Personal Finance After 50 For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Chapter 2

Protecting Your Employment Income and Your Health

IN THIS CHAPTER

Evaluating your need for life insurance

Seeing why most working people need disability coverage

Making the most of your health

During your working years, especially your earlier working years, your future income earning ability is probably your most valuable asset. Consider that the typical person in his 20s and 30s has many years (decades, in fact) ahead of him to earn money to feed and clothe himself and make other expenditures (for example, transportation, taxes, medical bills, and vacations) and save for the future. Unless you’re independently wealthy (or have a deep-pocketed relative ready to provide long-term care for you if you hit hard times), you should carry the proper types and amounts of insurance to protect yourself and your family if something occurs to you that would affect your ability to earn a living. In this chapter, our focus is on protecting income you’re earning while employed.

Insurance isn’t free, of course. And, like other companies, insurance companies are in business to turn a profit. So you want to make sure you obtain proper insurance protection at a competitive price and buy ...