Secure Your Family’s Financial Legacy with the Rockefeller Method
The Rockefeller Method uses tax-exempt whole life insurance policies to grow wealth tax-deferred and transfer it tax-free to future generations, ensuring a lasting legacy without excessive taxation.
A Strategy for Generational Success
The Rockefeller Method provides tax-free growth and access to funds for major life events, ensuring financial security for education, home purchases, business ventures, and a lasting legacy for future generations.
For over a century, the Rockefellers have used a simple idea:
“Don’t build wealth for one lifetime — build a system that lasts forever.”
In Canada, that same principle comes to life through a participating whole life insurance policy, structured to:
- Grow tax-deferred under Canada’s exempt test policy rules
- Access funds through a bank line of credit or policy loan without triggering tax
- Transfer wealth through your corporation’s Capital Dividend Account (CDA) — allowing your heirs to receive money tax-free
When designed properly, this creates a private family wealth system — a “Rockefeller-style family office” — built entirely within Canadian law and tax structures. Your wealth stays in motion, protected, and productive for generations.
What is the Rockefeller Method?
The Rockefeller Method, or Waterfall Concept, is a strategy for tax-efficient wealth transfer using tax-exempt whole life insurance policies. By overfunding the policy over 3–5 years, you accelerate growth and create a robust financial asset. The policy’s cash value grows tax-deferred and can be accessed for significant life events like education or home purchases through loans. Upon the policyholder's passing, the death benefit is paid tax-free to the next generation, creating a lasting legacy. This method safeguards wealth from excessive taxation and ensures a seamless transfer across generations.
How it Works
The Rockefeller Method uses whole life insurance to grow wealth tax-free, access funds when needed, and transfer assets tax-free to the next generation, ensuring financial stability and a lasting legacy.
Set Up a Whole Life Insurance Policy
Purchase a tax-exempt whole life policy to build cash value for tax-free growth and legacy planning.
Grow Cash Value
Overfund the policy to accelerate tax-deferred growth and create a valuable financial asset. While your policy’s cash value compounds tax-deferred.
Dividends are credited annually by Canada’s most established mutual insurers — stable, predictable, and independent of market volatility.
Leverage for Major Milestones
Need liquidity? Your policy serves as collateral for a bank line of credit or can be accessed through policy loans — giving you tax-efficient access to funds for education, home purchases, or retirement without triggering taxable events.
Pass On a Legacy
Upon death, your corporation receives the policy proceeds tax-free.
The CDA credit allows your family or holding company to withdraw funds tax-free, preserving capital for generations.
Benefits of the Rockefeller Method
Grow wealth tax-free, access capital, and build a lasting legacy.
Tax-Free Growth
Cash value grows tax-deferred, maximizing wealth accumulation without triggering annual taxes.
Tax-Free Wealth Transfer
Transfer assets tax-free to heirs using the policy’s death benefit, minimizing estate and income taxes.
Generational Legacy
The policy ensures a tax-free death benefit for future generations, creating a lasting financial legacy.
Access to Capital
Leverage the policy’s cash value for tax-free loans, providing liquidity for investments or emergencies.
Secure and Predictable
Unlike market-dependent investments, whole life insurance offers steady, reliable growth.
Ready to Secure Your Legacy with the Rockefeller Method?
If you’re interested in creating a lasting financial legacy, let’s talk. Contact us today to explore how the Rockefeller Method can preserve your wealth and ensure a brighter future for generations to come.
Comparing the Rockefeller Method to Traditional Investments
The Rockefeller Method surpasses traditional investments by offering tax-free growth, liquidity, and legacy planning.
Advantages of Traditional Investments
Traditional investments can offer high returns and easy access to funds but are fully taxable and lack estate planning benefits
Advantages of the Rockefeller Method
Provides tax-free growth access to capital through policy loans without triggering taxes tax-free death benefit for heirs—ensuring liquidity, tax efficiency, and a lasting financial legacy for future generations.
What It Looks Like in Real Life
A Vancouver business owner moves $500,000 from their corporation into a tax-exempt whole life policy.
Over time, the cash value compounds safely — no taxes, no market swings.
After 10 years it’s worth $750,000.
They borrow against it for business or family needs — and it keeps growing.
Twenty years in, the cash value hits $1.5 million, and when they pass, their family receives $2 million tax-free, bypassing probate and CRA.
That’s the Rockefeller Method®:
Tax-exempt growth. Tax-free access. Tax-free legacy.
