Harry Gross: Job perks force them to rethink insurance
DEAR HARRY: My wife works for a wonderful employer. Her salary is $50,000, but she has wonderful benefits. She gets 11 percent of her salary put into a pension plan and a 50-percent payment for our two children's college tuition. She has the greatest heal
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EAR HARRY:
My wife works for a wonderful employer. Her salary is $50,000, but she has wonderful benefits. She gets 11 percent of her salary put into a pension plan and a 50-percent payment for our two children's college tuition. She has the greatest health plan I have ever seen. She is 54 and in good health. She has a $250,000-term life insurance policy to cover us, because the tuition and health plans do not survive her. I would like her to increase her insurance to $500,000. She can get that for approximately what we are now paying for the $250,000, either from her present carrier or another good company. I guess that's because life expectancies have increased so dramatically in the last quarter century. Incidentally, I have a good job earning about $75,000 but with no benefits. Do we stand pat, go to another company, or just increase the policy with our present company?
WHAT HARRY SAYS: What an enlightened employer! With college tuitions at their present levels, you could very easily go well above the present policy before the children graduate. In addition, you have the potential problem of health-insurance premiums if she predeceases you. Double insurance for the same premium puts ice cream on the pie. You can either stay with the same company or go to its equivalent. In either case, do not surrender the old policy until you have the new one in your hands.