Life Insurance Calculator
United States Uses U.S. IRS retirement-account and federal deposit rules. Figures are in U.S. dollars.
Life insurance calculator: how much life insurance you need, with Social Security survivor benefits for your children, the DIME method and 10 times income compared.
Educational estimate only. Not a lending decision. Your numbers stay in this browser.
Results
How to read this: the verdict describes how much room your numbers leave, not a decision or an offer. Change any input to see how much the result moves.
Investing and retirement guides
These guides explain compounding, contribution projections, retirement targets, inflation, and real returns.
- Compound interest explained
- Investment return with contributions
- Retirement savings target
- Inflation and real returns
For all guide topics, open Guides. For source and estimate boundaries, read Calculation Methodology and Sources and Assumptions.
Assumptions and formula
The needs method adds debts, the mortgage, education for each child and final expenses to the income you want to replace, valued in today’s money at the real return you enter, then takes off Social Security survivor benefits, savings and existing cover, and rounds up to the next $50,000. The DIME total and 10 times your income are shown for comparison.
Survivor benefits follow SSA rules: each child under 18 and a parent caring for a child under 16 get 75% of your benefit, capped by the 2026 maximum family benefit (150%, 272%, 134% and 175% of your benefit over bend points of $1,643, $2,371 and $3,093). They are counted only against the income need, never against debts or education. A blank benefit is estimated from your income with the 2026 benefit formula, as if earned for a full career.
Worked example
An $80,000 earner with $10,000 of debts, a $250,000 mortgage, two children (youngest 4), a parent at home and $50,000 saved: the income need over 10 years is $732,979 in today’s money, Social Security would pay the family about $4,879 a month for 14 years, worth $707,332, so the cover needed is about $346,000, rounded to $350,000. The DIME method gives $1,120,600 and 10 times income $800,000.
Frequently asked questions
Does Social Security reduce how much life insurance I need?
Yes, for parents of children under 18: each child gets 75% of your benefit and a parent caring for a child under 16 another 75%, up to the family maximum. For an $80,000 earner that can be close to $4,900 a month.
How much life insurance do I need?
Enough to pay off debts and the mortgage, fund your children’s education and final expenses, and replace your income for the years your family needs it, less what Social Security, savings and existing cover would provide. For an $80,000 earner with a $250,000 mortgage and two young children it is about $350,000, not the $1.1 million the DIME method gives.
What is the DIME method?
Debt + Income × years + Mortgage + Education. It is simple but adds future income at face value and ignores Social Security, so it usually overstates the cover a family with young children needs.
Does Social Security pay my children if I die?
Yes. Each unmarried child under 18 (19 in high school) gets 75% of your benefit, and a surviving parent caring for a child under 16 gets 75% too, up to a family maximum of roughly 150% to 188% of your benefit. There is also a one-time $255 death payment.
Is 10 times income enough life insurance?
It is a rule of thumb. It can be too much for a family with young children and Social Security survivor benefits, and too little with a large mortgage and several children heading to college.
Should the payout replace my whole income?
Usually less than all of it: your own spending, taxes and retirement saving stop. Enter the income your family would need, and the years until the youngest is independent.
Is this a life insurance needs calculator?
Yes: a life insurance calculator and life insurance needs calculator that works out how much life insurance you need, with a DIME method calculator shown alongside.
Is this a term life insurance calculator?
Yes. The cover it recommends is the face amount to look for in a term life insurance policy, with the years of life insurance income replacement you choose. It does not quote premiums, which depend on your age and health.
Sources
Sources reviewed 4 October 2026: checked against their current editions on that date.
- Social Security Administration, Benefit Formula Bend Points (2026 PIA and maximum family benefit bend points).
- Social Security Administration, What you could get from Survivor benefits (children 75%, family maximum, $255 lump sum).
- College Board, Trends in College Pricing 2025 (2025–26 public in-state tuition and fees).
This page is an educational estimate, not personal financial or tax advice. Eligibility and individual circumstances can change the result.