Liz Weston

Dear Liz: Can you give us some direction on how to get good term life insurance when you’re over 65? We had 25-year term policies and the premiums skyrocketed, so we are looking. Will getting a group plan (such as the one offered by AARP) help me? I’ve had two heart valve surgeries and knee and hip surgeries but don’t drink or smoke. We are concerned that we may not have enough saved. My wife is still working, but I have not been able to find employment since I lost my job due to a downsizing.

Answer: The options available to you are likely to be limited or expensive or both.

The life insurance program offered through AARP provides up to $100,000 in term coverage that ends at age 80 or $50,000 in permanent life insurance that can extend through your life. There’s no medical exam but you do have to provide health information.

Life insurance with higher limits may be available but you’re not going to like the price, said Delia Fernandez, a fee-only Certified Financial Planner in Los Alamitos. Life insurance after 65 is usually expensive in any case, but those heart valve surgeries could make it much more so, depending on how long ago you had them, how successful they were and what medications you’re on.

Fernandez recommends consulting with an independent life insurance agent so you can get a better idea of what’s available and what it will cost. Once you have an idea of the premiums, you’ll have to weigh whether you’d be better off investing that money instead.

As a general rule, you don’t want to be worth more dead than alive — and not just because you don’t want your spouse contemplating ways to collect. More importantly, insurance coverage that exceeds your income-generating capacity signals that you may be spending too much for insurance and need to consider alternatives.