Life Insurance

Life insurance provides money to your designated beneficiary—and can help your loved ones:

• Replace lost income.
• Pay household debts, estate taxes and funeral expenses.
• Cover basic living expenses.
• Funding a child’s education.
• Supplement retirement savings.

Term Insurance - a type of coverage offered by most employers. It pays a specific lump sum to your loved ones, providing coverage for a specified period of time – usually from one to 20 years. This may also give you the option to port, that is, you can take the coverage with you.

While you won’t be able to pinpoint the amount you’ll need to the penny, you can make a sound estimate.  Your goal should be to develop a life insurance plan that, following your death, will allow your family to live comfortably without your economic contribution. Also consider the effect of inflation over time. The amount needed for retirement or college 20 years from now is likely to be significantly higher than today.

To estimate the amount of life insurance your family would need, first calculate everything you now provide for your family including:

• Salary
• Benefits/health insurance
• 401(k) and retirement savings
• Personal services you perform for your family, such as child care, cooking, home maintenance, etc.

Then, subtract your personal expenses including:

Annual spending on personal needs, such as food, clothing, entertainment, etc.

The Life Insurance Needs Calculator can help you get the right coverage.

Life insurance through your workplace may be more affordable than you think. In fact, many people can get term life insurance coverage from a quality company for a surprisingly affordable price¹. Premium rates for life insurance are typically based on factors such as:

• Age, sex, height, and weight
• Health status, including whether or not you smoke
• Participation in high-risk occupations

Life insurance gets more expensive as you get older, and the type of coverage you choose will also affect your premium. Rates for term insurance are typically lower, while rates for permanent policies are typically higher.

When you purchase life insurance through the workplace, you have the following advantages:

• Competitive group rates.
• Guaranteed issue means you can get a certain amount of coverage without answering health questions or taking a medical exam.
• Convenient payroll deductions.
• Easy access to enrollment and educational tools that can help you make the right decisions about what type and amount of insurance that's right for you.
• The confidence that your employer has reviewed and selected the plan.

It's a good idea to review your coverage every few years to make sure it still meets your financial needs. Check to make sure that all beneficiary and other information are current. It might be time to reevaluate, if you:

• Recently married or divorced
• Provide care or financial help to a child or parent
• Want to ensure that financial resources are available to provide assistance or long-term care for a loved one
• Purchased a new home
• Have children or grandchildren who are about to enter college

• Receive an inheritance
• Have a child or grandchild who was recently born or adopted
• Refinanced your home mortgage in the past six months

Your life insurance beneficiary serves a very important purpose - making sure your benefits are distributed as you intended. Without a validly named beneficiary, the life insurance proceeds payable as a result of your death will be distributed according to the terms of the insurance contract. This may result in the proceeds going to a family member, such as spouse, children, parents or siblings, or it may go to your estate.

Availability of products and services is based on MetLife’s guidelines, group size, underwriting and state requirements. Like most insurance policies and benefit programs, insurance policies and benefit programs offered by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and its affiliates contain certain exclusions, exceptions, waiting periods, reductions of benefits, limitations and terms for keeping them in force. Please contact MetLife for complete details.