More Americans are buying life insurance as part of their overall retirement plan, according to new research from Northwestern Mutual.
One in four Americans is incorporating life insurance into their retirement planning efforts, a survey from the company finds.
"Individuals have long recognized the importance of life insurance in terms of providing financial protection to loved ones in the event of their death," says David Simbro, senior vice president of life and annuity products at Northwestern Mutual. "However, these new study results show that people of all ages are also leveraging the flexibility of permanent life insurance to help meet long-term financial goals."
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Americans 55 and older are the most likely age group (31 percent) to cite retirement planning over other reasons for buying life insurance—versus 25 percent for those ages 45-54 and 19 percent for those 44 and under. A quarter of Americans say that having enough money to live on in retirement gives them the greatest peace of mind.
Marriage stood out as the most common driver (32 percent) for purchasing life insurance, while other factors included the birth of a child (22 percent) and home ownership (19 percent).
This survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of Northwestern Mutual from August 10-14, among 2,097 American adults ages 18 and older.
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