Calculate whole life insurance premiums, cash value growth, and break-even analysis. Compare whole life vs term + invest with year-by-year projections.
Dividends are not guaranteed and vary by insurer. Typical mutual company dividend rates range from 1% to 4%.
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A whole life insurance calculator helps you estimate monthly premiums, project cash value growth over decades, and determine when your policy breaks even. By entering your age, gender, health class, and desired coverage amount, you can see detailed year-by-year projections of how your policy builds wealth through guaranteed interest and potential dividends. Our calculator also compares whole life vs buying term and investing the difference.
Whole life insurance is a type of permanent life insurance that provides a guaranteed death benefit for your entire lifetime as long as premiums are paid. Unlike term life insurance, whole life also builds cash value — a savings component that grows at a guaranteed interest rate plus potential dividends from the insurer. You can borrow against the cash value, surrender the policy for its cash value, or use dividends to purchase additional coverage. Common types include level pay (premiums for life), limited pay (10, 20, or to age 65), and single premium.
Premium Formula
Monthly Premium = Base Rate(age, gender) x Health Multiplier x (Coverage / $500,000) x Scaling FactorSee how much you will pay monthly and annually based on your age, gender, health class, and desired coverage amount before contacting an insurer.
Visualize how your policy builds equity over 10, 20, 30+ years through guaranteed interest rates and potential dividend accumulation.
Understand the true cost difference and decide whether whole life makes sense over buying term and investing the premium savings.
Discover exactly when your total cash value exceeds the cumulative premiums you have paid — a critical metric for evaluating the policy.
Compare your cash value returns (IRR) against market alternatives to make an informed decision about where your money works hardest.
Model policy loan scenarios and see how whole life insurance can serve as supplemental retirement income or estate planning tool.
Get realistic premium estimates and understand how whole life insurance works before requesting quotes from agents or insurers.
Calculate coverage amounts needed to cover estate taxes, provide inheritance, or fund a trust with guaranteed death benefit protection.
Project cash value available as supplemental retirement income through tax-advantaged policy loans and withdrawals.
Evaluate the long-term benefits of starting a whole life policy early — lower premiums, decades of compounding, and guaranteed insurability.
Analyze key person insurance costs, buy-sell agreement funding, or executive bonus plan structures for your business.
Model policy loan scenarios and cash-on-cash returns for the infinite banking concept — using whole life as your own private bank.
Whole life insurance costs vary widely based on age, gender, health, and coverage amount. For a 35-year-old male in preferred health, a $500,000 policy costs approximately $330 per month. A 25-year-old female may pay around $180/month for the same coverage. Whole life premiums are typically 10-15x more expensive than term life insurance.
Most whole life policies guarantee a growth rate between 3% and 5%, with 4% being the most common. Participating policies from mutual insurance companies may also pay annual dividends of 1% to 4%, bringing the effective total return to 5-8%. While lower than stock market averages, this growth is guaranteed and tax-deferred.
The break-even point — when total cash value equals total premiums paid — typically occurs between 15 and 25 years, depending on the interest rate, dividends, and payment structure. Limited pay policies (10 or 20 year) may break even sooner since premiums stop but growth continues.
Whole life insurance typically returns 3-6% annually on the cash value component, compared to the stock market's historical 7-10% average. However, whole life offers guaranteed returns, tax-deferred growth, tax-free death benefit, tax-free policy loans, and no market risk. It works best as part of a diversified financial plan, not as a sole investment vehicle.
When you die, your beneficiaries receive the death benefit — not the cash value. The cash value is absorbed by the insurance company. However, if you have paid-up additions from dividends, those increase the death benefit. Some policies offer a return of premium rider that returns total premiums paid in addition to the death benefit.
Yes, you can borrow against your cash value at any time without credit checks or approval. Loan rates are typically 5-8%, and the loan is not taxable. However, outstanding loans reduce the death benefit, and if the loan plus interest exceeds the cash value, the policy may lapse — creating a taxable event.
Participating whole life policies (from mutual insurance companies) pay annual dividends based on the company's financial performance. Non-participating policies (from stock companies) do not pay dividends but may have lower premiums. Dividends can be taken as cash, left to accumulate interest, used to reduce premiums, or purchase paid-up additional coverage.
Term life is best if you need maximum coverage for the lowest cost during a specific period (raising children, paying a mortgage). Whole life is better for permanent needs — estate planning, wealth transfer, supplemental retirement income, or guaranteed insurability. Many financial advisors recommend buying term and investing the difference, though whole life has unique tax advantages and guarantees that investments do not.