Split Dollar Life Insurance
Split Dollar Life Insurance provides key people with a cost-sharing means to enhance retirement and personal protection. In a workplace setting, the Employer and the Executive share elements of ownership of a life insurance policy on the life of the Executive. The arrangement helps in providing increased retirement and / or survivor benefits for the Executive. There are endorsement and collateral-assignment split dollar. Loan-based Split Dollar is a type of Collateral-Assignment Split Dollar.
What sets Split Dollar apart from SERP plans under 409(a) or 457(f)? In a SERP, policy ownership is 100% the Employer, and usually remains so. The Executive has at least some ownership rights in Split Dollar. In a SERP, the Employer only incurs an expense to the Executive if and when he meets eligibility requirements at some future date. With Split Dollar, there usually is at least some current cost to both the Employer and the Executive.
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