Life insurance in retirement

Looking Long-term

Reach your retirement goals and

improve your tax situation with life insurance

At-a-glance

Insurance products are issued by Minnesota Life Insurance Company in all states except New York. In New York, products are issued by Securian Life Insurance Company, a New York admitted insurer. Both companies are headquartered in Saint Paul, MN. Product availability and features may vary by state. Each insurer is solely responsible for the financial obligations under the policies or contracts it issues.

Life insurance in retirement Planning

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keeping promises since 1880STRENGTH AND INTEGRITY When it comes to protecting your family, the quality of the company you work with becomes especially important. Securian Financial Group, the holding company parent of Minnesota Life and Securian Life, and its affiliates have been providing comprehensive life insurance solutions since 1880.

HIGHLY RATED Minnesota Life Insurance Company and Securian Life Insurance Company, a New York admitted insurer, are highly rated by the major independent rating agencies that analyze the financial soundness and claims-paying ability of insurance companies. For more information about the rating agencies and to see where our ratings appear relative to other ratings, please see our website at securian.com/ratings.

EXPERTISE TO MAKE IT ALL WORK Creating your life insurance solution doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Your financial advisor has the knowledge and expertise to help make life insurance work for your family’s needs.

WHAT’S INSIDE

Contributions and taxation of retirement assets 3

Preparing for the unexpected and Achieving your goals 4

Case study and Types of life insurance policies 5

Life insurance benefits and Considerations 6

Summary 7

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Most people think planning for retirement involves saving as much money as possible and investing it wisely by diversifying. But in addition to diversifying investments, smart retirement savers also consider how taxes will affect their retirement dollars.

There are a number of ways to save for retirement and withdraw income once retirement arrives. It’s important to consider the contribution, accumulation and distribution tax characteristics of these options.

A financial advisor can help you determine the combination of assets that best suits your needs. After you have maximized your qualified plan contributions, consider protecting your hard-earned assets with a life insurance death benefit that’s income-tax-free. A properly funded life insurance policy can help protect your retirement strategy and provide a potential source of supplemental retirement income.

Diversification does not guarantee against loss. It is a method of managing risk.

Contribution and tax characteristics of retirement assets

Annual limits on contributions

Tax-deferred accumulation

Tax-preferred distribution

Income-tax-free death benefits

Subject to healthcare surtax - 3.8%

Traditional IRA1

Roth IRA1

Qualified/Plan

Certificate of deposit

Municipal bond 2

Individual owned deferred annuity 3, 4

Life insurance5, 6

Qualified planA retirement savings plan that qualifies for special tax treatment under IRS regulations. Usually offered through employers, qualified plans allow employees to contribute part of their earnings to the plan before taxes are deducted.

1 The ability to contribute or deduct contributions may be limited by adjusted gross income limits.

2 The principal value of bonds will fluctuate with market conditions. Bonds redeemed prior to maturity may be worth more or less than their original cost. Bond interest paid by a municipality outside the state in which you reside could be subject to state and local income taxes. If you sell a municipal bond at a profit, you could incur capital gains taxes. In some cases, municipal bond interest could be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.

3 An annuity is a long-term, tax-deferred investment vehicle designed for retirement. Earnings are taxable as ordinary income when distributed, and if withdrawn before age 59½, may be subject to a 10 percent federal tax penalty. If the annuity will fund an IRA or other tax-qualified plan, the tax-deferral feature offers no additional value. Not FDIC/ NCUA insured. Not bank guaranteed. Not insured by any Federal Government Agency. There are charges and expenses associated with annuities, such as deferred sales charges for early withdrawals.

4 Upon annuitization, a portion of principal is included in the annuity payout and is not subject to income taxes.

5 Life insurance products contain fees, such as mortality and expense charges, and may contain restrictions, such as surrender periods.

6 Withdrawals and loans from a life insurance contract are subject to special tax rules if the policy is a Modified Endowment Contract (MEC).

Other than contribution limits or tax treatment, several other factors should be considered before purchasing any of these products. These include investment objectives, costs and expenses, liquidity, safety, fluctuation of principal or return, credit rates, rider availability, surrender periods and other product/investment characteristics.

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Preparing for the unexpectedIt’s also important to prepare for the events that could derail your vision of retirement. Three occurrences in particular need to be considered: job loss, sickness or premature death. Life insurance can help address all three.

During your working years, the cash value you build in a life insurance policy can be an important source of backup funds if you become sick or disabled, or lose your job. The death benefit may replace income your family would otherwise lose if something happened to you.

When you retire, you can supplement your income by accessing a policy’s cash value through tax-favored loans and withdrawals. You are likely to pay taxes on other sources of retirement income, but you can take income-tax-free withdrawals of cash value up to the amount of premiums paid and loans against your policy.

Depending upon actual policy experience, the owner may need to increase premium payments to keep the policy in force. Policy loans and withdrawals may create an adverse tax result in the event of a lapse or policy surrender, and will reduce both the cash value and death benefit.

