When you’re enjoying a happy and healthy life and focusing on immediate expenses, it’s tempting to put off paying for seemingly remote needs, such as life insurance. Many individuals forego getting coverage during the years that it’s easiest to afford. True, life insurance isn’t a necessity for everyone and it’s a subject no one really wants to think about, but it’s a must if you have anybody dependent on your income.
So how much life insurance do you need? To get a better idea of what you should buy, answer these questions to add up your survivors’ short- and long-term financial needs:
- Final expenses — What will my family need to pay for my burial or cremation expenses?
- Major debts — What major debts am I leaving behind, such as a home mortgage, college loans, car loans, and significant credit card balances?
- Your children’s college expenses — How much of this do I want to cover with life insurance. A portion? All of it? This is a less critical piece, as there are many other ways for your survivors to pay for college. If you decide you want to use life insurance to pay for some or all of it, bear in mind that college tuition is increasing about 8% per year, on average.
- Income replacement — What will my loved ones need to cover the rest of their ongoing expenses? One guideline is to use a 50%-of-salary figure. Say you earn $80,000 a year and plan to work for another 25 years. Your income replacement figure would be $40,000 times 25, or $1 million.
Life insurance is the cornerstone that supports your financial goals and your legacy. If something happens to you, you’re helping to ensure your survivors will have a secure financial future. Finding the right term-life policy for your needs doesn’t have to be overwhelming or unaffordable, check out how Orange County’s Retirement & Investment Services can provide professional advice and make the process simple:
- Professional guidance to evaluate the right policy for your unique needs
- Fast and convenient purchase process
We’re here to help you easily and confidently put the right life insurance policy into place to provide for your loved ones in the future.
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This article is intended to assist in educating you about insurance generally. It does not take into account your personal characteristics such as budget, assets, risk tolerance, family situation or activities which may affect the type of insurance that would be right for you. In addition, state insurance laws and insurance underwriting rules may affect available coverage and its costs.
