Life insurance
Life insurance for seniors: how long the cover has to last
Pick your state, age and sex. The calculator shows the chance a term policy pays, the age half and a quarter of people live past, and the VGLI rate at that age.
Independent site, not an insurer or a broker, and not a funeral home or a government agency.
Cover after 60: how long it has to last
Example, not your result yet· change a figure to see yours
Chance a 10-year term pays out
17%
| Alive when it ends | 83% |
| Half of people your age live past | age 87 |
| One in four live past | age 92 |
| VGLI per $10,000, a month at this age | $13.80 |
Florida life table (NCHS 2022), whole population. VGLI is the VA plan for veterans, shown as a published federal rate, not a market price.
Life insurance for seniors is a question of time. After 60, the chance of dying within any term rises fast, so term policies become dear and often end before they are needed, while whole life and final expense policies last for life but must be paid for as long as you live. On the NCHS 2022 life table for Florida, a woman of 68 has a 17% chance of dying within ten years, so a 10-year term would most likely expire unused; half the women of her age live past 87.0 and a quarter past 92.3. A permanent policy bought at 68 would be paid for, on average, for about 18.8 years. As a federal yardstick, VGLI charges $13.80 a month per $10,000 at that age. The calculator gives the same figures for any state, age and term.
Data read and sums checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How the figures are worked out
The odds and the ages, after 60
Chance of dying within ten years, median age at death, the age one in four women live past, and the VGLI rate per $10,000 at each age. NCHS United States life tables 2024.
| Age | 10-year death chance, men | Women | Median age at death, men | Women | One in four women live past | VGLI per $10,000, a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | 14% | 9.4% | 83.2 | 86.3 | 92.2 | $8.50 |
| 65 | 20% | 14% | 84.1 | 86.8 | 92.4 | $13.80 |
| 70 | 28% | 21% | 85.1 | 87.5 | 92.7 | $21.50 |
| 75 | 42% | 34% | 86.5 | 88.3 | 93.2 | $38.50 |
| 80 | 61% | 52% | 88.2 | 89.6 | 94.0 | $44.00 |
| 85 | 81% | 74% | 90.5 | 91.5 | 95.2 | $44.00 |
Life expectancy at 65, by state
The six states with the longest and the six with the shortest remaining life expectancy for women at 65, with men alongside, on the NCHS U.S. State Life Tables for 2022.
| State | Men at 65, years | Women at 65, years |
|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | 18.8 | 22.1 |
| New York | 18.3 | 21.1 |
| Connecticut | 18.4 | 21.0 |
| California | 18.3 | 21.0 |
| North Dakota | 18.1 | 20.9 |
| Vermont | 18.1 | 20.9 |
| Alabama | 15.7 | 18.3 |
| Arkansas | 15.6 | 18.2 |
| Oklahoma | 15.6 | 18.0 |
| Mississippi | 15.3 | 17.9 |
| Kentucky | 15.6 | 17.9 |
| West Virginia | 15.4 | 17.7 |
What the numbers mean for a policy
A term policy bought at 70 for ten years pays out in a minority of cases, because most buyers outlive it. It suits a need that ends, such as a loan. For a need that does not end, a term policy has a worse flaw: it may expire just when the odds of a claim are highest, and renewing at 80 costs far more, if it is offered at all.
A permanent policy, whole life or final expense, covers the whole span, but the premiums continue too. Someone who buys at 70 and lives to the age one in four reach pays for more than twenty years. The break-even calculator turns a quote into the age at which the premiums add up to the face amount, and the whole life yardstick shows what premium would match the face amount on average.
Policies with no health questions accept everyone in their age range but grade the benefit in the first years; the waiting period page shows what they pay then. Veterans can keep VGLI for life, at the rate of each age band, and the VA does not ask health questions of those who convert in time.
Before buying any policy
Most seniors who look for life insurance want to pay for a funeral or leave a little to a spouse. The funeral cost calculator shows the gap in your state after the VA allowance, Social Security and savings. If the gap is small, money set aside in a payable-on-death account may do the job without premiums. If it is large, the figures here help choose the kind of cover and its length.
The state matters less than age and health, but it is not nothing. Across the 51 state tables, remaining life expectancy at 65 differs by several years, which changes both the chance a term policy pays out and the number of years premiums on a permanent policy are paid. The calculator uses the table of the state you pick.