All you need to know about Sun Life’s best VUL product

For starters, Sun Maxilink Prime is a VUL. When we say VUL, it means Variable Unit-Linked insurance (some may say Variable Universal Life).

As with any VUL plans, it’s an Insurance with Investment component.

Basically, it’s a Term Insurance + Mutual funds combined into one product. In essence, it follows the “Buy Term, Invest the Difference” (BTID) concept without the hassle of monitoring and doing the investments yourself.

Sun MaxiLink Prime is a variable life insurance plan that provides financial protection PLUS a potential source of savings that can fund future needs like retirement income through its investment earnings. 

There are different funds to choose from where your premium payments will be invested in. These funds are managed actively and prudently by our top-notch investment professionals. Sun MaxiLink Prime is payable for at least 10 years. However, the premium paying period is not guaranteed. You may be required to pay additional premiums after 10 years if the fund value is insufficient to pay charges.

How does Sun Maxilink Prime work?

As we mentioned, Sun Maxilink Prime is a combination of Term Insurance and Mutual Funds and it follows the concept of BTID.

So, in reality, part of the payment pays for the insurance, and part is invested in a mutual fund-like investment.

You can actually choose where the investment part should go. This will depend on your investment goal, risk profile and investment horizon. You can choose either Bonds, Equity, Balanced, Index, GS or any variation of MyFuture Funds (2025, 2030, 2035, 2040). And since this is at least 10 years paying plan, your investment goal must be at least 10 years also.

Which one should you choose? As with any investment goal, the higher the risk, the higher the returns. Bonds are less risky as it is invested in government securities. Equity Funds are invested in the stock market. Balanced Fund is a combination of bonds and equity, so the risk is moderate.

Since the investment component should be viewed as long term investment, I normally recommend either MyFuture Funds or Index Funds.

How much is Sun Maxilink Prime?

The cost of Sun Maxilink Prime greatly depends on your desired insurance coverage and your current age. Normally, the quotation will reflect Benefit Amount. The death benefit is actually 200% of the benefit amount so for a P350,000 benefit amount, the insurance coverage is P700,000.

The minimum available plan for Sun Maxilink Prime is P350,000 benefit amount or an insurance coverage is P700,000. Meaning, in case of death of the insured, P700,000 will be the amount your beneficiaries will receive.

How much is that? For a 20-year-old non-smoker male, that’s around P19,000 per year or something like P1,600 per month.

For a 30-year-old male, it’s around P21,000-P22,000 per year or P1,800 per month.

Most likely, you’d want a bigger insurance coverage especially if you’re the breadwinner of the family or you have people depending on your income. Say you want a P2 million insurance coverage, how much will that be?

Male, 30 years old, non-smoker—for an insurance coverage of P2 million, the cost is around P60,000 per year or P5,000 per month. 

Female, 30 years old, non-smoker—for an insurance coverage of P2 million, it will be around P55,000 per year or P4,600 per month.

Solutions for 2 problems

Since Sun Maxilink Prime is an insurance with investments, it actually solves two problems or life risks. 

One is “What if I die too young”? 

And the other one is “What if I live too long”?

Let’s make a sample proposal and see how it can be a solution to those two problems:

Juan (male, 30 years old, non-smoker) getting an insurance coverage of P2 million.

Payment is P5,000 monthly or P60,000 yearly for 10 years. Total payment in 10 years is P600,000.

Problem 1: “What if I die too young”?

• In case of death (any time as long as the policy is in-forced), beneficiaries will get P2 million.
• In case death is caused by accident, beneficiaries will receive a total of P3 million (additional P1 million)
• In case of total disablement while paying, payment is waived during that period.

In a way, his income is replaced immediately by P2 million. That way, his family can continuously live on the same lifestyle for a certain period of time.

Problem 2: “What if I live too long”?

• If for example, Juan wants to retire at age 50 (20 years after), the total fund value that he can withdraw can range from P1.39 million (8% gain) to P1.86 million (10%) or even more.
• Or, in case he wants to delay his retirement to age 65 (35 years after), the total fund value that he can withdraw can range from P4.19 million (8%) to P7.54 million (10%) or even more.

Of course, if you want a bigger retirement plan, you simply need to increase your monthly investments. Maybe you can afford to invest P10,000 a month or P15,000 a month? If you can, then more likely, your insurance coverage and retirement fund can also increase in value.

Win-win solution ‘di ba? Walang sayang, walang tapon.

Why is Sun Maxilink Prime the best-selling VUL of Sun Life?

Because it balances the risks of dying too young (insurance coverage) and living too long (retirement benefit). No other plans in the market have this unique feature. 

Other products might be maximizing on the insurance with little investment component or might maximize the investment component but sacrificing the insurance coverage.

I personally tried comparing Sun Maxilink Prime with other Sun Life insurance products as well as other companies VUL products and, so far, I can say that this is the best value for money insurance plan. —GARRY DE CASTRO

This article originally appeared on garrydecastro.com.