Retirement Protection Through Disability Insurance
It is a common notion that one of the greatest financial fears of Americans is the possibility of outliving their money in retirement. Yet, these concerns don’t always lead to subsequent real-life accountability since most people of working age aren’t making substantial progress toward increasing personal savings. The detrimental cycle continues. We worry about having enough retirement income and savings to live out our “golden years” in comfort, but we hardly take the steps necessary to achieve sufficient capital accumulation for use later in life.
Social security is hardly the answer to most. The funds are relatively miniscule to those with average to affluent lifestyles, and with “baby boomers” having reached retirement age, projections show that the outtake of benefits may soon outgrow the intake of taxes. Social security reservoirs are dwindling. Therefore, saving must take place proactively before retirement, while a person is a producer and earner.
Annuities are a viable option to provide a steady income stream through retirement, but the costs, lack of liquidity and complicated taxation issues can be disconcerting to many clients.
401(k), IRA and similar plans are attractive and another step in the right direction. Those with access to employer-sponsored retirement savings programs are gaining more understanding and more trust in placing higher levels of income into retirement accounts, and with more employers matching or adding contributions, these accounts have become among the strongest wealth savings vehicles available to employed Americans.
However, we can’t completely count on market performance of retirement accounts and deferred annuities. More importantly, we can’t guarantee that regular payments will continue to sufficiently build those coveted retirement funds. What would your client do if he/she were to suffer an illness or injury that resulted in long-term disablement? What would eventually happen to your client’s income? Who would continue making contributions to you client’s retirement savings? If your client became disabled, eventually he/she would no longer be able to work nor receive an income. Their regular 401(k) contributions would cease, and they may find it impossible to afford their annuity plan. Any total debilitation would make your client struggle to financially survive today as well as into traditional retirement years.
The only solutions to this plausible economic catastrophe are one, to be independently wealthy with multi-millions in net worth or inheritance, or two, to have income sufficiently covered with ample amounts of group and/or individual disability insurances. Since most prospects don’t fall under the circumstances of the first solution, it is wise that you pay attention to the second.
Disability income insurance is one of the greatest retirement planning tools. Without the protection of a comprehensive disability insurance package, your client stands to lose the ability to effectively accumulate wealth and savings for use in the later years of life. Over the last several decades, life expectancy has increased in the United States creating a greater need for proper savings safeguards like disability insurance.
Petersen International Underwriters can assist you in protecting the wealth of your clientele, and help you better plan for their futures.