Beth Walker, a wealth advisor with Omaha-headquartered Carson Wealth Management and founder of the Center for College Solutions, a consulting firm in Colorado Springs, isn’t suggesting parents abandon 529 college savings plans for permanent life insurance contracts (also referred to as cash value contracts) but thinks the strategy deserves a closer look.
According to Walker, almost every permanent life insurance contract includes loan provisions that enable the policyholder to borrow on the cash value that has accumulated. A parent is typically the owner and the insured on policies used to fund college, she said.