Three buckets — cash value fills, the loan fills against it, the benefit pays out

Year 1 — paying premiums
Three-bucket illustration Bucket one holds cash value, filled by premiums and index credits and drained each year by the cost of insurance. Bucket two holds the policy loan balance, which fills once income begins and compounds. Bucket three is the death benefit, with the loan balance deducted off the top and the remainder going to the family. Premiums in + index credits each year Tax-free income Cost of insurance buys bucket 3 repays the loan tax-free to family loan deducted $0 1 · Cash value $0 2 · Loan balance $0 3 · Death benefit

Assumptions

At year 1

Bucket 1 — cash value
$0
after charges
Bucket 2 — loan balance
$0
borrowed so far
Bucket 3 — death benefit
$0
base plus corridor
Family keeps
$0
death benefit − loan balance
Policy lapses
Never
within the horizon

Illustrative only — not a projection of any specific policy. Assumes a level crediting rate with no zero years, a 105% corridor on the death benefit, loan interest that compounds and is never repaid, and simplified charges. A real illustration varies the crediting rate, applies an index cap and floor, and uses the carrier's own cost-of-insurance table. Lapse is flagged when the loan balance passes the cash value; at that point the outstanding loan generally becomes taxable income.