The government is proposing ways to increase Americans' retirement security. Unfortunately, however, this will simply herd more Americans into a retirement system that most experts agree is broken.

Is there a way to have financial security and grow a sizable nest egg safely and predictably?

The answer is a resounding "yes," although you probably won't hear about it from your financial advisor or stock broker.

I've researched over 450 savings and investing products and strategies over the past two decades, as a consultant to financial advisors. I ultimately concluded that Americans have been brainwashed into believing we must risk our money in order to grow it.

Wall Street and the financial planning industry have led us to believe that "saving" and "investing" are the same things. However, they are not. The money you have in "savings" is money you don't want to lose. Money you "invest" is subject to loss.

Most people today "invest to save," and as a result, have no idea what their nest egg will be worth when they hope or plan to tap into it.

This is not a financial "plan," which the Merriam Webster dictionary defines as "a means of accomplishing something." It's gambling. And it has led to a nation of boomers wondering if they'll ever be able to retire, and what they'll have to give up in order to do that.

But there are proven and time-tested ways to grow a substantial nest egg -- without the risk or volatility of stocks, mutual funds, real estate, and other investments.

For example, there is an asset class that has increased in value during every stock market decline and every period of economic boom and bust for more than a century.

That asset is dividend-paying whole life insurance.

A dividend-paying whole life policy grows by a guaranteed and pre-set amount every year. In addition, the growth is exponential, meaning it gets better (more efficient) every single year you have the policy, simply because you stick with it. And no luck, skill, or guesswork is required to make that happen.

Furthermore, there are little-known options that can be added to the policy which turbo-charge the growth of your equity ("cash value") in the policy.

Once credited to your policy, both your guaranteed annual increase, plus any dividends you may receive, are locked in. They don't vanish due to a market correction.

These policies also give you peace of mind for retirement planning, because you'll know the minimum guaranteed income you can take in retirement, and for how long you can take it.

You control the money in your policy, not the government. You can use the money to "bank on yourself" and become your own source of financing, so you can reduce or even eliminate the control banks and financial institutions have over you.

In addition, it's possible to take retirement income from these policies with little or no tax consequences, under current tax law.

During the financial crisis, even as the experts lamented there was no place to hide, no one lost a penny in a dividend-paying whole life policy, and their policies continue to grow safely and predictably.

There are a great deal of myths and misinformation about this powerful financial tool, and no shortage of experts who will tell you to avoid whole life policies.

That's why I created the $100,000 Challenge. It lets you test your knowledge of the facts about dividend-paying whole life. And a $100,000 cash reward awaits the first person who has a different product or strategy that can match or beat a properly structured dividend-paying whole life policy.

© 2010 Pamela Yellen, author of Bank on Yourself: The Life-Changing Secret to Protecting Your Financial Future

Author Bio

As a consultant to financial advisors for two decades, Pamela Yellen investigated hundreds of savings and investing strategies and vehicles before learning about Bank On Yourself. She ultimately became convinced that Americans have been brainwashed into believing they must accept risk, volatility, and unpredictability in order to grow a sizable nest-egg. It became Pamela's mission to share the message of Bank On Yourself, which may be the most powerful money secret of all.

For more information please visit www.BankOnYourself.com .