I was Driving down the Mass Pike this past weekend and saw a billboard that really caught my attention. It read, “We spend more time liking Facebook posts than we do planning for retirement.” Isn’t that the truth? Part of a good overall financial plan is to have enough in retirement, but it’s just as crucial to have enough to cover the unexpected.
September is Life Insurance Awareness Month – and as we get back into our fall routines some of us need to reflect and be sure that we are sufficiently covered if the worst should happen.
Case in point – I met Doug fifteen years ago, a friend who eventually became a client. We first met when I was leaving my office one afternoon and my car broke down halfway to my house. Doug drove by and stopped to ask if I needed help. As it turned out, he was the local area mechanic. I started to use Doug for all of my repairs and sent other people to him. He eventually came to see me at my office, and we helped stabilize and grow his assets. We also suggested he purchase life insurance for him and his wife.
Sadly and unexpectedly, Doug passed away this year at the young age of 52. I delivered life insurance proceeds of $1,000,000 to his wife, income tax free. If you don’t think that’s life changing, think again.
Here are some surprising statistics:
- Four in 10 adult Americans have no life insurance at all
- Only 35 perfect of adult Americans have individual life insurance. Many rely on insurance provided by their employers, leaving many employees without coverage if they were to lose their job or change jobs.
- Each year, a significant number of Americans (600,000) die prematurely. In fact, the changes a 25-year-old male will die before reaching the retirement age of 65 is nearly 1 in 5; for a female, the odds are 1 in 9. When a premature death occurs, insufficient life insurance coverage on the part of the insured results in 75 percent of surviving family members having to take measures to meet financial obligations, such as work additional jobs or longer hours, borrow money, withdrawal money from savings and investment accounts, and, in too many cases, move to smaller, less expensive housing.
Now that summer is over, it is a perfect time to make an assessment to make sure you have a taken the right steps in personal financial responsibility. Life insurance provides peace of mind for you, your loved ones and your future. Do you have a plan in place for you and your family should something happen to you?
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