans to retain key talent. One of the original intentions has always been to leverage these benefits to incentivize an executive to stay in place in exchange for receiving life insurance coverage and tax-free income throughout retirement. However, what happens when the original goal of these benefits changes; for example, when an executive considers leaving the organization sooner than expected or when interest rates rise, and credit unions must hold a loan until the executive’s death. Despite floating maturity dates and decreased yields, in these scenarios, credit unions have historically been forced to keep a less desirable asset on their balance sheet—until now.
Eric Stearns and Jay Rogers of Stearns Financial share how credit unions can now use a new strategy to create adaptive life insurance-based benefits plans that are attractive to credit unions and executives. For over 40 years, Stearns Financial has worked with credit unions in succession and yield planning, retention, and balance sheet optimization. The firm was also a pioneer in creating the loan regime split dollar plan. This streamlined feature funds a loan immediately rather than over several years, effectively locking in the loan’s rate.
LifeNotes Strategy Use Cases: How Credit Unions Can Add Flexibility to Life Insurance Based Executive Benefits
In a previous “C.U. on the Show” episode, Jay Rogers, of Stearns Financial, shared the firm’s groundbreaking LifeNotes Strategy. The process involves purchasing life insurance-based plans to develop more adaptive features that aim to reduce duration risk and increase value to credit unions and executive participants.
For over 40 years, Stearns Financial has worked with credit unions in succession and yield planning, retention, and balance sheet optimization. Its proprietary method involves credit unions and executives selling their life-insurance-based plans, such as collateral assignment split-dollar (CASD) or credit union-owned life insurance (CUOLI), which are no longer producing intended outcomes. The strategy helps credit unions develop more adaptive programs that reduce duration risk and increase value to credit unions and participants. In exchange, the plans are modified, for example, to provide a guaranteed annuity tied to a fixed maturity date rather than floating while maintaining the tax-free nature of the plan’s payments.
In this episode, Eric Stearns, principal at Stearns Financial, shares real-life use cases of how the LifeNotes Strategy has helped credit unions with various challenges, specifically in their CUOLI plans. It comes down to time versus money, a tradeoff that allows credit unions and participants to gain more value and the flexibility to maneuver in a changing world.
How to Improve a Credit Union Life Insurance Policy for Executives
One of the original intentions has always been to leverage life insurance-based executive benefits, such as collateral assignment split dollar plans, to retain a credit union executive. However, these plans generally come with floating maturity dates that may not be tenable long-term. So, what happens when the original goal of these benefits changes; for example, when an executive considers leaving the organization sooner than expected or for other reasons? In these scenarios, credit unions have historically been forced to keep a less desirable asset on their balance sheet—until now.
Jay Rogers, senior executive consultant and director of business development at Stearns Financial, shares how credit unions can now use a new strategy to create or modify adaptive life insurance-based benefits plans that are attractive to credit unions and executives.
Stream the episode to learn how LifeNotes is helping credit unions remove the risks inherent to traditional life insurance-based benefit plans to create more value for everyone involved.
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