By September is Life Insurance Month. It also happens to be one month after all of us here at Family Financial Partners celebrated our 20th year in business.
And speaking of 20 years, yours truly recently got a letter in the mail from FFP letting me know that one of my 20-year term policies is expiring. Getting a letter from my own office is a funny thing; at first, I smiled because it meant our processes are working. Then that smile faded when I realized that I had bought that policy right after the birth of my first child — he turns 21 this spring!
Aside from making me feel old, it was a great reminder of how much has changed since I took that policy out two decades ago. Let’s go back in time: I was starting a business. I’d barely finished paying off student loans. I had a wife and a child on the way, and I wanted to make sure that, should something happen to me, they would be taken care of and could continue pursuing their dreams.
Now I’ve got three children, including two teenagers. There’s more money in my retirement plan than there was 20 years ago, and my net worth has expanded significantly. I’m in the pre-retirement phase (I can’t believe I’m writing these words), and I need to take my own advice, go to my own website, and go through the pre-retirement workbook. I still plan to work for many more years, but I need to consider what role my life insurance policies play in my current overall plan.
I’ve been having these exact conversations with my client families for decades. I watch many of them do everything they need to do and have great success in their financial plans as a result. They contribute to their retirement funds, save for college, and keep their legal documents in order. Now the conversation about life insurance moves from planning for the unexpected to planning for the inevitable. What is their plan for the loved ones they will leave behind?
As I look at my life at 50 and think about what the next 20 years may have in store, I’m starting to look at my life insurance policies in an entirely different way than I did as a 30-year-old. I couldn’t imagine being 50 at the time. But, after spending so much time growing with our client families, I can now imagine what 70 will look like. It makes me appreciate the fact that I have life insurance in place and the ability to choose, in addition to my assets, how I want to use it for the benefit of my loved ones, my charitable goals, and my tax planning.
That’s the peace of mind I’ve had, knowing I have coverage through every season of life. My question to you is: At whatever season you’re reading this in, is your current insurance plan working for your goals? Regardless of your answer, I would recommend that we sit down at your convenience and review it.
Reach out today, and let’s be sure that your life insurance plan is growing with you.
Article by David Smyth, Senior Partner and Wealth Advisor at Family Financial Partners — a financial services firm in Lexington, Kentucky.