The Bank On Yourself “Scam” – What Bank On Yourself ISN’T

If you’ve read our article on “What Is Bank On Yourself?” you learned what Bank On Yourself is. However, there’s a lot of misinformation going around.

Here’s what Bank On Yourself is not …

A Lot of People Spread Misinformation About Bank On Yourself

Some financial gurus spread misinformation about Bank On Yourself, either intentionally or unintentionally. They’re hoping to distract you from ever discovering what a well-designed dividend-paying high cash value whole life insurance policy can do for you.

Then there are competitors who re-brand the strategy as their own and try to make it sound mysterious. Then they want you to pay them for information about it, when you can find out how Bank On Yourself really works for free, right here.

We’re going to set the record straight …

Is Bank On Yourself a Scam?

Even with lavish praise for Bank On Yourself from experts in the field of finance and from highly successful entrepreneurs, there are still people who claim Bank On Yourself is a scam.

Proof that Bank On Yourself is NOT a scam

Bank On Yourself is a wealth-building strategy that uses a supercharged variation of dividend-paying whole life insurance policies which have been approved for sale by every state Insurance Commissioner.

The Bank On Yourself strategy is NOT a new scheme someone dreamed up to separate you from your money. It is a concept with a 160-year proven track record. The fact is that these policies have never had a losing year, even during the Great Depression.

Hundreds of thousands of Bank On Yourself-type life insurance policies are owned and are being used to create wealth and financial security for untold numbers of families.

Those who claim Bank On Yourself is a scam seem to fall into one of two categories. Either they haven’t used the Bank On Yourself concept, so they’re speaking from ignorance or prejudice. …

Or they want to tear down Bank On Yourself because they’re Wall Street shills who don’t make a dime if you bypass them in order to use the Bank On Yourself strategy to grow your wealth safely and predictably.

The highly respected site NerdWallet says a Bank On Yourself–type policy “is not a rip-off or scam by a long shot, when properly set up.”

We’ve answered Bank On Yourself’s detractors many times. Here are some of those articles:

1. This article gives 7 compelling reasons why Bank On Yourself is legitimate.
2. Check out this article about what the financial gurus think they know about Bank On Yourself that is simply not true.
3. If you want proof that the financial “experts” don’t understand the Bank On Yourself strategy, read this article. And follow the link at the end to Part 2.
4. In this podcast, a former Bank On Yourself critic admits to the wisdom of the strategy. And here’s a follow-up to that podcast.

In fact, we constantly hear from happy – often ecstatic – policyholders who are thrilled with the financial security, flexibility, control, and peace of mind they have thanks to Bank On Yourself. Notice that we publish their full names, plus their city and state, plus their picture when available.

We ain’t makin’ this stuff up!

What About Those Negative Bank On Yourself Reviews?

Frankly, in today’s world, even Mother Teresa has her detractors. So how do you know who’s being upfront about Bank On Yourself and who might have some kind of bias?

Read the reviews of actual Bank On Yourself users and decide for yourself if Bank On Yourself is a scam.

Amazon reviewers rave about Bank On Yourself

Fully 77% of the Amazon reviews of The Bank On Yourself Revolution are 4- and 5-star reviews – and most were written by verified purchasers.

Take a look at these Amazon Reviews for The Bank On Yourself Revolution book.

Some folks who are ignorant about the Bank On Yourself concept are all too eager to explain it to you!

There are a lot of people who think they understand what the Bank On Yourself strategy is, when it’s apparent they haven’t even visited the Bank On Yourself Frequently Asked Questions page on our website, or read our free report, 5 Simple Steps to Bypass Wall Street, Beat the Banks at Their Own Game and Take Control of Your Financial Future, which you download for free here.

The Whole Life Insurance Policies that Dave Ramsey, Suzy Orman, and Others Bash Are NOT the Policies Bank On Yourself Professionals Recommend

The whole life insurance policies used for the Bank On Yourself method are as different as night and day from the policies the financial pundits criticize.

Here are the three whole life insurance criticisms you hear most often from financial pundits, how those criticisms apply to traditional policies, and why they don’t apply to Bank On Yourself-type whole life insurance policies.

Criticism #1 of whole life insurance policies

Experts: “Your cash value (the money inside your policy that you can use while you’re still living) grows much too slowly. In fact, you won’t have access to any cash for the first few years. One reason for this slow growth is the high commissions paid to the financial representatives who sell these policies.”

That’s true for many whole life policies. The cash value grows painfully slowly, and a big reason is that the agent makes out like a bandit, commission-wise.

But it’s false for Bank On Yourself-type policies because these policies use little-known riders that dramatically accelerate the growth of your money in the policy, so you have significantly more cash value than you’d have in the policies most experts love to trash – especially in the policies’ early years.

