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Is It Worth It for Seniors to Get Term Life Insurance?

Many retired households wonder if they need to get life insurance now. After all, while employees’ savings and 401(k)/IRA accounts follow them after they stop working, their employer-sponsored life insurance doesn’t. A whole life policy, however, is too expensive. Even the best term life insurance for seniors over 60 years old would cost less than a quarter of the premiums on whole life coverage. For example, a senior female would pay $75 per month for a term life policy, while a whole life insurance plan (with the same amount of coverage) costs about $600. Similarly, the premiums on term life insurance for a 65-year-old male are just over $100 per month. A whole life policy, meanwhile, costs more than $600.

In spite of this, many people still question whether term life insurance is worth it. Firstly, what happens when you outlive your policy? A term policy would lapse, but whole life insurance doesn’t. Equally as important, seniors need to make this decision quickly. The more they wait, the more expensive both a whole and term life policy will be.

Every problem, however, has a solution. As lucrative as whole life coverage may sound, it is not an option for everyone, especially seniors. Keep in mind that your medical expenses will go up as you keep aging. At one point or another, the premiums on a whole life policy will become less affordable. Getting term insurance, on the other hand, can cover your needs at a desirable cost, even more so when you purchase a policy early and take your long-term health into consideration. Moreover, a convertible term life plan could make it easy to cash-out before the policy expires.

The Best Term Life Insurance for Seniors Over 60: Costs and Savings

Do You Need to Get Life Insurance Now?

If you prefer a term policy over a whole life plan because of the cost, then you certainly need to get covered as soon as possible. Why? Since your premiums are tied to your age, they will only get more expensive as time passes by.

For instance, a 30-year-old who purchases a term life insurance policy would pay $11.79 per month for $250,000 worth of coverage.

If that person delays the decision until they turn 40, the same policy and amount of coverage will cost $16.25 a month. By their 50th and 60th birthdays, their monthly premiums are going to increase to $34.54 and $90.08, respectively.

Above all else, it is important to note that not only does the cost of the policy rise with age, but the pace of the premium hikes becomes more rapid.

To clarify, a term life policy for a 40-year-old is almost 38% more expensive than what a 30-year-old would pay. Meanwhile, enrolling in a policy by the time you turn 50 will cost you 112% more in premiums than if you did so when you were 40.

Life insurance for a 60-year-old is almost 161% more expensive than coverage for a 50-year-old. Therefore, you should get life insurance now if saving money is your main objective.

Based on the figures above, your premiums will likely double when you wait an additional ten years.

Term Life Insurance for a 65-Year-Old Male vs. Female

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The same age-price correlation applies to both men and women. A 20-year term policy with a $250,000 payout costs $11.08, $15.00, $30.33, and $75.67 for females that are 30, 40, 50, and 60 years of age, respectively.

Term life insurance for a 65-year-old male would come with a monthly premium of about $105, which is just over what a female in the same age group would pay.

Taking out a $250,000 20-year term life policy would cost men who just turned 30 $11.08 per month. The premiums for the same amount of coverage on 40 and 50-year-old males are $17.50 and $38.50, respectively.

Whether you are a man or a woman, you should get life insurance now to lock in an affordable rate. The best term life insurance for seniors over 60, at least when it comes to cost, has to do with when you purchase the plan.

Consider a Convertible Policy

Unfortunately, many seniors who are over 65 years old end up canceling their policies. In fact, these lapsed insurance plans have a combined coverage of over $112 billion, with an average of $225,000 per canceled policy.

This problem is even worse because, by the time seniors want to enroll in a new one, their premiums will likely cost more than double the amount that they paid on their original, lapsed plan.

Perhaps most noteworthy, 90% of Americans who are over 65 years old would’ve sold their policy (instead of cancelling it) if this was an option.

Consumers cannot cash-out term life insurance. They can only sell whole life and variable policies.

Having said that, the majority of term plans are convertible, which means that they can be turned into permanent, whole life insurance coverage after a certain number of years. Yet most policyholders aren’t aware of this.

The best term life insurance for seniors over 60 is a convertible plan that policyholders can sell. This is true even if they don’t plan on converting it.

To clarify, the goal behind this isn’t to attain a more expensive whole life policy. Instead, if your medical bills get unexpectedly inflated or other financial problems come up, you may sell your convertible term-life plan.

Consequently, policyholders will get cash when they surrender their coverage. The money can take care of funeral and after-death expenses. However, more importantly, it ensures that the premiums you paid don’t go to waste if your policy becomes too expensive and you decide to cancel it.

Plan for Your Health

Enrolling in a low-cost life insurance plan with the desired expenses and characteristics isn’t enough. This is especially true if your policy doesn’t payout upon death, which is common.

In short, the best term life insurance for seniors over 60 is one that takes their health and medical conditions into consideration.

Many insurance companies will only cover casualties that are related to certain causes. For example, a policyholder dies from a medical condition that isn’t covered by their plan. In this instance, their family is not going to receive the money.

Before signing any papers or making a payment, seniors should carefully examine the payout clauses. More specifically, if you have a health condition that you’re worried about, such as heart disease or high blood pressure, purchase a term-life policy that covers deaths related to these medical issues.

Otherwise, if the plan doesn’t payout, it would be completely pointless.

The Best Term Life Insurance for Seniors Over 60: Price, Value, and Time

An advantageous and desirable policy should have certain characteristics. Firstly, a convertible plan that you may sell is much safer than coverage that doesn’t give you that option.

Secondly, your policy must cover deaths related to any health conditions or problems that you are concerned about.

Lastly, but certainly not least, the sooner you enroll, the lower your premiums will become.

Term life insurance for a 65-year-old male costs almost the same as what a female would pay. However, getting insured when you’re 60 might be three times more expensive that if you did so ten years earlier, regardless of whether you are a man or a woman.

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How much money do you have saved up for retirement? Compare your savings if you get life insurance now vs. waiting an extra few years. Above all else, add up the difference in premiums throughout the entire lifetime of the policy.

After accounting for that, how much money do you have saved up for retirement? Your answer will most likely change.

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