A Case Study
Joe is a 55 year old CPA and his wife Jane is a 51 year old Teacher. They have been married for 20 years and have 2 kids.
The Current Situation
- Joe has been working for over 20 years for his accounting firm. He is highly successful and has a nice, six-figure salary.
- He has been saving for retirement for years. He contributes to his company’s 401(k) program, has IRAs, and investments.
- Jane was a teacher in her twenties but left the workforce for 18 years to raise their children. She has been teaching again for the last 3 years.
- Jane has an IRA and not much else toward retirement.
- They are both planning to retire at 65.
- They want life insurance to help maintain their lifestyle, no matter when one of them dies.
The Challenge
- Jane’s years out of the workforce have put her behind in building her pension through her job. She will be on the lower end of the scale when she retires at 65, having only worked 16 years in her current job.
- Joe has maxed out his retirement savings since the kids are on their own and college expenses are over.
- They have life insurance to protect their mortgage and to ensure that, should one of them pass away before or early in retirement, the surviving spouse will be able to keep their home and have the lifestyle they want. But, they have concerns about the tax bill their children may face when they both pass away.
- They want to make sure that they have enough income in retirement to last well into their high 90’s since their parents lived to age 95+.
Jane & Joe's Retirement Goals
- Provide individual life insurance protection in case one of them dies unexpectedly.
- Protect their retirement goals for each other for potentially 30 years or more.
- Offset the taxes due on their estate when it passes to their children.
- Provide a way to help supplement retirement income due to Jane’s 18 years out of the workforce.
In our next blog post, we will discuss the solution.