4 ways to use life insurance in retirement

October 15, 2015 at 11:26 AM
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People may think life insurance has nothing to do with retirement but, the truth is, life insurance has everything to do with it.

See, it's the life insurance you bring into retirement that gives you the license to spend your money. The people who enter retirement with permanent life insurance will likely enjoy a much happier and more successful retirement than those who don't.

Those with permanent life insurance are actually able to spend their money and not live a "just-in-case" retirement. Let's take a glance at four simple ways clients can use life insurance in retirement.

(1) Using life insurance to leave a legacy

Even if your clients don't want to leave any money to their children, they may want to consider doing something for their grandchildren. Whether they are planning to use their benefit to pay for some of their grandchild's college tuition, a car when they turn 16, or money for their first house, it is important to discuss how they want to be remembered.

Many life insurance policies can offer significant liquidity in case of an emergency. Some may even offer a money-back guarantee at any time. If your clients are trying to give their grandchildren a head start in life, I would recommend discussing this option with them.

(2) Using life insurance for charitable giving

Many retirees volunteer and become actively engaged in a local charity, church, or organization. See this as an opportunity to help clients become involved with their community. If financially viable, people heavily involved with the organizations would be ideal candidates to make a larger impact on the group with the use of life insurance.

Life insurance enables people to donate dollars while only spending pennies. With life insurance, your clients can potentially double their capacity to make a charitable gift and have access to their surrender values if the need ever arises to cancel their policy.

(3) Using life insurance to cover final expenses

Many retirees are concerned about being a financial burden on their family upon death. Given the increasing costs of funerals in the U.S., the cost for the "average funeral" is about $6,600. For simple add-ons, the costs can in some cases be more than $10,000. Your clients may be not be able to leave a large inheritance, but can set up a life insurance plan to cover final expenses that will relieve family stress and burden.

(4) Using life insurance to protect clients' Social Security benefits

Many Americans don't fully understand how Social Security works. When a husband or wife dies, one of the Social Security checks dies as well. Whichever spouse's check was higher, that check will continue to go to the surviving spouse.

However, the lower check will stop, causing issues for the surviving spouse. Young families typically use life insurance for replacement income in the case of an untimely death. What about using life insurance to replace Social Security income?

Americans overall are widely under-insured and have no idea. This low interest rate environment has immediate impact on both life insurance and retirement savings. In a one percent interest rate environment, it takes $5,000,000 of life insurance to protect every $50,000 of income.

How many people do you know make $50,000 per year and have $5,000,000 of life insurance? While many of you may think this is ridiculous, I would respond, "How much life insurance would you need to protect $50,000 of income if we're in a 5 percent interest environment? The answer: $1,000,000.

That is not ridiculous! Life insurance can have many benefits for retirees and non-retirees alike.

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