Retirement Insurance Planning
Your kids may be living independently.
Your mortgage may be paid.
You may be in good health.
And your financial position may be solid . . . for now.
Identifying Those “What-If” Scenarios
But you still have risks. If you’re married, you need to look at your and your spouse’s financial risk, considering the “what ifs” in life. Would you or your spouse be alright financially if each “what if” occurred? These “what if” scenarios may be years away but are common so you should prepare for them in advance. If you’re married, both of you should be part of the decision making process.
We know these are uncomfortable questions to ask. But that’s what a financial advisor would ask to help you avoid even more uncomfortable situations later in life. That’s called retirement insurance planning.
Chances of Common “What-Ifs”
Did you know . . .
- 70% of Americans age 65+ will need some kind of long term care assistance (US Congressional Budget Office)
- In 100% of the situations, when one spouse dies Social Security benefits to the household decrease. (US Social Security Administration).
At age 75+, 19% of men are widowers but 58% of women are widows (US Census Bureau)
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It’s Better to Plan Together
Are you financially prepared for each of these risks? No one knows for sure because we can only guess at our individual life expectancy and what may occur. But we can estimate and prepare.
Ask yourself some questions:
- What are your household sources of retirement income?
- If one spouse dies, does that spouse’s income source continue? In full or in part?
Long term care expenses are in addition to your normal expenses. Do you have an additional, dedicated source to pay for long term care expenses (for a home health aide, assisted living facility)? How long would this resource last? (Note: Medicare does not pay for long term care and Medicaid only pays for nursing home care, which very few Americans use after less intensive types of care.)
Managing “What-If” Risks
These “what-if” risks can be managed with insurance products as part of a risk management strategy, which don’t have to be standalone products that are “use-it or lose-it” propositions.
In fact, a commonly sought goal in retirement is stability and insurance products to help households smooth out market fluctuations, survivorship issues, pension payout issues, long term care issues, etc., paying out under those “what-if” circumstances. That’s how insurance and retirement planning go hand-in-hand. Many people use insurance products so they don’t have to worry about market fluctuations disrupting their retirement income.
Pay Now or Risk Paying More Later
“But insurance costs money”, you might say. Yes, but not as much as if a “what-if” scenario occurs without insurance coverage. And you might worry about that “what-if” scenario for many years, fearing knowing you’re not financially prepared for it.
Same Concept as Medical Insurance
Why do you have health care insurance? It’s not for the common cold and small ailments. It’s to cover major medical problems that could bankrupt you. Your health care insurance is there so you don’t worry everyday about paying for what might happen. But if it happens, the risk is spread over many, many individuals just like you. We’re just applying the same concept to insurance for retirees.
The Takeaway
- You might have thought your insurance needs ended when you paid off your mortgage and your children were financially independent but as long as you have risks, you have a possible way to manage those risks with insurance after retirement.
- There are many ways insurance products can be designed to provide asset growth, asset preservation, and to manage “what-if” scenarios. Ask your financial professional to explain how to apply these options based on your needs, if necessary.
- Avoiding financially catastrophic “what-if” scenarios that may deplete your assets smooths your retirement experience and helps to ensure you’ll have assets to bequeath to your beneficiaries (family, favorite charities).
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How financially literate are you compared to the average American? You can take one of the shortest of those financial literacy quizzes here (it’s only 6 questions) to get a taste of the questions asked.
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