RE: Junk bond funds (corporate bonds) in your 401K.

Yes, the level premiums of whole life make those policies more expensive in the early years, while the fact that universal life gets more expensive later on means you'll want to max out your contributions in the early years. Some folks prefer whole life for its predictability, while others prefer universal life for its flexibility and the chance to amass a larger cash value. The way I see it, it comes down to knowing what you want and what you're comfortable with.

I do like IULs. Out of curiosity, who's the insurance company behind your IUL? And what type of indexed account are you investing in? One that's tied to a single index like the S&P 500, or one that's tied to multiple indices?