Question

As a rule of thumb, experts say that most married people should carry ______ times their net pay in life insurance coverage.

Answer 1

Who the heck is more of an expert on your life and your needs than you?

For what it's worth, I'd say if both partners word full time, are about equally paid, and there are no children, then any life insurance at all is a bad idea. There are better places to put any savings, e.g. investments, retirement accounts, or saving up for a house down-payment.

If one partner does not work, and there are no children, a year's salary will give the nonworking partner a chance to get back into the workforce.

If there are young children, then you need enough to pay off the mortgage, or provide for about five years' rent and living expenses, so roughly 4 to 5 times your annual salary.

If there are children nearing college age, then enough to cover their college tuition and expenses, which would be about $100,000 to $200,000 per child, depending on whether they're likely to go to Princeton or community college, plus a year's salary for the surviving partner.