Technically, if he lives to be 78, then $80K will have been invested, but if he's able to take out another $24K (tax free) between now and age 78 (not to mention loans against it while benefit/interest accrual stays same)...then it still beats any Savings Plan I know of...and his family gets $80K when he dies...I suppose diminishing returns would start at age 100...sure the evil BIG INSURANCE company got a lot more out of our money...but so do those evil BIG BANKS...Policy was taken more as gift for later in his life since investing in Whole Life (as stated above) goes against everything A.L.

(It’s a rental for 4 years and then you live there for 6 years, 60% of the gain can be used against the $500k.) you’ll notice it has diminishing returns. 4 year rental live there 2 years 33% (+33%), 4 years 4 years only 50% (+17%), 4 years 6 years 60% (+10%) 4 years 8 years 66% (+6%). 

Rising interest rates have diminished my buying power considerably, making buying my first property much more difficult.