And Bank On Yourself Professionals get paid 50-70% less commission because so much of your premium goes into those supercharged riders that grow your cash value faster, rather than into agent commissions.

Criticism #2 of whole life insurance policies

Experts: “Your death benefit stays level for the life of your policy. How’s that gonna keep up with inflation?”

That’s actually false for many modern whole life policies. That kind of policy went out of fashion years ago.

And it’s more than false (if that’s possible) for Bank On Yourself-type policies. The death benefits for these policies grow even faster than in other modern policies. Over time, the death benefit can increase many times over.

Criticism #3 of whole life insurance policies

Experts: “Whole life insurance is a rip-off because, although you may build up a huge cash value over the years, when you die, the insurance company is only going to pay the death benefit. They’re going to keep all the cash you’ve built up!”

They make it sound like the insurance company is stealing from you. But compare it to a similar situation …

Let’s say you’re about to sell your house, and you have $100,000 equity in your home. You sell the house for $250,000. How much money do you expect to receive?

$250,000, right? You would never expect to receive both the price of the house and your equity! You’d never expect to get $350,000.

So wouldn’t it be the same with whole life insurance policies? The amount paid to the beneficiaries wouldn’t be more than the death benefit at the time of death, right? You wouldn’t expect to also get the cash value.

Unless …

… Unless you happen to have a dividend-paying whole life policy. It’s entirely possible that when you die, the amount your beneficiaries will receive will be greater than the original death benefit plus the current cash value – combined! Here’s proof …

Take a look at this annual statement for a dividend-paying whole life policy Bank On Yourself founder Pamela Yellen took out 17 years earlier. On the day of issue, the death benefit was $250,000. But if Pamela had died around the time of this annual statement, her beneficiaries would have received a total death benefit of $390,558 – which is $12,000 more than the original death benefit plus the $128,361 cash value.

Michael Kitces does NOT truly understand Bank On Yourself and policy loans

Finance blogger Michael Kitces just doesn’t seem to “get” Bank On Yourself, and how whole life insurance policy loans work as compared to loans from other sources. We wrote a blog post to help Michael Kitces understand Bank On Yourself, here and a follow-up post here. We’re still not sure he gets it.

If You’re Asking Yourself, “What Is Bank On Yourself – Really?” You’ve Come to the Right Place …

Many respected experts have taken the time to investigate Bank On Yourself, and they love it!

Even Ted Benna, the “Father of the 401(k)” is now praising the Bank On Yourself concept

In the last few years, Ted Benna, the “Father of the 401(k),” has said that 401(k) plans are no longer a good way to save for retirement. He’s worried that the government may change the rules (and not in your favor) – or even confiscate your retirement money.

Benna also believes we’re in for a market crash that’ll devastate investment accounts … again. And he points out that investment account fees – most of them hidden – take a huge chunk out of virtually every investment retirement account.

So where does the man who created the 401(k) – the same man who now says it “should be blown up” – where does he put his money? Ted Benna has publicly stated that he now puts most of his money in Bank On Yourself-type policies.

Why Whole Life Insurance Is Not an Investment … and Why It’s Actually Better

Some financial experts call whole life insurance an “investment.” It’s not. One state insurance commissioner explains it this way:

Life insurance isn’t an investment. An investment is a financial risk – you might make money, but you also might lose some or all of your money. In contrast, life insurance pays a guaranteed death benefit.”

Bank On Yourself-type whole life insurance policies are better than an investment for 5 reasons:

1. Your premium is guaranteed never to increase. As inflation goes up, your insurance is cheaper by comparison.
2. You get guaranteed pre-set annual cash value increases, which you will know in advance. And your gains won’t vanish when the market tumbles.
3. The costs are included in your premium and are guaranteed never to increase – for any reason.
4. You are guaranteed to have access to up to 90% of your equity (cash value) whenever you want, for whatever reason. And your money can continue growing as if you hadn’t touched a dime of it – if your policy is from one of the few companies that offer that feature.
5. Your cash value is guaranteed to be equal to the policy’s death benefit when it matures.

Compare that with an investment. You won’t know what your investment is worth until you sell it. Until then all you have is paper profits – or losses. As one stockbroker explained it,

Our clients earn paper profits, while we take our commissions in cold hard cash!”

Bank On Yourself Is NOT “Just” Whole Life Insurance

In spite of what Bank On Yourself is doing for hundreds of thousands of families across North America, many people who have never read the New York Times bestseller The Bank On Yourself Revolution – you can get your copy at the lowest price available, here – or visited the Bank On Yourself website wonder if Bank On Yourself isn’t just some fancy name for traditional whole life insurance.

Well, there’s a world of difference between slow-growing, high-commission traditional whole life insurance and high cash value, low-commission, dividend-paying whole life insurance.

