Why 68% of Fortune 1000 Companies Use Life Insurance to Fund Executive Retirement
Introduction: What the Wealthy Know About Retirement Planning
When you think of life insurance, you probably picture death benefits or personal family protection. But here’s something shocking:
Over 68% of Fortune 1000 companies use cash value life insurance to fund executive retirement plans.
(Source: Money. Wealth. Life Insurance by Jake Thompson, citing The Pirates of Manhattan by Barry James Dyke)
These corporations aren’t buying insurance for the reasons you’ve been told. They’re leveraging a hidden financial tool that offers stability, predictable growth, tax advantages, and long-term wealth creation.
And they’ve been doing it for decades.
So, why haven’t you heard of this before?
What Is a SERP (Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan)?
A Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (SERP) is a non-qualified retirement plan offered to top executives as an incentive for performance and retention. Since these plans are not subject to traditional contribution limits like a 401(k), they allow companies to offer meaningful long-term compensation.
But here’s where it gets interesting…
➤ Instead of investing in the stock market, companies fund SERPs using Corporate-Owned Life Insurance (COLI).
Why Life Insurance? Here’s What Corporations Understand
1. Predictable, Guaranteed Growth
Unlike volatile markets, properly structured whole life or indexed universal life (IUL) policies offer stable, long-term cash value growth.
2. Tax Advantages
The growth is tax-deferred, the death benefit is income tax-free, and when properly accessed, cash value can be used tax-free via policy loans.
3. Off-Balance-Sheet Assets
Life insurance policies are classified as an asset, often outside the scope of traditional liabilities, providing enhanced financial flexibility.
4. No Market Exposure
In down years, companies don't lose a dime from policy cash value—unlike 401(k)s or market-based investments.
Case Study: How Big Corporations Use COLI
Companies like General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, Walt Disney, Starbucks, and Dow Chemical have used cash value life insurance for:
Executive retirement funding
Deferred compensation
Key person insurance
Tax-sheltered savings strategies
It’s even called COLI (Corporate-Owned Life Insurance) and BOLI (Bank-Owned Life Insurance) when used by banks—and major banks hold billions of dollars in these policies.
Why Haven’t You Heard This Before?
Because Wall Street doesn't profit from you using this strategy.
Most financial advisors are trained (and incentivized) to push market-based products like mutual funds and 401(k)s. But companies with billions at stake—those that can afford the best financial advisors in the world—choose life insurance as a core strategy.
That should tell you something.
How You Can Use the Same Strategy
You don’t have to be a Fortune 1000 CEO to benefit from this.
With a properly structured high cash value life insurance policy, you can:
Build a tax-free retirement income
Access cash at any time
Avoid market losses
Pass wealth on to your heirs tax-free
Create your own personal bank
Conclusion: Build Wealth Like the Fortune 1000
The secret’s out.
If the biggest companies in the world trust cash value life insurance to fund retirement, grow capital, and hedge against market risk—shouldn’t you at least understand how it works?
It's time to take control of your financial future with a strategy the elite have used for over 100 years.
