Q: “I’m retired, and had life/burial insurance benefits through my job.
However, I’ve been told that since my only child is an adult, and I am single/divorced, that I do not need life insurance.
Also, regarding the disability insurance, I paid for the coverage for 34 years during my employment, but no longer carry it since my retirement.
Thus, I found that answering the assessment, it appears that it is primarily focused for working families in most areas.
Can you please clarify what insurance, etc. is needed if one is retired, single & living alone, has an adult child, and adult grandchildren?
If you receive a (secured) retirement check from your employer (government), how many months of an emergency fund should you maintain?
A: Even if you’re retired and your child is an adult, you should have life insurance — mainly just to be able to cover your burial costs in the event of your death.
You don’t want your child, who will already be grieving your loss, to have to come up with $10,000+ dollars for funeral costs too.
That’s about the average price tag for a funeral these days. So do keep at least that amount of life insurance protection. A term life insurance policy will be your cheapest option.
Re: disability, the primary purpose of this insurance is to protect your income stream. So you are correct to note that most of the advice regarding keeping or obtaining disability insurance applies to working individuals. In your case, I think you’d be fine without it.
Finally, at a bare minimum I like to see people have three months worth of expenses in that emergency fund.
It’s fine that you’re receiving a regular monthly check from the government/your former employer. But what if circumstances change in the future and that check gets cut for any reason?
It has happened with some employers (including to former federal and state workers). Also, what if your monthly check doesn’t keep pace with inflation and the rising costs of everything you need to buy?
And what if you have some unexpected event or emergency? You’ll need that cash cushion. If you can grow the emergency nest egg to 6 months or more, that’s even better.
