Still below what has been paid in
After a little over seven years of premiums, the surrender value has not yet caught up to the premiums paid. That is typical of whole life in its early years, when commissions and policy expenses weigh most heavily on the cash value.
Where the cash value goes from here
On the current dividend scale, cash value passes total premiums paid around age 40. On the guaranteed values alone, that happens between 55 and 60. Dividends are not guaranteed, which is why the report carries both lines all the way through.
The return, by age
The internal rate of return (IRR) is the single annual rate that turns the stream of premiums into the cash value at a given age. It is the number to hold up against any other place the same $150 a month could go.
For this policy the return keeps improving the longer it is held: 2.17% by 45, 4.21% by 65 on the current scale. The full report shows every age on the illustration, on both scales.
Three ways to handle the same policy
The report lays the choices side by side on the same cash flows, so the comparison is between outcomes rather than sales pitches.
How the figures are calculated
Dividends are not guaranteed. The current-scale values are the carrier's projection, not a promise.
The analysis uses illustration values as the carrier printed them. It does not re-examine the carrier's pricing assumptions.
Taxes, liquidity, and the value of the death benefit to a particular family belong in the decision and are outside a rate of return.
The results are a mathematical comparison, not a recommendation to keep or surrender a policy.
See every age, every option, and the sensitivity grid.
The interactive version of this report lets you change the return assumption and watch every figure update.