Whole life insurance, or whole of life assurance, sometimes called “straight life” or “ordinary life,” is a life insurance policy which is guaranteed to remain in force for the insured’s entire lifetime, provided required premiums are paid, or to the maturity date.
A whole life policy provides a set amount of coverage for your entire life. As long as you pay premiums, your beneficiary will receive the benefit amount upon your death. Whole life policies also build up “cash value” from part of the premium being invested. It’s possible to access that cash value as the funds grow.
If the policy doesn’t have an extended maturity option the policy will mature and pay out at age 100. In a WL policy, the cash value and the death benefit equal each other at age 100, so what’s the big issue? Taxes.