02 Sep Life Insurance for a Non-Income Earning Spouse

All too often, families don’t think to purchase life insurance for a stay-at-home mom or dad who is not the bread-winner in the family. If the unthinkable happens, the family is left to deal with a tremendous loss, while also struggling to make ends meet in the face of a major transition for the family.

Just think of all the jobs that fall to an at home parent. Taking care of children, cleaning the house, preparing meals, doing laundry, shuttling children, maintaining the family finances, and more. If that loved one were to die, the remaining parent would be left struggling to fulfill all those duties, in addition to their regular job, all while mourning the loss of their loved one and trying to ease their children’s grief.

Considering all of this, it quickly becomes apparent why we strongly advocate life insurance for non-income-earning spouses.

So, how much life insurance should be carried for that spouse? Consider this: Salary.com estimates that a stay-at-home-mom works 94.7 hours per week performing tasks such as janitor, facilities manager, and day care teacher. They combine all of this into a salary plus overtime, totaling to $112,962 annually.

The actual value of your stay-at-home spouse is an important topic for discussion. We do recommend starting that conversation with the agreement that he or she is priceless. But, beyond that, if you had to pay for those things which can be replaced, what would that come to annually? For most families, $50,000 might be a comfortable number. Multiply that by the number of years until the youngest child is out of the house, and you have your beginning number. Don’t forget to add additional funds for medical expenses, funeral costs, estate fees, inflation, and possible probate fees.

It’s a situation that every family prays will not arise, but if it should, life insurance for the non-bread-winning spouse in your family will provide a much needed measure of comfort and security during a very difficult time.