Agreed. Podcast was great. Convinced me to sign up for the GVUL but run far far away from the investment side

 

Why is that? I didn't get the same impression on the investment side. It's likely not the best investment out there, but if you don't use the investment side up to gains at a minimum of the cost basis you are leaving money on the table. That assumes you would have invested the same money in a brokerage account.

From the podcast and webinar, the deposit fee is a ONE TIME front load fee. Then the nominal fee for withdrawal. With the withdrawal fee it'll likely be best to do big withdrawals all at once vice more frequent withdrawals that get the fee each time. Your gains are then tax free up to the total cost basis. So if Delta paid premiums worth a total of say, $20k over your employment terms you get to withdraw $20k of gains (plus your initial investment amount) while avoiding the tax man. It's like a roth plan with restrictions on how much you can get back tax free. Still better than paying capital gains on all of it, IMO.

The fee load for each investment option wasn't covered, although I thought I heard them say they were no fee. So unless you are using something like individual stocks or FZROX, you're likely to beat out other investment options with even low fees in the long run.

I plan to switch over. I will use the investment side sparingly and where it makes sense to optimize taxes. There are also a couple options for what to do with you investments after you retire. Can use the money in there to keep paying the plan premiums and keep the death benefit longer. Another option is to not touch the investment side at all and pay the premiums yourself. Then when you die your beneficiary will get all of the money, death benefit and investment side completely TAX FREE.

Bottom line, there are options. What is best for each person regarding the investment side is up to them. I personally like tax-deferred/tax-free options. YMMV. I just didn't get the same vibe about staying far away. Love to hear why

 

You have to dig with MetLife to get fee details. The investment options, while no “front commission”, had annual expenses of 0.40-0.88% (from the few I saw) on top of the 2.25% initial deposit fee and withdrawal fee and other fees. Sadly the fees really eat up the tax savings when I ran my own numbers for a long term investment.

 

I plan on just taking the imputed income savings and moving on. Not everything has to be a grand slam.

With the MBCBP and soon to come non-qual plan, I think we have more savings ability than most will ever need.

 

Me too. Going the minimum GVUL plan, will re-evaluate investment side of it during open enrollment 2025.

 

Good to know. I looked around but couldn't find the actual investments either. Definitely a piece of the puzzle. I'm a low cost index kinda investor so the fees will for sure be something that I take into consideration before putting much in there.

My calculation shows a current estimate of ~$40k in premiums paid in my remaining career. I figure that gives me plenty of time to do a full evaluation on if this new, additional, investment vehicle makes sense. Combined with the 401k, the after-tax (and Mega back door) option, MBCBP, HSA, FSA, and IRA options this is just another tool in the toolbox.

I'm with you guys though. They don't all have to be home runs. I'm happy with the RBI double. The life insurance portion is a no-brainer. Investment side, jury is still out. I'm good with that.

 

Beat me to it. 2.25% deposit fees then fees on the investment options that will like underperform it’s benchmark.

 

I haven’t finished the podcast yet, but will finish today in the car.

But, are they saying if you deposit say 1k into the investment side, that they take 2.5% of that 1k?

 

I need someone to explain it to me like i'm 3. I just listened to the podcast and went through this thread. I'm scratching my head a little. Aside from the Delta provided life benefit, plus two separate term life policies my wife and I both have, all in it's in the millions of dollars, why do I need this? Lets say you have two pilots, both retired, now age 67. One opted in 25 years ago, the other didn't. Whats the tangible difference of these two peoples situations all things being equal? One boat vs. two boats?

 

The difference is “imputed income”, on which the IRS makes you pay income tax as if it were earned income. The GVUL’s imputed tax is significantly lower, especially as you get older. At 32% or maybe 35%, that’s potentially thousand(s) of dollars a year in tax savings.

If for no other reason than that, GVUL is worth opting into.