Retirement Planning and Estate planning with Insurance

Retirement Planning and Estate planning with Insurance:
Insurance coverage for Retirees and Seniors

Retirement sounds exciting and liberating but be sure to plan accordingly to limit your headaches. Retirement planning is a big deal and without help it can make your retirement a bad experience. Plan your insurance needs before you retire! There are certain insurance policies you need to maintain and certain policies you could consider changing once you retire.

Life Insurance
Your life insurance needs may change once you retire. You've worked most of your life to accumulate enough money to last the rest of your life. When accumulating or planning your retirement did you assume costs associated with taxes on your estate or costs associated with your funeral would easily be covered with your retirement savings? What about other expenses you may have? If you've assumed these expenses within your retirement savings then you may not necessarily need a life insurance policy. If you have accumulated enough retirement savings to pay for all your final expenses plus whatever else you wish to do with it then chances are you are covered. It's a good idea to consult with your retirement specialist to ensure your covered and depending on your assets and liabilities perhaps a short term life policy will cover you. Most of the time retirees have paid off their homes. If this isn't the case and there are only a few years on the mortgage you may want to consider a 5 or 10 year term life policy to cover any expenses the asset may not. Life insurance for retirees is case-by-case and truly depends on the size of your assets.

Homeowners Insurance
As I mentioned above there are often instances where retirees have paid for their homes and no longer pay a mortgage. You still need to cover your home in case of a loss. Likely your retirement savings aren't enough to pay for your retirement and completely replace your home so it's imperative you maintain your home insurance policy once your retired.

Auto Insurance
Like your homeowners insurance you should continue to insure your automobile. The last thing you should consider is paying for a new car or liability claims due to a car wreck. If your driving significantly less because your retired and no longer drive to work then you should talk to your Insurance company about discounts available to those that drive less than a certain amount of miles per year.

Health Insurance
You need to apply for health insurance as soon as possible. The longer you wait the older you get and the harder and more expensive health insurance costs. If you're retiring before 65 you will definitely need coverage. Once you reach age 65 you will be eligible for Medicare. So if you retire early at age 50 assume you will need enough retirement savings to cover at least 15 years of health insurance premiums. There are ways to adjust your premiums but that would entail higher deductibles or finding a group to join. Individual health insurance policies are expensive and especially for those over age 50 so do your diligence and start receiving quotes now.

Long Term Care Insurance
You like many others may consider purchasing Long Term Car Insurance when you retire. Long Term Car Insurance is an insurance policy that covers things generally not covered by health insurance or Medicare. Long Term Care covers things such as a live-in Nurse who would be hired to help do regular daily activities such as bathing, dressing and eating. Long Term Care does not cover health issues directly such as a heart problem or doctors visits. It is a great opportunity to purchase a policy that will allow you the liberties of staying and living at home and knowing you won't burden your loved ones with your daily activities. So Long Term Care Insurance is a policy that one should consider when planning retirement.