Real Canadian Scenarios
Scenario 1: The Holdco Legacy Plan
Client: Incorporated business owner, age 45
Ownership: Holdco with $1M retained earnings
Contribution: $100,000/year for 10 years
Total Premiums: $1,000,000
Scenario 2: The Family Trust Wealth Plan
Client: Married couple, age 50
Ownership: Family Trust
Contribution: $50,000/year for 20 years
Total Premiums: $1,000,000
A Legacy for Generations
By setting up this plan, you’re planting a seed for a financial tree that will support your child and future generations. The policy’s death benefit can pass on wealth to your grandchildren or great-grandchildren, ensuring a lasting legacy for your family.
The Rockefeller Method is a sophisticated strategy typically not promoted by traditional banks or investment firms. Its focus on tax-exempt life insurance and intergenerational wealth transfer requires specialized knowledge, making it available primarily through expert advisors who understand its full potential.
They say the best time to plant a tree was yesterday, and the second best time is today. The same goes for financial planning—you may need time for your plan to grow, but the sooner you start, the better. Taking action now gives you more opportunities to build wealth, protect your assets, and secure your future. The key to long-term success is starting as early as possible.
Want to discuss more? Book a meeting.
We understand that you don’t want conflicting advice. We work collaboratively with your existing advisory team.
Safe Pacific specializes in insurance-based wealth structures, while your accountant and lawyer handle tax filings, trusts, and corporate strategy.
We provide them with all necessary policy documentation and planning notes — so everything aligns legally and financially.
Our goal is to make you look like the most informed person at the table.
We know you want to want to protect your family and leave them more — not a big tax bill.
When structured corporately, the death benefit is paid to your corporation tax-free.
The excess (death benefit minus adjusted cost base) credits the Capital Dividend Account (CDA) — allowing your heirs or holding company to withdraw funds tax-free.
This is one of the few remaining tools in Canada that allows tax-free intergenerational wealth transfer without complex trusts or high ongoing fees.
Client Testimonials
See how our strategies have been successful from our clients.
"We worked specifically with Jordan who was knowledgeable, thorough, and patient."
We worked with Safe Pacific Financial to help us find the right life Insurance policy for us, and we are very happy with the service they provided. We worked specifically with Jordan who was knowledgeable, thorough, and patient with our many questions. We would certainly work with Safe Pacific Financial again and would recommend them to friends and family.
"Jordan was amazing to work with!"
Jordan was amazing to work with! He was patient and understanding when it came to answering all my questions and concerns. I highly recommend Jordan for any financial needs!
"We worked specifically with Jordan who was knowledgeable, thorough, and patient."
We worked with Safe Pacific Financial to help us find the right life Insurance policy for us, and we are very happy with the service they provided. We worked specifically with Jordan who was knowledgeable, thorough, and patient with our many questions. We would certainly work with Safe Pacific Financial again and would recommend them to friends and family.
"Jordan was amazing to work with!"
Jordan was amazing to work with! He was patient and understanding when it came to answering all my questions and concerns. I highly recommend Jordan for any financial needs!
"Jordan was able to explain them in a simple and digestible manner."
My wife Brooke and I had a great experience working with Safe Pacific and their team. Although some of the insurance industry and the investment products can be complex, Jordan was able to explain them in a simple and digestible manner which really helped us to understand the long term value. I would highly recommend the Safe Pacific team and we look forward to working with them more in the future.
"Had a great experience with Safe Pacific."
Had a great experience with Safe Pacific. As someone who doesn't understand the business of insurance, I was not stressed at all with the process and Jordan and his team made it smooth and explained the entire process. They were responsive in a timely manner and helped me get a great deal on my disability insurance. Would highly recommend!
"Would highly recommend their services and support."
Jordan and Megan were very helpful in helping my partner and I secure term insurance and CI insurance. We talked with both of them about our current situation and context, and Jordan was able to walk us through the options and clearly laid out his recommendation. He answered all of our questions and followed up promptly as we moved along with the selection and registration process. Would highly recommend their services and support.
"They always make me feel like a priority."
The great thing about working with Safe Pacific is the personal touch they add to the service and how they always make me feel like a priority. Thanks Laurent and Rob for taking care of me.
"I highly recommend them to my colleagues."
I have worked with Robert Trasolini and Laurent Munier several times and I find them extremely helpful when it comes to Life, Critical illness and Disability insurance. They are able to explain things clearly and are really great guys to work with. I highly recommend them to my colleagues, clients and friends.
"Every step of the process."
Robert recently helped me acquire life and critical illness insurance. Not only did he explain every step of the process and walk me through it in a thorough and detailed manner, but Rob is great at taking complex terms and concepts and explaining them in simple, easy to understand manner.
"Insurance is not just a product, it is a part of your whole financial plan."
One thing I've learned after spending nearly ten years in the business of financial planning and working directly with clients is the value of working with someone who is both knowledgeable and genuinely cares about your well being. Robert comes with a wealth of knowledge and, more than most in the profession, will take the time to make sure that you are informed and protected while maintaining a life long relationship.
