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Look Before You LIRP: Why All Life Insurance Retirement Plans Are Not Created Equal, and How to Find the Right One for You

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In his bestselling book The Power of Zero, David McKnight laid out a step-by-step plan on how to get to the 0% tax bracket in retirement. Why is the 0% tax bracket so important? Because if tax rates double, as some experts predict, two times zero is still zero! He also showed how, in many cases, it’s impossible to get to the 0% tax bracket without using a Life Insurance Retirement Plan (LIRP).In this follow-up book, Look Before Your LIRP, he makes the case that, while a variety of LIRPs may help get you to the 0% tax bracket, not all will do so with the same efficiency or effectiveness. In fact, finding the right LIRP for your tax-free retirement plan can be just like finding the ideal spouse. Just as you likely had a list of qualities you were looking for in a life-long partner, you should have certain attributes and provisions in mind when looking for the ideal LIRP. Look Before Your LIRP spells out exactly what you’ll need to build a successful LIRP relationship and reveals the one LIRP best suited to get you to the 0% tax bracket.

102 pages, Paperback

Published June 11, 2016

74 people are currently reading
127 people want to read

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David McKnight

53 books24 followers

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5 stars
73 (52%)
4 stars
39 (28%)
3 stars
14 (10%)
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8 (5%)
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5 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
132 reviews
August 13, 2020
Lots of hand waving, no substance

The author seems to promote "0% tax bracket" as a desirable objective. If I lived in a cardboard box, I would likely be in a 0% tax bracket - that hardly seems desirable!

This book was a real eye opener for me ... it convinced me that IUL (Indexed Universal Life) insurance is the horrible product i had been taught to believe it was.

Not recommended for anyone.
16 reviews
April 20, 2025
This book is much shorter than his others and IMHO is missing a lot of information. Instead of teaching the basics about all LIRP types and then why his strategy is the best, he only teaches about the option he suggests. This leaves the reader needing to either do additional outside research or just trust him blindly on what he suggests. This book seems like it was rushed in putting it together and thin, both on content and pages. It needs to be fleshed out more. Alternatively, his strategy could have been boiled down to a few page long article and I would have walked away with the same value add.
143 reviews
January 16, 2024
I feel that it's a misleading book. I read the first book about tax-free retirement. This book is built solely on promotion of indexed, universal life or nearly known as IUL. I felt that they were very biased in their statements and that there are other tax-free ways of going. Enjoyed the first book then did not enjoy this one at all.
522 reviews
June 17, 2021
A bunch of insurance hocus pocus. Why would you want to move your hard-earned investments safely placed in a ROTH IRA, for instance, and transfer it to an IUL where you might not hit below the 0% floor, but you PAY TO WITHDRAW THE MONEY THAT YOU WORKED HARD TO EARN AND INVEST???
Profile Image for Tony Carmona.
37 reviews
May 11, 2020
If you are insurance producer this is valuable. It approaches life insurance in a different option.
3 reviews1 follower
January 23, 2021
Unless you really like the IRS, the strategy discussed in this book is at least worth your consideration.
Profile Image for Brent Gardner.
79 reviews2 followers
May 14, 2021
This is the natural sequel to The Power of Zero. If you want to use cash value life insurance as a source of income during retirement, then this book is worth reading.
Profile Image for Altony Nathan.
28 reviews
December 7, 2023
I'm a financial strategist and this book helps solidify what I already knew but gave more details in why I do what I do to help families set a tax free retirement and having living benefits.
196 reviews1 follower
October 23, 2025
concise and straight to the point. Clearly explains the strengths when designed properly and how criticisms are often leaving out vital details that would contradict those very criticisms.
Profile Image for Holly.
416 reviews4 followers
January 24, 2022
Insurance Sale

This book is obviously intended to sell you a life insurance policy. However, it’s a fantastically passive way to do it, in that you can learn about Indexed Universal Life policies without being pressured by a salesperson. Instead, you can read this book to learn about the policies, begin your own research, and then consult a salesperson when you’re ready to buy.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews

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