High earners are quietly restructuring their retirement.
More growth. Less tax. A protection under every dollar. The strategy your 401(k) was never built to give you — used by business owners and professionals across the country.
How can you unlock a tax-free retirement?
Do you know who Ted Benna is? In 1980 he used a provision of the Revenue Act of 1978 to build the first 401(k) plan. That's right — 1978. Recent, isn't it?
Benna has since said he helped create a "monster." He never intended the 401(k) to be anyone's primary retirement vehicle. He designed it as a supplement to pensions. Then pensions vanished, and the supplement became the whole plan.
The vast majority of Americans now hold a 401(k) or an IRA. But that money is exposed to two threats most people never plan for:
- Unnecessary taxes
- Market loss
The most sophisticated planners know taxes are one of the first problems to solve, because you'll live off after-tax dollars. Federal income tax rates today sit near their lowest point in a century. Where do you think they'll be in 10 or 20 years, with the national debt where it is? Probably higher.
Top Federal Income Tax Rate
What about the other risk? Market downturns.
A properly structured strategy is protected from market losses. In a year the index falls, your credited rate is zero — you don't participate in the loss. Your money doesn't ride the crash down, so it never has to spend years climbing back to break even.
The chart shows a hypothetical $100,000 from 2000 to 2023: direct market exposure versus the same money protected from losses and capped on the upside.
Here's the honest trade-off, because we'd rather you hear it from us. The protected line never has a losing year, and it sails through the 2002 and 2008 crashes untouched. In exchange, a cap limits how much you capture in the very best years. You give up some ceiling so the floor never drops out from under you — and near retirement, avoiding a 30% loss matters far more than catching every point of a rally.
0% Floor vs. Direct Market Exposure
One policy. Three jobs.
Most people come to us for the retirement piece. Then they find out what else the policy is doing at the same time.
Tax-free retirement income
Your cash value tracks a market index but is protected from market losses, so a down year in the index does not take principal off the table. Structured properly, you access that money later through policy loans, which are not taxable income under current law.
Real life insurance for your family
Every policy is built on a death benefit, and families often structure $1M to $2M or more of coverage. That death benefit is not a bonus. It is the reason the tax treatment exists. This is life insurance, not an investment account.
Money you can reach while alive
Optional living benefit riders let you access a large share of your death benefit, as much as 80% with some carriers, if you are diagnosed with a chronic, critical, or terminal illness. If you are self-employed and cannot work, that is cash when you need it most.
Coverage amounts, rider availability, and benefit limits vary by carrier, state, age, health, and income. Figures shown are illustrative, not guaranteed, and not an offer of coverage. Full disclosures below.
In a Few Minutes, You'll See How To:
Take market losses off the table
Cash value is credited on index performance and is contractually protected from index losses. In a down index year, the credited rate is zero — you don't participate in the loss.
Build tax-free retirement income
Structured and funded correctly, cash value grows tax-deferred and can be accessed through policy loans that aren't taxable income under current law.
Keep your money liquid
No 59½ rule. No 10% early-access penalty. Available cash value can be reached at any age for any reason, with a death benefit protecting your family throughout.
Frequently Asked Questions
Often, yes. Most carriers offer optional living benefit riders, sometimes called accelerated death benefit riders. If a licensed health care practitioner certifies a qualifying chronic, critical, or terminal illness, you can pull a portion of your own death benefit forward and use it while you are alive. With some carriers that can reach as much as 80% of the benefit.
This matters most if you are self-employed. There is no employer disability plan waiting for you, so an illness that stops you working can stop your income the same week.
Two things to be clear about. Accelerating the benefit reduces what your family receives later. And these riders are not disability insurance, health insurance, or long-term care insurance. Availability, triggers, and limits vary by carrier and state, and some riders cost extra.
Traditional 401(k):
Roth IRA:
Properly structured IUL:
The honest trade-offs: caps or participation rates limit upside, the policy carries insurance costs and charges, and it needs consistent long-term funding. It complements qualified plans — it doesn't have to replace them.
Completely. Indexed universal life is a regulated insurance product governed by the tax code provisions that apply to life insurance — the same framework families and corporations have used for decades.
Most advisors don't mention it for a simple reason: they aren't life-insurance licensed, and many only recommend what their firm's platform offers. It's a licensing and incentive gap, not a secret.
The honest answer is that it isn't for everyone, in two ways. First, you have to qualify. An IUL is built on a life insurance policy, so approval depends on your age and health — the same underwriting high-net-worth families have used for generations. Nicholas confirms whether you're eligible for this strategy before anything else.
Second, it comes with real trade-offs, and we put them on the table before you sign. Caps limit your upside in the strongest market years, the policy carries insurance costs (especially early on), and it's a long-term structure — surrendering in the first several years can mean getting back less than you paid in.
That's exactly why step one is a full carrier illustration. Every cost, assumption, and guarantee on paper, before a dollar moves.
Business owners and high-income professionals who expect taxes to be a bigger problem later than they are now. People who already max qualified plans and want another tax-advantaged bucket. Families who want protection and accumulation in one structure. Anyone 10–25 years from retirement who can fund consistently.
It's not for anyone without stable income, without an emergency fund, or looking for short-term liquidity. If that's you, we'll say so on the call.
The carriers we represent
We are brokers, not captive agents. No single company signs our checks, so we shop the design across carriers and bring you the one that fits.
Every carrier we place business with is rated A− or better by AM Best, the agency that has graded insurer financial strength since 1899. The rating answers one question. Can this company pay its claims decades from now?
Carrier names identify companies Wavepoint East is appointed with. They do not sponsor, endorse, or approve Wavepoint East or this website, and all names and marks belong to their respective owners. Financial strength ratings are opinions of the rating agencies, are not a guarantee, and are subject to change. Confirm a carrier’s current rating before purchasing.
Meet Your Strategist
Nicholas Martins
Nicholas is a licensed life insurance professional and co-founder of Wavepoint East, a Tampa-based brokerage specializing in tax-free retirement strategies built on indexed universal life. He works at the intersection of finance and protection, with a corporate finance and consulting background.
His approach is simple. He shows you what your current retirement path is on track to produce after tax, then puts the alternative next to it in plain terms. Every number gets explained. No pressure. No jargon. Then you decide.
See Your Numbers Before You Decide Anything
One free 15-minute strategy session. A licensed strategist maps your current path against a tax-free alternative — and tells you honestly whether it fits. Pick a time below.
No cost · No obligation · Licensed agents only