How much life insurance do I need with kids? The 10x rule, run

This is item 1 in our guide, ahead of every account and every tax question.

Partly because most dads skip it. Mostly because it is the only thing on the list where the downside is not "less money later."

It also has the worst research experience in all of family finance. Most calculators on the internet belong to somebody who sells policies or sells leads to people who do, and they spit out a number with no visible arithmetic behind it.

So people close the tab. We closed the tab. Then we went back and did the arithmetic ourselves.

How much life insurance do I need?

The 1-line version is 10 to 12 times your annual income, as level term, running long enough to outlive your youngest kid's dependence on you.

That multiple is a rule of thumb, not a law of physics. Baird Wealth calls it "an old rule of thumb." Policygenius publishes a wider 10 to 15x. No government agency sets it.

The logic behind it is simple. 10 to 12 years of your salary, paid as a lump sum, can replace your income for roughly that long, with some room to invest the rest.

On $110,000 of income that is $1.1 million to $1.32 million of coverage. Here is the same rule run on 3 incomes, next to a 1x salary policy from work.

A mortgage can change the anchor. If the payoff balance does not sit comfortably inside that figure, the mortgage is the number that matters and income was the wrong starting point.

How much term life insurance do I need? The calculator, by hand

Most calculators hide the arithmetic. This one is 6 lines, and it is the same math as the table above.

Multiply income by 10 and by 12. Subtract the life insurance already in place. The example column is the $110,000 income with a 1x work policy. The last column is blank on purpose.

Lines 5 and 6 are the range of term coverage the rule of thumb points at. On the example, that is $990,000 to $1.21 million.

The term length is its own line. Count the years until the youngest stops needing the income, then add a buffer. For a newborn that lands at 25 or 30 years.

A partner's income or real savings pull the result lower. Both show up in the list of what changes the number, further down.

Is life insurance through work enough?

On the math, no. Employer-paid basic life is generally 1x to 3x salary or a flat dollar amount, per one benefits placement platform's data.

ThreeFlow, a benefits placement platform, reported from its own 2022 data that 36% of the employer groups it worked with had flat benefits. Of the plans that paid a multiple of salary, 50% landed between 1x and 2x. That is 1 company's book, not a national survey.

Against a 10 to 12x target, even 2x leaves most of the gap open. A flat $50,000 is a rounding error with a login page.

The amount is the smaller of its 2 problems.

Problem 1: it is tied to the job. The older line on this page said group coverage "ends when the job ends." That was too blunt, so here is what happens.

Group life commonly comes with a conversion right. California's Insurance Code section 10209 requires group life policies to let a departing employee buy an individual policy within 31 days, with no health questions. New York's Insurance Law requires a conversion option too, and New York regulators have approved portability options on top of it.

Here is the catch, in the statute's own words. The California converted policy is priced "at his or her then attained age" and can be any form "other than term insurance." Federal employees get the same deal from FEGLI. OPM says the converted policy can be any type except term, universal life or any other policy with an indeterminate premium.

So conversion turns cheap group term into permanent coverage at permanent prices. At Policygenius's averages, $500,000 of whole life for a 40-year-old man runs $706 a month.

Portability is different, because it keeps term coverage going. Insurers told New York's regulator it should have "a lower initial cost" than conversion. It is still priced and limited by the carrier, and not every plan has it.

Problem 2: it does not lock your health. Individual level term prices off your age and health on the day you apply. Policygenius says that once the policy is active, "your premiums will stay the same for the duration of your coverage."

That second one is the entire urgency here. Not fear. Arithmetic. Nobody gets younger between the quote and the application.

How much does term life insurance cost for a 30-year-old?

ValuePenguin's averages, updated June 2026, put $500,000 of 20-year term for a healthy nonsmoking man at $33 a month at age 30 and $38 a month at age 35.

Policygenius's rate illustration from October 2024 lands lower, at $29 a month for a 30-year-old man in its Preferred class. Neither source publishes an age 32 price, so we are not printing one.

Waiting costs real money. Policygenius puts the same 20-year $500,000 policy at $43 a month for a 40-year-old man and $102 at 50.

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Term vs whole life: what is the difference in cost?

