Most people set up their life insurance when they're young, when they have young kids, or when they first buy a home. Then life moves on, and the policy just quietly sits there — paid, mostly forgotten, and increasingly out of step with your actual situation.
Retirement is one of the biggest financial transitions you'll ever make. It's the right moment to revisit your coverage and ask some honest questions. Here are five that every pre-retiree should work through.
1. Are You Still Carrying Coverage You No Longer Need?
Term life insurance is designed to protect your income — so your family isn't left in financial freefall if something happens to you while you're still earning. But if you're retiring, your income is ending anyway. If your kids are grown and your mortgage is paid off, you may be spending hundreds of dollars a year on protection you've already outgrown.
That money could be redirected toward long-term care, supplemental health coverage, or simply your retirement income. It's worth asking whether the coverage is still serving its original purpose.
2. Do You Still Have Debt That Needs to Be Covered?
Not everyone retires debt-free. If you're still carrying a mortgage, a home equity loan, or other significant obligations, life insurance may still make a lot of sense — especially if your spouse would struggle to cover those costs on a single income or Social Security benefit alone.
Make a list of your liabilities and think about who would bear them if you were gone. That answer tells you a lot about how much coverage you actually need.
3. Does Your Spouse Depend on Your Retirement Income?
Some retirement income — like a pension or Social Security benefit — reduces or disappears when you die. If your spouse relies on those payments to cover monthly expenses, life insurance can function as an income replacement tool, not just a debt payoff vehicle.
This is one of the most overlooked planning gaps for married couples heading into retirement. A relatively modest permanent policy can bridge a meaningful income gap for a surviving spouse.
4. Could Life Insurance Play a Role in Your Estate Plan?
If leaving something to your children or grandchildren matters to you, life insurance is one of the most tax-efficient tools available. Death benefits generally pass income-tax-free, and when structured correctly, they can bypass probate entirely.
Permanent life insurance — whole life or universal life — can also accumulate cash value that you can access during your lifetime if needed. For people with estate planning goals, it's worth a conversation with both a financial advisor and an insurance broker to see how it fits the bigger picture.
5. Is Your Current Policy Still the Best Option Available?
The insurance market changes, and so does your health profile. Depending on when you bought your policy and how your health has trended, you may be able to get better coverage for less — or convert an old term policy into a permanent one without a new medical exam.
If you haven't reviewed your policy in more than five years, you may not know what you have or whether it's still competitive. A quick review costs nothing and can reveal options you didn't know existed.
Not sure where your coverage stands? Schedule a free review with Destini — no pressure, just a clear picture of what you have and what, if anything, you might want to change.