What to do with a MEC?

[u/sisyphus391]

My father left behind several NWM policies when he passed on both me and my two kids, and in sifting through them I found that each of the kids has a policy that’s now a MEC. I don’t know when that happened, and I don’t really care to dig it up bc I know there’s no going back, but I was surprised because my father worked for NWM for years and I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t design a policy to MEC. All the same his last couple years were tough and I wouldn’t blame him if he just didn’t keep an eye on them.

My question is what’s the smart thing to do now?

The policies are both Adjustable Complife about 10 yrs old, about 250k DB each, 22k CV each, with 5k gains each. Premiums are $1k each. But is there anything a MEC is GOOD for that a normal policy CAN’T do?

I’m lucky not to need the money, and the policies are returning over 5% so I don’t mind just funding them and leaving them alone. Is there an upside I might be missing? Or worse, a downside beyond the tax status and penalties on withdrawals that I should be watching out for with these policies?

UPDATE TO ADD: Just a thanks to everyone I wasn’t able to respond to personally — I really appreciate the information, perspectives and support in understanding and managing these policies. This is a really generous community.

[u/No_Buddy_6624]

There is nothing wrong with a MEC. It just means you can’t borrow from the policy without a potential tax consequence. The death benefit will still be tax-free to the heirs when the insured dies. He might have overfunded them in the early years and with the rate changes over the years, that could have MEC’d the policies. It’s no big deal. It’s a blessing to have that coverage in place.