Retirement

[Vmax2005]

I am getting ready to retire, almost 50 years in FSIS. I am wondering about a few things. I am married. My current life insurance policy with the government is costing me $138 a month for basic for $65000 and additional option is $147 a month for $126000. Do these costs increase as I get older. Is this good insurance or is there something just as good at a lower price? Is there anything else I should be concerned about?
Thanks For Any Help
Z/

[Midway]

Yes they do.
https://www.tsp.gov/publications/tsp-583.pdf

[Jmk]

You need to review your situation to determine if you really need life insurance at this stage of your life. It depends on your age, marriage status, kids ages, mortgage balance, outstanding debts, pension income, ss income, thrift balance, etc. If your kids are finished with school, house paid off, no other large debts, and you have sufficient savings for your spouse to be secure if you pass, there really is no need for life insurance.

[dstancil]

Agree with the above and would also like to add that if you haven't you may want to look into WAEPA insurance. It is for government employees and their spouses. Much more competitive rates for term insurance. I've been very happy with their prices and products. Currently hold both mine and my wife's term life insurance with them along with a short term disability policy.

[evilanne]

The basic coverage ($0.3467 per $1000) is the only thing that is reasonable IMO. The rates for standard anything additional increases with age (I think I got rid of options at 50). When I retired, I selected the 75% reduction option, which decreases coverage when you turn 65 over a couple of years down to 25%. With this option payments stop at age 65. See FEGLI: https://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insuranc ... -Employees. It looks like some of the options are also free at age 65 with reduction options.

If you need more coverage, there are other providers for term insurance that are less expensive than FEGLI but some may require medical health info or evaluation. I would definitely shop around before canceling but what you are paying sounds pretty high to me, see http://quotesfortermlife.com/200000-ter ... rance.html

[Bubba]

The basic coverage ($0.3467 per $1000) is the only thing that is reasonable IMO. The rates for standard anything additional increases with age (I think I got rid of options at 50). When I retired, I selected the 75% reduction option, which decreases coverage when you turn 65 over a couple of years down to 25%. With this option payments stop at age 65. See FEGLI: https://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insuranc ... -Employees. It looks like some of the options are also free at age 65 with reduction options.

If you need more coverage, there are other providers for term insurance that are less expensive than FEGLI but some may require medical health info or evaluation. I would definitely shop around before canceling but what you are paying sounds pretty high to me, see http://quotesfortermlife.com/200000-ter ... rance.html

Same here. The price he quoted sounded high.

My suggestion is to take this with an alternative look. Look at how much you spend per year on the policy. Look at your projection of life (which isn't easy!). Factored into that is age of death of parents, present ailments, surrounding area, etc. Usually you can come up with a 5 to 10 year projection. Then, calculate the cost of this policy for those years. If you just retired, you might be looking at a life span of at least 25 years. If that's so, what would the cost be as opposed to the amount you receive? Don't forget to calculate inflation in there too! Your payments will go up with inflation, but often times, the amount you receive stays the same.

Oh and in terms of inflation, I'm onboard with the Feds thinking it'll be transitory, but if that's the case, that's anyone's best guess. This recent development supports the idea (https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/baltic). There was almost a 50% drop. That usually precedes a drop in inflation.

Best,

Bubba

[jhonalbert]

Yes, check the tsp website they update all the notification in which you find the retirement procedure in it.

[Scarfinger]

I am getting ready to retire, almost 50 years in FSIS. I am wondering about a few things. I am married. My current life insurance policy with the government is costing me $138 a month for basic for $65000 and additional option is $147 a month for $126000. Do these costs increase as I get older. Is this good insurance or is there something just as good at a lower price? Is there anything else I should be concerned about?
Thanks For Any Help
Z/

From what I have read the only thing worth keeping is the standard option at 75% reduced because it is free after age 65. The other options increase with age and cost more than they are worth. You should be able to get a term life insurance policy that better fits you situation.

Just a quick check with Smartasset.com shows that a healthy 65 year old can get a 20 year term policy for $100,000 costing around 125 dollars a month. A 20 year term policy for $200,000 will cost around 250 a month.

I bought a 30 year $250,000 when I was 35 and it cost me $256 a year. Kind of an eye opener when you look at the price increases with age.

Good Luck!