Life Insurance for mid-50s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I definitely wouldn’t get a 20 year term policy in your 50s. Life insurance gets very expensive past 65 or so. You could maybe get a 10 year policy if you really need it but it is an open question whether you need it all.

Would be careful about advice from this guy in general based on this recc.

+1. With a few exceptions, it’s unlikely you need a new life insurance policy in your mid-50s, and certainly not a 20 year policy.

Whether term or whole, many financial advisors get commissions for pushing unnecessary products, particularly in the life insurance space. That’s why someone else mentioned asking him point blank if he is a fiduciary (and why the only person defending this is another salesperson).

[Anonymous]

DH’s term policy will expire shortly after the last child finishes college and the house is paid off. At that point he would have the option to retire although I doubt he will want to do so in his early 50’s. We do not plan to take any more insurance as the reasons for the insurance will not longer exist. I would be more than fine without his income at that point. It just depends on how you’ve set everything else up - if you are still burning through cash like crazy, haven’t saved for college, etc then it’s different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband and I started working with an hourly-based financial advisor outside of our area with an interest in getting help with cash flow issues. We have spent the first few months working with this advisor on getting new life insurance policies and the policies this advisor are recommending for us are so expensive. We went to the advisor with a goal of getting help with our cash flow and now we are unexpectedly down a lot of money on these new life insurance policies (if we move forward with the recommended policies).

Are expensive term life insurance policies typical for those in their mid-50s?

They are typical of financial advisors that are taking their clients for a ride.

OP here. So, are you saying that an honest financial advisor likely wouldn't recommend such a policy at all?

It depends.

Do you still have kids on the payroll? If not, your need for Life insurance has greatly diminished

Is your mortgage paid off? If yes and No Kids on Payroll, you most likely do NOT need life insurance.

What is your net worth? Basically, if it's just your and your partner/spouse, do they need life insurance if you die (or Vice versa)? Or can they afford to continue life. If no kids, and you own your home, the answer is most likely, it's better to simply invest the $$$ you would be paying for life insurance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband and I started working with an hourly-based financial advisor outside of our area with an interest in getting help with cash flow issues. We have spent the first few months working with this advisor on getting new life insurance policies and the policies this advisor are recommending for us are so expensive. We went to the advisor with a goal of getting help with our cash flow and now we are unexpectedly down a lot of money on these new life insurance policies (if we move forward with the recommended policies).

Are expensive term life insurance policies typical for those in their mid-50s?

They are typical of financial advisors that are taking their clients for a ride.

OP here. So, are you saying that an honest financial advisor likely wouldn't recommend such a policy at all?

No one here can say honestly without knowing more about you. Is this person a member of FINRA? If not, go to someone who is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are mid 50s and will let our term life insurance expire in a couple years. Our kids are in college, which is fully funded, and we have significant savings. We have no need for this insurance anymore.

same

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I definitely wouldn’t get a 20 year term policy in your 50s. Life insurance gets very expensive past 65 or so. You could maybe get a 10 year policy if you really need it but it is an open question whether you need it all.

Would be careful about advice from this guy in general based on this recc.

+1. With a few exceptions, it’s unlikely you need a new life insurance policy in your mid-50s, and certainly not a 20 year policy.

Whether term or whole, many financial advisors get commissions for pushing unnecessary products, particularly in the life insurance space. That’s why someone else mentioned asking him point blank if he is a fiduciary (and why the only person defending this is another salesperson).

True. I actually have a small universal life insurance policy that I took out in my 20s when it was cheap. I’m in my 40s and I’d never take out a new life insurance policy at my age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband and I started working with an hourly-based financial advisor outside of our area with an interest in getting help with cash flow issues. We have spent the first few months working with this advisor on getting new life insurance policies and the policies this advisor are recommending for us are so expensive. We went to the advisor with a goal of getting help with our cash flow and now we are unexpectedly down a lot of money on these new life insurance policies (if we move forward with the recommended policies).

Are expensive term life insurance policies typical for those in their mid-50s?

They are typical of financial advisors that are taking their clients for a ride.

OP here. So, are you saying that an honest financial advisor likely wouldn't recommend such a policy at all?

Depends if its term or whole life. Whole life (the more expensive one) is generally a scam. Whether or not you still need term life depends entirely on your currently assets and expenses and whether or not you've been saving adequately all of these years. If you haven't, then yes you may still need term life a little bit longer. If you or your husband died, would the other one be comfortable financially? That is when you drop term life.

[Anonymous]

I'm 53 and have life insurance through work-can one of you get it there? I have it because I still have a minor dc. If I didn't, not sure I'd need it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have an advisor and he suggested getting term life back when we were mid 30s, and had young kids and a mortgage. However, he just suggested we do it, and didn't point us to any vendors. I chose a vendor on my own, so he didn't get any kickback from it, that's for sure.

