--- title: What is a Paid-Up Addition (PUA)? description: A paid-up addition is extra cash that you can put into your policy that goes to increase cash value and death benefit. The insurance company sends you a letter annually stating the minimum ($250) and --- [Skip to content](https://info.prosperitythinkers.com/migration/knowledge/what-is-a-paid-up-addition-pua#main-content) English Show submenu for translations Prosperity Thinkers™, LLC Open main navigation Close main navigation - English Show submenu for translations - Contact us Contact us How can we help you? - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. 1. [Help Center](https://info.prosperitythinkers.com/migration/knowledge?hsLang=en) 2. [What Is Whole Life Insurance?](https://info.prosperitythinkers.com/migration/knowledge/what-is-whole-life-insurance?hsLang=en) # What is a Paid-Up Addition (PUA)? A paid-up addition is extra cash that you can put into your policy that goes to increase cash value and death benefit. The insurance company sends you a letter annually stating the minimum ($250) and the maximum PUA. It’s your choice every year how much you contribute. On most policies, the minimum PUA is $250, the maximum is whatever is specified by the terms of the policy, usually about equal to the base premium. If your base premium is $10k/year, your maximum PUA will be about $10k a year, or a total of approximately $20k per year for “mid-age” folks. This is affected by age. (But do pay attention – the allowable paid-up additions will fluctuate as the death benefit rises.) Since it is the Paid-Up Additions that really super-charge the accounts, remember to aim to fund the maximum contribution rather than the minimum base premiums. Every dollar above the premium becomes a PUA dollar, and it is very advantageous to overfund your policy up to the MEC limit. - [What Is Whole Life Insurance?](https://info.prosperitythinkers.com/migration/knowledge/what-is-whole-life-insurance?hsLang=en) - [How Does it Work?](https://info.prosperitythinkers.com/migration/knowledge/how-does-it-work?hsLang=en) - [Is Whole Life Insurance Right for Me?](https://info.prosperitythinkers.com/migration/knowledge/is-whole-life-insurance-right-for-me?hsLang=en) - [What About Term Life Insurance?](https://info.prosperitythinkers.com/migration/knowledge/what-about-term-life-insurance?hsLang=en) - [How to Setup my Policy](https://info.prosperitythinkers.com/migration/knowledge/how-to-setup-my-policy?hsLang=en) - [How to Use my Policy](https://info.prosperitythinkers.com/migration/knowledge/how-to-use-my-policy?hsLang=en) - [Building Generational Wealth](https://info.prosperitythinkers.com/migration/knowledge/building-generational-wealth?hsLang=en) [![Prosperity Thinkers logo](https://info.prosperitythinkers.com/hs-fs/hubfs/small%20pt%20logo.png?width=88&height=66&name=small%20pt%20logo.png "Prosperity Thinkers logo")](https://info.prosperitythinkers.com/?hsLang=en) [mailto:email@email.com](mailto:email@email.com) Copyright © 2026, Prosperity Thinkers™, LLC