The Consumer federation of
America (CFA, 1997) recommends 6 to 8 times your income for a married
couple with children. Benchmark Benefit Consulting believes that
each individual personal situation should be taken into consideration when
planning for life insurance needs. This worksheet provides a quick
and simple way for you to estimate the amount of life insurance you will
need for your individual situation.
Income
Needs:
1.
Annual
income you family would need if you die today
(Typically between 60-70% of total income)
$
2.
Annual
income available to your family from other sources
(Including dividends, interest, spouse's
earnings, social security, etc.)
$
3.
Annual
income to be replaced - subtract line from line 1
$
4.
Funds
needed to provide income for ____ years?
Multiply line 3 by the factor below
$
10
yrs x 8.1
15
yrs x 11.1
20
yrs x 13.6
25
yrs x 15.6
30
yrs x 17.3
35
yrs x 18.7
40
yrs x 20.0
Expenses:
5.
Burial
Expenses
(The average cost of an adult funeral is about
$10,000)
$
6.
Mortgages
and other debts
(Include mortgage balance, credit card debt,
car loans, home equity loans, etc.)
$
7.
College
Costs
The average cost of a 4 year education: public
college - $40,276, private college - $85,696 as of 2000
Multiply the cost factor (number of years before entering college)
for each child
5
years x .82
10
years x .68
15
years x .56
20
years x .46
Child
1:
$
Child
2:
$
Child
3:
$
Total College Costs
$
8.
Total
Capital Required - add lines 4,5,6 and 7 (total college cost)
$
Assets:
9.
Savings
and Investments
(Bank accounts, CDs, stocks, bonds, mutual
funds, real estate/rental property, etc.)