Term and whole life are not 2 flavors of the same product. Term pays if you die during the term, then stops. Whole life never expires and carries a cash value account, and the premium pays for both.

At those averages, whole life costs about 17x the term premium for the same $500,000 payout. For a 30-year-old man the ratio is about 16x.

The extra buys 2 things: coverage that never runs out and a savings account inside the policy. Part of every premium is invested on your behalf, at the insurer's fee.

For the 1 job most new dads are hiring this for, which is "if I die while my kids need my income, they are fine," term covers it and stops charging when the job is over. At those averages the premium difference is $425 a month. For scale, that is what a dollar a day for a kid looks like about 14 times over.

There are real cases for permanent insurance, like estate planning at high net worth or a dependent with special needs who will need support for life. Being pitched a policy 6 weeks after a baby arrives does not put a dad in either group.

How long should my term life policy be?

Count from today to the year your youngest stops needing your income, then add a buffer.

A newborn puts most dads at 25 or 30 years. A 4-year-old and no plans for more often works at 20.

Longer terms cost more, but less than people expect. Policygenius has a 30-year-old man at $29 a month for 20-year term and $42 for 30-year term, both at $500,000.

The trap is buying a 15-year term because it quotes cheaper. Reapplying at 45, with 15 more years of health history and a price that rose every year in between, is the exact scenario the cheap quote was hiding.

What changes the number?

1. A partner earning something similar. The income gap being insured is smaller, so the multiple comes down.
2. Assets already in place. Insurance covers the shortfall, not the whole life you have built.
3. A health condition. It moves the price, not the need. An underwriter gives a real number, which beats guessing yourself out of coverage from the couch.
4. Care somebody was doing for free. A surviving parent who has to buy full-time care is buying a bill the household never had. We ran what that bill looks like in every state.

Insurance is also only half of the "if something happens" plan. The other half is who raises the kids, which lives in a will with a guardian nomination.

Frequently asked questions

How much life insurance do I need with kids?

A common rule of thumb is 10 to 12 times your annual income, published by Baird Wealth. On $110,000 of income that is $1.1 million to $1.32 million. A working partner or existing savings lowers the number.

How much life insurance should I get?

The 1-line version is income x 10 to 12, minus coverage already in place. On $110,000 of income with a 1x work policy, that is $990,000 to $1.21 million of term. A partner's income or real savings pull it lower.

What is the rule of thumb for how much life insurance I need?

Baird Wealth describes 10 to 12 times annual income as an old rule of thumb. Policygenius uses 10 to 15x. Neither is a regulation, and a mortgage or a second earner can move the number either way.

How much life insurance should I get through work?

Employer basic life is generally 1x to 3x salary or a flat amount. ThreeFlow's 2022 data showed 36% of the employer groups it placed had flat benefits. Against a 10x target, 1x leaves 90% of the rule of thumb uncovered.

What happens to work life insurance when you leave your job?

The group coverage ends, but many policies let you convert or port it. In California you get 31 days to convert with no health questions, but the new policy cannot be term and is priced at your age then. Portability keeps term coverage where the plan offers it.

How much is a $500,000 term life policy per month?

ValuePenguin's June 2026 averages put 20-year, $500,000 term at $33 a month for a healthy 30-year-old man and $38 at 35. Policygenius's October 2024 figure for a 30-year-old man is $29.

Is whole life insurance worth it for new parents?

Policygenius averages put $500,000 of whole life at $451 a month and 20-year term at $26, about 17x the premium. The extra pays for lifelong coverage and a cash value account. Whether that trade makes sense depends on whether the need is permanent.

Should I get a 20 or 30 year term?

The math lines the term up with the year your youngest stops depending on your income. For a newborn that points at 25 or 30 years. Policygenius has a 30-year-old man at $29 a month for 20-year term and $42 for 30-year term at $500,000.

Checked Sep 16, 2026. 10 to 12x income is a rule of thumb (Baird Wealth), not a regulation. Term prices are ValuePenguin averages updated June 2026 and Policygenius averages valid Oct 1, 2024. Conversion rules cited are California Insurance Code 10209 and New York DFS guidance. Premiums vary by carrier, state, age and health, so a real quote beats every figure on this page.