With all due respect, saying Bank On Yourself is “just” whole life insurance is kinda like saying a luxury yacht is just a boat.

A properly designed Bank On Yourself-type policy is a high cash value dividend-paying whole life insurance policy with the unique features and riders necessary to supercharge the growth of your money. By design, more of your premiums go to building up your cash value, and far less of your premiums go to a salesperson in the form of commissions.

Yes, these policies provide death benefits that your loved ones will forever thank you for. But Bank On Yourself-type policies also provide living benefits that you, as the policy owner, can take advantage of now.

And, as we mentioned earlier, if these policies are designed properly, they provide more cash value and more death benefit over time than traditional whole life policies.

No two Bank On Yourself-type policies are identical. The design begins with a comprehensive analysis of your financial situation, prepared by a licensed and trained Bank On Yourself Professional. The Professional will give you a personalized strategy based on your particular circumstances and resources.

The entire Bank On Yourself process is described here.

Bank On Yourself Is Similar to – But NOT the Same As – Infinite Banking, 770 Accounts, 702(j) Retirement Plans, or 501(k) Plans

Pamela Yellen did not create the concept that carries the Bank On Yourself name. But she has strengthened and improved the original strategy. The old proverb says, “A pygmy can see farther than a giant – if he’s standing on the shoulders of the giant.”

Back in 2002, Pamela Yellen’s introduction to the concept was through Nelson Nash, who called the program “Infinite Banking”.

Yellen, standing on Nash’s shoulders, so to speak, has blown past the Infinite Banking concept, with additional strategies that make the policies grow faster and have more flexibility for families or individuals who use them as a guaranteed, safe wealth-building and self-financing strategy.

Bank On Yourself compared to some of the new kids on the block

What about the “501(k) Plan,”the “770 Account,” and President Reagan’s “Secret 702(j) Retirement Plan”?

Ha! Those are all smoke-and-mirrors rip-offs of Bank On Yourself. A greedy and highly creative outfit in Florida has repeatedly tried to copy the Bank On Yourself concept and peddle it under flashy and mysterious-sounding names.

And the agents who try to sell you one of those policies have typically not received the in-depth training and ongoing continuing education and coaching that Bank On Yourself Professionals have received.

Bottom Line: What, Exactly, Is the Appeal of the Bank On Yourself Strategy?

The Bank On Yourself strategy could be just what you’ve been searching for …

• If you like the idea of steady, consistent, guaranteed growth and safety of the money you really can’t afford to lose – without the gut-wrenching and unpredictable ups and downs of Wall Street
• If favorable tax treatment of your retirement savings appeals to you
• If you believe you should have ready access to your money and retirement savings, without having to jump through hoops, go through a maze of red tape, fill out loan applications, and hold your breath till you’re blue in the face
• If you don’t want to worry about hidden fees that can devour 30–50% or more of your savings
• If the idea of restrictions and penalties for withdrawing your own money too soon or too late leaves you feeling like you’re in a straightjacket

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Why don’t you take the Bank On Yourself $100,000 challenge? Compare your savings plan with Bank On Yourself in 18 key areas. If your plan wins, you could collect a cool $100,000.

Who Bank On Yourself Is NOT Right For

We have to be honest. Even though you may like all the advantages of Bank On Yourself, the strategy may not be a good fit for you.

You see, Bank On Yourself is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It’ll pay lifetime benefits – but only if you have some patience and discipline.

Bank On Yourself is not right for you if it takes glowing promises of 12% or 16% or 20% in annual gains to get your attention. It’s not for you if you’re looking for something you can put under your pillow tonight and wake up rich tomorrow.

And if you’re in the habit of spending more than you make each month, then you need to get your spending in line first. Then consider the Bank On Yourself strategy.

So what should you do next, if you want a financial strategy that does NOT promise you the moon, but CAN deliver impressive results?

Take the Next Step to Learn How Bank On Yourself Can Help You Reach Your Financial Goals and Dreams

We want to give you a Free Special Report we’ve written just for people like you: people who are willing to investigate a proven-though-unconventional wealth-building strategy with an open mind and a willingness to learn something new. (Not everyone is, you know.)

We invite you to download our Free Special Report, 5 Simple Steps to Bypass Wall Street, Beat the Banks at Their Own Game and Take Control of Your Financial Future.

Then talk to a financial professional who’s knowledgeable about Bank On Yourself. Get a free review of your situation, along with one of those Personalized Analysis Reports we mentioned earlier. You’ll be referred to a Bank On Yourself Professional – a licensed life insurance agent with advanced training in this concept – who can answer all your questions. And when you’re ready, the Professional will handle all the details.

REQUEST YOUR
FREE ANALYSIS!