Voluntary retiree life insurance offers retirement protection

MetLife has launched a new voluntary life insurance product aimed at baby boomers nearing retirement.

The voluntary retiree life insurance product will use the group term life insurance model to offer “valuable benefits” for the age group, says MetLife vice president Stephen Pontecorvo.

“The number of baby boomers expected to retire in the next 15 years creates a big need --employees with life insurance provided through the workplace will be looking for ways to extend that insurance into retirement," says Pontecorvo.

With three plan options for retirees and their spouses, initial amounts for coverage include up to $25,000 as guaranteed issue, and up to $75,000 and $150,000 in coverage. The retiree offering is  separate from the life insurance product offered to current employees, which will limit rate impacts. 

The global provider of insurance, annuities and employee benefit programs states it will help employers by providing full plan administration, including communications, managing retiree and spousal records, delivering beneficiary claim packages and managing billing.

Based on MetLife’s 12th annual U.S. Employee Benefit Trends Study, overall satisfaction with workplace benefits has reached an all-time high. However, Pontecorvo highlights that its study found that three quarters of employees want a greater variety of benefits to choose from and 80% of those employees value benefits customized to their circumstances and age.

“By providing voluntary retiree life insurance, our clients are able to give employees more benefit choices as they are entering retirement,” he explains.

Crossing over into retirement is a topic that fosters malcontent among baby boomers, at least according to the Insured Retirement Institute’s fourth annual retirement readiness report. Approximately 35% of the surveyed population said they were “extremely” or “very” confident they were doing a good job of preparing financially for retirement. And only one-third of respondents feel they will have enough money to live comfortably in retirement with their spouse.

Last month, the Employee Benefit Research Institute’s 24th installment of its annual Retirement Confidence Survey said that approximately 18% are very confident and 37% are somewhat confident about their future financial needs.