EagleStone Tax & Wealth Newsletter – September 2019

The financial challenges millennials face can be overwhelming. Many young adults have to figure out how to pay off college loans, save to buy a home or start a family, and sock away money for retirement. Given these hurdles, it’s no wonder that life insurance as a financial asset gets little to no attention. But it should. There are many reasons to have life insurance at a relatively young age, but here are some common ones.

Leaving your debts for others to pay

As a young adult, you become more independent and self-sufficient. While you no longer depend on others for your financial well-being, your death might still create a financial hardship for those you leave behind.

You may have debts such as a mortgage or student loans that are jointly held with another person. Or you may be paying your parents for loans they took out (e.g., PLUS loans) to help pay for your education. Your untimely death would leave others responsible for some or all of these debts. You might consider purchasing enough life insurance to cover your financial obligations so others don’t have to.

Funeral expenses can also be a burden for those you leave behind. Life insurance could ease the financial burden of paying for your uninsured medical bills (if any) and for costs associated with your funeral and burial.

It’s less expensive

Premiums for life insurance are based on many factors, including age and health. Certainly, the younger and presumably healthier you are, the less your coverage will cost. This is especially true if you are at a high risk for developing a medical condition later in life.

Replacing lost income

Someone may be relying on your income for financial support. For instance, you may be providing for a family member such as a parent, grandparent, or sibling. In each of these instances, how would your income be replaced if you died? The death benefit from life insurance can help replace your income after you’re gone.

Providing for your family

As your family grows, so do your financial responsibilities. There is likely a hefty mortgage to pay. And there are costs associated with young children. If you died without life insurance, how would the mortgage get paid? Could your surviving spouse or partner cover the costs of day care and housekeeping?

And there are events you should plan for now that won’t happen until several years in the future. Maybe you’ll begin saving for your kids’ college education while trying to save as much as you can for your retirement. Over the next several decades, think about how much you could set aside for these expenses. If you are no longer around to make these contributions, life insurance can help fund these future accumulations.

Work coverage may not be enough

You may have a job with an employer that sponsors group life insurance. Hopefully, you take advantage of that program, but is it enough coverage to meet your needs now and in the future? Your insurance needs may change with time, although your employer’s coverage may not. Also, most employer-sponsored life insurance programs are effective only while you remain an employee. If you change jobs or are unable to work due to illness or disability, you may lose your employer’s coverage. That’s why it’s a good idea to consider buying your own life insurance.

The cost and availability of life insurance depend on factors such as age, health, and the type and amount of insurance purchased. As with most financial decisions, there are expenses associated with the purchase of life insurance. Policies commonly have mortality and expense charges. In addition, if a policy is surrendered prematurely, there may be surrender charges and income tax implications.

Each year for its Retirement Confidence Survey, the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) surveys 1,000 workers and 1,000 retirees to assess how confident they are in their ability to afford a comfortable retirement. Once again, in 2019, retirees expressed stronger confidence than workers: 82% of retirees reported feeling “very” or “somewhat” confident, compared with 67% of workers. A closer look at some of the survey results reveals various lessons today’s workers can learn from current retirees.

Current sources of retiree income

Let’s start with a breakdown of the percentage of retirees who said the following resources provide at least a minor source of income:

• Social Security: 88%
• Personal savings and investments: 69%
• Defined benefit/traditional pension plan: 64%
• Individual retirement account: 61%
• Workplace retirement savings plan: 54%
• Product that guarantees monthly income: 33%
• Work for pay: 25%

Lesson 1: Don’t count on work-related earnings

Perhaps the most striking percentage is the last one, given that 74% of today’s workers expect work-related earnings to be at least a minor source of income in retirement. Currently, just one in four retirees works for pay.

Lesson 2: Have realistic expectations for retirement age

Building upon Lesson 1, it may benefit workers to proceed with caution when estimating their retirement age, as the Retirement Confidence Survey consistently finds a big gap between workers’ expectations and retirees’ actual retirement age.

In 2019, the gap is three years: Workers said they expect to retire at the median age of 65, whereas retirees said they retired at a median age of 62. Three years can make a big difference when it comes to figuring out how much workers need to accumulate by their first year of retirement. Moreover, 34% of workers reported that they plan to retire at age 70 or older (or not at all), while just 6% of current retirees fell into this category. In fact, almost 40% of retirees said they retired before age 60. The reality is that more than four in 10 retirees retired earlier than planned, often due to a health issue or change in their organizations.

Estimating retirement age is one area where workers may want to hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

Lesson 3: Income is largely a result of individual savings efforts

Even though 64% of current retirees have defined benefit or pension plans, an even larger percentage say they rely on current savings and investments, and more than half rely on income from IRAs and/or workplace plans. Current workers are much less likely to have defined benefit or pension plans, so it is even more important that they focus on their own savings efforts.

Fortunately, workers appear to be recognizing this fact, as 82% said they expect their workplace retirement savings plan to be a source of income in retirement, with more than half saying they expect employer plans to play a “major” role.

Lesson 4: Some expenses, particularly health care, may be higher than expected

While most retirees said their expenses were “about the same” or “lower than expected,” approximately a third said their overall expenses were higher than anticipated. Nearly four out of 10 said health care or dental expenses were higher.

Workers may want to take heed from this data and calculate a savings goal that accounts specifically for health-care expenses. They may also want to familiarize themselves with what Medicare does and does not cover (e.g., dental and vision costs are not covered) and think strategically about a health savings account if they have the opportunity to utilize one at work.