Using life insurance to help achieve your retirement goalsThe reason to buy life insurance is the death benefit it provides to you and your family. A life insurance policy leaves your family or heirs with an income-tax-free death benefit if you die.

A life insurance policy can suit your death benefit needs but also provides accumulation that can supplement your retirement. Cash value life insurance builds cash value on a tax-deferred basis. At retirement, you may access any potential policy cash to supplement your retirement income via tax-favored loans and withdrawals.

tax-deferredEarnings grow without being taxed until some point in the future, usually at withdrawal. The power of compounding allows tax-deferred accounts to grow faster than taxable accounts earning the same return.

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Which life insurance policies can help with my retirement? Minnesota Life and Securian Life offer several life insurance policies that provide accumulation in addition to death benefit protection. Whether it be fixed interest, indexed or variable life insurance, we have a product solution for you. Life insurance products contain fees, such as mortality and expense charges, and may contain restrictions, such as surrender periods. Variable life insurance products contain additional fees, such as management fees and fund expenses. The variable investment options are subject to market risk, including loss of principal. Policyholders could lose money in this product.

Benefit

Life stage Life insurance

protectionLife insurance

protection

Cash value/policy loans for financial

emergencies

Life insurance protection

Cash value/loans for financial emergencies

and goals

Retirement income through cash value

Financial legacy

20s and 30s 30s and 40s 50s and 60s 70 and beyond

HoW lIfE INSurANcE SupporTS A lIfETIME of fINANcIAl NEEDS AND goAlS

Supporting their retirement lifestyle while lowering taxesJack and Janine each purchase $250,000 whole life insurance policies in their 30s – when they have two children and a large mortgage. By the time they reach 60, their children have grown and are living on their own, and the mortgage is paid off. Their life policies have accumulated combined cash value of almost $200,000.

When they retire in their early 60s, they use pension income to cover basic living costs, and make withdrawals from cash value to cover special expenses, including travel and larger gifts. Because these withdrawals are not taxed, their tax liability is lower than if they had used other assets.

This is a hypothetical example for illustrative purposes only.

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the benefits of building life insurance into your retirement strategy

REMEMBERTHINGS TO REMEMBER WHEN CONSIDERING LIFE INSURANCE• The primary purpose of life insurance is to

provide death benefit protection. If you don’t need financial protection in the event of death, there may be other ways to achieve your goals.

• Withdrawals and loans can reduce the policy death benefit and cash surrender value and may cause the policy to lapse. Lapse of a life insurance policy can cause the loss of death benefit and potential adverse income tax consequences.

• Indexed life insurance policies are credited interest based on the periodic changes in an associated index. They do not represent an investment in a market index.

• Policies classified as MECs may be subject to tax when a loan or withdrawal is made, and a federal tax penalty of 10 percent may also apply if the loan or withdrawal is taken prior to age 59½. You should ensure that the policy is not structured as a MEC.

• At your death, benefits are paid to your beneficiaries.

WITHDrAWINg cASH VAluE froM A lIfE INSurANcE polIcY

By taking loans against the death benefit and withdrawals from cash value, a life policy can be used to supplement retirement income.

Cash value

Withdrawals

Supplement to retirement

income

Death benefit

Policy loans

Premium

modified endowment Contract (meC)Life insurance policies where premium payments exceed limits defined in the tax code become MECs. The death benefit in a MEC remains tax free, but distributions may be subject to taxes or penalties.

• The income-tax-free death benefit financially protects your family or beneficiaries if something unexpected happens to you.

• Tax-deferred accumulation allows policy cash values to grow faster than they would in a taxable account.

• You can have access to policy cash values through tax-free loans and withdrawals, provided the policy is not a Modified Endowment Contract (MEC).

• Potential growth of cash value.

Life insurance can be a valuable retirement asset for people who:•Have significant savings or investment

in taxable accounts or plans.•Want to provide loved ones or heirs

with a tax-free benefit when they die. •Value leaving a financial legacy. •Want to build cash value for financial

flexibility in the future.

Talk to your financial advisor today about how life insurance can provide a lifetime of financial protection and make your retirement more rewarding.

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This information is a general discussion of the relevant federal tax laws. It is not intended for, nor can it be used by any taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding federal tax penalties. This information is provided to support the promotion or marketing of ideas that may benefit a taxpayer. Taxpayers should seek the advice of their own tax and legal advisors regarding any tax and legal issues applicable to their specific circumstances.

You should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of a portfolio and the variable insurance product carefully before investing. the portfolio and variable insurance product prospectuses contain this and other information. You may obtain a copy of the prospectus from your representative. Please read the prospectuses carefully before investing.

Securian Financial Group, Inc. www.securian.com

Variable products distributed by Securian Financial Services, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC. 400RobertStreetNorth,St.Paul,MN55101-2098•1-800-820-4205 ©2013 Securian Financial Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

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