"Knowledgeable and helpful in explaining the process of insurance plans."
I contacted Safe Pacific Financial last year about an insurance strategy that would work for me and my husband after getting married and purchasing a home. I met with Robert who is knowledgeable and helpful in explaining the process of insurance plans. He put together multiple options that suited our needs and walked us through each of them to help us in our decision.
"Safe Pacific's access to multiple providers yielded the cheapest and best policy."
I spent close to a year reviewing multiple insurance company policies before choosing to go with Robert and Laurent at Safe Pacific. The differences in cost-to-benefit of each policy I looked at while doing my due diligence was rather substantial. Safe Pacific's access to multiple providers yielded the cheapest and best policy I could find. Plus they're good guys, and that's worth a heck of a lot in my books when buying something like insurance.
“Working with Rob and Laurent was a real pleasure."
Although the investment products we were talking about were very complex, they both were really great at breaking things down and explaining how they worked. Would highly recommend Safe Pacific to anyone who is thinking about long-term wealth creation and creating a strong financial foundation for themselves and their family.
"Jordan was able to explain them in a simple and digestible manner."
My wife Brooke and I had a great experience working with Safe Pacific and their team. Although some of the insurance industry and the investment products can be complex, Jordan was able to explain them in a simple and digestible manner which really helped us to understand the long term value. I would highly recommend the Safe Pacific team and we look forward to working with them more in the future.
"Had a great experience with Safe Pacific."
Had a great experience with Safe Pacific. As someone who doesn't understand the business of insurance, I was not stressed at all with the process and Jordan and his team made it smooth and explained the entire process. They were responsive in a timely manner and helped me get a great deal on my disability insurance. Would highly recommend!
"Would highly recommend their services and support."
Jordan and Megan were very helpful in helping my partner and I secure term insurance and CI insurance. We talked with both of them about our current situation and context, and Jordan was able to walk us through the options and clearly laid out his recommendation. He answered all of our questions and followed up promptly as we moved along with the selection and registration process. Would highly recommend their services and support.
"They always make me feel like a priority."
The great thing about working with Safe Pacific is the personal touch they add to the service and how they always make me feel like a priority. Thanks Laurent and Rob for taking care of me.
"They always make me feel like a priority."
The great thing about working with Safe Pacific is the personal touch they add to the service and how they always make me feel like a priority. Thanks Laurent and Rob for taking care of me.
"I highly recommend them to my colleagues."
I have worked with Robert Trasolini and Laurent Munier several times and I find them extremely helpful when it comes to Life, Critical illness and Disability insurance. They are able to explain things clearly and are really great guys to work with. I highly recommend them to my colleagues, clients and friends.
"Every step of the process."
Robert recently helped me acquire life and critical illness insurance. Not only did he explain every step of the process and walk me through it in a thorough and detailed manner, but Rob is great at taking complex terms and concepts and explaining them in simple, easy to understand manner.
"Insurance is not just a product, it is a part of your whole financial plan."
One thing I've learned after spending nearly ten years in the business of financial planning and working directly with clients is the value of working with someone who is both knowledgeable and genuinely cares about your well being. Robert comes with a wealth of knowledge and, more than most in the profession, will take the time to make sure that you are informed and protected while maintaining a life long relationship.
"Knowledgeable and helpful in explaining the process of insurance plans."
I contacted Safe Pacific Financial last year about an insurance strategy that would work for me and my husband after getting married and purchasing a home. I met with Robert who is knowledgeable and helpful in explaining the process of insurance plans. He put together multiple options that suited our needs and walked us through each of them to help us in our decision.
"Safe Pacific's access to multiple providers yielded the cheapest and best policy."
I spent close to a year reviewing multiple insurance company policies before choosing to go with Robert and Laurent at Safe Pacific. The differences in cost-to-benefit of each policy I looked at while doing my due diligence was rather substantial. Safe Pacific's access to multiple providers yielded the cheapest and best policy I could find. Plus they're good guys, and that's worth a heck of a lot in my books when buying something like insurance.
“Working with Rob and Laurent was a real pleasure."
Although the investment products we were talking about were very complex, they both were really great at breaking things down and explaining how they worked. Would highly recommend Safe Pacific to anyone who is thinking about long-term wealth creation and creating a strong financial foundation for themselves and their family.
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Begin Your 100-Year Family Wealth Plan.
You’ve worked too hard to let your life’s success stop with one generation. Start building a system that protects, multiplies, and continues your legacy — the same way the Rockefellers have done for over a century.
At Safe Pacific, we’ve spent over a decade helping Canadian families implement innovative wealth-building strategies like the Rockefeller Method
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