Lesson 5: Keep debt under control

Just 26% of retirees indicated that debt is a problem, while 60% of workers said this is the case for them. Unfortunately, debt can hinder retirement savings success: seven in 10 workers reported that their non-mortgage debt has affected their ability to save for retirement. Also consider that 32% of workers with a major debt problem were not at all confident about having enough money to live comfortably in retirement, compared with just 5% of workers who don’t have a debt problem.

As part of their overall financial strategy, workers may want to develop a plan to pay down as much debt as possible prior to retirement.

If you are concerned about the high costs of long-term care but don’t want to purchase traditional long-term care (LTC) insurance, you might consider two strategies that combine permanent life insurance coverage with long-term care benefits.

Keep in mind that any payouts for covered LTC expenses reduce (and are usually limited to) the life insurance death benefit that would go to your heirs, and benefits can be much less than those of a traditional long-term care policy.

Accelerated death benefit (ADB) rider

An ADB rider attached to a permanent life insurance policy allows the insured to begin receiving benefits while he or she is still living, under specific circumstances.

In the past, ADB riders only paid when a policyholder was diagnosed with a terminal illness. However, more insurers now offer riders that start paying when a policyholder is diagnosed with a chronic illness, is permanently disabled, or needs to enter a nursing home.

Although some policies may include an ADB rider at little or no cost, ADB riders are generally optional and will increase the premium.

Hybrid life—LTC policy

This type of policy combines permanent life insurance and long-term care coverage. Many such policies require a substantial up-front premium, but buyers don’t have to worry about future rate increases or the issuer canceling the policy.

For the same premium, a hybrid policy typically has a smaller death benefit than a life policy with an ADB rider. However, the LTC coverage is more generous than an ADB rider.

Benefits under a hybrid policy typically begin when the policyholder needs help with two or more activities of daily living such as eating, bathing, and dressing.

With an optional continuation-of-benefits rider, payouts for covered LTC expenses could continue for a specified period or your lifetime, even if they exceed the death benefit.

Financial flexibility

Another advantage of these strategies is that policyholders can tap into the cash value of the permanent life policy during retirement if money is needed for income or emergencies. Loans and withdrawals will reduce the policy’s cash value and death benefit.

Other considerations

It would be wise to explore your LTC options while you are healthy. If you consider a a life insurance policy with an ADB rider or a hybrid life-LTC policy, you should have a need for life insurance and evaluate the policy on its merits as life insurance.

The cost and availability of life insurance depend on factors such as age, health, and the type and amount of insurance purchased. In addition to the life insurance premiums, other costs include mortality and expense charges. If a policy is surrendered prematurely, there may be surrender charges and income tax implications.

Any guarantees are contingent on the financial strength and claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Riders are subject to the contractual terms, conditions, and limitations outlined in the policy, and may not benefit all individuals.

Even though your child is just in high school, he or she may still have to deal with certain financial challenges. Whether this involves saving for an important purchase like a car or learning how to use a credit card responsibly, it’s important for your high schooler to have a basic understanding of financial literacy concepts in order to manage his or her finances more effectively.

While financial literacy offerings in schools have increased in popularity, a recent study reported that only 17 states require high school students to take a personal finance course before they graduate.¹ Here are some ways you can teach high school students the importance of financial literacy.

Advocate saving. Encourage your children to set aside a portion of any money they receive from an allowance, gift, or job. Be sure to talk about goals that require a financial commitment, such as a car, college, and travel. As an added incentive, consider matching the funds they save for a worthy purpose.

Show them the numbers. Use an online calculator to demonstrate the concept of long-term investing and the power of compound interest. Your children may be surprised to see how fast invested funds can accumulate, especially when you match or contribute an additional amount each month.

Let them practice.Let older teens become responsible for paying certain expenses (e.g., clothing and entertainment). The possibility of running out of their own money might make them think more carefully about their spending habits and choices. It may also encourage them to budget their money more effectively.

Cover the basics. By the time your children graduate from high school, they should at least understand the basic concepts of financial literacy. This includes saving, investing, using credit responsibly, debt management, and protection planning with insurance.

¹ Survey of the States, Council for Economic Education, 2018

The FAFSA, which stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid, is the federal government’s financial aid application. The FAFSA is a prerequisite for federal student loans, grants, and work-study. In addition, colleges typically require the FAFSA before distributing their own need-based aid and, in some cases, merit-based aid.

For the 2020-2021 school year, the FAFSA can be filed as early as October 1, 2019. Whether you have a senior in high school or a returning college student, it’s a good idea to file the FAFSA as early as possible to increase your child’s chances of getting financial aid, because some aid programs operate on a first-come, first-served basis. (For high school seniors who haven’t yet been accepted at a particular college, you can list all the schools your child has applied to on the form.)

The 2020-2021 FAFSA relies on your family’s current asset information and two-year-old income information from your 2018 tax return. The form is available online at fafsa.ed.gov.

In order to file the form, you’ll need to create an FSA ID if you haven’t done so already (be sure to follow the online instructions). You can save time and minimize errors on the FAFSA by using the built-in IRS Data Retrieval Tool, which electronically imports your tax data.

Even if you don’t expect your child to qualify for need-based aid, you still might consider submitting the FAFSA. All students attending college at least half-time are eligible for federal unsubsidized Direct Loans regardless of financial need. So if you want your child to take out a loan (or your child needs to do so), you’ll need to file the FAFSA. (Unsubsidized Direct Loan amounts are capped each year: $5,500 freshman year, $6,500 sophomore year, and $7,500 junior and senior years.)

Keep in mind that you’ll need to resubmit the FAFSA each year that you want your child to be considered for aid. Fortunately, renewal FAFSAs take less time to complete.