20year term life if you're in mid-50s is going to be super high. The avg life expectancy in the US is 76 years, so there's a high chance the insurer may have to pay out before the term expires.

If you really need it, get 10 year term instead.

Counterpoint: there are some advantages to getting a longer term than you think you'll need. Things don't always work out the way you think they will. My in-laws just purchased a term life insurance policy in their mid-60s. They planned on being retired by now but FIL was laid off at 55, couldn't get rehired at anything close to the same pay, and is now self-employed earning around $40K - he'll need to work until his early-mid 70s. MIL could survive if he passed prematurely but at a significantly lower standard of living, so they got a term policy.

Also, you can't just plan on getting the shortest term and then buying a new policy if needed. Because coverage and pricing are based on your health, developing any serious medical conditions could make life insurance unavailable later on (or prohibitively expensive). I got a 30-year term at 38 despite the fact that I don't think I'll need it more than 20 years. If that's the case, I'll just drop it early. But I still have memories of seeing news stories following the 2008 crash of people who thought retirement was imminent yet ended up having to work a lot longer.

[Anonymous]

My husband and I are struggling with the same question. He is retiring from federal service and we have the option to buy $180k for $61 a month. We pay monthly until he is 65 (about 14 years from now) at which point we stop payment but hold the insurance and the payout decreases by month until it hits a floor of about $40k to be paid out anytime upon my husband’s death (to me or to our daughter if I die first). I have no idea if these are good rates and terms. Is this similar to what other people’s life insurance payments look like?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DH’s term policy will expire shortly after the last child finishes college and the house is paid off. At that point he would have the option to retire although I doubt he will want to do so in his early 50’s. We do not plan to take any more insurance as the reasons for the insurance will not longer exist. I would be more than fine without his income at that point. It just depends on how you’ve set everything else up - if you are still burning through cash like crazy, haven’t saved for college, etc then it’s different.

+1

We have dropped our life insurance, but one kid is fully launched, and the other is in college (fully funded by a 529). We have 2 homes with no mortgages and enough in savings to bring home double our current salaries with interest/dividends yearly. So we no longer have a need for life insurance. Either spouse can live comfortably and could retire at any point should the other die.

Instead we invest the $3K/year we were spending on major life insurance policies for both of us

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband and I started working with an hourly-based financial advisor outside of our area with an interest in getting help with cash flow issues. We have spent the first few months working with this advisor on getting new life insurance policies and the policies this advisor are recommending for us are so expensive. We went to the advisor with a goal of getting help with our cash flow and now we are unexpectedly down a lot of money on these new life insurance policies (if we move forward with the recommended policies).

Are expensive term life insurance policies typical for those in their mid-50s?

If the advisor is recommending whole life insurance, run. If they are recommending term life, it is what it is. You can shop around independently and compare prices too (Costco, Fidelity, etc.). If you are not convinced, ask them to explain why you need it and what their basis was to recommend the amount and term of insurance they are recommending. Understand their logic and see if that makes sense before you commit.

On another note, most fiduciary advisors don't sell insurance products. Watch out for which investments they want to put your money in. If they recommend mutual funds or bespoke ETFs, tell them not to. These typically have sales charges and annual fees that are high.

[Anonymous]

Northwestern Mutual, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband and I started working with an hourly-based financial advisor outside of our area with an interest in getting help with cash flow issues. We have spent the first few months working with this advisor on getting new life insurance policies and the policies this advisor are recommending for us are so expensive. We went to the advisor with a goal of getting help with our cash flow and now we are unexpectedly down a lot of money on these new life insurance policies (if we move forward with the recommended policies).

Are expensive term life insurance policies typical for those in their mid-50s?

They are typical of financial advisors that are taking their clients for a ride.

OP here. So, are you saying that an honest financial advisor likely wouldn't recommend such a policy at all?

You don't need a financial advisor to purchase a term life insurance.

It's much cheaper to purchase on your own. Purchase from a reputable insurance company.

And don't let them talk you into whole life...there are so many better ways to invest your money.

[Anonymous]

I don't have life insurance on DH,. I make a reasonable salary, and 529 plans are fully funded. I couldn't afford our mortgage without DH, and it keeps me up at night, but I've got a "secret" emergency fund started and growing, and once I've have two years of expenses covered in it, I will sleep well at night. If DH dies, his estate would cover the mortgage, but I don't trust that the entire estate would go to me as he has a complicated family situation. If our kids had graduated from college and we either didn't have a mortgage or I could afford the mortgage without him, then I'd forgo life insurance.