When it comes to building a house, the foundation is viewed as the most important factor. Without a strong, firm foundation, the walls would crack and tumble. When you fail to create this stabilizing foundation, it doesn’t really matter what you build on top of it because it will not stand. You could build the biggest and best home in the entire city, but it will all be for nothing without this crucial piece of the puzzle.
The most famous example of a poor foundation in human history has to be the “Leaning Tower of Pisa.” This almost 200-foot building has been sitting on a 4-degree angle for generations, and people first noticed the lean in 1170 AD.
This monster of a building was an architectural failure for two reasons:
- It was built on sand. As we know, a strong foundation should be built on rock.
- The foundation was just 3 feet deep. For reference, a building of this size requires a foundation of at least 31 feet deep.
Now, this historical building is an extreme example of foundational issues. The more common areas of concern when it comes to issues within the foundation of a home include drywall cracks, uneven floors, jammed doors, drainage issues, sinking, etc. When these issues appear, they consume a lot of time, resources, and energy to solve.
Finances operate in a similar fashion, as you can only truly build and accumulate wealth with an adequate foundation—or a whole lot of luck. This strong basis that we build upon in personal financial planning is income protection.
When you break it down, protecting your income is the only way to truly protect yourself and your family. It is the only way to ensure that your lifestyle is protected in the face of disaster. This income protection appears in life and disability insurance.
DISABILITY INSURANCE
Many people believe that their biggest asset is their house, however, I believe that a person’s biggest asset is their ability to put on their pants in the morning and head to work.
For example, a 30-year-old man named Tim, who makes $150,000 a year, has the potential to earn just over $6 million by the time he is 65 years old. That ability to earn income has a much higher value than a potential home that he will purchase or a qualified retirement plan.
Tim develops a lifestyle that reflects his income, and he plans for his future retirement with that anticipated income in mind. However, what would happen if Tim got into a bad car accident at 42 and could no longer perform the duties of his job? How will Tim adjust to working a lower-income earning profession or living off the disability benefits provided by the government?
Sure, Tim would more than likely survive, but he would be vastly decreasing his way of life. Additionally, Tim would have to begin spending down the assets and wealth that he has been building and accumulating during the 20 years of his working life. Essentially, all of Tim’s hard work and diligent savings would be ruined.
Luckily, there is a very easy solution to protect Tim and his family. This solution is to purchase a personal disability insurance policy.
In this scenario, Tim would be paid a percentage of his pre-injury income. In doing so, it will allow him to continue to build wealth without spending down his assets or majorly sacrificing his lifestyle.
LIFE INSURANCE
Now, let’s revisit Tim’s previous scenario with a few tweaks and additional details.
Let’s assume that Tim is a husband to his wife, Emily, and a father of three children. For comparison’s sake, he is still a 30-year-old man who makes $150,000 a year.
However, instead of being disabled in the car accident, Tim is killed.
This would clearly impact his family, as they would be shaken to their core. The last thing that this family should have to think about is the heavy financial burden that was thrust upon them.
However, the harsh reality is that Emily now has to find a way to provide an additional $150,000 a year or $6 million over the course of the next 35 years. If Emily fails to do so, her family’s lifestyle will be greatly impacted, and future plans will not be able to happen.
Luckily, this can be prevented and protected against with a personal life insurance policy.
For example, if Tim owned $3 million in life insurance, Emily would inherit that lump sum amount tax-free. Although she will no longer have the $150,000 a year flowing from Tim’s income, we may be able to mimic that through the life insurance settlement. Theoretically, if Emily never touches the principal ($3 million) and puts it into an account yielding 5% per year, there would be $150,000 a year worth of interest that she could draw from in perpetuity.
In this scenario, Tim prepared his family for the worst possible outcome. Although Tim is gone, his family is shielded from the loss of income. Emily and their three children now have a fighting chance at getting through this emotional tragedy without ever having to worry about money or downgrading their way of life.
Simply, without income protection, you are in danger of an illness, disability, or death completely derailing you and your family’s plan.
Think about it: As a society, we insure our biggest assets and almost everything that is important to us. So, why would we not insure the very thing that funds our lifestyle?