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Should we wait to get rid of our whole life insurance policy?

My husband and I are trying to cut back on expenses and want to get rid of our whole life policies. My question is: when it comes to collecting the surrender value of our insurance, would it be better to wait to cancel on our anniversary date? I wasn't sure if the surrender value builds up monthly or yearly. Thanks for your help. Thank you for your answer. However, I would prefer to get both my cash out of it AND save money by not having the premiums anymore. Keeping it really isn't an option right now.

Public Comments

1. The surrender value normally builds yearly. You may find there is no need to 'get rid of them'. You can allow the policy earnings to pay for the premiums and/or take a loan if the policy allows. Check with your agent for options.
2. if you surrender the policy now, the cash value is likely to be less than you total premium outlay so far. whatever premium that you had paid before will thus be 'wasted'. if you need to stop paying premiums to cut your expenses, you may be overspending elsewhere. from the way you write, it seems like you guys are overspending, or one of you had lost the job. if you are trying to save, think about it: if you can't save up by putting money with insurance, what makes you think you can save by just keeping the money? chances are, you will still spend everything and have no savings. if you really want to surrender, i will suggest you cover yourself with at least the equal coverage with term life plans. save the rest for cash flow. i will also suggest that you review your expenses. try not to surrender the whole life policy especially if you bought it at a very young age which means your premium is very low. now, call your agent to check the cash value if you surrender. then you really got to sit down and manage your finances. think of your financial needs if catastrophic events like death, total disability and critical illnesses hit you or your spouse. compare to your existing arrangements and try to close the gap. that's basically how you should plan. good luck!
3. Generally doesn't make a difference except for maybe the dividend if you have one.
4. It's not going to matter. Surrender value builds up with every payment you make. If you've made the decision to cancel it, no use to keep paying, for example, $100, to get an extra $10 in cash value.