Shareholders of Kansas City Life Insurance Co. voted Tuesday to approve a reverse/forward stock split transaction, which when completed will reduce its number of shareholders and permit the company to terminate its registration under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and suspend its periodic reporting requirements with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The reverse/forward stock split proposal was approved by 89 percent of all shares voted at the meeting. The transactions, scheduled to take place today at 6 p.m., will not result in a change of control of the company. “Our Board of Directors determined, and our shareholders have agreed, that the costs of being a publicly held company outweigh the benefits,” said R. Philip Bixby, the company’s chairman, president and CEO.