The short answer
The amount of term cover you need is highest today and falls every year as the mortgage is paid down, the children grow up and fewer working years are left to replace. The calculator below draws that curve from your own numbers and finds the shortest length that covers 90 percent of it. In our example household the need starts at $1,374,000, halves in about 12 years and is under $100,000 by year 20.
On this page
Your need curve
The figures already in the form are an example, a 38-year-old with two children and a mortgage. Replace them with yours. Nothing is sent anywhere, and the page address keeps your scenario so you can share it.
Why one number misleads
The pages that rank for this question mostly start with a multiple of income. Fidelity calls "10 to 12 times your income" a common guideline.[1] Ramsey repeats the multiple and pairs it with a policy of 15 to 20 years.[2] Guardian walks through DIME, which stands for debt, income, mortgage and education.[3]
Each of these gives you a single figure for today. None of them shows what happens next year, when a year of income no longer needs replacing and the mortgage is smaller. A level term policy pays the same amount in year 19 as in year 1, so a one-number answer quietly assumes your need is flat. For most families it is not. It slopes down, and the slope tells you both the length and whether one policy or a ladder fits better.
How the curve is built
For each future year the calculator adds up what your family would still need if you died that year.
- Income still to replace. The yearly amount times the years left, valued at the return you set. A 2 percent return above inflation means a lump sum that is drawn down while it earns a little.
- The mortgage. The balance left after that many years of normal monthly payments at your rate. Early years barely move it, later years drop it fast.
- College. Your figure for each child who has not yet turned 18.
- Other debts and one-time costs. Debts fall in a straight line to zero. One-time costs, such as a funeral and moving costs, stay in every year.
- Less what you already have. Savings and any cover you will keep for the full period. Leave out cover through work if you might change jobs.
Reading the example
| Year from now | Income left | Mortgage | College | Total need |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today, age 38 | $981,000 | $320,000 | $100,000 | $1,374,000 |
| Year 5 | $771,000 | $294,000 | $100,000 | $1,120,000 |
| Year 10 | $539,000 | $259,000 | $100,000 | $853,000 |
| Year 15 | $283,000 | $209,000 | $0 | $447,000 |
| Year 20 | $0 | $141,000 | $0 | $96,000 |
| Year 25 | $0 | $47,000 | $0 | $2,000 |
The example inputs in the form above, rounded to the nearest $1,000. Totals include $18,000 of debts in year 0 and $15,000 of one-time costs, less $60,000 of savings. Not advice for your family.
Example. What one flat policy does with this curve
- One 20-year policy sized to today
- $1,374,000
- Need in year 15
- $447,000
- Cover above need in year 15
- $927,000
From the example inputs. 90 percent of the total need falls in the first 16 years, so the calculator suggests asking about a 20-year length, the next common length up.
Three things stand out. The need stays high for a decade because income replacement dominates. It drops in year 11 when the older child turns 18 and that college money is no longer counted. And after year 20 only the mortgage tail remains, which the family's savings almost cover.
From curve to a length or a ladder
A single policy is simple and the price is level. It also leaves you paying for cover the curve no longer needs. The gap in the example, almost $1 million of extra cover in year 15, is what a ladder tries to remove by stacking two or three policies that end at different times. Our guide to laddering covers when that saves money and when the extra policy fees cancel it out, and the ladder planner turns a curve like this one into layers.
If you would rather keep one policy, the term length picker checks which lengths insurers will still sell at your age. When you have a length and an amount, a quote takes a few minutes.
What the curve leaves out
- Inflation in costs you named in today's dollars. The return you set is above inflation, so income is in today's money. College and one-time costs are not grown.
- A spouse's income and Social Security survivor benefits. Both reduce the need. Enter a lower income figure if you want to count them.
- Taxes on the payout's earnings. The death benefit itself is generally not taxed as income, but what it earns after it is invested can be. Ask a tax professional.
- Your health and price. The curve says what to cover, not what it costs.
Questions people ask
Is 10 times income enough term life insurance?
It can be a fair start. In our example, $60,000 of income times 10 is $600,000, well under the $1,374,000 the curve shows today, because the mortgage and two college funds sit on top of 20 years of income. Run your own numbers.
How long should my term last?
Long enough to hold most of the need. The calculator finds the years that hold 90 percent of your total need and rounds up to a common length, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 or 40 years.
Should I count life insurance from work?
Only if you are sure you will keep it. Cover through an employer usually ends when the job does, so most families leave it out of the savings box.
Last updated November 12, 2026. Found an error? Call (305) 699-5857 and it goes in the corrections log.
Sources (4)
- Fidelity, How much life insurance do I need, August 7, 2026. Opened November 11, 2026. fidelity.com
- Ramsey Solutions, How much life insurance do I need, modified May 1, 2025. Opened November 11, 2026. ramseysolutions.com
- Guardian Life, How much life insurance do you need, updated April 14, 2026. Opened November 11, 2026. guardianlife.com
- Insure.com, Term life insurance, updated August 27, 2026. Opened November 10, 2026. insure.com
