How much life insurance do I need?
A common rule of thumb is 10–12× your annual income, but the better calculation works backward from what your beneficiaries will actually need: outstanding mortgage balance, projected education costs for children, replacement of your income for the years your partner would need it, final expenses, and any debts. Subtract existing assets (savings, employer-provided life insurance, retirement accounts). The remainder is your coverage gap. For most working professionals with a partner and young children, the right number is in the $500K–$2M range. For physicians, business owners, and other high earners with longer income runways, $2M–$5M+ is common.
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Related FAQs
Are LTC premiums tax-deductible?
Federal: yes, as itemized medical expenses, subject to age-based limits that increase in steps every decade of age (current figures published annually by the IRS). The deduction phases in based on whether your total medical expenses exceed a percentage of AGI. NY allows a state income tax credit equal to a portion of LTC premiums paid (subject to caps). Self-employed individuals can deduct LTC premiums above-the-line up to the federal age-based limits. Confirm current dollar limits with a tax advisor…
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This is the most important question and the most-overlooked one at enrollment. Marketplace plan summaries don't tell you network depth. The right move: get the list of every provider you currently see (PCP, specialists, dentist, mental health), call each one, ask "do you take [Plan Name from Carrier X for the current plan year]?" — and confirm the *specific plan*, not the carrier. Carriers offer many plans on different networks (e.g., HMO, EPO, PPO, narrow network) and a doctor accepting…
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Read answerDoesn't Medicare cover long-term care?
No, and this is the single most-misunderstood point in retirement planning. Medicare covers up to 100 days of **skilled nursing care** following a qualifying hospital stay (with cost-sharing after day 20). It does **not** cover custodial care — the day-in-day-out help with ADLs that constitutes the vast majority of long-term care needs. Medicaid covers long-term care, but only after you've spent down most of your assets. This is why people who want to control where and how they receive care,…
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