It may seem counterintuitive that “empty nesters” need life insurance after the kids have left home. But some retirees still have dependents, such as disabled adult children. Many empty nesters also still have financial obligations, such as the mortgage on a home or second home, that could become burdensome if a spouse dies or becomes disabled.More importantly, if you died today, your spouse could outlive you by 10, 20 or even 30 years. Would your spouse have to make drastic lifestyle changes to make ends meet? Your death could reduce the Social Security benefits your spouse had been counting on. It also could bring on unplanned medical and funeral expenses and other costs. Life insurance coverage can preserve the retirement plan you worked so hard to put in place.

How much coverage do I need?



The answer isn’t really how much life insurance you need, it’s how much money your family will need after you’re gone.

Ask yourself:

• How much money will my family need after my death to meet immediate expenses, like funeral expenses and debts?
• How much money will my family need to maintain their standard of living over the long run?

But how do you know if you need $100,000, $500,000, $1 million or more? The most common way to determine your life insurance needs is by conducting what’s called a Capital Needs Analysis.

Here’s how it works. Start by evaluating your family’s needs. Gather all of your personal financial information and estimate what your each of your family members would need to meet current and future financial obligations. Then tally up all of the resources that your surviving family members could draw upon to support themselves. The difference between their needs and the resources in place to meet those needs is your need for additional life insurance (see diagram below).

We also consult on the following life insurance policies:

• Permanent life insurance
• Whole life, universal life, limited pay, and endowment
• Temporary life insurance
• Term life insurance
• Single Premium Wealth Transfer