Sun Life Financial enhances wealth-transfer program

FWR Staff

6 April 2009

Insurance co. wants to help advisors provider efficient transfer strategies. Sun Life Financial's U.S. division has launched what it describes as an enhanced version of its Wealth Transfer Program along with markets calculators to assist advisors in using life insurance for estate planning.

"Estate planning is becoming increasingly important to the aging baby-boomer population as to transfer wealth to the next generation," says Janet Whitehouse, general manager of Sun Life United States' Individual Life Insurance unit. "Sun Life's program offers strategies to best address each client's specific needs while maximizing wealth for intended heirs in the most tax efficient manner."

The new-look program covers four estate-planning strategies: annuity maximization, the leveraged credit shelter trust, muni-bond alternative and stretch IRAs. It also comes with tools, information and marketing materials to help advisors attract and meet the needs of their affluent clients through things like avoiding wealth erosion from taxation, maintain flexibility and control over assets, and maximizing the transfer of assets to heirs through a life insurance death benefit.

These are the four calculators included in the Wealth Transfer Program kit.

Annuity Max Calculator analyzes the income and estate tax impact on a deferred annuity versus using all or a portion of the current annuity's values for the purchase of life insurance. Municipal Bond Alternative Calculator illustrates the taxation impact on municipal bonds at death and demonstrates a strategy repositioning municipal bonds to effectively maximize the transfer of wealth to heirs. Leveraged Credit Shelter Trust Calculator analyzes the benefit of leveraging trust assets with life insurance to maximize the amount of wealth available to heirs. Stretch IRA Calculator analyzes the estate and income tax impact of a client's IRA at death. It also demonstrates a planning technique that extends the distribution of an IRA asset, supplemented with life insurance to offset tax consequences and pass down the remaining proceeds of the account to a child or grandchild.

Toronto-based Sun Life offers risk- and wealth-management products in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Ireland, Bermuda, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India and China. -FWR

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