Life insurance for teachers

What district coverage usually looks like

Often a flat amount or a small multiple of salary, sometimes with an option to buy supplemental coverage through payroll. It generally ends at separation or retirement.

Find the actual number rather than assuming it's adequate. For a household with a mortgage and children, a flat district benefit rarely is.

The pension survivor question

This is the calculation that usually determines whether coverage is needed and how much. State and local retirement systems differ substantially in what they pay a surviving spouse — some offer a survivor annuity, some a return of contributions, and the election you make at retirement often locks it in.

Get the specifics from your own retirement system rather than a general answer, and check how Social Security coverage applies to your position, since that varies by state and system too.

Be careful in the 403(b) market

School-based retirement plans have a long-documented problem with high-cost insurance and annuity products sold to staff, sometimes on campus, sometimes by people whose compensation depends on the sale.

Two questions cut through most of it: how are you paid on this, and what are the total annual costs and surrender charges? A clear answer is a good sign. Reluctance is also information.

What to check, in order

• The actual district life insurance amount, and whether it survives retirement
• Your retirement system's survivor benefit and the elections available
• Whether supplemental payroll coverage is competitively priced against individual coverage
• Whether an individually owned term policy covers the mortgage and dependent years
• Beneficiary designations on every policy and on the retirement account

Coverage you own travels with you

Changing districts, moving state, or leaving teaching all disrupt employer coverage. An individually owned policy doesn't notice.