You’re retired. The little ones are out of the house and living on their own. There’s no need to have to keep paying for life insurance, correct?


Not so quick. Just before you let your policy lapse, take into account some monetary exceptions that could make life insurance coverage crucial nicely into your 60s and beyond.


You are in debt


Retirees nonetheless paying off big loans or mortgages may want to preserve term life insurance coverage in spot so their spouses or other loved ones are not saddled with the bills following death. To handle charges, acquire just sufficient coverage to final until the payments are scheduled to finish. And buy only sufficient to cover the debt — no far more.


You’re nonetheless working


Term life insurance may possibly also make sense if you continue to work in retirement to supplement your earnings, even element-time. Term life is a excellent tool for earnings replacement if a spouse or young children nevertheless rely on you financially. It all depends on how much you earn and how considerably your savings fall short of your spouse’s and children’s income demands.


Life insurance can also be critical to your spouse if you are receiving a pension that would quit after your death.


You’re raising grandchildren


The past 30 years have noticed a big jump in the number of grandparents raising grandchildren. About 10% of all young children now live with a grandparent, according to census data, and an estimated 2.7 million grandparents have been regarded as grandparent “caregivers” in 2012.


Retirees may possibly want to contemplate maintaining life insurance coverage coverage if they financially assistance grandchildren who are not but self-sufficient.


You have a special needs kid


If you have a child or grandchild with specific needs, life insurance coverage can give funds for their education, transportation, medical care or living expenses following you are gone. Some monetary planners recommend a “survivorship life insurance” policy, which pays out only following both parents pass away. Survivorship life policies insure 2 men and women at after and are typically much less high-priced than buying 2 separate policies.


You want to cover your funeral expenses


Some retirees have life insurance coverage particularly to cover their funeral, so their family has a way to pay for it. Policies intended to cover final expenses and a funeral are normally small, such as $ 10,000 to $ 50,000.


You want another investment automobile


Permanent life insurance coverage is touted by some agents and economic planners as a great investment if you have the funds to set aside and aren’t averse to risk. The cash value inside a permanent life policy grows totally free of revenue tax, and the policyholder can access the funds that build up.


There are critics of this strategy, though, who argue the investment selections are as well restricted and do not offer you as a lot of a return as a diversified stock portfolio. Authorities normally advocate that you max out other retirement-savings possibilities just before contemplating permanent life insurance as an investment.


For most retirees, life insurance is an unnecessary expense. But everyone’s predicament is distinct, and these are some of the scenarios in which continuing coverage — or buying a new policy — tends to make sense.


Sarah Cooke is a employees writer covering personal finance for NerdWallet. Follow her on Twitter @sarah_wolfe and on Google+.


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